2 Timothy 3

1. You need to know that the last days will be days of violence.

And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and disease and earthquakes in unusual places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

Many will be breaking the law and the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4 – 14

2 -3

Men will think only of themselves, loving money, full of big words, proud, speaking against God, ignoring what their parents taught them, not thankful, not clean. Without love, without forgiveness, speaking against people like a devil, not even able to control themselves, living like animals, hating everything that is good.

Each of these things is the name of a demonic spirit. You will see people who are covered with dirt. They do not wash and they see nothing wrong with living this way. They have an unclean spirit, and they want to roll in the dirt. See Luke 9:42.

What is the difference between an animal that eats its own children and a mother who gives birth to a baby so that it can be cut open on a clinic table? The answer from the demonic spirits is that the baby on the clinic table needs to be killed so that they can save the life of the mother who is lying on a bed on the other side of the room! We are so used to living in a world of pure evil that such things are seen as normal.

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark. Isaiah 5:20

4. They will be back-stabbers, reckless, and proud, loving whatever makes them feel good instead of loving God.

We sometimes forget that our names could have been in this list. If you do not agree, maybe no one has taught you that you cannot be saved until you know that you are lost.
Too many ministry leaders only tell people that God loves them and they do not show them how we have all broken God's laws. They do not tell them that they need to confess to God what they have done and agree with God that Jesus is the Son of God and His death on the cross paid for their rebellion and that He rose from the dead to give us new life.

If nobody tells them these things then how will they ever escape?

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Words which speak of Christ. Romans 10:17

Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 11

5 . They will pretend to be very religious, but their lives will show them for what they really are.

We have never heard anyone say that being chained to immorality, or drinking, or drugs, or some false religion, has given them a happy life that is free from guilt.

The original language here says that they do not have Gods power or the ability to live a changed life. All they have to hold onto are the traditions of a church.

6. From them will come those who talk smoothly as they go into women's houses and take weak woman as prisoners who are weighed down with sins and desires.

The original language here says that these men are like salesman who will tell you anything that you want to hear so that they can get what they want. The women fall into this trap because they are looking for some grass that seems greener than what they have.

7. These men are always wanting to learn something new but are never able to understand the truth.

Such men are always telling the rest of us that they have discovered something new that no one else has ever seen before. This is why the Bible says that everything that is true can be tested by two or three witnesses.

8 – 9

These men are enemies to the truth, just like the magicians (whom the Jews called Jannes and Jambres) were against Moses. Their minds are twisted and they betray the faith. Everyone will see that they are fools, just as they did those men who were against Moses.

These magicians were mocking God by claiming that they could do anything that God can do. See Exodus 7:11.

10 – 11

But you Timothy have, followed my teaching and my way of life, my purpose,, my faith, my endurance, my love, and God's help holding me up in all these things. You know the kind of things that happened in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. You know how the Lord brought me safely through those trials.

Timothy lived in Lystra where he first met Paul. He could have seen Paul being stoned or heard about it from those who saw it. Acts 14:8 – 20

12. The world will always attack those who have decided to really live for Christ.

The world does not love all the good things that Christians bring, because it makes them feel guilty. Their minds are so filled with demonic thoughts that they think our lives are very strange and unusual.

Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. John 15:20

13. Evil demonic men will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceiving themselves.

Their plan is to start out with something small and then trick you into doing something bigger. Finally, they accuse you for what you have done and threaten to expose you and tell everybody about you.

14. Just keep on going in the things that you learned and that you know are true. Do not forget how you learned these things.

The way that we can defeat evil is to keep walking in the way that God's Spirit has already shown us. When we are confused, we just go back to what we already know and tell ourselves that now is the time to put it in the practice.

15. And how in your childhood, you were taught the Old Testament Scriptures which can open the door to becoming born-again through believing in Jesus.

Psalm 22 shows us exactly what happened on the cross. Daniel 9 tells us exactly when Jesus would enter Jerusalem. Zechariah tells us exactly how Jesus would be betrayed. There is no one in history who has completed these prophecies. Showing children how accurate the Bible is will give them the foundation that they will need later in life.

16. All Scripture is written was written by the breath of God, and can be used for teaching the faith and correcting false teaching. The Scripture can change the direction of a man's life and train him to live the way God wants him to live.

It is interesting to compare what the Bible does for us this way:

Romans – doctrine
Corinthians - reproof
Galatians - correction
Ephesians and Colossians - teaching right living

So-called experts say that the Bible was inspired in the same way that some books or music are inspired. They will use their words carefully, and say that the Bible contains “some” of the words of God. This kind of thinking never set anyone free from the chains of darkness.

17. The Scriptures are the complete equipment of the man of God. They make him ready for all the kinds of work that he must do in the ministry.

When we are filled with Scripture, God gives us the answers to the twisted problems of the people we serve in the ministry.

Who is able to do this kind of ministry? 2 Corinthians 2:16