2 Timothy Chapter 3
Ministry in the Last Days
3:1 But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
Paul is not teaching about the last days of the Great Tribulation, which deal with Israel. Instead, he is teaching about the last days of the church, which is the time period before the Rapture. Before the church is raptured, the church will face many problems. Many of these problems were already surfacing in the Ephesians church. As time spirals towards the Rapture, things inside of the church will get worse.
3:2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
The Greek word for "lovers of themselves" is φίλαυτος (philautos), meaning one who is preoccupied with love of himself. Modern psychology if filled with self-esteem books. According to the Bible, there is no such thing as self esteem. Instead, the Bible teaches that man is totally depraved and evil. Seeker churches have picked up on this vice. Instead of teaching man that he is a sinner and he needs a Savior, they tell the congregation how wonderful they are.
The Greek word for "lovers of money" is φιλάργυρος (philargupos), meaning to love money. Americans today worship the Almighty Dollar. All of politics, business, entertainment, and even the modern local church idolizes money. "The love of money is the root of all evil." Money is not evil, because it can be used for God's purposes. It is the love of money which is the root of all evil.
The Greek word for "boastful" is ἀλαζών (alazown), meaning people who boast about things that they are not able to do. The politicians are attempting to create a world with peace, but they are doing it without the Word of God. "There is no peace for the wicked." Boasters walk around like a peacock, thinking that they are really something.
The Greek word for "arrogant" is ὑπερήφανος (hupeaiphanos), meaning to try to do more than what God directs. Charismatics teach that learning Bible doctrine is not enough. Instead, the believer should concentrate more on emotionalism and personal experiences.
The Greek word for "blasphemers" is βλάσφημος (blasphaymos), meaning those who call evil good and good evil. Same sex marriage is called good. Teaching the Bible in public school is called bad. Religious tolerance is called good. Christian fundamentalism is called bad. Evolution is called good. Creation is called bad science. Abortion is called good. Pro-life is called bad.
The Greek word for "disobedient to parents" is γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς (goveusin apeitheis), meaning to show outward disobedience towards one's parents. The rise of teenage gangs, the hippie movement, the drug culture, and the anti-establishment movements are some examples of parental disobedience.
The Greek word for "ungrateful" is ἀχάριστος (achapristos), meaning not appreciating or thankful for God's grace. God gives air, food, water, rain, and life away every day, but very few people thank Him.
The Greek word for "unholy" is ἀνόσιος (anosios), meaning to disrespect the things of God. Television, books, magazines, music, and education are all showing disrespect towards God.
3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good,
The Greek word for "unloving" is ἄστοργος (astorgos), meaning without natural affection. Homosexuality, lesbianism, and same sex marriages are the big sins of today. Even government officials in high places do not have enough divine viewpoint to see the sinfulness of same sex marriage.
The Greek word for "irreconcilable" is ἄσπονδος (aspondos), meaning that you cannot trust them to keep their promises. Many people make business contracts and then break them. A man's word is not good enough anymore.
The Greek word for "slanderers" is διάβολος (diabolos), meaning to accuse someone in order to cause harm to them. This is one of the names of Satan, because he accuses the saints before the throne of God.
The Greek word for "without self control" is ἀκρατής (akratais), meaning lack of discipline. Very few Chistians lack the discipline o study the entire counsel of the Word of God on a daily basis,
The Greek word for "savage" is ἀνήμερος (anaymenos), meaning to be savage or ruthless. The streets of America today are asphalt jungles.
The Greek word for "opposed to what is good" is ἀφιλάγαθος (philagathos), meaning one who is hostile to the things of God. There are professional law firm groups that exist to denounce anything that is Christian.
3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God.
The Greek word for "treacherous" is προδότης (prodotais), meaning a traitor. These are people who make friends in order to destroy them.
The Greek word for "reckless" is προπετής (prophetais), meaning impulsive, rash, reckless, or headstrong. These are people who act rashly without thinking of the consequences. They have quick tempers and seared consciences.
The Greek word for "conceited" is τυφόω (tophoa), meaning to blow smoke or to have a cloudy mindset. These are people who have no divine viewpoint at all.
The Greek word for "loving pleasure" is φιλήδονος (philaydonos), meaning one who loves entertainment and pleasure more than God. America today is obsessed with athletic events and movie stars. Americans are so unhappy, that they will pay a comedian millions of dollars to make them laugh.
3:5 They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.
These people will be very religious. They will have large, beautiful mega churches and gigantic musical orchestras. They will have big screen televisions. There will be large indoor playgrounds for the kids. Many of the members will dress up and act out religious scenes. There will be plenty of candlelight rituals on special holidays. They will preach cute little sermonettes from best-selling books. They will make sure that their sermons are upbeat, alive, humorous, positive, and uplifting. Their members will receive an emotional uplift after attending. They will come back the next week to get their ears tickled even more.
Paul commanded Timothy to avoid these types of people. They should never be made a pastor or an elder.
3:6 For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions.
Many weak women love this kind of emotionalism and gimmickry. Many men who do not have strong Bible doctrine will follow these kinds of women into these kinds of churches. It is dangerous for a man to follow a woman into a church. This is backwards. It is out of the will of God. The man is supposed to be the spiritual leader in the home. He is to lead the household into a strong, Biblical church.
3:7 Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
Many of these women attend Bible conferences on the weekend, but because they are in the wrong church and under the wrong pastor-teacher, then they are never able to grasp the spiritual truths of the Bible. God does not open the mind of those who are out of fellowship with Him. God's method is face-to-face teaching through a gifted pastor-teacher, as mentioned in Ephesians 4.
3:8 And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith – also oppose the truth.
The names of Jannes and Jambres were not revealed in the Old Testament. Paul must have received their names from the Holy Spirit. The point is that these two magicians had real supernatural powers. Satan can imitate some of the miracles of God. He does this often in charismatic churches. Some of the charismatic preachers accept this power from Satan. In exchange, they use this power to deceive their congregations. Paul warned Timothy to stay away from these types of people. They are opposed to the truth.
3:9 But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.
These two magicians dabbled in the occult and they were made to look foolish. Dabbling in the occult is a dangerous thing. It is very prevalent in the charismatic churches. It is known as white magic, as it is claimed to be done in the name of God, but it is actually done in the disguise of Satan.
Continue in What You Have Learned
3:10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance,
Timothy had learned from the best.
3:11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra. I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all.
Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra were cities in the Galatian region where Paul suffered. At Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. This is when Paul most likely visited the third heaven. Paul was preparing Timothy for these same kinds of sufferings. Those who teach the Word of God will suffer. The members of the satanic world system and the baby believers want to be entertained, not taught the Word of God.
3:12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Joel Osteen and the prosperity teachers do not teach this verse. Notice that it says "all". The Christian is promised suffering, not prosperity. Melvin Laird, long before he was Secretary of Defense, made this statement in San Francisco at a Republican convention, “In this world it is becoming more and more unpopular to be a Christian. Soon it may become dangerous.”
The media in this nation is already anti-Christian. They will not report persecutions against Christians. They will not report news from a divine viewpoint. They slander and destroy conservative politicians. They glorify abortion, same sex marriage, global warming, the new world order, and liberal politics. If a fundamental preacher breaks the law, then that story will make the front page.
3:13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
The Greek word for "charlatans" is γόης (goals), meaning a shameless cheat pretending to use supernatural powers in order to deceive the people. Many of the charismatics today are charlatans. Some have real demonic power. Both groups are evil men who are deceiving others. They work under the guise of religion. There is no difference in the power between the charismatics today and between the witch doctors of Africa, the medicine men of the Native Americans, and the druids, witches, and warlocks of the Eastern pagan mystery religions. The New Agers also have their psychics.
This condition has been prevalent throughout all of history. These occultic events were also happening In Ephesus at the time that Paul wrote this letter. These supernatural events will increase exponentially before the Rapture of the Church.
It is very possible that Satan has limited his demons from using their supernatural powers around humans for the last 2000 years, because he may want the world to be void of observing the supernatural until the Antichrist comes on the scene. When the Antichrist performs supernatural miracles, it will be easier for him to deceive others into thinking that he is god in the flesh if no one has seen a miracle for the last 2000 years.
3:14 You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know who taught you
Satan not only has supernatural powers up his sleeve, but he has super-intelligence and super-beauty to mask his deception. The only defense against Satan and his demons is knowledge of Bible doctrine. Timothy was told that he could escape these deceptions by the sound Bible doctrine which he learned when he was young.
3:15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Timothy was trained in the written Scriptures at an early age by both his mother and grandmother. He was also trained as an adult by Paul. He was present on many of Paul's travels. He heard Paul's teachings over and over. The only defense that Timothy has against a demonic world that wants to destroy him is the wisdom of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The assurance of salvation and knowledge of Bible doctrine is the one-two punch against the evil attacks of the demonic world. Notice again that it is the "written" Word of God which is the defense for the Christian, not outside resources such as tongues, prophecies, sings, and wonders.
3:16 Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
When Paul says "all" scripture, he means "all" scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
The Greek word for "inspired" is θεόπνευστος (theopneustos), meaning God-breathed. When the prophets wrote the Scriptures, they wrote with their own human personalities, but the Holy Spirit breathed into them the message that He wanted them to convey. Therefore, the Bible is the only supernatural book in the world. It is so supernatural, that the natural man cannot even understand it unless the Holy Spirit gives him a new intellect. The believer cannot understand it unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to him through a gifted pastor-teacher. A believer can sit all day and read Isaiah 53 just like the Ethiopian eunuch did all day long, but he will never understand it until the Holy Spirit sends a pastor-teacher to explain it. A pastor-teacher can teach in person, through audios, through videos, through visuals, through commentaries, and even through language translations.
It is also important to note that every student of the Bible who has not studied Hebrew and Greek is getting his information from a pastor-teacher who translated the original languages into the different language translation. If you are reading an English translation, then you are being trained by a pastor-teacher.
Notice that the Scriptures are profitable for four things. 1) They teach believers about the mind of God. One can only learn the mind of God through the written Scriptures. One cannot learn the mind of God from prophets, words of knowledge, tongues, dreams, visions, or people who claimed to have died and visited the afterlife. Satan will use these other resources to deceive ignorant Christians. Ignorant Christians are those who have not studied the entire counsel of the Word of God from the original languages.
2) The Bible is to be used for reproof, meaning conviction. The Bible convicts the believer so that he will do what is right.
3) The Bible is to be used for correction, which means correcting the errors in one's life.
4) The Bible is to be used for instruction, which means to think and act in God's will.
3:17 that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
Once a person is dedicated to God, then he will study "all" of the Scriptures. This study will make him capable of completing that task that God has assigned to him. This type of study will equip the believer to complete divine good works.