I would like for you to ponder a series of questions this morning! Do you think our country is better today than it was fifty years ago? Do you think it will be better or worse fifty years from now? Is the world getting better or worse? I have heard people respond to these questions with opposite responses. They usually correspond to the person’s age—with younger people feeling optimistic, saying “All of my dreams will come true someday!” and older people feeling pessimistic, saying “This country isn’t what it used to be! The whole world is going to hell in a hand basket.”
I recently had a conversation with my grandmother that illustrates this point. Not long after she got married and started having children, her mother-in-law (that is, my great-grandmother) chastised her for having children. She said, “I don’t know why you are having all of these kids! Who, in their right mind, would want to bring kids up in a world like this?” That conversation took place 55 years ago!
With so many murders, rapes, kidnappings, terrorist threats, family conflicts, and government deadlocks, it does seem like the moral fabric of our world has frayed from what our collective memories tell us was the “good old days,” if there ever was such a thing. As I have pondered it personally, I honestly don’t know if our country and world is getting better or worse. On one hand, we have made great strides in abolishing the slavery and curbing much of the racial prejudice of the past. But on the other hand, drug abuse and violent crime is at an all time high, as we saw colide the tragic St. Albans shooting just a few weeks ago. Likewise, domestic violence and child abuse are not tolerated like it used to be, but sexual licentiousness, adultery, and divorce are readily acceptable today in ways they weren’t in the past.
Regardless of whether the world is getting is getting better or worse, we all know that it is plagued by difficulty, and it has been ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and introduced sin to the human race. If you study history, you will discover that there has always been difficulty in every world civilization. If you watch the six o’clock news, you see the many facets of difficulty that we experience today. And even though none of us can see into the future, we instinctively know that we will endure more difficulty.
And that is why many people are fascinated by what the Bible says about the last days and the end of the world. That is why people read verses like II Timothy 3:1 with such interest and urgency. As Paul continued his final letter to Timothy, he promises him that the “last days” would be filled with difficulty. This phrase generally elicits visions of apocalyptic catastrophe—doom, judgment, fire, and suffering—the end of the world. But what does it really mean? Some people do in fact interpret this term “last days” to mean the short period of time right before Jesus returns and judges the world. But I would like to argue that Paul did not mean it to be an event, but rather a historical epoch, that began with the ascension of Jesus Christ and persists in our present day and will continue into the future until Christ returns.
Why do I think this? First, if you look at the text again, you will notice that verses 1-5 are in the future tense, but starting at the end of verse 5, Paul switches to the present tense. In the former, he describes the moral decadence of people living in the last days. In the later, he commands Timothy to avoid such people now, indicating that the “last days” have already begun. Second, just look at the list of vices in verses 2-5! Do not all of these sinful attitudes and actions exist today? Have they not been pervasive for the past 2000 years? Will they not continue until Jesus returns? Dear friends, we are living in the last day!
Vices in the Last Days (2-5)
Now that we know we are living in the last days, let’s take a closer look at the dirty laundry list that characterizes so many sectors of society. Catalogues of vices were common in the ancient world (Paul used similar lists in Rom. 1:29-31, I Cor. 6:9-10, I Tim. 1:9-10), and Paul creates one here to warn Timothy of the prevailing evils of pagan society and the character of the false teachers that were disrupting the ministry of the Ephesian church. This list of 18 items is amazing—even though it was written in A.D. 67, it captures all of the same issues that appear on the front page of the newspapers in 2013—people who are “lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable (doesn’t that describe our nation’s congressional leaders), slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”
After Paul gives this description of trouble in the last days, he emphatically commands Timothy to “avoid such people.” He did not want Timothy or the Ephesian church to be dragged down to the depths of debauchery. He did not want them to form close relationships or be influenced by people with such character. People like this would lead them away from God and damage the church.
I hope that we will all hear Paul’s warning! Young ladies, don’t date or marry a man who is proud, arrogant, or abusive. Your life will become a living hell! Young men, don’t date or marry a woman who disrespects her parents or is unappeasable! It will only be a matter of time before she will disrespect you. Don’t form friendships with people who are lovers of self, ungrateful, unholy, or slanderous! They will not be true friends and they will harm your relationship with God. Don’t go into business with someone who is a lover of money, treacherous, or reckless! I guarantee that you will regret it! This list of vices teaches us the type of character to avoid in our own lives and in the lives of others. The last days are already filled with enough trouble; let us steer away from more!
Manipulative Men & Weak Women in the Last Days in the Last Days (6-8)
As Paul presents this list of vices that characterize society in the last days, he focuses on the false teachers of Ephesus more specifically in verses 6-8. These false teachers would worm their way into homes with the intent of gaining control. They would hold home Bible studies and lead discussion groups that would lead people away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They found their greatest success in the homes of weak-willed women. These women were weighed down by guilt from the sins of their past and were still spiritually vulnerable because of their evil desires. These weak-willed women were easy prey for the false teachers—for these women were constantly learning, but they never came to the knowledge of the truth. They were very religious, but they did not have a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
Paul compared these manipulative men to Jannes and Jambres, whom Jewish tradition tells us were Pharaoh’s two magicians who opposed the authority of Moses in Egypt. Do you remember the story of Pharaoh’s magicians who threw their staffs on the ground and became serpents and were swallowed up by Aaron’s staff? Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed God’s truth in Moses, these false teachers in Ephesus opposed God’s truth as taught by Paul, Timothy, and the Ephesian church. Their minds were corrupted and they promoted a counterfeit faith.
As in Moses day and Paul and Timothy’s time, there are still false teachers in our world today. They oppose God’s truth and use their manipulative schemes to weasel their way into people’s homes and destroy the faith of the spiritually vulnerable and weak-willed. This is why it is so important to be grounded in the truth of God’s Word. Even today, we see people peddling false doctrines door to door; doing their best to get their heresy into your home. It also comes by the way of religious television and radio. You have to be careful with what you see and hear. As we live in the last days, beware of these manipulative monsters who lead people away from Jesus Christ!
Justice in the Last Days (9)
After Paul warns Timothy about the manipulative schemes of the false teachers in the last days, he ends this section on a positive note by reminding Timothy that God’s justice will ultimately prevail. In verse 9, speaking of the false teachers, he says, “But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.” This is Paul’s way of saying that the truth eventually comes to light and always prevails in the end. Just as Jannes and Jambres only succeeded against Moses for a limited time, all falsehood will eventually be exposed, whether in this life or at the final judgment when Christ returns.
Isn’t it interesting how even the most careful lies and calculated schemes eventually get revealed. No matter how much one tries to cover their tracks and keep secrets hidden, they almost always come to light. Sometimes it takes many years, and may even have to wait until Jesus returns, but God’s justice always prevails!
The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ever–the best in the entire county. When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper which belittled the Christians for their faith in God. Near the end of his diatribe he wrote, “Faith in God must not mean much if someone like me can prosper.” The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. In the next edition of the town paper, a small ad appeared. It read simply, “God doesn’t always settle His accounts in October.”
Friends, we are living in the last days, and indeed, they are filled with trouble! May we do our best to avoid the vices listed in this passage! May we avoid the influences of others who are dominated by these vices! May we beware of those manipulative people and schemes that would lead us away from God and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Let us always remember that God’s justice prevails in the end! Let us live like we are living in the last days!