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655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment . In Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come" (Hebrews 6:5) and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may "live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." (2 Corinthians 5:15; cf. Colossians 3:1-3)
658 Christ, "the first-born from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf. Romans 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf.: Romans 8:11).
Have we been in the last days since Jesus resurrected?
"In the liturgy of ancient Israel the first portion of a crop was offered to God in the Temple as a means of consecrating the whole of the expected harvest (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10-14).
So, too, Christ is not only the first to be raised in glory, but his resurrected humanity is an offering that ensures an entire harvest of believers will be raised as he was (Acts 26:23; Romans 11:15-16)."
The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010), p. 307
I don't think it is necessary to conclude from the Resurrection of Jesus that we are in the last days. The last day pertains to the general resurrection of all people, not to the Resurrection of the Messiah. You can think of him (and the Blessed Mother) as an exception. That is one reason why he is called the "first fruits"; he is set apart from the rest of mankind and comes before them.
Eric Ewanco
John replied:
Actually,
Scripture itself, the Apostles themselves stated that we were in the last days. They believed the Second Coming and the Resurrection of the Dead were imminent, perhaps in their lifetimes. This is evident when we read various epistles. But they didn't set dates. Being in the age of the Church, with the establishment of the New Covenant, we entered the last days. We don't know how long they will last. We know we're one day closer today than we were yesterday. Jesus admonishes us both: not to be setting dates and to look for the sign of the times. Interestingly enough the last sign He mentions is that the Gospel will be preached to every nation, not every person, but every nation. Then He adds, and then the end will come. Of course, we don't know exactly how long it will be between the preaching of the Gospel to every nation, which if it hasn't happened, is close to happening, and the end. There are probably other things that need to be fulfilled, like, Israel coming to Christ . . . after the Day of the Gentiles has been fulfilled (See Paul's letter to the Romans Chapter 9,10, and 11) . . . so we don't know, we can only wait, watch and be about living holy lives and sharing the Gospel. But yes, I'd have to say that the wait of scripture indicates that we are in the last days.
John
Hector replied:
Thank you kindly Brothers.
Hector
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