“This know also, that in the LAST DAYS (capitals mine) perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5

It seems like whenever the Signs of the Times are discussed regarding what will happen in the Last Days, we invariably talk about all the terrible global catastrophes that will be unleashed on this earth when God unleashes His Wrath. When Jesus was specifically asked by His disciples on the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24 & 25 what would be those signs of the end, He famously responded “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye not be troubled: for all these things must pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.” – Matthew 24:6-7.  Interestingly, before He proclaimed all these terrible Judgements which would be coming, He first said in Matthew 24:4, “And Jesus answered them and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” Lying will also be rampant in the End Times!

Like so many others interested in Bible prophecy, I have on a number of occasions also discussed how we are seeing these very issues happening today in unprecedented frequency and intensity. These calamitous events, along with the Book of Ezekiel’s prophesied End Times rebirth of the Nation of Israel in the End Times (which officially happened on May 14, 1948), tells us we are now seeing so many of these things happening today and highlights the incredible validity of what Jesus told His disciples. But, as someone who has studied Bible prophecy for decades and one who is old enough to have seen so many of these events foretold to be growing exponentially as expected, I am dumbstruck that so many of us have also missed one key prophecy rarely mentioned, and that is how people themselves will be changed from historical and cultural normal behavior in the Last Days.

In 2 Timothy above we have a very clear description of what people will be like in the Last Days. In talking to so many of my friends who have also  witnessed these personal changes in so many of their friends and family and seeing what we are being deluged with every day in the news and in the world, I believe we can all agree there is a major cultural change occurring today in how people behave. And, I don’t believe many of us view this positively! As a Baby Boomer whose parents lived through the Great Depression and whose mother and father BOTH served as officers in the Navy and Air Force (known then as the Army Air Corp) in World War II, I can tell you that they probably looked at my generation as hippees, who were addicted to “sex, drugs and rock and roll”. What I sincerely doubt is they would have labeled us with the attributes Paul describes above. Why are we different? We respected our parents. We went to church. We were taught we must work hard for what we wanted. This is not being egotistical on behalf of the Baby Boomers but I truly feel for all of our weaknesses, we still held on to most of the positive cultural values taught to us by the Greatest Generation, our parents and grandparents.

So why would people today depart from the history and culture of their families, country, religion, etc. and attempt to cancel out what others say?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4

As Hal Lindsey recently said in his newsletter “Many of the generation born between 1981 and 1996 have eschewed traditional careers in favor of the so-called gig economy. Millennials have been called—with some debate—the narcissistic generation for having grown up with adulation at their every accomplishment, and it’s an interesting question as to whether they are products of parenting, technology, or society, which has undergone so many changes in the past half-century.”

Paul, in 2 Timothy outlines what people “…in the last days” will become. Remember, this is during the “…perilous times which will come.” What the Bible teaches us is not only will we see all of these terrible occurrences but they will be made even worse with a change in the very makeup of people’s behavior.  I would like to take each of these attributes individually and break them down to exactly what we are witnessing happening today. To make sure I don’t misinterpret the wording, I went through the dictionary to find out exactly what the words mean. While the dictionary does simplify the meaning, it does not change the context of what was prophesied:

1. Men shall be lovers of their own selves – call it being narcistic, or egotistical but  it is defined as “A mental disorder with exaggerated feelings of self-importance, but low self-esteem.” In the Last Days people will highly inflate their own worth in order to be accepted into society but deep down they won’t really have the self esteem to justify those feelings. In other words, they will believe they have all it takes to succeed without the record of achievement or concentrated effort. If they believe they are right on issues, then anyone who disagrees with them is not as highly rated in their worth. Those they disagree with are cancelled!
2. Covetous – “having or showing a great desire to possess something belonging to someone else.” Again, a search for the word “covetous” basically says the people will want to possess what fundamentally belongs to someone else. This is a clear violation of the last of the 10 Commandments, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.” This is breaking God’s Law! Here it is important to know that if your neighbor just got a brand new car for example, you still have every ability to go buy your own new car. However, wanting that car without working and saving for it is wrong!
3. Boasters – “talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities.” I don’t know about you but what I have seen so far is a self-centeredness of the description of people living in the Last Days. They love themselves. They want what their neighbors have. And, they brag about what they have or what they have done. They brag about how “woke” they are! In today’s social world of Twitter and Facebook, and they have no problem making judgments on that which they have no proof. That is deceit! I think it is interesting in the definition they do this with excessive pride, meaning much more than is warranted for what they actually have done or believe.
4. Proud – “having or showing a high or excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance”. Again, there appears to be an intentional  miscalculation of ones deeds, thoughts, values, etc. They think what they believe supersedes that of everyone else. Give them a global audience through Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, etc. and what you see is an overwhelming display of misguided opinions that anywhere else would be viewed as lies. But, write it on Twitter however and it automatically becomes fact!
5. Blasphemers – “speak irreverently about God or sacred things.” When I was growing up, to use the Lord’s name in vain was considered wrong. While it is still wrong today as always, there is no remorse when so many more people use His Name in vain so often. Even children today use His Name and are not rebuked by their parents for saying it. With church attendance down substantially (from 70% 20 years ago to less than 50% today), the Lord is blamed for so many things happening in the world with no understanding they themselves are causing many of the problems as part of His Wrath. All they know is bad stuff is happening and a bad, invisible god must be to blame!
6. Disobedient to parents – “refusing to obey rules or someone in authority.” As I said above, my mother was an Officer in the Navy during World War II. Part of her uniform included a leather belt which hung in her closet as long as my brothers, my sister and I lived at home. Any time one of us did something wrong, she would say “Do I need to get the belt?” I don’t honestly recall ever getting spanked with the belt but just the fear of disobeying her rules was enough to keep us from getting spanked. Today, it seems more and more children are not only rebellious to their parents rules and wishes but the parents accept the modern day notion that for some reason punishing a child is wrong. This leads the children to believe there are no consequences to their disobedient actions.
7. Unthankful – “not feeling or showing pleasure, relief, or gratitude.” In a world today where there are so many things to be thankful for, there appears to be desire for even more. As “covetous” is mentioned above, not only do they want more, they are unthankful for what they actually do get. Part of the government’s recent spending spree sent checks to single people, still working, making $75,000 a year and couples making less than $150,000 a year. Instead of being thankful for what they got that they didn’t even need (most of it was put into savings or used to buy non-essential items) they actually believed they should have gotten more. How many used their checks to buy food for the poor? Very, very few!
8. Unholy – “sinful; wicked.” With the Holy Word of God we have been given His Law by which we are to live. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t covet your neighbors things. Don’t have sex outside of marriage. Etc. etc. Only by knowing His Law, given to us in the Bible, can we attempt to overcome our sinful nature. But, guess what? If you do not believe in what the Bible says, and you haven’t asked Jesus to forgive your sins, you only can become more sinful and wicked. With the numbers of people identifying as Christian decreasing dramatically over the past couple of decades, the credibility of the Bible’s prophecies coming true today is all the more evident as sin increases exponentially. Even people who do not identify as Christian will attest to how sinful this world is becoming.
9. Without natural affection – “a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.” Natural affection can usually be construed as a symbol of a good person. When people in the Last Days are said to be without that natural affection we must assume just the opposite will become true. People will not like or be fond of any number of issues. This lack of affection results in behavior that resembles hate. They won’t like anything but will rather disagree and hate all that disagree with their view of the world. In this state, there can never be compromise if their feelings are only one sided. When all they see in a person or issue is by their definition bad, their hatred and disliking of that is all they can go by.
10. Trucebreakers – “an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time.” Some may believe this is purely about agreements between countries or political parties. While there no doubt is a resemblance of this in behavior between many warring factions, the fact remains today it seems agreements are absolutely meaningless and only matter when both sides get what they want. Since that appears to be  rare, “truces” are broken more than they are kept. While this can pertain to country borders, it can also apply to discussions or civil discourse on marital, corporate, friendship, parental or other issues. When someone is convinced they are right and the other is wrong, it is just a matter of time until their “agreement” is broken.
11. False accusers – “a person who claims that someone has committed an offense or done something wrong.” In today’s world of the news media, Twitter, Facebook, etc. the actual lying (or deceit) has increased incredibly. Of course there have always been “false accusers” but today it is so rampant with almost zero consequence for misleading us. Social media allows anyone to post anything they want and never bear the consequences for their lies. All one has to do is look at lies on political figures that were propagated by the main stream media, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and the outcome of those lies. Where is the justice for the innocent? Yet, most in the world today, if they read an accusation in the news or on social media, believe it until it is proven wrong. The problem is someone pointing to the truth either does not have the platform to rebuke the lies or is censored by those reporting the lies. Yes, I believe we can all agree this has dramatically increased in our lifetimes.
12. Incontinent – “lacking self-restraint; uncontrolled.” To be fair, the first description of “incontinent” in the dictionary refers to the inability to control one’s urination or defecation. While some may argue this is what people in the Last Days will be like, I prefer the second description which says people will be lacking self-restraint and will be uncontrolled. Of course, I think most of us today again would agree as we witness the riots going on in our streets, cities and even our capitol, many people appear to be rebelling in a way where they do not seem to exhibit any self-restraint. Either they see no negative consequence to their actions because so many others have done the same and gotten away with it or they simply have not had the proper parental guidance to tell them what they can and cannot do. Either way, so many people today appear to be willing to do anything they want to do.
13. Fierce – “having or displaying an intense or ferocious aggressiveness.” Like so many of the other traits listed, people today appear to be far more fierce and aggressive than people in the past. I recently watched an unbelievable video of a 65 year old woman being beaten by a man who had killed his own mother. This woman was simply walking down the street when she was attacked, shoved to the ground and kicked in the head. This was not simply two people getting into an argument. This was a ferocious attack on an elderly woman for no reason, one that was done with incredible aggression. Watching all the riots last summer, we all saw that repeated time and time again. People just seem to have lost their love for their neighbors, their fellow countrymen. Instead of discussion or compromise, they resort to fierce violence.
14. Despisers of those that are good – “feel contempt or a deep repugnance for.” All men have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. We are all sinners and without the Gift of Salvation offered us by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are all destined for eternal damnation. However, as a Christian, I pray for those who have not yet received His gift and like others, I feel we must try to do what God wants us to do. That is not to be bad! That is to be good! Who hates us if we are good? Satan! If a person does not believe what the Bible tells us and are not saved, they of course will follow the will of the devil and hate all who long to bring more people to know Jesus. I can tell you in writing this blog, I am still amazed at how many very bad people for some reason scroll through blogs on Bible prophecy and use the worst language you can imagine for us “bad” Christians. Their hatred of us is real and deep! But, as the Bible says, “from them turn away”.
15. Traitors – “a person who betrays a friend, country, principle, etc.” What motivates a traitor to betray their friends, family, country, etc.? I can only imagine it is because they disagree with the direction we are headed and are willing to do what is necessary to ensure their belief is victorious. Of course this turning on a family member could be considered worthwhile IF what they are planning goes against the basic tenets of Scripture. Obviously, if your brother is planning to attack a church or building in a terrorist attack and you warn the police, some may view this as you being a traitor. But if it is right and saves lives, it will be applauded by most. The question in context of this discussion is whether people today recognize that difference or do they only act/react based on their personal beliefs regardless of whether it is right or wrong.
16. Heady – “having a strong or exhilarating effect.” Behavior can give a strong or heady feeling. So can drugs or alcohol. But, believing you are right and the world is wrong and working to correct the ills of the world can give the person an exhilarating effect. Of course this assumes that what the person believes is right. I am sure there are people who have believed by killing certain people they are making the world a better place. When they fulfill their dreams, I am sure they are “heady”. That does not mean what they did was right. Somewhere there must be included a moral compass. What we are seeing today in so many people who believe what they are doing is good for all, is not necessarily good but the person feels it is and thus, get very excited by what they have done. Just think of what has happened to the U.S. immigration system in just the past few months. Many on the left believe what they have done by opening the border is a very good thing. That doesn’t make it the right thing for them to have done. Remember, there are laws!
17. Highminded – “having strong moral principles” Here it is absolutely critical to define “moral”. Just because someone believes what they are doing is morally right does not make it morally right. Somewhere there must be a guiding principal by which we can all judge our actions. For Believers in Jesus, it is easy. He in many places tells us what is morally right. If someone is not a Christian, they may say everything in the constitution and law allows them to judge morals. Of course the law says abortion is legal but the Bible adamantly states killing of babies (as in the worship of Baal) is wrong. So, what moral principles are being used today to guide people? You are right, for most people it is not the Bible but rather their own interpretation of what the law says.
18. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God – “a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.” Another different prophecy in the Bible (Revelation 2 & 3) pertains to the seven Christian churches during the entire Church Age. I wrote about this in Have You Ever Attended a Laodicean Church? Hopefully, you never will!! This is the final “Christian” church still in existence before the Wrath of God is unleashed upon this world. Even though they claim to be Christian, as Jesus Himself said, “You are neither hot nor cold. Because you are lukewarm I will spit you out of my mouth.” In other words, during the period of the last of the 7 churches, people will be lukewarm to Christianity and more interested in their own personal pleasures. With church attendance declining rapidly and fewer and fewer people (especially younger people)  identifying as Christian, this is a very clear indicator that we are today living in the Last Days.
19. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof – “the quality of being devoutly religious; piety.” Again, while the message of the Bible is out there fewer and fewer people are devoutly religious. They have given up on the Word of God and instead placed their faith in the World. They know about religions but have no desire to participate, but instead they deny the power of Christian beliefs. In 1976, nearly 40% of Americans said the Bible was the actual word of God and should be taken literally. Today, only 25% of Americans believe that. The vast majority believe the Bible is a collection of fables, history and tales written by men unmoved by God’s Will.

And what should we as Christians do with these folks?

1. From such turn away – “to refuse admittance or acceptance to.” Nowhere does the Bible tell us to not witness to others about the story of Jesus Christ and His Gift of Salvation. All of us as Christians have the responsibility to tell others of God’s Grace to each of us. Again, yes we are all sinners! But God has given us the ability to pardon our sins through Him. All we must do is repent, ask for forgiveness and recognize ONLY through the death and Resurrection of Jesus on the Cross can we be saved. That MUST be our message to all. What this final statement in the above Scripture is telling us is DO NOT accept the lies and deception that will be thrown at us, perhaps by our friends and family but rather “turn away” from it. We can’t make someone believe but we can educate them enough that if they recognize the Holy Spirit, not you or me, is talking directly to them, they will be saved. What if they don’t accept His message of Grace?

“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship the devils, and idols of gold, and silver and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thefts.”

Revelation 9:20-21

Even more than that, we know from the Book of Revelation God will send Two Witnesses to evangelize the entire world for 3 1/2 years. They will be given power to perform miracles, including showing the non-believers what will come if people do not follow His Will. At the end of the 3 1/2 years they will be allowed to be killed; their bodies will lay in the streets of Jerusalem and the entire world will see them (impossible for the entire world to witness this prior to satellite TV even though it was prophesied 2,000 years ago!). What will the people do when they see them laying dead? They will party!

“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

Revelation 11:9-10

If you do not believe, you will be treated severely. If you do believe, you will be instead treated with goodness:

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

Romans 11:22

Again, the Glory and Grace of God with the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, who paid the price for our sins, is very clear in the Bible. We are to speak. We are to exhort. We are to rebuke with His authority.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

Titus 2:11-15

Once we take ourselves out of the limelight and humble our very existence before the God that Created us, we can come to know Him, to Believe His Holy Word and accept Jesus Christ died for us so we won’t be subject to the eternal damnation foretold to await those who reject Him in favor of Satanic beliefs. It is comforting to know God so loved us that He gave us this path to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Like it says in the above Scripture, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.” This is yet another commandment by God to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” Please join me in telling others of all the wonderful Promises God has made to every single person on this earth. Do it and one day you also will hear Jesus say to you “Well done good and faithful servant.”

I can’t wait! May God Bless you as you tell others of His Gift to us!