Know this, that in the last days perilous (very difficult) times will come! When we look at the list that follows v. 1, we recognize that the last days are indeed here:
- People love only themselves and their money
- They are boastful and proud.
- They scoff at God.
- They are disobedient to their parents.
- They are ungrateful.
- They consider nothing sacred.
- They are unloving and unforgiving.
- The slander others.
- They have no self-control.
- They are cruel
- They hate what is good.
- They betray their friends.
- They are reckless.
- That are puffed up with pride.
- They love pleasure rather than God.
- They act religious, but reject the power that could make them godly.
vv. 6-9 warn us not to be deceived by false teachers such as those mentioned in v. 5. The women of Ephesus were particularly vulnerable to false teaching because they didn't have the advantage of an education and even their religious instruction was sadly lacking.
So that we don't end on a negative note, I will give you a little preview of the following verses. v. 10,
begins "But you, Timothy..." This gives us a hint of the fact that we don't have to live like the above mentioned people, and we don't have to be deceived by them! Praise the Lord!
Psalm 118:1-9
The subject of 2 Timothy 3--the last days--leads us right into what we see in Psalm 118! We are to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.
We may be tempted to be distressed when we watch the news and when we look around us. This psalm gives us the remedy for that. "In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear,. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me...It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people." vv. 5-8
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