(with footnotes)

This current generation, it is true,
Are lovers of pleasure,¹ more than of God.
Their entertainment exploits do accrue,

And treasures of their leisure get the nod.
Their measure is materialism,
While over the Lord God, they ride roughshod.

And how view we this age – modernism,
Pluralism, eroticism, and
Militarism, radicalism.²

Against all these the Christian takes a stand.
The Bible’s prophecies speak of decline¹¹
At the close of the Church age, in each land.

‘Mid persecution, God’s own must align
With faith and love upon a hostile earth.
Resist the devil, and in God, recline.

How long was it after angelic birth
That Satan fell from heaven like lightning?³
Furious now, he plants for all he’s worth,

Wickedness so great, it is frightening.
With false wonders, and all power and signs
And with deception that is heightening –

This rebellious one, and from ancient times,
With his angels, down to the earth He was thrown –
Master of this world, in whose realm he shines.

But to God, all future history is known,
And Satan will be crushed under our feet,⁴
For God’s word in all its splendour has shown

The future time when all will be complete;
A coming time for Satan’s cessation.⁵
Meanwhile, he works with cunning and deceit.

Dissemination of information
Is rampant and constant with mobile phones.⁶
They eat, sleep, talk, walk their fixation.

Facebook; rock music, all day through headphones,
Distraction and curse the devil applies –
Vehicle for Satan through tones and semitones –

We have a world of arrogance and lies,
Distorted, delusional, mangled mess.
Where honesty’s cloaked in subtle disguise;

⁵Causes man generally to confess
That good is evil and evil is good;⁷
Sweet is sour, and sour parades in sweet’s dress.

For us Christians, it must be understood
That these are the days of darkened light.
We must withstand, as Christians have withstood.

It is against the world’s darkness we fight.
We are not blinded to Satan’s foul schemes.
The world might be dark, but our view is bright.

So many endeavours touch the extremes
Of fanciful foolishness of men’s lives.
They each build around them uncertain dreams.

Satan’s horde is diligent, and it strives
To pervert the eternal human soul
For hell, and from heaven, so it deprives.

Therefore, it is Satan’s ultimate goal
To confuse, confound, pervert and hate;
To bring the nations under his control.

Why do the nations rage and legislate⁸
Against what’s upright, moral and decent,
While every essence of sin they dilate?

Duped, they seek out paths that are putrescent –
Abortion to twenty-two weeks is law;
Homosexual marriage – God’s law rent.

Many more would swell the list of man’s straw.
Why do people imagine a vain thing,⁸
Opposing God’s word against which they gnaw?

Satan they are aiding and abetting,
While giving credence to the “isms” of men,
And it is God they are abusing.

And what of this world’s “isms” can we say then –
Humanism, liberalism and
Environmentalism and its yen?

So many more will claim the devil’s brand –
Abortion, sexuality, gender,
Human relations, we can expand.

In all of this, who is the offender?
He, through human history, the insurgent,
Thrown out of heaven, from all its splendour.

In these last days, his vileness resurgent,
And for their ruin, among the nations moves,
So they, from all truth, become divergent.

All ideologies vile, he approves.
He promotes demonic fermentation.
God’s precepts, among the nations, he removes.

Vile Satan, what caused in you, gestation
From perfection to your full decadence;
From the Anointed Cherub, to mutation?

In all you are and do – an abhorrence
As among men you move and infiltrate,
But in God’s righteous judgement – dissidence.

Education streams you adulterate.
Governments and rulers are in your pay.
All men’s ambitions – desecrate.

In the United Nations – have your sway
To every land on earth.  You organize
Such, that every human being is your prey.

Any spark of decency – tyrannize,
And seek destruction of the human race.
All that’s good and holy – you demonize.

All that’s not of God, you surely embrace.
Iniquity and evil are your being.
In righteous eyes, an absolute disgrace!

With eyes opened wider, we are seeing
One aspect of this world’s false devotion.
From all its errors, godliness is fleeing

From evolution’s evil promotion:
“Survival of the fittest” it acclaims,
Then all human values face demotion.

Unleashed, vaulting pragmatism proclaims
“I fight for my existence tooth and claw”
The biblical principles, it disclaims,

Of adherence to God’s compassion law.
God said to love your neighbour as yourself,
Not to squash him under, for more and more.

We hear the term “ev’ry man for himself”
For evolution’s doctrine has that theme:
“Others are lesser value than myself.”

The hurting ones may cry with silent scream.
As they are not the fittest, you ignore
Their pleas. For evolution’s cruel regime

Will murder the yet unborn child, before
It can mount its defense, its case to raise,
So it’s evolution we must abhor.

Harken here! God knows the ways
Of the murderers, and the ruthless mob;
Those who ascribe to subjugating gaze;

Whose hearts unchecked, with wicked passions throb;
Who are evolution’s selfish offspring,
But your future’s sure. God you cannot rob!

In this chaotic world with its blurring
Of divine boundaries that are set in stone,
Man is launching into an authoring,

Where humanism’s future is unknown
In its reckless abolition of God,
Its futile chase, one day it will bemoan.

Man will bow to none other, than the rod
Of his legislated humanism.
Men of influence think it warped and odd

That Christians might raise a criticism
Of their ungodly and satanic lives.
They accuse the Christian of dogmatism

While they engage their atheistic drives
With all pre-flood⁹ urgency and yearning –
Godlessness, until judgment day arrives.⁹

What of these days when men’s hearts are burning,
Inflamed to pursue so sinful a course?
All around, to evil they are turning.

It’s the Bible’s prophecy we endorse,
When it sheds light on the present last days;
When we see from standards, certain divorce,

And women and men move with hearts ablaze –
Money lovers, self-lovers, ungrateful,¹
And obedience to parents decays,

Conceited, brutal, reckless and boastful
Irreconcilable and unloving
Treacherous, malicious gossips, hateful,

No self-control, unholy, reviling.¹⁰
Comprehend these things, but don’t be alarmed
But note well, for these things are beguiling.

The confused world in ev’rything is charmed
By subtle guile and enticing delights,
And will embrace actions by which it is harmed.

The pleasures of sin will stir appetites,
But the Christian with God, he understands
The world is entering darkening nights.¹⁰

The rulers of the world lift up their hands
To execute agendas they devise,
Imagining things vile for all their lands;

To institute their plans considered wise –
They know not what, because their vision’s blind.
They plot to culminate their sure demise,

Yet think the strategies they have outlined,
And those on which to lavish much acclaim,
Are policies to benefit mankind.

The God who rules will not deny His Name,
Though Satan’s active in his deception
With “God is dead,” advancing his own fame.¹¹

But where rests God in the world’s rejection?
With humanism’s tune, the nations ring.
Their loyalty? Another owns defection!

The nations rage, and all their hatred bring
At the behest of their commander vile;
His praises claim; his attributes they sing.

The nations’ goals – their “leader” will defile:
Their Satan by whose power they are fixed.
So God’s right? His claim they will revile.

With craftiness … hatred and love come mixed,
As Satan holds the nations in his sway;
Their minds, unknowingly, are all transfixed,

So evil is good; evil for good, repay!
Usurper’s role, angel of light impressed,
And gilds the nations grasping in dismay.

O, Lucifer, god of this world possessed,
You guide the peoples with your unseen mind
Ensnaring them; in vileness you invest.

Through governments, your demons are entwined.
Their laws, with humanism, you endow,
And godliness, with tragedy, maligned.

Named “prince and power of the air” for now –
Usurped through fiendish pride, you renegade,
Defeated, but to Christ one day, you’ll bow.

The world’s condition now is retrograde₁₂
But for the Christian, of greater concern,
Are abominations that masquerade

In Christian circles, where truth, one will spurn
And errors of doctrine and faith, accept.
Where now is the person who will discern

The evil that entered while clergy slept;
When ties to God’s holy word were detached;
And away from God’s truth, wicked men stepped.¹³

From once sound doctrinal statements, are scratched
The virgin birth, eternal punishment,
Repentance and sin. Liberals attached

Themselves to pursue spineless appeasement
To the world’s vulgar standards of Satan.
God’s honourable truth met abasement.

Many churches preach the dogmas of man.
The Bible’s teachings have been watered down.
Laodicea’s weak tepidness began¹⁴

In the eighteen hundreds, and hangs around
With insidious leaven,¹⁵ dictating
Godless doctrines inside churches, that crown

Not God and His gospel, but abducting
From truth, they will surely have their reward.
All sin, the lake of fire is attracting.

Christian, look up! We belong to the Lord.
He will deliver us by His power.
He is coming soon! Praise with one accord!

NOTES ON PART 5:

1. Lovers of pleasure and entertainment, sporting events, music, iPods and computer games and all the rest are a feature of the current times. What is wrong about all this, is the word “MORE/ RATHER” as in this passage referring to the last days – 2Timothy 3 v 1-4 “Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
2. There are so many “isms” we could apply to our present age. It is interesting to look them up. The ones chosen here are, in my opinion, most relevant to the time of writing.
3. Satan’s fall. How long after Lucifer’s creation did he fall from heaven? It is impossible to answer because of the Bible’s silence. The various ideas people have are the conclusions from their individual philosophies. For example, those who subscribe to Creation Science (Answers in Genesis) claim that the creation of everything, including angels, is only 6,000 years ago. Because of that stand, the adherents place the creation and the fall of Satan almost at the same time. It is a very confining position. Those who believe in a much older angelic creation have a greater latitude in time, but nothing can be accurately known.

Those who subscribe to an older universe (some up to about 11 billion years as the oldest level) believe the fall could have been eons ago. There is an interesting thought that Satan’s fall to earth caused a judgment on earth that resulted in the earth being covered in water and darkness as it was when God began to refashion the earth from Genesis 1 v 3 onwards. It is a huge area, as is why the earth was “formless and void” in Genesis 1 v 2 and a parallel passage with the same expression in Jeremiah 4 v 23-26 where Jeremiah is describing the results of judgment. The only accurate fact is that Satan’s fall was sometime in the past before he tempted Eve.

4. Rom. 16 v 20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
5. Satan’s end is certain. He is active only for a season and is always on God’s leash. When the Lord reigns for the 1,000-year Millennium, Satan is chained in the abyss (Rev 20 v 1-3 “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed. After these things he must be released for a short time”).

After that, Satan goes out to deceive the nations for war against God, but he is taken and thrown into the lake of fire forever – Rev 20 v 7-10 “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. They came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

6. The mobile/cell phone revolution has been astounding. The older generation sees these devices as a curse to social interaction from the days when people spoke to each other at bus stops, on trains and in the street. Now it is all look-click-look-click-read-type with human voice silence. What these phones have done is to make information and events known almost immediately throughout the world. That puts Revelation 11 v 10 right into context, a concept no earlier generation could ever understand. A recent report claimed that 68% of people went to sleep with their phones under the pillow or very close to them. Such is phone dependence and addiction!
7. Much of morality and God’s precepts have been turned upside down only since about the year 2010. Australia has seen an immorality revolution since only 2017 with the adoption of homosexual marriage, gender neutrality, a child’s sex withheld from the birth certificate, abortion now to 22 weeks, forbidden to use the term “boys and girls” as in Victorian schools, and the widespread advancement of what is known as LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual).

The Bible has an answer to this, very clearly. God’s standard is immutable. Isaiah 5 v 20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Isa 5:21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! Isa 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink; Isa 5:23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!”

8. Psalms 2 v 1 “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? Psa. 2:2 “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed: Psa. 2:3 ‘Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us!’ Psa 2:4 ‘He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.”
9. “Pre-flood.” There are two main references here for this entry. There are two references only, in fact. Here is the first – Genesis 6 v 5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” That is a serious statement about the sin of the human race. Before the flood came, men were so wicked that every thought and action was continually evil. We will not reach those days like that before the Lord returns for His Church (the Rapture), but we are certainly walking the downhill slope.

Regarding the judgment day to come, the second reference was given by Jesus – Matthew 24 v 37-39 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah, for as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking; they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” The flood took them all away in judgment. At the Second Coming, all who are not the Lord’s in the Tribulation will be taken away in judgment. In the Tribulation, wickedness and men’s hearts will be as bad as, or almost as bad as what was before Noah’s flood.

10. 2Timothy 3 v 13 “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” The Bible is clear that things at the end of the age get worse and worse. 2Timothy 3 v 1 “But realise this, that in the last days difficult times will come.”
11. The “God is dead” movement was very popular in the 1960s especially among the intelligentsia and academics. The movement spread to the streets. The same concept is very much alive in universities and caused the rapid rise in atheism. It is the general belief of communists and the socialist left. One day all the God-deniers will receive a huge shock.
12. The older generation, as never before, is astounded at how rapidly the world has changed in ways never thought possible. Every facet of human life is touched. There are increased laws of restriction and abolition of human rights. Gender, sexuality, marriage, decency, trust – all have been reversed. Two to five hundred years ago, art, music, literature etc., were grand but have declined into ugliness. One of the best examinations ever written on this subject is “How Should We Then Live? – The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. It is a major Christian cultural and historical documentary film series and book. The book was written by theologian Francis A. Schaeffer and first published in 1976.” Source: Internet.
13. The Bible is our only authority, and for ages past was upheld as the inspired word of God. Then in the last couple hundred years, the rationalists and the advocates of “higher criticism” mainly in Germany questioned the authority of the Bible. One major Australian denomination, full of liberalism, claims the Bible “contains the word of God” but is not the word of God. This is why churches can accept all the gross evils of gender and abortion and marriage. You pick and choose from the Bible what you want and what you reject.
14. Laodicea was one of the seven churches John wrote to in Asia Minor in A.D. 96. It was a smug church that was run by the people, not by spiritual men appointed by God; a church that had shut God out of the equation. The Lord condemned them because they were tepid, lukewarm, and a disgrace. They stood for nothing and shut the Lord outside the door. The study of these seven churches is a truly enlightening revelation into the historical progress of Christianity for the past 2,000 years. Revelation 3 v 14-22 is the letter to Laodicea.
15. “insidious leaven.” Without exception, “leaven” in the Bible is always evil. It is NEVER good. The Jews search and eliminate every hint of leaven for Passover. God commanded unleavened bread for the Passover in Egypt before the exodus in Exodus chapter 12. Jesus warned of the wickedness of Herod – Mark 8 v 15 “And He was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’” He also warned of the wickedness of the Pharisees – Luke 12 v 1 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’”

Paul warned about the evil working of leaven – 1Cor 5 v 6-8 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened, for Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Paul infers that evil does its work – Gal 5 v 7-9 “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”

One of the most misunderstood parables is one of the Kingdom parables of Matthew 13, the one about the leaven – Matthew 13 v 33 “He spoke another parable to them, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.’” It is the incorrect teaching to say that the leaven is the gospel which permeates through the world to make the world righteous. In fact, it is the opposite. Leaven is always evil. In the early days of the church (and we will look at Constantine later – Part 6, Footnote 15), much evil entered the church and permeated through the church and the world. A type in scripture is always uniform. It can’t mean one thing on most occasions, but something else another time.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:1).

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, …” (2 Timothy 3:2).

Introduction

This series is a study examining the societal characteristics of the last days that Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 3.

Initially, this four-part series was basically an outline to aid in the teaching of these passages. There’s really nothing earth-shaking or groundbreaking found within this study – at least for the educated believer. We know these verses very well and have been witnessing this prophecy coming to fruition on a yearly, monthly, and daily basis.

But I did want to share this study with the reader, as the definitions of the Greek words Paul used are very helpful, useful, and sometimes eye-opening. In sharing this series, I hope and pray it will be used as a tool for teaching on this subject and shared with unbelievers, that they may see what we so clearly see.

Basically, I’m listing the English words with their original Greek counterparts, noting their primary definitions, citing Scripture for practical application, and relating these societal characteristics with current events and trends in an effort to demonstrate that these prophecies for the last days are being fulfilled before our very eyes.

For Men Shall Be Lovers of Their Own Selves

The Greek word for “lovers of their own selves” is 5367 phílautos (an adjective, derived from 5384/phílos, “lover” and 846/autós, “of self”) – properly, a lover of self, describing someone preoccupied with their own selfish desires (self-interests). [All definitions from Biblehub.com]

The world has been telling us that the reason mankind has problems in life is because men and women have a natural tendency to dislike themselves.

Is this true? What does the Bible say?

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3).

The pseudo-sciences of Psychology and Psychiatry, popularized by God-denying, Christ-rejecting men such as Freud, Jung, Maslow, and others have played a major role in perpetuating the lie that men lack “self-esteem” and “self-love.” This is the only profession that claims to cure the disease that itself has created. (For more information on this subject, I highly recommend Psychology and the Church by T.A. McMahon and Dave Hunt, articles at thebereancall.org, and books by Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan.)

Unfortunately, this humanistic man-centered lie has infiltrated the church at an alarming rate. We even have churches that employ secular psychologists and psychiatrists on their staff.

Other churches, in an effort to “help” their congregations – yet seeing a contradiction – have resorted to employing so-called “Christian psychologists” or “Christian counselors” who are steeped in the pseudo-sciences of humanistic Psychology and Psychiatry and are promoting these teachings that are contrary to the Bible. All of this is done in an effort to heighten the laity’s self-esteem and self-love. This endeavor should be considered the purest form of “antithetical Christian behavior.”

We, as Christians, have the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus called The Comforter. He is the only One that should be counseling the believer. As Jesus told His disciples:

“… I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).

Jesus, Himself, was prophesied to be the “Wonderful Counselor”:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Whatever happened to good old-fashioned fellowship and sharing in the sufferings of the brotherhood?

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another” (Romans 12:10).

Man, according to Scripture, has never had a problem loving himself. In fact, it is this self-love that is the problem. The sin of selfishness is probably the most easily seen of all sin and the first to rise in the human heart. Just consider the toddler and his favorite new word, “Mine!”

It’s no surprise that this characteristic is so prevalent in secular society, but, sadly, this state of loving one’s self is just as pervasive in the professing church.

Here’s the church’s remedy for self-love:

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

For Men Shall Be… Covetous

The Greek word for “covetous” is 5366 philárgyros (from 5384/phílos, “lover” and 696/árgyros, “of silver”) – properly, a lover of money (literally, silver) – i.e., someone (literally) “in love with personal gain (having money).”

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus 20:17).

“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” (Luke 12:15).

Modern-day political words that come to mind when we think of covetousness are Socialism, Marxism, wealth redistribution, and reparations. A legendary tale’s mantra is, “Take from the rich and give to the poor.”

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

There are three words that seem to inspire the world in their unhealthy pursuit of “happiness”: Power, fame, and fortune; and the devil is only too happy to provide if it suits his purposes.

Everybody wants what everybody else has and won’t be satisfied, so they think, until they have it all. We, as a fallen people, are never content without God – it’s impossible. We have to have more! “Give me, give me, give me! Take, take, take!” For what?

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

For the disciple of Christ, we should proclaim with Paul that we have

“… learned, in whatsoever state [we are], therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11b).

The one sin that plagues all of mankind, without fail and never satisfies, is the sin of covetousness. It most certainly is prevalent in all societies and is ramping-up in these last days.

For the believer, is a command with a promise:

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

For Men Shall Be… Boasters

The Greek word for “boasters” is 213 alazṓn (a masculine noun) – properly, a wandering vagrant (vagabond), boasting to anyone who is foolish enough to take him seriously! This kind of person claims many things he can’t really do, so he must always keep moving on to new, naive listeners. [As a masculine noun, 213 (alazṓn) tends to focus on the source of the empty boasting, i.e., the sinful arrogance that drives it.]

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

The culture of the United States is a cesspool of boasting. From exalted entertainers and sports figures to the elite corporate and social media tycoons and political talking heads. Those in the upper echelons of public life are as arrogant as they come.

Consider the rulers of other nations; how they boast of their newest weapons, luxury palaces, and the power they wield.

How’s your circle of influence and observations concerning this character trait? Is it as prevalent in your sphere as it is in my everyday walk in this world?

Everybody was, and is, the best athlete. Everybody was, and is, the most popular. Everybody is the smartest and most qualified. Whenever one is passed over for a job promotion, it isn’t because they didn’t deserve it – in fact, they more than deserved it – they just have an idiot for a boss. And it goes on and on and on.

As Christians, we should all declare:

“My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad” (Psalm 34:2).

Do we see arrogant boasting in our society from the top-down today, and does it seem to be intensifying? I’d say it would be an exception for one not to acknowledge this trend.

For Men Shall Be… Proud

The Greek word for “proud” is 5244 hyperḗphanos (from 5228/hypér, “beyond, over” and 5316/phaínō, “shine forth”) – properly, over-shine, trying to be more than what God directs, i.e., going beyond the faith He imparts (cf. Ro 12:2,3).

“Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21).

The fall of Satan was contingent on, and instigated in, his self-deluded pride; and the father of pride has seduced mankind with the same mindset and empty promises.

Pride inevitably leads to boasting. It seems you can’t have one without the other. This most certainly appears to be why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use these two societal characteristics side-by-side.

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).

If we see boasting so widespread in our day like we do, then we most certainly can say we have the market cornered by the pride that fuels such boasting.

For the Christian:

“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips” (Proverbs 27:2).

For Men Shall Be… Blasphemers

The Greek word for “blasphemers” is 989blásphēmos – what is blasphemous (reverses spiritual and moral realities). See 987 (blasphēmeō). 987 blasphēméō (from blax, “sluggish, slow” and 5345/phḗmē, “reputation, fame”) – properly, refusing to acknowledge good (worthy of respect, veneration); hence, to blaspheme which reverses moral values.

“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!” (Isaiah 5:20).

Isaiah’s statement of prophecy is fulfilled in a radical way in these end-times. With the obvious exception of the pre-flood world, the reversal of moral values is a plague on society and has never been so prevalent as it is in these last days. What once was considered taboo is now not only accepted, it is encouraged and celebrated. We, as a society, are virtually having a party for evil and have buried in death all that is righteous, holy, and good.

Observation makes this characteristic crystal clear for anyone with eyes to see. Just pick up the newspaper and keep up on the new “social” laws and the protections of deviant behavior passed by the world’s governments.

Notice also that we have a set of laws for the populace that is never heeded by those who write those laws, as lawlessness rules our day.

The world has rejected the good and embraced the evil. It’s hard to believe it will get worse, but it most certainly will.

For us who are called by the Name of the Lord, we should…

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-23).

For Men Shall Be… Disobedient to Parents

The Greek word for “disobedient” is 545 apeithḗs (an adjective) – literally, unwilling to be persuaded (by God), which shows itself in outward disobedience (outward spiritual rebellion); disobedient because unpersuaded. 545/apeithḗs (“unpersuaded”) begins with the decision to reject what God prefers, with His offer to persuade about His preferred-will (cf. 2307/thélēma). See 543 (apeitheia). [Note the root, 3982/peíthō (“persuade”).]

Any visit to a grocery store, and one could very well see this characteristic play out, in real time, with a teenager (or even a pre-teen) screaming and cursing out his or her mother. The words coming from that child’s mouth would make a sailor blush. But this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg concerning this characteristic trait.

“The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it” (Proverbs 30:17).

Most certainly, the Holy Spirit is grieved by how we, as a people, have disrespected, disregarded, and discarded our parents in their senior years as a collective society. We consider those we ship off to nursing homes – never to be visited by their loved ones again – the lucky of the lot. How infuriating!

Whether they were lovely or something to be desired, we have a command to honor them, and we would be well-served to do just that.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12).

It truly is heartbreaking at what the offspring can do to those who brought them into the world and supplied their needs. This is a condition that has a trickle-down effect on society, and we are seeing the rotten fruit of that tree today.

Paul summarized this commandment this way:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:1-3).

For Men Shall Be… Unthankful

The Greek word for “unthankful” is 884 axáristos (an adjective, derived from 1/A “not” and 5483/xarízomai, “experiencing grace“) – properly, without God’s grace (favor) which results in unthankfulness (literally, “ungraceful”).

This is an interesting definition and seems to suggest a circular reciprocity that, in most cases, never ends. God grants His grace and favor to man, and man tends to become unthankful. When God’s grace and favor are withheld (for whatever reason God deems necessary), then man becomes that much more unthankful. Man is just outright unthankful – regardless of favor and grace, or not.

It would also seem that this perpetual condition, most obviously, is a result of learned behavior in the home.

Mom and Dad give the child grace and favor; the child becomes spoiled and expects, then neglects, these gifts in unthankfulness. As punishment, Mom and Dad revoke said grace and favor, and… Well, I think you get the idea.

It seems it all comes down to that strong human sense of entitlement.

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15).

We often think of unthankfulness as a childlike quality, and indeed spoiled children bring about spoiled fruit in the lives of those children if not corrected by a loving parent. But, unfortunately, the rod of discipline has been taken from our society, and we see the repercussions of this as those same children have grown up.

Honestly, it is a rarity these days to find one who is thankful. Unthankfulness goes hand in hand with covetousness, and they work their darkened “magic” together to the detriment of society’s spiritual and moral health. No wonder God withdraws His grace and favor.

Once one covets anything from an evil and unnatural desire – then receives what he or she has coveted – are they thankful? Of course not. Things desired and received by force, or even as a gift, are rarely respected and appreciated. Why? Because the deceitful and wicked human heart is never satisfied and demands “More! More! More!”

Isaiah, speaking of Israel’s useless watchmen leaders, sums up this perverse characteristic this way:

“Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter” (Isaiah 56:11).

For those of us who have given our lives to the Creator and Savior of our souls, we…

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning [us]” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Conclusion

For those with a keen eye, we will be starting our examination in Part 2 with “Unholy.” The reason I didn’t include that characteristic in Part 1 is because I wanted to make an obvious point with the characteristics we just studied: They are all about self.

“Lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful” – are all about self.

The remedy for the believer is to deny one’s self, as noted above:

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

The self-worship, which we all are prone to, is what keeps us from ever focusing our attention on others, and most importantly, on our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must put off “self” and put on Christ:

“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

[Note: I realize that this study on Societal Characteristics of the Last Days is United States-centric, as this is where I live. My guess is that this series will also ring true in the rest of the Western world. But what I’m really interested in is: Do these characteristics describe the current conditions in the nation of Israel as well? After all, the Bible is Israel-centric. If any of our dear friends in Israel would like to reach out with their take on this study and its relationship to Israel, I’d really love to hear from you!]

Email: mab10666@yahoo.com