Perilous Times Are Here
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” II Timothy 3:1
Paul warned Timothy to expect serious trouble arising, not just outside the walls of the church, but within the body of believers themselves. These perilous times Paul spoke of as a future event are already here. Of course, there were serious troubles arising during the time of Paul and even before, but I doubt that they had drag queens invited into the church to entertain children. We expect those who do not believe in and follow Christ to do what is unacceptable among those who love God. That’s what sinners do–they sin with no thought of eternity or of being held accountable for their sin. The sinner has no power to reject sinful actions. He or she has a God-given conscience, but without the power of the Holy Spirit residing within one’s heart, the conscience can be overridden by selfish and sinful desires of those who are selfish and sinful. He or she is under their master, Satan, who walks about the earth as the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). Even though Satan cannot claim a truly born-again believer because he or she is “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), he can make them miserable by tempting them to sin. Luke 15:7 tells us that there is joy over one who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance, thus, it would only stand to reason that Satan gets more joy over deceiving one believer than over all those who already belong to him. Why hassle the unsaved? Better to let sleeping folks lie. “Ignorance is bliss”–until it’s not.
Paul then described what sort of people will populate the earth, even some in the church, in the last days. My guess is that Paul, like folks of every generation since the resurrection, looked for Jesus to come in his lifetime. Many of us believers tend to think that Jesus is returning in the not-too-distant future. While it is true that the last days actually began when Jesus arose from the dead, Jesus gave us signs to look for that would indicate His return is near (Matthew 24-25). He said just before His return, it would be like the time of Noah (Matthew 24:38-41) before God sent the huge flood which wiped out every person and beast except Noah, his family, and the animals safely shielded in the ark (Genesis 7). The world’s population had become so evil that the only way to cleanse the earth was to eliminate all those living upon the earth except for Noah and his family who were loyal to God.
Fast forward to Paul’s day. He listed selfish traits of the majority of the world’s population coming in the perilous days. Men would be lovers of themselves. This is not the self-love that Paul wrote about in Ephesians 5:28-29 which was a love and respect for the person whom God created, and a love which is given to others. The self-love to which Paul referred was a selfish love, a carnal love which causes one to make himself number one. This person is one who covets whatever he desires and will stop at nothing to get it. Pride is usually at the center of selfish self-love. Pride submits to no one, not even God. Pride leads to boasting as if the prideful person is better than everyone else. Pride and boasting lead to blasphemy against God as if God had nothing to do with a person’s life on earth, his accomplishments, wealth, position, and success.
Disobedience to parents at any age is a trait of the ungodly man or woman. The fifth commandment tells us to honor our parents. People who are selfish and all wrapped up in themselves also have a lack of gratitude and thankfulness to others because their pride cannot allow them to give any credit to those who have helped them or given them gifts. There is an epidemic of “entitlement” across our land. To acknowledge the aid of others is to admit need, and the one filled with pride thinks he needs no help from anyone, even God. People with these traits are unholy for they do not respect God nor appreciate His love and mercy. They do not fear God.
These self-centered and insolent people are without natural affection, that is, they have no compassion upon their fellow human beings. They can’t be trusted to keep their word. They are trucebreakers who will go back on agreements and contracts they have made with others. They lie and falsely accuse others. They are incontinent, meaning they have no self-restraint. They do whatever they please. They are fierce, that is, they cannot control their temper. They lash out at the slightest provocation, and they hate anyone who is of a good character, those who are completely opposite of themselves. The self-absorbed are also traitors in that they betray anyone who gets in their way. They have no loyalty to friends or nation. They are heady and high-minded, considering others beneath them, and won’t really pitch in and help when help is needed. They had rather seek pleasure than seek God. Some are even so pompous to assert that they are Christians but have absolutely no evidence to prove it. Perhaps they go to church to make people think they are pious or to promote their business, but they have no relationship with the Lord. Paul warned Timothy to avoid these folks intently.
Paul described our world to a “T”. Of course, there have always been people like those he described, but, for the most part, they were shunned by society, but now, they have become the “movers and shakers” of politics, corporations, entertainment, education, and, worst of all, even in some churches, just as Paul warned. It only goes to show one that scripture can be entirely depended on because its pages unfold every day to show us the words of truth. We think the flood of Noah’s day was bad, but God said He wouldn’t flood the earth again. However, what He has in store for the wicked is far worse. There is still time for folks to repent and come to Christ, but God’s mercy will eventually come to an end for those who practice evil.