2 Timothy 3 – 4
Verses 3:2 – 5 address what people will be like during the “end times”
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.
Sounds like today! There are some key points that I think reflect today more than any other time in history. The main one is “disobedient to their parents”, today more than any other time in history children have become empowered. Parents can no longer “discipline” their children without fear of DFCS breaking down their door. This all comes from a few abuse cases and the “solution” gets applied to all of society. A small group who don’t feel “spanking” is right create laws the “protect” the child. When you “spare the rod” you “spoil the child” (Proverbs 13:24)!
I think this is something that has not happened before; sure kids always “hate” their parents and are disobedient but this actually “empowers” the children. Before they would eventually come to their senses, but once they have the idea that no one can punish them … game over! The disobedience will become common and this prophecy will become true!
The rest of this list I believe has been common throughout history and mankind. It is easy to become lovers of pleasure and not of an unseen God. Cultures throughout history have let “carnal” instincts run amuck and have failed shortly thereafter. The question today is, are we at the “end times” for the USA or the world?
Verses 13:12 – 13 don’t hold much hope in the end:
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Again those who are followers of Christ are being silenced while followers of other religions are being empowered. Those who do this always seem to point to “all” the religious oppression the Christian church has put on mankind. Interestingly, they always seem to point at events some 800 years ago as at any moment Christians will mount up and start a religious crusade. They also forget the “crusades” started as a defensive action!
Verse 4:3 sadly seems to be the way things are going today:
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
I see this happen more today than before. Not only do people tend to flock to a message that suits them, but the “churches” have realized the “tithe” is better with more people in the pews. So often times the message gets watered down or more often the complete story is not given. People don’t want to hear that Levitical law says that same gender sex is not allowed. No we would rather hear a message that is all inclusive. Did God make homosexuals that way and were Paul’s abominations promiscuous relationships? Since Jesus “fulfilled” the Law we no longer have to consider it, except for tithing of course.
How did I get on that tangent? The point I was trying to make was if you water down the message then things like “thou shalt not spank” creep into society, hastening its decay. We need to learn the whole Bible and read it often, not just pick out the parts we like. This way when you are confronted with someone saying “your Bible condones slavery” you can answer them confidently.
FWIW “Indentured servitude” is “interpreted” as slavery in most versions of the Bible. It a huge difference when a “slave” comes into the transaction voluntary and has a path to “freedom” verses the bondage the Israelites escaped in Egypt. If one applies the definition of slavery from the late 1800’s to the Bibles use one can easily get a twisted view that God condones slavery.