In the Last Days Difficult Times Will Come
January 23, 2006
Dear Friends
There is a famous passage that occurs at the beginning of 2 Timothy 3. It says
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (vv. 1-5 NASB)
Ever since I was young boy I thought that this passage referred to the state of the world in the last days. Only recently have I concluded that this passage is not referring to the state of the world in the last days before Christ’s return, but, in fact, refers to the state of the ecclesia or body of believers (if you can call people such as these “believersâ€) prior to Christ’s return.
It seems to me that to list this set of qualities about people who do not follow the commands of Christ as a sign of the end is not helpful as these are timeless characteristics that describe the world. It is similar to saying that water is wet. For example, is it a dramatic sign that people in the world are brutal? Could that not as easily describe the days of Genghis Khan, the Inquisition or Nero as it does our time? Can we see a markedly dramatic increase in treachery or conceitedness now versus the days of Ivan the Terrible or Diocletian? The Kingdom of Men has forever been characterized by these attributes.
The best proof that this refers to the ecclesia is Paul’s counsel regarding how to handle these men. Paul tells us to “avoid such men.†Does this advice come up anywhere else in Paul’s writings? Absolutely. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul writes to the brethren about the man caught in an illicit relationship with his father’s wife. He tells them in verse 9, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people.†It was not the people of the world that did these things that Paul did not want the people associating with, but BRETHREN who acted in such a manner. He goes on to make this plain statement.
I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler–not even to eat with such a one.
It seems to me that Paul would be consistent in his message. His message is to avoid brethren who conduct themselves in such a fashion and an indicator of the Last Days would be that MANY brethren would begin to act in such a fashion. I believe Paul is saying that in the Last Days the state of the ecclesia would be such that it would be an obvious indicator of that the return of Jesus was very near. In the Last Days, the ecclesia would be so much like the world that it would be hard to distinguish one from the other.
If we have correctly discerned the intent of the Apostle Paul to mean that these worldly attributes are now an obvious part of Christ’s ecclesia, it makes sense to take a look at these characteristics individually and see what we can glean from them. Lord willing, we will do so next week.
Have a great week!
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