By: Dale Weckbacher
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But understand this,
that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For
people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 heartless,
unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving
good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with
conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having
the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such
people.
(ESV)
It would appear the Apostle Paul was reading the present day
news when he wrote these words to Timothy.
However, the truth is that human nature and the tactics of the enemy,
Satan have not changed. Perhaps the
greatest tactic Satan uses is pride and selfishness.
As is the case with any battle, it is imperative to
understand the layout of the battlefield as we enter into spiritual
battle. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul is
warning Timothy about the attitudes of people in the last days. We therefore must determine when the last
days began or will begin.
Bible teachers teach one of three positions for when the
last days began. (1)
1)
The last days began when Israel became a nation
– Matthew 24:34 states that the generation that sees these things will not pass
away. To determine what Jesus means by
these things, we must look at the context of the preceding verses (Matthew24:3-33). Jesus teaching is in response
to a question by the disciples asking for signs that would tell them when Jesus
was returning and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). Bible scholars have attempted to define a
generation as 40 to 70 years. When
Israel became a nation again in 1948, many believed the 70th week
covenant of Daniel was eminent. When
this did not occur in 1988, they cited that the generational clock began in
1967 when the Jews took over Jerusalem.
However, Jesus is telling his disciples to take a lesson from the fig
tree, something he had cursed earlier for not producing fruit (Matthew21:18-19). In this context we could
interpret Jesus to mean the generation that witnesses Israel accept the Messiah
as a nation will not pass away. (2)
2)
The last days started during the ministry of
Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-4) – The author of Hebrews clearly states that in these last
days God has spoken to us through His Son.
However, is scripture speaking of “The Last Days” or simply referring
the days of the writing of the Book of Hebrews.
The fact that scripture tells us that Jesus sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty on high, something no earthly priest ever did when ministering
in the presence of God, tells us that Jesus is waiting for the call to return. This lends credence to this position and
tells us that we are indeed in the last days and that the return of Christ
could occur at any time. (2)
3)
The last days have not begun yet but will start
soon – If we are to believe that Hebrews 1:1-4 refers to the last days when it
addresses the people alive when it was written, this theory is false. However, those interpreting the scripture to
be referring to the time when Hebrews was written and not the actual Last Days
could lend credence to this view. Those
adopting this view believe there are world events, possibly the appearance of
Antichrist that must occur before the “Last Days” begin. (2)
I personally believe the second position is the most
scriptural and therefore believe that Jesus first coming ushered in the Last
Days. Paul was therefore cautioning
Timothy about attitudes present in His time, attitudes still prevalent in our
world today. With this in mind, there is
actually very little difference between the battlefield of the time of Paul,
and what we as Christians today face.
Paul lists numerous attitudes of people during the Last
Days. We could take time to dissect each
of these attitudes but I believe this would make defining the battlefield we
face today difficult and confusing. To
simplify the defining of the battlefield, let us group these attitudes into
categories,
1)
Pride – Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride
precedes a fall. Individuals full of
pride are individuals full of selfishness.
This pride also creates arrogance, abusive behavior, disobedience to
parents etc. The only answer to ending
prideful behavior is for one to surrender their lives to Jesus and live in
submission to the will of God for their lives and lives of obedience to God’s
Word.
2)
Ungratefulness – People today, especially those
living in prosperous countries like the United States have much to be grateful
for. I live in Arizona, a state that
borders Mexico. Illegal immigration is a
problem in the United States but when one travels to the U.S. Mexico border and
observes the stark difference in lifestyle between the U.S. and Mexico, we
should realize those of us living in the United States have much to be grateful
for. However, instead of gratefulness,
we observe much ungratefulness in the world today. Granted, there are problems in the world
today, but that has always been the case.
Christians are to live grateful lives giving thanks in all circumstances
(1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we realize
that we have received the greatest gift anyone can receive, eternal life (John3:16) why wouldn’t we be grateful for no matter what we face, we have the
eternal reward of living with Christ to look forward to. In the battlefield of this world we must
learn to live lives grateful to God for our salvation and share the Gospel with
those ungrateful so they can have the opportunity to live lives of gratefulness
to God.
3)
Unholy living – In free countries like the
United States, it is easy to believe one can live life in any manner they
desire. While this is constitutionally
true to some extent, the total removal of any moral restraint is like driving
on a road without lane markings or guardrails.
My family and I visited Yellowstone National Park several years
ago. We were driving on a mountain road
overlooking what is referred to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The road also
has no guardrails to prevent you from driving over the cliff into the canyon. My family told me the view was beautiful, but
I did not enjoy the view much for I was totally focused on keeping the car on
the road and not falling over the edge.
Society that lives without any moral restraint is a society without
guardrails that is going to drive over the cliff to its destruction. Instead of viewing holy living as a boring
life absent of fun, view it as a life protected by God. Christians can live lives of holiness and joy
out of love for the gift of eternal life they have received from their
Lord. When an ungrateful, angry, and
unholy world sees our joy while living holy lives under God’s protection, they
will want to have what we have.
4)
Greed – 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us that the love of
money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Greed is an extreme love of money and causes much grief in our
world. However, this does not mean money
itself is evil, just loving it more than God.
God has promised to meet all the needs of His people (Philippians4:19). Instead of living a life of greed, God’s
people can live by faith giving generously of their wealth knowing their needs
will bring met.
We are in a spiritual battle. We fight on a battlefield mined with pride,
ungratefulness, unholy living, and greed.
However, armed with the armor of God we can and will victoriously win
this battle.
Next Wednesday, the power of our greatest weapon, the Sword
of the Spirit, the Word of God.
1. The Interactive Bible. When did the last
days begin? www.bible.ca. [Online] The Interactive Bible. [Cited: August
29, 2016.] http://www.bible.ca/auto-lastdays.htm#top.
2. Montgomery, Ted.
How does Jesus' use of "generation" in Matthew 24:34 fit into
end-time prophecy? www.tedmontgomery.com. [Online] [Cited: August 29,
2016.] http://www.tedmontgomery.com/bblovrvw/emails/generation.html.
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