Today we continue our study of this pastoral epistle, a letter from the apostle Paul to his son in the faith, Timothy. This is very likely the last book written by the apostle, a conclusion we reach from II Timothy 4.6-7.  6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

Paul is writing this letter with his end in sight, and he has much to say to Timothy. This letter contains several personal instructions for Timothy. 1.13 (Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me); 2.2 (entrust the teaching to faithful men); 2.22 (flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace); and 4.2 (preach the word). All of great value, but personally directed to Timothy. But in this passage, 3.1-9, Paul broadens the vision to warn us about the “last days” and the deceptions of false teachers in the church. These truths apply to us as well as to Timothy, indeed to all believers living in the time from Paul’s day to ours. So let us listen well as we hear some of Paul’s last counsel to Timothy and the church, for there is much to learn from God’s word.  

As we turn to the text, we’ll examine it in two parts, with a short intro in verse one. Let’s begin there. 

In the Last Days. 

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 

In this passage, Paul gives Timothy and us an outline, a silhouette, that describes the evil of the last days, with a special focus on the characteristics of people. And with a marked sense of urgency, he urges Timothy to understand this, know (ginosko) this important truth about the time in which they lived, and in which we live, which Paul and other New Testament writers call “the last days”. That sounds as if it’s only the period just before the return of Jesus Christ, but that isn’t the case. In Acts 2.17, at Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel and says that the infant church was even then “in the last days” . the apostle James, the apostle Peter, and the author of Hebrews all refer to the first century as “the last days”.  

So for Paul, Timothy, Peter, James, and us, it is now the “last days”. A period inaugurated at the resurrection that will end when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in great glory and power to destroy the wicked and set up His kingdom. 

What will characterize these days?  Paul says there will be “times of difficulty” . ”times” renders Gr. ‘kairos’ – a word that denotes a particular time or event or season, as compared to ‘chronos,’ the chronological passing of time. These “times” Paul refers to what would seem to be specific periods or events during “the last days”. 

Using the word “difficulty” might make us think of earthquakes, wars, or other disasters, but that’s not the sense of it. ”difficulty” renders Gr. ‘chalepos’. The only other use of ‘chalepos’ is in Matthew 8.28, where it’s used to describe two demon-possessed men. They were so “fierce” that no one could pass by where they were. The word is very severe. It means violent, dangerous, hard, brutal, and even cruel. 

So the “last days” will have seasons of intense danger and difficulty, including persecution. And when we look at church history, that’s exactly what we find. And as history advances toward the end of the “last days” the danger and difficulty will increase. 

Now that we know Paul is speaking about specific times of intense difficulty, we turn to a composite picture of the people of the world at that time. 

What They Are

Paul uses a torrent of words to describe how people will be in the last days. Nineteen descriptors that we can understand better by grouping them together a bit. Remember, we’re building a silhouette of people in the “last days” who do not know God. 

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.  Avoid such people. 

To begin, look at the beginning of verse 2 and the end of verse 4, Paul’s bookends for this passage. People will be lovers of self.  Rather than lovers of God. 

That captures the essence of unregenerate people, doesn’t it? Certainly, those who today do not know or love the Lord, but also all of us who do know Him were once in the same condition. Ephesians 2.1-5 says And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 

Who changes a person from a lover of self to a lover of God?  God does that. Through the richness of His mercy, the greatness of His love, the graciousness of His salvation. 

But unless and until God changes a person, this description stands. The love we all rightly owe to the Lord is instead directed to self, money, and pleasure, choosing evil over good. That misplaced love turns our priorities inward, and when the self is on the throne of our lives, we become proud and arrogant. Without the divine standard of perfection as a comparison, each of us will exalt ourselves and our achievements. We are consumed by self-absorbed conceit, and filled with unshakable beliefs of our own importance; verse 4 has an especially vivid description of this:  “swollen with conceit”. We learn God’s response to the sin of pride in James 4.6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”   

Pride and arrogance are the foundation for other markers of last-day people who do not know God. Look first at the word “abusive”. Sounds like it would relate to other people, but it’s really in relationship to God. It renders the Gr. ‘blasphemos’. It’s used three other times in the NT, and it’s translated as “blasphemous” in those other contexts, meaning an irreverence toward what is holy and sacred. Overweening pride will ultimately lead to blasphemy of the Almighty God, for when one has a high view of man, one also has a low view of God. 

A haughty, proud attitude also leads to two more of the descriptors: being “ungrateful” and “unholy”. Those dominated by pride rarely feel gratitude toward others, but instead take credit for whatever good may come their way. The word could also be translated as “graceless” or “ungracious”. And that same prideful attitude also leads to the characteristic of being unholy or profane. One who thinks too highly of himself or herself and too lowly of God will fail to comprehend what is truly holy. 

The remaining words speak mostly to the relationship of the wicked of the last days toward other people. 

They are “heartless”, lacking affection for others as if they had no heart. Interestingly, the definition especially notes the lack of natural affection toward family members, which is related to another characteristic, that of: “Disobedient to parents”. This might seem strange to include in this list, especially when it’s compared to some of these other, more heinous sins. But what’s in view here is a total breakdown of the nuclear family. When parents exhibit the characteristics found in this passage, we would expect, wouldn’t we, that children would follow their parents’ example of lawless behavior. 

The term “unappeasable” is interesting. This describes a person with whom you cannot make peace. They are relentlessly unforgiving, refusing to forgive the smallest slights. They cannot be placated and refuse to be reconciled to others. 

One of the most interesting descriptions is “slanderous” because the Gr word is so unexpected. This English word, ‘slanderous’ refers to accusing, libelous, untrue speech. But in this passage, the word renders the Gr word ‘diabolos’. 37 uses in the NT, and 34 times it’s translated as “devil”. 3 times, all in the pastoral epistles, it’s translated as ‘slanderer’ or ‘slanderous’. What’s the connection?  The definition of “devil” is ‘slanderer’ or ‘accuser’ as found in Revelation 12.9-10. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. The unregenerate people of the world in the last days are in fact following the example of their spiritual father, according to John 8.44, where Jesus speaks to the Jewish religious leaders and says You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

“Brutal” renders the only NT use of the Gr ‘anemeros’ rendered here as  "wild, menacing, savage, fierce, violent”. It’s related to the next two words. 

“Treacherous”. is a traitor or betrayer, someone who violates an allegiance. It’s used of Judas in Luke’s gospel and in Acts 7 by Stephen in his sermon denouncing the Jewish religious leaders of betraying Jesus Christ as Messiah. 

“Reckless” conveys the idea of falling or slipping down, being out of control. This refers to behavior that disregards and defies any idea of consequences. It’s related back to pride, too. 

“Without self-control” might seem to be an afterthought, but it represents the lack of both natural and supernatural God-given restraint that makes human society possible. 

The final descriptor is this:  these people live having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. This is perhaps the most terrifying of all since it is the most deceptive. Some of these people – not all, certainly, but some – will appear to be religious, even nominally Christian, especially to people who don’t know the Scriptures well and the truth of the gospel. As false teachers, they will have the “form” of godliness but not the Holy Spirit power of true godliness. They will spread worldly, religious, ritual-driven practices and teachings that lead unsuspecting and uninformed people away, for they will teach the lie and oppose the truth. They are far from the Holy Spirit, they don’t know the ways of God, but they look religious enough to fool some people. It's important to remember that this is true in the present. The last days extend from the resurrection of Jesus in the first century to His coming return, so as false teachers were present in Timothy’s day, so are they present around the world today. In a few moments, we’ll see more about the activities of these false teachers, but first, we need to hear Paul’s instructions. 

Avoid such people. This sole NT use of the Gr word rendered “avoid” means to deliberately turn away from something or someone, and have nothing to do with them. Not in the sense that Timothy was to withhold from them the gospel, but in the sense that he was never to come alongside these false teachers and cooperate or collaborate with them. On the contrary, he was himself to avoid them, and to ensure that the members of the Ephesian church did the same. Avoid their influence, avoid their temptation, and avoid deep fellowship with them. 

Now that we’ve surveyed this catalog of sin, let me be clear about something:  there is no place for pride or arrogance on the part of any believer, for apart from the love of the Father, and the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit, every one of these descriptions would apply to us as they do to unregenerate humanity. Except for God’s amazing grace and mercy, we would be as guilty as the most vile of sinners. 

What They Do

Now Paul turns from the description of the depth of sin and iniquity in unregenerate humanity during the last days and begins to describe how false teachers can deceive and harm the church. Paul is warning Timothy of the tactics and techniques of these wolves among the sheep so that when Timothy sees the false teachers, he will recognize them. 

6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

In this short passage, Paul identifies two issues:  the deceitful false teachers and the church members who are most susceptible to their lies. Let’s start with the teachers themselves. 

These false teachers are sneaky religious charlatans. Paul denounces them for their deceptive practice of worming their way into households. In our day, we might call these households “small groups”. They were early forms of house churches. These false teachers would identify possible targets, then approach them by offering to share their religious teaching that, at first, might sound orthodox and Christian, perhaps even new or novel or interesting. The word translated as “creep” means to “enter a home secretly”. Not breaking in by night, but by entering under false pretenses. And when they find a group willing to listen to them, the teachers set the hook and draw the believers in. The term “capture” has a military origin related to prisoners of war, but it came to mean to exert power or influence over someone. That’s what these false teachers were doing. 

These men oppose the truth as Jannes and Jambres oppose Moses. You might have noted something unusual if you looked for these two men in the OT. These names do not appear in the Scriptures. So who are they and why are they mentioned here?

A few times in the Bible, reference is made to a character outside of the Bible. Examples are in Acts 17, Titus 1, and Jude. Here, Paul is referencing a Jewish Targum, or a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, a common language of the first century. In that source, Jannes and Jambres are named as Pharaoh’s court sorcerers or magicians who opposed Moses. We see them by title in Exodus 7.10-12.  10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 

Even if the names are not exactly correct – we’ll never know – the situation is what matters. The magicians of Egypt opposed Moses before Pharaoh and attempted to reproduce the miracles done by God through Aaron. They managed to mimic the first and second plagues, but could not match the third plague, when they admitted to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” (Exodus 8.19)

In a similar way, Paul says, these false teachers will appear to be of God for a time, but because they only possess the appearance of godliness and not its power, they eventually will fail. As Paul says in verse 9, 9 . they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

False teachers may prosper for a season, but ultimately they will be proven to be frauds. Whether they are the court magicians of Egypt, the false teachers of Ephesus, or the prosperity gospel charlatans of today, they are corrupted in their minds, distorted and twisted in their thinking, and they are disqualified regarding the true faith of God. Indeed, soon enough their folly will be plain to all. 

Now let’s turn to the second group in this passage. The vulnerable believers who are susceptible to false teaching. What do we know about them?

Paul describes them this way. weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 

Before you reach for the pitchforks, don’t get caught up in the gender reference.  Vulnerability to false teaching is obviously not a uniquely feminine trait. It would seem likely that Paul uses that phrase because of some specific circumstances in Ephesus. 

The point, of course, is the rest of the description. These are people who are burdened by real or imagined sins and don’t have a solid grasp of their faith and biblical teaching, which makes them easily led astray. Paul likely had these people in mind when he said this in the letter to the Ephesians.  Ephesians 4.13-14:  13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

Growing believers are advancing toward the fullness of Christ. But there are believers who seem to learn but never mature. They remain as vulnerable as children, as lambs among the wolves, as a canoe in a hurricane. They are taken in by the crafty, deceitful schemes of the false teachers. Somehow they tend toward unfruitful pursuits, such as interests in obscure texts, extrabiblical works, or minor doctrines, instead of focusing on the important issues of growing deeper in the gospel and the saving work of Christ and the glory of God. They learn, in a sense, but they don’t become wise in the grace and knowledge of the truth. And remember, learning by itself isn’t the goal, increasing spiritual maturity and growth is the goal. And though the false teachers will ultimately fail, they will take a lot of believers down with them into suffering and ineffectiveness. 

So we’ve seen the darkness of the last days. There will be a continual stream of seasons of violence, danger, and persecution directed toward God’s people. Humanity isn’t going to get better. and evil will continue, through deception and lies, to seek to lead Christians astray, beginning with those who are the most vulnerable. Sounds like a bleak picture. But there is still hope because of Jesus. Let’s see what we know from the text. 

Truths from the Text:  What should we expect in the last days?

Expect the times to be (difficult)

Some days will be easier than others, but on the whole, being a Christian in a dark and darkening world is challenging. We must prepare for opposition, trust in the Lord, and make the decision now that no matter what, we will not turn away from the faith.  We affirm the counsel of the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6.13, 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Get ready, because hard days are ahead. 

Expect people to be (ungodly)

If any of us walked in here thinking all people everywhere are basically good, I hope Paul’s description opened our eyes. Jeremiah 17.9 confirms this truth.              The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately wicked;

who can know it?               

Armed with the truth, we know what to do. We encountered the gospel of Jesus, perhaps through a family member or friend, and we were changed. He is the only one who changes people, so that’s our task and privilege. Take the gospel to the world and trust God for the results. 

Expect to encounter (deceivers)

Yes, deceivers will come. But the challenge for each of us is to know the word of God well enough to discern the counterfeit when we hear and see it and not let false teachers get in the door. Do not give them a hearing. Heed    2 John 9-11:  9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

As we close, hear now the words of the Lord Jesus in Luke 12.32.  32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Yes, the battle still rages against sin, the flesh, and the devil, but the outcome is not in doubt – by the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall overcome. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!