1But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, 4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
6They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. 9But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.
Terrible times, other versions state perilous times. Guzik states: The characteristics Paul will describe speak not of bad times, but of bad people. "We should note what the hardness or danger of this time is in Paul's view to be, not war, not famine or diseases, nor any of the other calamities or ills that befall the body, but the wicked and depraved ways of men." (Calvin)
Recently in the national news our small town of Gaylord MI made the headlines. Protesters disrupt town hall. Our newly elected congressman, a retired three star general was meeting his constituents for the first time. And there they were, half a dozen or less protesters, wearing hats symbolizing female genitalia chanting, "separation of church and state" interrupting the invocation prayer by a chaplain. The picture said it all, an elderly man snickering, who was sitting in front of a long bearded man (protestor) wearing a pink hat. Their folly was plain to everyone!
Let's read these characteristics again: lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, 4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth.
Do these protesters equate the description(s) of Paul? What about other men you see or read about in the news?
When these protesters disrupted the invocation prayer, were they respectful lovers of God?
Romans 13:1-2 NLT 1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.
Brethren, let us not rebel against authority, for that authority has been placed there by God. For God says through Paul, "they will be punished."
Blessings, David
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