- [Narrator] One of Paul's prophecies begins
in an unusual way for Scripture,
"Know this," he says,
"that in the last days perilous time shall come."
2nd Timothy 3:1.
Know this, usually the word of God simply says,
"This is the way it will be."
But Paul is so concerned
that we should have no misconception of the last days,
that he says, "Know this."
In other words, he says "Be aware of this."
Here is an absolutely established fact
that can not be changed by prayer,
supplication or other activities.
It is going to happen, so acknowledge this fact.
This gives us an idea of the meaning of this revelation
in the eyes of Paul.
And as we shall see,
the image he paints is not a pleasing one.
The word translated perilous occurs in only one other place
in the New Testament, Matthew 8:28.
Matthew 8:28.
"And when he was come to the other side, into the country
of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed
with devils coming out of the tombs,
exceedingly fierce so that no man might pass by that way."
This verse describes to demonized the men
from the region called Gadara,
who confront Jesus after he crosses the Sea of Galilee
and to portrays them as exceedingly fierce.
I would say
that this is how serious the passage in 2nd Timothy is.
We are living in fierce times
and they are going to get fiercer as things get worse.
In fact,
it won't be so much about things that get worse than people.
People will deteriorate
if they give in to the pressure to turn away from God.
One of the main sources
of pressure is the progressive deterioration
of human character.
The rise of the occult, a major root cause of times
getting fiercer in the end times will be the operation
of a cult power.
That is exactly where we are today.
The occult has come into the public eye.
It is not difficult to see that the forces
of the occult are increasing,
the boldness, the arrogance,
the claims to superiority.
Their use is aggressive and active on a scale
that would have been unthinkable years ago.
It is a fulfillment of prophecy.
Believers will be snared
by the supernatural satanic pressure.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils."
1st Timothy 4:1
Abandoning the faith refers to Christians
under intense satanic demonic pressure.
Some Christians are deceived by demons
and turn away from the faith.
In 2nd Timothy 3, Paul explains further.
"Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses,
so do these also resist the truth.
Men of corrupt minds disapproved concerning the faith"
verse eight
The two names Jannes and Jambres referred
to two magicians in Egypt
who resisted and opposed Moses and Aaron.
The conflict was not engaged in the natural.
It was not a physical or even theological conflict.
This battle was fought on the supernatural plane.
And talking about Jannes and Jambres
in relation to the last days,
Paul is warning us today about the occult,
the satanic supernatural,
the lying wonders.
2nd Thessalonians 2:9.
This spiritual conflict is similar
to what happened when Moses and Aaron
came before Pharaoh and said,
"Let God's people go."
See Exodus 7:1-12.
"Pharaoh replied, "What sign can you show
that this message is from God?
Moses told Aaron to cast off his staff
and the rod became a serpent before their eyes."
You might think that that would be proof enough,
but it wasn't.
The Pharaoh called his magicians.
And the Scripture say
that they threw down their rods,
which also became serpents.
The sign was supernatural, but satanic.
Thankfully this is not the end of the story.
What happened next?
Aaron snake devoured the Egyptian snakes.
Imagine this, the magicians walked away with empty hands
because they now had no rods
but Aaron staff was thicker and stronger than ever.
Let us not deceive ourselves
the battle for our lives in these last days
will be just as fierce.
It will not just be a matter of theology or doctrine,
it will be a question of who has the power of God.
This was predicted almost 2000 years ago
and the prediction has not changed.
Note that Paul uses the word corrupt
when he mentioned people like Jannes and Jambres.
There are two indisputable principles
in relation to corruption.
Corruption is progressive
it does not get better.
It always gets worse.
And all corruption is irreversible.
There is no way to turn back it's working.
I believe these principles can be applied
well to the world situation.
Corruption in the world is progressive,
it never gets better.
It gets worse.
And it is irreversible.
There is no way to roll back the corruption process.
Paul says,"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse
and worse deceiving and being deceived."
2nd Timothy 3:13.
Other translations refer to this as evil men and imposters.
The Greek word for evil men and imposters
is enchanters or whalers.
It speaks of people who work magic by conjuring and howling.
This is how we see the progress of corruption.
Those ensnared by evil will grow worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived.
Nobody is more successful in deception
than someone who is deceived himself.
When he truly believes his own deception
he speaks with assurance.
Now that fact may discourage us.
That would be one way to respond to that.
But the other way to respond would be to thank God
because it proves the Bible is true.
We can also thank God because the folly of those
who are deceived is revealed to all,
as is the folly of Jannes and Jambres.
Sometimes people want an excuse not to believe the Bible.
I don't want to be a Christian.
There are too many hypocrites in the church.
When I hear this, I reply,
"That may be true, but the New Testament tells us
that there will be hypocrites in the church.
So their presence does not prove that the Bible is false.
It proves that it is true.
That's just one more reason to become a Christian."
We may think these messages are negative and dark
but they prove that the Bible is true.
Even if we can believe the darkness that it promises
we can believe the light that it promises.
However, the point is that we cannot be selective.
Every word of God is pure.
No word of God can be left aside.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, even though I do not understand
what you are doing in my life
I praise you for your faithfulness and power.
If I am disappointed, I will remember your unwavering love
help me to trust that you will order my steps.
According to your ideal plan for my life.
You are my fateful shepherd.
Give me the grace I need to trust in your direction.
Thank you for the doors you open
and for the doors you close.
Console and strengthen my heart today.
When discouragement and doubt come help me to believe
that you have good plans to bring blessings into my life.
Allow me to take heart
while I wait for you to answer my prayers.
Lord, take me by the hand and lead me
down the path that you have chosen for me.
Show me when it's time to wait.
And when I have to move on.
Thank you for your faithful and unwavering love.
I will rest on that today.
In Jesus's name.
Amen.