“This
know also, that in the last days 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, trucerbreakers, false
accusers, incontinent,
fierce, dispisers 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.
For of this sort are they which creep into houses,
and lead captive
silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth.”
2 Timothy 3:1-7
INTRODUCTION
“There
is no detailed description inGod’s Word of what the world was likebefore the flood.Right?”Wrong!See
Genesis 6:5 and
6:11-13.
1
The
Lord Jesus Himself clearly stated, “And as it was in the
days ofNoah,
so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man.
They did eat, they
drank, they married wives,
they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark,
and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”Luke 17:26-27. See also Matthew
24:37-38,
CONFIRMATION
This
sounds almost exactly like what is
going on in the world today.And so it
is!
The
Apostle Paul was inspired of God to give to young Timothy a
detailed
description of how it would be in “the
last days” of this present dispensation.And we today are living in “the
last days.”Therefore,
we know
exactly how it was in the days before the flood.Just like it is
today!And
just how is it today?Let’s
take a closer look and see…..
2
Timothy 3:1-7
I
believe what 2 Timothy 3:16 says:“All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God…..”So this passage used for a text for this study
is definitely
inspired of God.And
what does it
say?.......
PERILOUS
TIMES
It
first says that “in the last days perilous times shall come…..”Don’t miss
that true believers (just like
Timothy) are to KNOW this as a fact of life, and a
Scriptural truth.
The
Greek word translated as “perilous” in
this Scripture, literally means DANGEROUS.Folks, this is the time we are living in today.Moral
conditions today have become so wicked
and depraved, that it is not safe for a man or woman to walk
through the streets
of a city alone at night.
2
Those
who make the mistake of doing so, are often attacked,
beaten, robbed, raped, or
even murdered by some wicked, lost, demonj possessed
unbelieiver.
After
stating that “the last days” would be times of great
danger, Paul then went on
to explain why these times would be dangerous…..
FOR
MEN SHALL BE……
“…..lovers
of their own selves…..”This means
self centered, selfish, “me first,” caring only for
themselves, and caring
nothing about the needs or the rights of others.Do we see this
characteristic displayed today
by many people?Well…??
“covetous”…..Always
wanting anything that someone else has; a nice house, a fine
car, wealth,
etc.
“boasters,
proud”…..Always boasting about themselves and their
accomplishments.They
claim to be more intelligent, and a
little above others around them, and they want everyone to
know it.
“blasphemers”…..They
feel
that they have no need of God.Just
look how capable they are of taking care of themselves.So when God,
Christ, and the Bible are
mentioned, they don’t hesitate to slander God, His Word, and
Christians who do
believe in God and the authority of His Word.Hello!
“disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy…..”Many
today who had Christian parents, who loved them enough to
bring them up in “the
nurture and admonition of the Lord
(Ephesians 6:4), have rebelled against the teachings
of their Christian
parents, and are living for the flesh, the world, and the
devil.They are
not thankful for the examples set
before them by their parents.I have
actually had some say to me, “I used to believe in God,
but…….”Drunks,
dopeheads, homosexual queers, and
yes, whores, are among those who were once brought up in
3
Christian
homes. There is a terrible price to be paid for such
apostasy and wickedness,
Matthew 10:28; 16:26; Romans 6:23.
“Without
natural affection.”…..It has been said in the past
that there is nothing
more beautiful than a “mother’s love” for her children.But that was then!Since 1973 women
in America have aborted
(murdered) some 63 million innocent unborn babies.Plus today
there are thousands of children
which have simply been abandoned by the mother who gave
birth to them.And
yes, there are daddies who spend no time
at all with their sons, and don’t want to be bothered with
them.
Look
around the large cities in America
today, and notice all of the homeless young people wandering
the streets, begging
for food or money to buy food, seeking a safe place to sleep
at night.Are
people really so morally bankrupt and STUPID,
that they think Almighty God
is not
going to bring judgment upon America for this, and yes, upon
the parents who
have lost their “natural affection” for their own babies and
children?Well…??
“trucebreakers…..”Why is the
situation in America, and also
in other nations of the world, like I have just described
it?One reason
is because the word of lost
unbelievers means next to nothing today.This is true in marriage vows, in employment, in
business, even in legal
contracts.It
is a rarity to find an
absolutely honest person today.Two
people will recite the sacred vows of marriage, go to bed
with one another a
time or two, decide they have made a mistake, then split,
and move on to the
next one.Didn’t
the Lord say in Luke
17:27, “they married wives”?Notice
that the word, “wives”
is
plural.More
than one, or even
many.It is a
common thing in business
transactions today for one or both of the parties involved
to lie, and break
the agreement they have made.Revelation
21:8 is still in the Bible!
“false
accusers, incontinent, fierce…..”When
a truce, vow, or
4
contract,
as stated above, is broken, then false accusations will
follow, as the parties
involved slander one another.Because of
the fallen “sin nature,” received from Adam (Romans 5:12),
most people today
have little to no control over their emotions.They will become fierecly angry when things just
don’t go as they
intended, or when their sins are exposed by the light of
God’s Word.Have
our readers noticed all of the shootings
going on today; in schools, malls, and public places; by a
person who has just
become “fed up,” and wanted to hurt someone else?
“despisers
of those that are good….”Now guess
who it is in the world today who is being referred to as
being “good”?This
description fits none
other than saved by grace, Bible believing, dedicated,
Christians.Oh
yes it does! It
is only those who have been made righteous
before God by faith in Christ, who are “good.”
Even
as I write, true believers in other
countries are being persecuted and even killed for standing
for Christ, and
teaching and preaching His Word.And
what is happening over there, is SOON COMING TO AMERICA!Now just how much
do our readers love the
Lord?Luke
12:4-5.
“Traitors,
heady, highminded…..”The “traitor”
is one who claims to believe God’s Word, but then when
tested, betrays “the
faith” by saying or doing something contrary to God’s Word.These are the
people who will rashly swallow
any dumb theory presented to them, while at the same time
consider themselves
to be highly intelligent.Sic!
“lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of
godliness, but denying
the power thereof…..” Ask most people in America
today if they are a
“Christian,” and they will quickly assure you that they believe in
God and Christ.End
of discussion!Now
just let Sunday roll around,andwhere
are
all of these people,who “profess”
5
to
be “believe in God?”
Where
are they?They
are packing the bleachers at some
“sports” event; ball game, football, hockey, golf, track,
auto racing, etc., rather
than being in church services seeking to love, honor,
worship, and serve the
Lord God whom they “profess.” Sports is one of the two
“gods” which most
Americans are serving today.The other
one is MONEY!These sporting
events today are often
attended by 60,000 people, when the average church today
struggles to even get
60 people to attend services.Something smells
very rotten here!
Yes,
these people are “religious.”They do indeed have “a form of godliness,” even while denying the
power of God.All of
their religious pretentions won’t buy them a drop of water
to cool their tongue
in Hell!
“For
of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead
captive silly women
laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.”
As
I write, cheap, dirty, back street affairs, are at an all
time high in
America.The
result is broken marriages,
broken homes, and broken lives.Not only
are some not ashamed of this, but some celebrities even brag
about it, and
publicly flaunt it.Sadly,
many of the
people who engage in such dirty affairs are “professing”
Christians.
“Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth.”
A
REPETITION OF THE DAYS OF NOAH
The
immoral conditions which exist in
America today, and also in the rest of the world, are
exactly like it was
preceding the flood in the “days of Noah.”The Lord Jesus Himself said so, Luke 17:26.
What
effect did these immoral conditions
have on Almighty God in “the days of Noah?”He was grieved, insulted, angry, enraged!, Genesis
6
6:5-7.After all,
God had created man in His own
image, after His own likeness, Genesis 1:26-27.And now mankind had come to such a state of
wickedness and evil!Therefore
God brought the JUDGMENT of the
flood upon mankind, sparing only “righteous” Noah and his
family.All the
rest of humanity was destroyed in the
flood.
Now
why would any honest reader think God
is pleased with this repetition of “the
days of Noah?”And
why would any
reader not understand that God will once again bring
JUDGMENT upon mankind for
such wickedness and evil as we see being carried out in the
world today?
THE
COMING JUDGMENT
However,
God always keeps His Word.In Genesis 8:21 the Lord God said that He
would never “smite
every living thing” again
as He did with the flood.Therefore God
has prepared a different kind of JUDGMENT for the wicked
living today.
It
is referred to by the Lord Himself as “great tribulation,”
Matthew 24:21.The
length of it will be seven years, and
when it ends there will be “few men left”
on the earth,
Isaiah 10:7; 24:6.This
terrible JUDGMENT is described in
detail in the vision given to John in the Book of
Revelation.
THE
GRACE AND MERCY OF GOD
This
is the bright spot!No
true believer will be left on the earth to
go through the terrible tribulation period.Christ paid the penalty for the believer’s sins with
His own blood, purchasing
us to Himself.Therefore,
there is no
judgment for the true believer to face, Romans 8:1.We who are true
believers will be removed
from off the face of the earth by the resurrection and
rapture, just before
the terrible tribulation begins on those wicked,
unbelieving, Christ rejectors,
LEFT BEHIND. Read
it for
7
yourself
in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.God has given to
us who are true believers a “blessed hope,” Titus
2:11-15, and that “blessed hope” is
just ready to be
fulfilled as I write.So…..
Is
the reader a true believer?Do you have the assurance of being saved by
the grace of God, Ephesians 2:8-10?Do you have a
longing in your heart; an eager
expectation for the coming of the Lord who loves you enough
that He purchased
your salvation with His own life’s blood?
Read
Romans 5:7-9, and give praise, worship, and LOVE to the Lord
who cared so much
for your soul and mine.Glory to God!
<<<<<<<O>>>>>>>
Dear
readers, I recently posted two studies, “An
Email – My Answer,” and “The Spectre
of Famine,” which
some readers
received, and some did not receive.My
computer is being monitored by someone, and some of my
studies are being
blocked.Any
reader who did not receive
these studies, but would like to have them, please send me a
correct postal
mailing address, and I will mail copies to you.
May
our gracious Lord bless every reader is my prayer.In the love of
Christ Jesus,
Pastor
F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd.. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401.My phone number,
for those who want to call,
is 573-202-6493, and my correct email address is nowfrancisriley1934@gmail.com
.