I have often read the opening line of II Timothy chapter three and quickly glossed over the phrase about the “perilous times of the last days,” and automatically summated that the inference was simply and solely about the coming holocaust pertaining to modern warfare and the tragic events of the Great Tribulation. While that conclusion is certainly accurate concerning the climax of the perilous times, it doesn’t take into account the fact that there shall be an intense and subtly contrived time of exponentially increasing danger before the Tribulation ever starts.

This startling statement from Timothy seems to glare out like a flashing neon sign warning us (Church) that there is a dire emergency situation just over the hill. Well my friends, take it from a fervent student of the times in which we live, we long ago passed over the hilltop where the warning sign flashes. We are already well within a full panoramic view of the climactic perilous situation, a perilous journey that is going to get worse and worse as we travel further along history’s pathway. This admonishment of Timothy to be keenly aware about “perilous times” stands as a stark warning to the Christian of the Last Days. It should beacon an alert to every spiritual soldier of Christ to be on special watch-guard as he observes the multitude of signs that begin to come to pass in the Last Days!

The Greek word for our translated English word perilous is chalepos. The term chalepos means to “reduce the strength of an intended target” in the specific relationship of making the one targeted more susceptible to a furious, fierce and dangerous onslaught. The phrase is intended to convey to the reader that the powers of darkness in the Last Days will intensify their conspiratorial strategy against Christ’s followers for the design of rendering them as an easy prey. This ominous stalking of the prey is also depicted in I Peter 5:8 where Satan is portrayed as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. While Satan has always lurked around as a ravening beast, it is apparent from the scriptural rendering of this verse that the supernatural enemies of God (Satan-demons) and the earthly enemies of Christ and his Church, will conspire together to extricate a covert supernatural assault in an attempt to undermine the very foundations of the “Christian strength” on the earth in the Last Days, before the final Satanic offensive against Israel that shall occur during the Great Tribulation.

Timothy’s reference to these “perilous times in the Last Days” has a familiar parallel of refrain in eschatology dealing with the conspiratorial rise and climactic appearance of the Antichrist. I have no doubt that Paul and Timothy discussed the subject of the Last Days on numerous occasions, and that Paul shared with young Timothy a tremendous wealth of information about the perilous conditions that the Church and the world would face just before Jesus returned. Lets look once again closely at Paul’s overview of these perilous times.

It is my firm contention that the perilous times of the Last Days have a direct relationship with the Laodicean church age (Revelation 3:14-20) and the great Falling Away of the general church as a whole in the days just preceding the emergence of the Antichrist. We note in Paul’s exhortation that the “falling away” comes first, and only afterwards then may the man of sin be revealed in his time. Paul continues on to say that the “mystery of iniquity” was already working in the 1^st century, but that it is checked by a withholder or restrainer, or by the multi-faceted work of the Holy Spirit working within and throughout the body of the Church. Paul is saying that the withholding capacity of the Holy Spirit would gradually be withdrawn in the Last Days (until being removed altogether via the rapture) leaving the world more and more subjected to times of peril.

And for the diminishing leagues of Christian strength in the Last Days, its is apparent that the Church of the last days will have to struggle mightily against forces of deception. Thus concerning the Last Days, and the perilous zone of danger that shall preclude the Tribulation, Timothy picks up from Paul’s inference about the Day of the Lord and its relationship to the Antichrist, by describing in great detail what the perilous times will be like. Timothy’s purpose was to teach the Christian to watch for the signs of the return of the Lord in the Last Days, and from that knowledge learn to anticipate a supernatural onslaught from Satan against the very foundations of the Church. In the Last Days Timothy says that the Church can expect to see the world society and the world culture exhibit the following characteristics:

The Greek terms philedonos and philautos (selfish, self serving) precisely describe the prevailing heart condition of mankind in the last days. They will be self-serving, egotistical, arrogant, pursuers of pleasure, rather than possessors of the trait to love thy neighbor as thyself. These attitudes personify today’s culture that is almost wholly engrossed in sports, entertainment, and Materialism. (today’s modern culture is dramatically opposite from the command to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and to be content with Godliness) Modern society is preoccupied with amassing wealth and pursuing pleasure. Thus the dramatic rise in gambling, lotteries, sports cults, rock star worship, and party mania.

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, refers to the fact that men place their own wishes in the center of life. They worship the self instead of God. The final condemnation of these people is that they retain the outward form of religion but deny its power. That is to say, they go through all the correct movements and maintain all the external forms of religion; but they know nothing of Christianity and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The primary connotation of covetousness (philaurguros) is that of being given over to (lusting after) a carnal love of or greed for material or personal possessions. To lust is to exhibit a craving based on one's carnal (fleshly or one's "sin nature") desires. Coveting can come in any form of impure desire for another person's property or personal worship of any goods, possessions or another person’s celebrity status, such as idol worship. Covetousness today is associated with forms of gambling, lotteries, investments and other activities of chance where the motives behind the participation in these activities are strictly selfish and centered on one's love for money, and our culture’s overwhelming preoccupation with materialism. (Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.) Coveting has become a humanistic hallmark of our modern materialistic society. Coveting in today’s culture is commonplace and is human avarice is constantly be fed by fifth avenue commercialism.

It is no accident that the first of Timothy’s perilous qualities will be a life that is centered in self. The adjective used is philautos, which means self-loving. Love of self is the basic sin, from which all others flow. The moment a man makes his own will the centre of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self. Men would become lovers of money (philarguros). We must remember that Timothy's work lay in Ephesus, perhaps the greatest commercial and economic market in the ancient world. Ephesus was a prosperous town, the epitome of 1st century materialistic civilization. Perilous times always come when men assess prosperity by the acquisition of material things. The Bible warns that a man may lose his soul far more easily in prosperity than during adversity; and he is on the way to losing his soul when he assesses that the value of life is measured by the number of things which he possesses. Materialism and selfism leads to a society laden with braggarts and arrogance. (huperephano - meaning to show oneself above all others and become contemptible of those who disagree) These twin qualities of the braggart and the arrogant man inevitably result in love of insult (blasphemia), which always degrades from insulting man to insulting God who made man in his image.

Perhaps no other successive generations in history has demonstrated more arrogance and haughtiness than the “me generation” and the “x generation” of our times. Boasters are braggarts. High-minded means to be conceited and lifted up with self worth and pride.

Egoism, and the inability to apologize or to say, “I’m sorry” is rampant in a proud society. The only thing that matters to a proud and haughty generation is self-promotion, and at any cost. Our modern politicians exemplify this trait. Fault is always laid at some other doorstep. Today’s culture is impatient and reacts with rash judgements. (Jude 1:16

These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.)

Railing accusations against God have never been so popular as they are today. Modern culture recoils at the very idea of God, his commandments, and his Holy Word. The wave of tolerance of any god except the one true omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God of scripture has become common. People hate the God of the Bible today more than at any time in history! Atheism abounds in most areas of the world today as never before in history. When mankind has reached the point where he views this world and possessions as the only value in life, he naturally begins the downward spiral of degradating his fellow man, and ultimately to blaspheming the Creator.

Perhaps no other sign is as relevant to our modern culture that this one. Natural affection has to do with hard-heartedness. Jesus said that in the last days the love of many would wax cold, and that fact has never been more apparent than in the issue of Abortion. The natural love of a mother for her own baby in today’s modern culture is being destroyed. Also the natural love of men and women as designed by God is quickly being maligned by an infesting and exploding assault of demonic spirits in the area of sexuality. Sexual perversion of unimaginable deviance is considered normal today. Homosexuality, lesbianism, gay marriage, beastiality, pedophilia, pornography, group sex, orgies, swapping, you name it. Today it is considered normal and an alternative lifestyle that is quickly gaining legal acceptance, rather than being a crime against humanity.

Modern culture finds a society lacking human affection (astorgos). Storge is the word used especially of family love, the love of child for parent and parent for child. If there is no human affection, the family cannot exist. In the perilous times of the last days men will be so enamored with self-love that even the closest natural ties will be mean nothing to them.

The traditional Judeo-Christian family is under demonic attack in culture today like never before in history. As a result of divorce, alternative lifestyles, materialism, and social pressures, parenting is being redefined, and in many cases dissolved. Thanklessness (acharistos) abounds in today’s world, as heritage values and personal responsibility are disregarded in lieu of self-love. (Romans1:29-31 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:) The US national data handbook indicates that alcohol is present in about 70% of violent crimes in America, and in about 90% of family abuse crimes. Eight out of ten American teenagers have sex before marriage. About 40% of unwed teenage pregnancies in America end in abortion. Seven out of ten black children and 3.5 out of ten white American children in America live in homes without their natural father. Teenage and young-adult violence is a growing epidemic, as evidenced by school shootings and teenage gangs. National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys indicate that 25% of American school kids now carry a weapon to school.

Ever wonder why it is so hard to have peace in the Middle East, or anywhere else for that matter? Diplomats and politicians meet and expend great efforts to craft a formula for peace, and yet it never works, Why? Because men lie and disdain the truth, and they devise clever schemes to get whatever they want. Honor and Statesmanship no longer mean anything. Modern man’s concept of human conflict resolution does not consider that man’s heart and nature is evil. Adolph Hitler was once quoted as saying, “tell a lie often enough and soon it will accepted as fact”. Unfortunately, Hitler’s theory on lying has become the accepted norm in national and international politics. Yasser Arafat has incorporated the habitual lying technique to great success. But here in America we call the spirit of deception partisanship, or political correctness.

Incontinent means to be without any personal self-control or inhibition, especially in the areas of sexual behavior, and material ingratiation. Incontinence promotes lust and greed, and filthy lifestyles, as well as filthy health-styles. (lasciviousness, licentiousness, and wantonness-aselgeia) It is obvious that this symptom is prevalent and overriding in America today, especially in light of the multi-billion dollar pornography industry, and the sexual violence that engulfs our land. Over 60% of all web-sites on the Internet are pornographic web-sites. The US Department of Justice estimates the child pornographic market to be a $2 to 3 billion dollar-a-year market, making it one of the world's largest cottage industries. The relationship of pornography to child sexual abuse is compelling. In a study of convicted child molesters, 77% of those who molested boys said they were regular users of hard-core pornography. And 87% of those who molested girls said they were regular users of hard-core pornography. Crime statistics show that all types of crimes, especially sex-related crimes, occur with more frequency in neighborhoods where sexually oriented businesses are located, yet the ACLU has managed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule unconstitutional any laws prohibiting the free exercise of any kind of pornography. (child porn, pedophilia, etc.)

Mankind has become ungovernable by being unable to control their desires (akrates). The Greek verb kratein means to control. A man can reach a stage when, so far from controlling it, he can become a slave to some habit or desire. That is the inevitable way to ruin, for no man can master anything unless he first masters himself. This is one of Satan’s cleverest ploys.

Mans inhumanity to man has always been exceeding, but in today’s technologically advanced world with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and man’s own penchant for savagery, brutality, and deviousness, evil knows no bounds, especially in light of the fact that our world acknowledges no standard of absolute moral truths, and possesses a covetous thankless heart. Treachery and faithlessness abound. Friendship and legal contracts today have become meaningless in the mad dash to accumulate worldly success and fame.

A sure sign of a decadent, pagan, deviant or ungodly society is personified best in the fact that an anti-Christian culture will above all else despise those that are good and that stand for righteousness. (Luke 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.) (John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.) Evidence

for the present age being a part of the prophesied perilous times in the Last Days is the fact that America has repudiated its Christian heritage by deploring prayer, Bible reading and the Ten Commandments, and any reference to God. Today’s liberal minded social engineers deride America’s Christian roots and through multi-faceted means (ACLU, TV, movies, etc) portray Christian precepts as outdated and intolerant. (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.) (Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.)

Isaiah 5:20-23 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!

A 2001 study by the Barna Research Group revealed that only 41 percent of adults in America’s 12 largest denominations could truly be classified as "born again Christians." This conclusion was not based on whether they believed that they were born again, but on their own statements of what makes one born again. Americans call themselves Christian today, but rarely attend church, and most do not even know what makes one a Christian, nor do they acknowledge or believe in the most fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Thus today’s modern Church is cold, lukewarm, and compromising, and completely and complicitly absorbed into religious fables and all manner of false gods. Congregations by and large want a church that is program-minded and function as a socio-cultural-religious center of community-inclusiveness. Thus most modern churches do not want to hear the “separated and divisive message” of the uncompromising Gospel. Scriptural doctrine has become harmful and disdainful to the ears many modern churchgoers.

(II Peter 2:1-2 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.) (Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.) (II Timothy 4:3-4

For the time will come (perilous times indeed) when they (churches) will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.)

As prophesied by Daniel the prophet, the last days, and the perilous times that shall accompany them, shall be marked by a vast increase in worldly knowledge, but plagued by an overwhelming lack of spiritual wisdom. The discernment of the truth is an ability that has all but disappeared in our modern world because we have abandoned the idea of absolute truth, and repudiated God’s holy word, the source of truth and wisdom. Thus we are ever learning but never coming to an understanding of the truth. (Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.) Modern man places a higher priority on science and philosophy than he places on the word of God. Thus we find ourselves following such theories as evolution, and denying the existence of a Creator God and his law.

Perilous times in the last days? Might we be there? Do you see the danger zone? Having reviewed Timothy’s list of the dangerous traits and pitfall areas that will be prevalent in the world in the last days, what do you now think? Does it sound familiar? Can you identify these symptoms in our world today? The prominence of all these disturbing cultural problems today is even more pronounced when we review all the statistics and charts compiled by National and Federal Commissions studying crime, pornography, child abuse, drug abuse, rape, teenage pregnancy, teen-suicide, domestic violence, and family trends. They reveal that the year 1963 became a turning point in an exponentially accelerating slide towards total cultural depravity. The bottom line is this, things are not getting better, they are getting worse and worse. And that brings me to another point in why things are getting progressively worse. Timothy referred to the spiritual deception and supernatural exploits of Jannes and Jambres in mimicking the miracles of God through Moses. Satan can also perform wonders, or illusions of miracles.

He can empower his earthly and heavenly agents with some astounding powers. But the magic of darkness is always intended to deceive and to lead people away from the truth.

The most devious characteristic about the “perilous times of these Last Days” is the spiritual and religious deception that will pervade the world. Doctrinal deception, lying spirits, great wonders, and miracle movements in the last days will be the calling card of the spirit of Satan’s Antichrist and the False Prophet. When churches have fallen away to such an extent that preachers teach and congregations condone doctrines that ordain homosexuality, and cast Jesus as a casual sinner, then perilous times are indeed here!

Today’s “churchianity” not only denies the doctrinal truths of the Bible, but incorporates

some of the most blasphemous ideals in the world into the very makeup of the church. Churchianity is a gospel that makes mankind feel good about the self and to enjoy emotional experiences but never manifests any convicting power, or inspires any defense of the doctrinal truth. No wonder Timothy went on to expound upon the need for true Christians to defend the Gospel, and to rebuke false teaching, and to reprove false messengers in chapter four.

Over the past 40 years or so we have seen the nation's theological views slowly become less aligned with the Bible. Even so-called Christians have increasingly adopted spiritual views that come from other religions. The passing on of a Christian heritage from one generation to the next has rapidly dissipated in America, until America is no longer considered to be a Christian nation. Thus America has abandoned the God of the Bible and is more and more becoming enamored with other gods! Continuing religious research among young people shows that the national trend is away from traditional biblical doctrine in favor of a more popular culture-based theology that is ecumenical at its core. Considering that God says that he is a god that changes not (Malachi 3:6), one must wonder why all the changing.

Using the above research data compared to the basic beliefs in an all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect God who created and rules the universe, and that salvation is by grace alone, and that God sent his son to pay for sins by dying sinless on a cross, was resurrected and is coming back is included in the definition of an "evangelical," we find that only 8 percent of Americans qualify to meet the true definition of a Christian. That statistic is staggering and sobering! I truly believe that many of America’s churches are filled with members that don’t even know what it means to be a Christian. No wonder Bible prophecy is taboo in most churches! I haven’t conducted any scientific polls on the matter, but from my own experience in teaching and preaching Bible prophecy in churches, I can easily believe that less than 10% of church members today believe in the imminent coming of Jesus and the study of Bible prophecy. For this very reason Jesus said that he would come in an hour ye think not. (Matthew 24:42-44) It would seem to me that the Devil has a perfect stage today to perpetrate his “grand delusion” upon an unsuspecting and spiritually deceived world.

II Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers (goao) shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Timothy continues here to comment that the perilous times of the last days would see evil men getting worse and worse, rather than better. While it is certainly true that many of these perilous traits have existed throughout most of the (church age) 20 centuries since Timothy expounded upon them, there has also undeniably been an exponential spiraling increase in the intensity and prevalence of these symptoms of moral and religious decadence since the simultaneous rebirth of Israel, and the benign inception of the great falling away. (last 50 years) Unquestionably today’s phenomenon of modern terrorism is in view in this text, and portends that the evil terrorists of our time are assisting and abetting with the spirit of Antichrist in today’s perilous times that will accelerate the world headlong into the Great Tribulation. But closely paralleling the increased evil tendency of mankind in the last days is the vector of seducement by false prophets and false teachers. (wolves in sheep’s clothing) Seducers are simply spiritual imposters, or workers of spiritual wizardry! They compel upon the religious to engage in repetitive chants when singing or preaching and to make them become more pliable to succumbing to false doctrines, by leavening the truth with gradually increasing poisonous laces of scriptural perversion. Satan utilizes the unrighteous to prepare snares to entangle the righteous. You may ask; would God allow the wicked to overcome the righteous? The Lord is just and must judge the righteous as well as the wicked, and often when the righteous go astray and do not heed the call of repentance, they require God’s righteous judgment. (Psalms 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.) And now more than ever before, in these perilous last days, Satan is seeking to weaken the resistance of the righteous in order to foment his conspiracy of the end times.

Psalms 11:2-3 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed,--- what can the righteous do?

The end times conspiracy of the Antichrist involves a subtle scheme to target the true bride of Christ. The Psalmist pinpoints the fact that the wicked are privily (secretly) used by the powers of darkness to lay snares for righteous people and for righteous nations, to choke off the restraining power of the Holy Spirit. Paul alluded to this conspiracy of the evil one becoming a prevailing influence in the Last Days. Jesus also taught that the Last Days would be so perilous, that he even wondered aloud if he would find any faith on the earth when he returned. (Luke 18:8) The true church of the Last Days can expect to find itself seemingly to be up against insurmountable odds, but the Lord has promised that he would rescue his church at the midnight hour! Therefore, Jesus left as last command to watch, and be on the alert for the perils of end time Satanic assaults. If the church can be so deceived, what possible hope can any civil government have against the onslaught of such sinister forces of spiritual darkness?

Our American Republic for example, was a nation that was founded, not by human religionists, self-serving humanists, or even atheists, but by Bible believing Christians. They believed that the American republic should be based on the proposition that only God can grant life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and not the government and human rationale. With the now four decades long decline in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity one must retrace the erosion of America's foundations. Why have we found ourselves engulfed in perilous times? We have challenged God's existence (creator vs. evolution) in the 1920's Scopes Monkey trial, then questioned our founding father's intelligence in 1947 by reinterpreting the Separation of Church and State to be exactly opposite from their intent. Then in 1963, we began to practice political correctness by eradicating God, the Bible and prayer out of schools, courthouses, and public venues. The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools. One must ponder the attacks on our American foundation and the re-Constitutional construction in recent decades. How do they explain the fact that the Bible and the 10 Commandments came to be in such a prominent place in our government and schools in the first place! Our Founding Fathers held them in high esteem and incorporated them into our national fabric! But alas, America's churches and pastors and Christian leadership have sat on their big fat duffs for decades without defending our Christian Republic. Where was the outcry from Christian leaders in 1947, in 1963? As the verse above from Psalms eleven indicates, the unrighteous forces prepared a slick offensive against Christianity in America that they might shoot the upright in the heart. Now, with yet another slap at God's Commandments, where is the righteous power to do anything about it? It is gone, because it is probably too late as we have allowed the enemies of Christ too much of a foothold in our country. The evil forces are now in control! Perilous times are upon us! What can the righteous do if the foundations be destroyed? Absolutely nothing! We Christians have blown our national heritage by allowing the foundations of our republic to be destroyed by the enemy.

History verifies that civilizations tend to fall apart in three stages: As a nation turns away from God and loses contact with Him, God releases that culture (removes his hedge of protection) from his influence and allows it to be more and more exposed to the forces of evil, and to pursue its prodigal way.

Stage One often involves a sexual revolution beginning with increasing heterosexual immorality: premarital sex, and adultery. In the U.S. this phase started about a decade after World War II. (1950’s) These outward expressions of heterosexual sins which are latent in the heart reflected a breakdown in the integrity of family life.

Stage Two in a collapsing society is the appearance and acceptance of homosexual immorality. This is of course one step further removed from God's intended purpose for marriage and sexual expression.

Stage Three is the appearance of violence in society, terrorism and terrible crimes: child abuse, kidnapping and the murder of innocents, bizarre evils which defy rational explanation. During this last stage good is often called evil and evil is named as good. The moral order becomes been turned upside down. The only sure solution is a widespread return to God at all levels of society, and unfortunately for America, I see no revival and therefore no escape from the perilous times of the Last Days. The stage is being set for Antichrist and the Tribulation era.

II Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Before Timothy embarked into his narrative concerning the perilous times of the Last Days, he admonished the servants of Jesus to be on guard to recover themselves from any snares of the Devil. Satan, the clever conspirator is seeking in these final days to get an advantage over Christians and the church. (II Corinthians 2:11) The “Perilous Times that Timothy spoke of are here. They have crept up on us unaware. Nevertheless we as the faithful stalwart followers of Jesus Christ have no need of fear or intimidation. In these logistical perilous times before the final conflict over Israel, Jesus is our rock, our strength, and our Blessed Hope. Is it any wonder God’s Holy word ends with these comforting words.