THEOLOGY JOLT - ARE THESE REALLY "THE LAST DAYS" ? - by Cindye Coates

Found here. Our comments in bold.
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This was posted by a Faceborg friend. It's an interpretation that's new to us so let's examine it. Analysis at the end.

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The Prophet Joel was quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost when there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on everyone - not just the Jewish religious leaders.

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
( Acts 2:16-17 )

People from all over the region had gathered and were experiencing the NEW COVENANT movement like a baby about to be born.

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” ( Acts 2:5-13 )

Note: They were full of NEW WINE! of the New Covenant!

Then --- there was a forty-year transition time where the New Covenant was being birthed from AD 30 to AD 70. It was the time of the "Now and the Not Yet"..... The New Covenant Kingdom was "Now" but the Old Covenant was still in effect as long as Herod's Temple stood and the apostate Jewish priesthood (who was in bed with Rome) continued to make animal sacrifices as if Jesus - the Lamb of God had never sacrificed Himself for all sin.

The Old Wineskin of the Old Mosaic Covenant was about to burst as the New Wine of the New & Better Covenant was expanding more and more - It was alive with the Life-giving Spirit. It was not the ministry of death that was in the Law of Moses.

When Jesus was asked by His disciples what would be the sign of the end of the age (of the Old Covenant) -- He described in explicit detail it would be when Herod's Temple would be destroyed by an invading army in the lifetime of the disciples. See Matthew 24.

This topic is covered extensively with historical proof in the book,
"The Fulfilled Prophecies of Jesus, A Verse-by-Verse Study of Mathew 24"

In AD 30, Jesus began His earthly ministry ushering in the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God. In AD 70 the Old Mosaic Covenant was over at the destruction of Herod's Temple just like Jesus said would happen. That window of time was called the LAST DAYS of the Old Covenant.

Conclusion - We are not living in the "Last Days" ... We are way past that now. We are living in the New Covenant Kingdom - There are no "last days" in the New Covenant... That pertained to the Old Mosaic Law . We are under Grace now - This is Present Truth!
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The author's premise: 

...the Old Covenant was still in effect as long as Herod's Temple stood...

Upon what is this based? The author writes,

When Jesus was asked by His disciples what would be the sign of the end of the age (of the Old Covenant) -- He described in explicit detail it would be when Herod's Temple would be destroyed by an invading army in the lifetime of the disciples. See Matthew 24. 

So Matthew 24 is the basis. Let's quote:

Mt. 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Here we find the disciples asked a two part question: 

• When will this happen (the destruction of the temple)
• what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age 

As is typical for Jesus, He gives them information He wants them to know, but does not necessarily answer the questions (similar to what He does in John 3:3, 4:16,  6:10, and 8:6 for other examples). Or more specifically in this case, He does not tell them when the temple will be destroyed, but He does tell them about the coming of the end of the age. 

His answer does not connect the two things. Therefore, Jesus does not seem to think that the timing of the destruction of the temple was important. If He had told them the date it would lend credence to the author's assertion. But He didn't. We therefore cannot assume that He was connecting the timing of the destruction of the temple to the last days.

What follows in Matthew 24 and 25 has been suggested by some to have been fulfilled in the first century, although most people put this passage at the end of days, like during the tribulation for example. This would be our tendency, since Jesus tells us,

Mt. 24:29 Immediately after the distress of those days “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

Mt. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

This correlates to Joel's prophecy, strangely not quoted by the author: 

Ac. 2:19-20 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

In the next chapter, Matthew 25, Jesus tells some parables of what the Last Days will be like, then describes the Last Day, the Day of the Lord:

Mt. 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats... 

Mt. 25:46 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

This also correlates to the Joel prophecy. Our first conclusion, therefore, is that both Jesus and Joel were prophesying about the Last Days, synonymous with the end times.

The author goes on to state:

In AD 30, Jesus began His earthly ministry ushering in the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God. In AD 70 the Old Mosaic Covenant was over at the destruction of Herod's Temple just like Jesus said would happen. That window of time was called the LAST DAYS of the Old Covenant.

This is actually the matter to be demonstrated, but the author simply re-asserts her premise. As we have seen, however, the Last Days are the same thing as the end times.

Further, the writer of Hebrews decisively refutes the author:

Heb. 10:12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says, 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” [Jer. 31:33] 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” [Jer. 31:34] 18 And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 

 

Verse 12, Jesus is the one sacrifice. He died on the cross then sat down at the right hand, and "since that time..." What time? Since the time He sat down. That is, as soon as Jesus was seated as King He began waiting for the day of judgment of His enemies [verse 13]. This day must be the Last Day.

The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah, and we find that there's a covenant to be written on hearts and minds [verse 16]. This covenant began when the Holy Spirit began creating born-again people. The indwelling Spirit, finally available at Pentecost, gives us new hearts [2Co. 1:22, 2Co. 3:16] and minds [Ep. 4:23] just as Jeremiah prophesied. 

So now we come to the author's premise, that the Old Covenant ended at the destruction of the temple. However, the writer of Hebrews doesn't tell us this. Verse 18:

And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 

"These" are the sins and lawless acts from verse 17, and He will forget them because He forgave them. As a result, no longer are there sacrifices. That is, the one sacrifice negates any future sacrifice. The temple sacrifices were no longer effectual because they were superseded. 

This means the fact that the Jews continued offering sacrifices until A.D. 70 is irrelevant, because that covenant ended at the one sacrifice.

The Last Days, therefore, must be the period of time beginning at the seating of the King in heaven, culminating in the Last Day, the Day of the Lord, when He comes on the clouds and every eye will see Him and the nations will mourn. The Last Day is when He meets His church in the air and continues down to earth to execute judgment. 

We are still in the last days.

We write more about this here and here.