Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
February 22, 1987
The Last Days
2 Timothy 3:1-5, NIV
"Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days."
People have always been fascinated about what the future will hold. Usually it is seen as being pretty grim. On television this week, ABC gave its version of what the future of America could be like. They called it Amerika with a "K". It has received more publicity, controversy and criticism than any other mini-series. Even the Soviet Union and the United Nations have condemned it. My own criticism is much milder - I thought it was boring.
It was also hard to swallow. There's no way the United States would meekly roll over and let the Russians take charge. If they did take charge, there would be far more violence. We think of the Lebanese as being horrible terrorists. What would our people do? We wouldn't hijack planes. We would set off hydrogen bombs.
Hollywood's version of the last days is only a pale reflection of what will really take place. Jesus said that before he returns to rule the earth, there will be a great tribulation. He said it will be so terrible no one would survive unless God shortens the time. The last days will be a time of total rebellion against God and everything he stands for.
What will the Tribulation really be like? Most of us have images of global war and concentration camps. All this may be true, but it's not the key. According to the Apostle Paul, the key element will be the people. Rotten people. They will be so rotten; he has to use nineteen adjectives to describe them.
I am sure you would like me to spend fifteen minutes on each one, but it really isn't necessary. But I'm going to bring out the main points. The key word in verses two and four is "love". In Greek it occurs four times. These people will be lovers of themselves. Second, they will be lovers of money. (The King James translates this as covetous) Third, in verse 4, they will be lovers of pleasure. And finally, they will not be lovers of God.
Themselves, money, pleasure. But not God. All of the other horrible traits are bracketed by these four loves because the other traits are the consequences of misdirected love. The Bible is very clear about the priorities for love. It has come to be called the Golden Rule:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself."
Notice the order: love God, then your neighbor, then yourself. In the last times the order will be reversed. People will love themselves. They will be totally self-centered. Notice some of the traits in verse 2 - boasters, proud, blasphemers. A blasphemer is not just someone who curses God. It also applies to those who put down other people. All they can focus on is themselves.
It you only love yourself, it's hard to love your neighbor. Most of the rest of the terms describe the breakdown in relationships. One of them really stands out: disobedient to parents. Kids have always rebelled against their parents. But only in America have they taken them to court, as happened recently in California. A young man didn't like how his parents raised him, so he sued them. Other kids have filed for divorce from their parents. (Mine do that, and they'll pay me alimony.)
These are extreme cases. But you don't have to look far to see that respect within families is evaporating. What comes next in the list? "Ungrateful." Why give thanks if you deserve everything you can get? We know about ungrateful kids. Ungrateful adults are even worse. We take advantage of every benefit our great nation has to offer, but boy, do we grump when we have to give something in return. It's one point the television mini-series made well - we don't appreciate what we have, because we haven't lost it yet.
I could go on. Instead, I will read the rest of the descriptions:
"Unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited."
When we put ourselves on the throne of our life, relationships with other people are not the only thing affected. Above all, we affect our relationship with God. As verse four says, we become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Self-centeredness suffocates any closeness we may have with God. Our lusts and conceits get in the way. Looked at from eternity, you'd have to be a fool to let temporary pleasure ruin our changes for everlasting life in heaven, but millions do just this.
Paul's list of sins is long but believable. The seedier parts of big cities are filled with people like this. But Paul is not looking at big city ghettos. He is looking at churches, as verse five makes clear. The evil people he has descried have a form of godliness. This means they at least go through the motions. They attend services, put something in the plate, mention that they believe in God, and above all, they present a good appearance. They have the form. But they don't have the power. It's all hollow. Where there is disobedience to God's will, where there is arrogant self-centeredness, there is no spiritual power. This condition already exists in churches because there is so little evidence of truly changed lives. The Gospel is supposed to be different.
When you accept Christ as your Savior, you are also taking him as your Lord. Or you'll have the form without the power. The Bible claims salvation results in a new creation. You are made by God into a new person. It takes time, but if it doesn't happen, something is wrong with your commitment.
People will always be religious. It is amazing how little it can have to do with morality. Jesus himself warned religious people "on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:28). Is it enough to be partially clean? Isn't a little religion better than none at all? No. If you're not truly converted, you're better off as an honest pagan.
You probably aren't aware of it, but this sermon has undergone a switch. It began with a focus on the last days, just before Jesus returns. I have ended up talking about people in our pews today. There's a reason for this. Paul does it himself. In verse one he mentions the last days, and says perilous times shall come. But in verse five he concludes: have nothing to do with them. It is obvious he thought of those people as living in his own day. The whole New Testament speaks of the Last Days as being a present fact.
We are in the Last Days now. As one example, Hebrews 1:1-2 says:
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers . . . but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...."
The last days began with the ministry of Jesus. So far they have lasted 2,000 years. During this period, evil will eventually gain control. There will be times when it flares up unexpectedly. That's why Paul says in verse one, terrible times will come. He is warning us to be ready for turmoil, which will someday be universal. But the church in various parts of the world is getting a taste of it right now. Uganda is one of the choicest countries in Africa. It has been called the pearl of the continent. But they have not been able to enjoy it. Back in the 1970's a dictator named Idi Amin took over. He would eat dinner while prisoners were tortured in from of him. It was even rumored that prisoners were his dinner.
Many of those who suffered were Christians. Amin was kicked out, but chaos took over. Churches were destroyed as guerilla armies fought back and forth. Most of the soldiers in the current government are 14 to 15 years old, according to Newsweek magazine. For emphasis, skulls are stacked at road intersections. The end will be a lot like Uganda. Not just the conditions - the people...
[Invitation]
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Typed on January 14, 2005, by Wendy Ventura of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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