Peering through the darkness on the hillside, it was impossible to see anything with the naked eye. The hill was mined, and the enemy was everywhere. One soldier was cut off, and desperately struggling to find his platoon and a way out of there. Hope was slipping away until the sound of his drill sergeant began to capture his heart. “Use the goggles“, the shouted during training years earlier. These high tech goggles allowed him to see what others could not – infra-red showed the body heat of others on the hill. Now he could see what they could not…
Key Principle: The spiritual battle against the darkness is real. The casualties are real. The war is on… But as a believer you have the ability to peer into the darkness. You can see life from the perspective of the Lord of Heaven who is set to win the battle!
The Word Explains the Cycle of Truth (3:1)
3:1 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come…” Believers and shepherds are forewarned – During the period of the “last days” the truth will be less welcomed at some points than others (3:1). The term “difficult times” I the Greek term “Chalepos”: hard to do, to take, to approach. It likely comes from the verb “Chalao”: to loosen, slacken, relax or to let down from a higher place to a lower. In other words, times will come when because of the loosening of the standards and adherence to truth, it will be hard to live among people in the world. Though it does not say in this verse that it gets “worse and worse and then Jesus comes” the implication that the waves become more severe with time is found in 3:13 “from bad to worse”. It says that during this whole era, there will be cycles in which the truth will be held in low regard!
The Word reveals the character of darkness (3:2-5):
3:2 “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. “ The most important thing when entering a mine field is to learn how to AVOID (arneomai ar-neh’-om-ahee: to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate — deny, refuse) THEM (3:5b). We don’t try to just keep away. We point out the dangers to those who follow us!
During the times of low regard for the truth, men will have characteristics that we can observe and prepare to live in the midst of- Note the words of the NASB followed by the Greek term and its meaning:
They are “Lovers of self”: (phil-autos) love self; “Lovers of money”: (Phil-arguros) love shining (as in coins); “Boastful”: (Aladzon) empty braggard; “Arrogant”: (huperephanos) appearing above others (conspicuous), i.e. (figuratively) haughty — proud; “Revilers”: (Blasphemos) slanderous; “Disobedient to parents” (Apeithes) non compliant and unbending; “Ungrateful” (Acharistos) ungracious; both unpleased and unpleasing; “Unholy” (Anosios) not walking in an undefiled state from sinful practices. ”Unloving” (Astorgos) literally “not cherishing”; without natural affection, unsociable (Rom 1:31), inhuman (2 Tim. 3:3 RSV), unloving (2Ti. 3:3 NKJV); “Irreconcilable” (Aspondos) not with contract; unwilling to remain in things not mutually agreed upon; cannot be persuaded to enter into a covenant; “Malicious gossips” (Diabolos) used of the Devil – false accuser, slanderer; “Without self control” (Akrates) not operating with dominion; “Brutal” (Anemeros) not tame, savage, fierce; “Haters of good” (Aphilagathos) not loving good; “Treacherous” (Prodotes) a betrayer, traitor; “Reckless” (Aropetes) to fall forwards, headlong, to be rash, reckless; “Conceited” (from Tuphoo) to raise a smoke, to wrap in a mist; to be puffed up with haughtiness or pride; “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (fil-ay’-don-os) love (hedonistic) pleasures; “Holding (echo: possessing) a form (Morphosis: shape, resemblance) of godliness – denied (ar-neh’-om-ahee: act entirely unlike himself) power (Dunamis: inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature) – Some will continue to do the things that look like they work, but will not act consistent with the value of those things!
The Word exposes the strategies of dark leaders (3:6-9):
Remember, to AVOID (arneomai ar-neh’-om-ahee: to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate — deny, refuse) THEM (3:5b) is not to simply keep away. We point out the dangers to those who follow us! What is their mode of operation?
3:6 “For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also. “
Some will enter into households:
They will captivate (prey on) “enter households and captivate”: ενδυνοντες verb – from enduno en-doo’-no: to sink into or “wrap around and cling to” (by implication, wrap on, i.e. (figuratively) sneak – creep. PLUS αιχμαλωτευοντες verb – aheekh-mal-o-tew’-o: to capture — lead captive. The image of a giant squid of mythological proportions wrapping around and entrapping…
- weakened guilt ridden people: The combination of words is “γυναικαρια” (goo-nahee-kar’-ee-on), the term for a little (fig. foolish) woman, or “silly” woman; the verb “σεσωρευμενα” from sore-yoo’-o: to pile up — heap, load; and αμαρτιαις for a sin (properly abstract) — offence, sin(-ful). The idea is an “easy victim” who carries the baggage of heavy past sins.
- who are impulsive: This phrase is three words – αγομενα verb – from ag’-o: (reflexive) to be driven by; επιθυμιαις: a longing (especially for what is forbidden) ; ποικιλαις adjective – poy-kee’-los: various in character — divers, manifold. The idea is that they will find victims among those who have strong urges to do all kinds of wrong but need to feel justified by someone.
- who are searching but not truly knowledgeable: The phrase is of one who is running from one exchange of information to another seeking truth, but without the power or apparatus to identify it clearly.
They will use tricks: like the two magicians in Egypt’s court that withstood Moses (Exodus 7 does not name them, but they became established identities) they will MIMIC the work of God!
They will oppose the truth: anthistemi : to stand against, or resist being scrutinized by the truthful ones.
They demonstrate depraved values: “men of depraved minds” is from κατεφθαρμενοι: kat-af-thi’-ro: to spoil entirely, to corrupt, to utterly perish. Their value system will place high value on all things perishing and truly worthless.
They will be rejected by those who hold the faith: is a phrase including αδοκιμοι “ad-ok’-ee-mos”: unapproved and cast away; περι through the pistis: persuasion of truth. The phrase means cast aside by those who have been convinced to view the world by God’s standards, i.e. the truth.
They will eventually be exposed openly:Their ανοια (an’-oy-ah): stupidity would be εκδηλος (ek’-day-los): wholly evident — manifest.
The Word records the path of those who passed us the Message (3:10-12):
We should not be discouraged when troubles come to the modern church, as though we must be doing something wrong if things are tough. The generations that God used to give us the message of the Gospel experienced some of the same things. Note that Paul says two different kinds of experiences were his:
- The good testimony: You know my teaching, conduct (or manner of life), my purpose (goals), my faith (Biblical world view), my patience (long fuse when burned), love (selfless actions), my perseverance (ability to remain under pressure).
- The hard times: You also know my persecutions, my sufferings!
Paul’s final words on these troubles should cause all who desire to follow the Lord a time of pause. “All who desire to live godly… will be persecuted.” It is the normal expectation of the believer that troubling words and actions will come from non believers. We need to stop building the expectation of all new followers of Christ that He is primarily focused on making them more comfortable in this life – or they will fall away “en masse” when the troubling events occur.
The Word offers two answers:
Discipleship (mentoring) and adherence to the Word! (3:13-17):
According to a 1996 Barna survey, 42% of Americans say they believe that the Bible is the literal word of God. Yet almost half of Americans believe that the Bible is too hard for them to understand, so on given week very few people actually read the book they claim to embrace as God’s literal word. Clearly there’s a discrepancy between what we say we believe and our true beliefs as demonstrated by our actions.
The word “Bible” has come to mean in our culture any collection of writings regarded as authoritative on a topic. You will read of writings called “The Beauty Bible” or “The Accountant’s Bible”. One local newspaper claimed, “If your religion is sports, then our newspaper is your Bible.”
An authentic Christian teaching openly proclaims that no other book is more authoritative on the topic of truth than the Bible – written over a span of 1,500 years in three different languages, with a unified message of God’s plan and purpose for humanity.
Let me be clear: real Christians believe, teach, trust and model the Bible. They don’t dodge it, try to water it down or explain it away. Get on board with the God of the universe and you won’t have a problem with Him simply creating the world. The Bible was given by God to men: Real Christians believe in the relevance of the Bible in their daily decision making. The Bible claims to be “God breathed” sometimes rendered “inspired by God,” but this word means to breath out rather than in, and that makes the focus of this word on God’s breath being the source of the Bible. The Bible communicates God’s voice (cp. 2 Peter 1:20-21)
The Word was given for a stated purpose: (3:16)
Despite some modern writers, it was not a diet book, nor a prosperity manual. It is “profitable” or the word “practical,” and “beneficial.” I think the word “relevant” captures the meaning here,-it has vital practical relevance for our lives. This relevance is seen in four areas:
Teaching: This focuses on how to live life and become what God intended you to be. It isn’t just instruction about Heaven, but practical things like being a good spouse, being a good parent, using your time talent and treasure for God’s kingdom and glory.
Reproof: or rebuking. That sounds kind of harsh, but it simply means confronting our wrong ideas or beliefs about life. We grow up with misconceptions and distortions about God, ourselves, and the world around us that need to be changed.
Correction: Correction is similar to rebuking, but focuses in on behavior (instead of beliefs). When we act out in a way that shows what we learned BEFORE we knew God, the Bible pushes us back on the path by correction.
Training in righteousness: This focuses on the Bible’s role in helping us live the kind of lives that please God. Since integrity doesn’t come naturally to fallen people, we need training to walk in integrity within and authenticity without.
Men and Women, the battle is real. The casualties are real. The war is on… But you have the ability to peer into the darkness. You can see life from the perspective of the Lord of Heaven who is set to win the battle!
