HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN THE LAST DAYS After providing 18 differing yet related traits and behaviour patterns, comparable to the behaviour of the world at large, Paul shows how outwardly these “Christians” appear religious and in right standing, but their actions illustrate they are living a lie. Their behaviour is evidence of a lack of regeneration with no evidence of the saving faith in Jesus Christ. These are Christians who want to be religious, but also wish to remain in their sins. Paul explains next exactly how this false belief creeps into the fabric of Christianity. “For among them are those who creep into households and take captive weak-willed women weighed down with sins , led away by various passions and pleasures , always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth ”, (2 Timothy 3:6-7). You will notice that Paul is explaining how corrupt men are at the forefront of this corruption and degeneration in the behaviour of believers. These are no other than pastors, teachers and leaders in both cults and within the broader church. They are certainly much closer to home than you may think as it can be rather tricky to identify them. They may well speak of the Bible, Jesus and even the Holy Spirit. According to Jesus words these workers of lawlessness may well be deliverance ministers, people who perform miraculous works, (faith healers) and those who prophecy falsehoods in His name, (false prophets), (Matthew 7:21-23). Now back to Paul’s letter. These false teachers he describes as being extremely subtle. The word “creep” or “ worm ” shows their deliberate manipulative nature. It appears that it is not by accident that these false teachers become entrenched in households, as the creeping nature reminds us of the movement of a snake. It is simply a repeat of history, where the first woman in Eve, was deceived subtly by the serpent, who had gained her confidence while Adam was away. Since a woman has significant sway in the household, these false teachers prey off “ weak-willed ”, also described as gullible women. They are also influenced when the husband is not around, just as in the case of Adam. It is important to note that this is not every woman, as they have specific traits themselves. First and foremost is that they are “ weighed down with sins ” and led away from the truth, “ by various passions and pleasures ”. In other words, they are particularly vulnerable due to their sinful nature. They do not necessarily want to let go of their sins, so they constantly seek something new and exciting. It is for this reason that they are “ ever learning ”, but “ never able to come to the knowledge of truth ”. As they seek relief from their sins, they latch on to any teaching, doctrine or religious novelty that leads them further away from the truth. So, what is this “ knowledge of truth ”, Paul is speaking about? It is simply that Jesus is the only way to receive salvation. He is “ the way, the truth and the life ”, (John 14:6). Since they are weak willed and have no desire to repent of their sins, they are led away by false teachings. Instead of conviction of their sins and repentance in humility, they have itchy ears. Let us now see what example Paul provides as comparable. “Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses , so do these also resist the truth : m en of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith ; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all , as theirs also was”, (2 Timothy 3:8-9). Now it is here that Paul provides us with information concerning those who resisted Moses. It is evident that these names “ Jannes and Jambres ” were two of the wise Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses, (Exodus 7:11). In Jewish tradition, these two men pretended to become Jewish converts. They were even involved in the worship of the golden calf, but were later killed with the other idolaters, (Exodus 32). Interestingly, the name “Jannes” means “ who speaks or answers ” while the name “Jambres” means “ poverty, bitter or a rebel ”. Just like the women who sort after anything to avoid giving up their sins, these men were corrupt. The word for “disapproved” is the same Greek word meaning “debased” which means useless or worthless. This word is normally associated with God handing men over for judgement. The presence of bad traits amongst Christians in the last days is a reflection of what we are being taught. Many “Christians” choose to believe false teachers, false prophets and pastors who do not want to confront sin or their need for repentance and salvation. Paul, a few verses later says: “ But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived ”, (2 Timothy 3:13). Jesus described the last days as “ birth pains ”, where He actually describes “ deception ” as being the very first sign of living in the last days. He even says that these deceivers, will “ come in His own name ”, (Matthew 24:4). Just like birth pains it is mentioned on another five occasions, showing its increase in intensity, (Matthew 24:5,11,23, 24 & 26). Paul warns us about the times when the Day of the Lord, as being a time of deception. He says: “ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come u ntil the falling away occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction” – 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Echoed in the book of Revelation, this deception reaches maturity when the antichrist and the ultimate false prophet join hands in deceiving the entire world, (Revelation 13). It is at this point that God reveals His wrath upon the entire world. No peoples, tribes, or nations will be exempt from this time of catastrophe. This is why Paul introduced the nature of human behaviour and its infiltration into the church and the hearts and minds of believers as “ grievous times ”, (2 Timothy 3:1). The fact that the 18 listed sins is already amongst us, shows how many are being deluded into false doctrines. Do not think for a second that this is just referring to cults out there outside the realm of the established church. There are mega churches, channels on television devoted with satisfying itchy ears. They teach God’s love, blessings and grace, avoiding the topic of sin and God’s judgement. There are best selling Christian authors and Christian teachers telling us how Jesus loves us and just wants to pour His blessings upon us. They describe Jesus as a begger, imploring us to come to Him. We know we have made it when we are living a life of health, wealth with no strife. Be ever watchful. They take on the appearance of “ being alive, but are dead ”, (Revelation 3:1). They forget that Jesus did not come into this world to condemn it, but to save it, as we were all already dead in our sins. They teach, to please their adherents, that God is full of love, mercy and grace omitting the fact that He is a righteous judge, who detests sin and has appointed a day for the judgement of the entire human race. Then there are many churches who replace Jesus with the church itself, glorifying clergy and honouring men, as opposed to glorifying God through Jesus Christ. Perhaps of equal importance, one who teaches a false gospel eliminates the need for repentance. Jesus said: “ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish ”, (Luke 13:3). In the message to the seven churches, five of them were told to repent, or face the consequences, (Revelation, chapters 2-3). The desires of your heart cannot change without God stepping in. When you show contrition for your sins and call upon the Lord to save you, Jesus steps in and gives you a heart with new desires. In these dark times, know that Jesus still saves. Keep looking up. If you are faithful to turn from and confess your sins, He will change your life. More importantly, He will save it! THE DAYS OF NOAH Although things get rather evil, there remains a silver lining. In this same prophecy, known as the Olivet Discourse, He describes: “ Just as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be . For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage , until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away , so also will the coming of the Son of Man be”, (Matthew 24:37-39). You would notice that Jesus described mankind as going about as if everything was normal. They were more concerned with their own lives in “ eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage ” than in the warnings of coming judgement. Just as Noah had preached to the unbelieving around him, while building the ark, (2 Peter 2:5), they both scoffed and ignored him. It is interesting that there are many, even in the Christian faith, who scoff at the Biblical record of the world being deluged in the great flood. Many challenge this record even limiting its extent to the Mesopotamian region. Those who trust in the Word of the Lord, know that when Jesus confirms something, it is true as He simply cannot lie. The flood was universal and the world was repopulated by only those who were secured from judgement in the ark. In an attempt to appease they scoff at this record. Just as in Noah’s day, the world will in the future fall suddenly into judgement where many will be destroyed. Why? Because they were indifferent to both God and His commandments. But this raises a further question: “ what was the world like in Noah’s day ”? The account in Genesis of the great flood, describes the entire world as being “ corrupt ”, “ filled with violence ”, with “ wickedness of men being great ” and that “t he intent and thoughts of the heart were continually evil “, (Genesis 6:5-13). This unceasing reckless behaviour caused God to grieve in His heart. It is evident that man had no regard for Him, as the Creator, nor were willing to listen. Peter, likewise used the flood of Noah’s day emphasizing human behaviour in the “ last days ”. He first implores believers to “ be mindful of the words of the prophets ” and also to “ the commandments of the Lord ”, (2 Peter 3:1-2). He illustrated that in the last days, their will be a lack of desire to live lives of honour before the Lord. Things will be exceedingly bad as unbelievers will mock believers warnings while they walk “ according to their own lusts ”, (2 Peter 3:3). He describes mankind as “ wilfully forgetting ” that previously when violence and wickedness engulfed the world, the wicked were completely destroyed by the waters in Noah’s day. He finally warns everyone that, while the world in Noah’s day was judged with water, the world will ultimately be destroyed with “fire” until all ungodly men are completely eliminated. THE DAYS OF LOT Jesus used both the analogy of Noah, but also associated the last days as being much like the “days of Lot” in an earlier teaching recorded in the Gospel of Luke: “ Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot : They ate, t hey drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built ; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all . Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed”, (Luke 17:28-30). You will notice that it is pretty much the same in one sense, in that they “ drank, bought, sold, planted and built ” as if life was normal. But it was not! The similarity is that they believed they were not accountable for their actions and carried on with everyday life. Of course, the second similarity with the account of Noah, is that the residents of the town, were completely destroyed. This time by fire and brimstone, only sparing Lot and his two daughters who were removed from the town. They did not see the coming judgement as they had no regard for the Lord. But there is something which makes the account of Lot different. According to the Bible, what was the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah? Or what were the days of Lot like? In both the Old and New Testament the central theme of Sodom’s time was associated with sexual sin. It is believed that the sexual revolution was prevalent in Sodom and spread to nearby towns. The name Sodom means “ anal penetration ” and it is evident that this was one of the chief sins of this city, (Leviticus 20:13-16). After all, from this time the city was Sodom and its residents were known as Sodomites. But i t was also not just homosexuality . The prophet Ezekiel describes the Sodomites as being guilty of “ pride ”, of “ being idle ” and “ not assisting those in need ”, (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Jude described their sins as being “ sexually immoral ” and of a " strange nature ". So there are some clear similarities and differences between Noah and Lots days. If we merge the two accounts we gain a complete understanding as to the depravity of human nature and their behaviour which brings about the last days. The sin of pride, being idle, have no regard for fellow man, being sexually immoral, violent and promoting lawlessness are the chief sins. Clearly the ultimate sin is having no regard for the Lord or His warnings of coming judgement. Because of this, they are taken completely unawares, and they do not see the coming global storm. In both cases, these sins became the norm of society and anybody who spoke against it were silenced, mocked or ridiculed. This is one of the reasons many Christians believe we are living in the last days. There has never been a generation which has experienced the multiplication of these sins across the world, since the times of Noah and Lot. Those who profess their faith in Christ are either persuaded to allow the “norms”, accept them or are ridiculed and cast aside as being immoral. As prophesied by Isaiah, we know we are close to judgement: “ when we call evil good and good evil ”, (Isaiah 5:20). You may well ask why we have spent so much time on human behaviour in the last days? It is because it has infiltrated the church and the lives of many believers in Christ. You will notice in the Bible, sin is spoken of more than salvation. Yet, today we seldom entertain preaching and teachings on sin or judgement, but rather the emphasis is placed on salvation, blessings and glory. The truth is embedded within the account of Noah and Lot, is that in both cases, the righteous were saved, while the wicked faced sudden judgement which they did not see coming, sealing their fate. As born again believers, seeing the nature of humankind reminds us of our calling and our purpose. Now interestingly both accounts are associated with the phrase: “ no-one knows the day or hour the Son of Man comes ”. In Matthew’s account, after Jesus described the “days of Noah”, He said: “ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left . Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left . Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming ”, (Matthew 24:40-42). While many believe this is a direct association to the rapture, others are not so convinced. However, we need to note that in both Noah and Lot’s day, not one righteous person was judged. In Lots day, God said that even if only ten righteous people were living in the town of Sodom, He would relent and would not pass judgement. In Noah’s day, the righteous were raised above the waters of judgement, while in Lot’s days Lot and his two daughters were taken away by angels to safe territory. Luke’s account of the Olivet prophecy closes off with some interesting words which is relevant to every believer in our day and age. He warns us by saying: “ take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly ”, (Luke 21:34). You will notice the words “ carousing and drunkenness ” stands out. It stands out because they are related. “ Carousing ” literally means “ the activity of drinking alcohol and enjoying oneself with others in a noisy, lively way ”. It indicates that excessive drinking of alcohol will be prevalent in the last days. Notably, this activity was directed against believers, not unbelievers. But that is not the emphasis. Notice the words “ and the cares of this life ”. This was the ultimate sin of Noah and Lots days. People cared about their own lives, more than the commandment to live righteously. They were so busy living, that they had no time to consider God and repent, let alone bring glory to Him. Let us not fall into this trap! We certainly have a hope in Jesus Christ and an unimaginable prosperous future. The reason why people don’t see the coming judgement is because they either have little or no regard for the Lord, our God or seek His mercy. Luke records Jesus closing words on this topic by saying: “ Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man ”, (Luke 21:36). We have a mission. As Christ’s ambassadors we have a duty to glorify both Him and our Father in heaven. The last days is not something we need to be scared of. He told all of this before the time, so we can persevere, knowing that perhaps one day soon, we will stand in His presence. Never give up, be downcast, but rather look up. “ Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God ”, (Romans 12:2). One thing we can be assured of. Our redemption is drawing near!