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

A person would have to be in complete denial to not see that we are, indeed, witnessing very perilous times. The Greek word chalepos is translated “perilous” and, in context, it means: hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce, savage. Have you read the news lately? The perilous times are here. Paul wrote this letter to his young friend Timothy who was the pastor in Ephesus, but he includes a message that spans the ages and is directed to the “last days.”

These are indeed the last days and we live in perilous times, but how many preachers warn against the evil? The Bible warns us, but many of today’s Christians think everything is peachy keen with no problems and that everything is just fine.

Turn on the news and read of the horrific crimes that are committed by the Muslim world, but where is the outrage? If the president of the United States wasn’t a Muslim, perhaps there would be more of an outcry. There are shootings on college campuses, in shopping malls, on military bases but rather than blame the person who pulls the trigger the blame is put upon the gun. How ridiculous is that? Not long ago I watched a news report that was horrifying.

A mother dangled her 2-year-old son over a cheetah pit and dropped him in. Both parents jumped into the pit to rescue the boy. Thank God the cheetahs did not attack. What would possess a mother to endanger her child? Possess is the key word….demons are real. Three news reporters presented this story, two men and a woman.

The men couldn’t stop making jokes about it. One man thought it would make the boy more macho. The other man thought it would have been better to have dropped the boy off at a racy nightclub in New York called The Cheetah Pit and that would have really made him a man. It’s no wonder there is no outrage against evil; it’s become a joking matter.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1).

Paul’s warnings about the latter times are correct. People shun Christianity and are no longer ashamed of embracing the doctrines of devils. Satan has slowly inserted his lies into Christian thinking and we just ignore evil hoping it will go away. It won’t. Demonic activity is alive today just as it was when Jesus cast them out of people.

Most preachers don’t preach about the evil that surrounds us, resulting in watered down Christian teaching allowing evil to grow stronger. Today we give evil a title, treat it with psychotherapy, and soothe it with drugs. Let’s not call it a demon, let’s just say mentally disturbed. Brothers and sisters, we are living in the last days and the perilous times are here. We must be fit for this spiritual battle.

During Noah’s day evil possessed all of creation and God sent a worldwide flood because of it. The same evil of Noah’s time is again permeating all of God’s creation and judgment will soon come. Scripture tells us that all who have placed their hope in Jesus will be taken out of the way of this judgment prior to Daniel’s 70th week. That gives us hope and comfort but many Christians just don’t care or they don’t believe it. They are blinded by the watered down teaching of God’s word.

“And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:4-7).

Soon every evil thing will be revealed, including some very strange goings on that haven’t been seen for thousands of years. Jesus said when He returns (His Second Coming, not the Rapture) it would be like the days of Noah.

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

The horrible corruption that occurred prior to the Flood took hundreds of years to corrupt all life except for Noah and his family. Satan is at it again and his evil is waxing stronger daily.

Satan was filled with pride and full of lies.

“…He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Those same lies affect the world today. He might wrap sin in a pretty package, but the ugly truth is that it always leads to destruction. The angels who followed him in rebellion to God corrupted the entire creation.

“The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Genesis 6:2).

Hybrids filled the earth and God sent the Flood to destroy these unholy creatures. I am not going to go into a long explanation of Genesis chapter six, but suffice it to say that this account has been twisted by satanic influence to make God look like the one who is evil. Satan would have us believe that the supposedly godly sons of Seth married the naughty girls of Cain and this caused God to destroy every man, woman, child, and all things on the earth. If you believe this then you really don’t know God.

Did you ever wonder where demons originated? Did God create this pure evil and send it out into an innocent world to possess and destroy man? When the fallen angels (sons of God) and human women (daughters of man) had offspring, they were neither angel nor human. They were hybrids in both body and spirit. Upon death the souls of these ungodly creatures couldn’t enter Paradise and looked for a place to take up residence. Hence, demon possession.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Our enemy is supernatural, so must our weapons be supernatural.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).

God is our defense. In this life we must always be prepared for satanic deception and the demonic attacks of the enemy. What’s going on in the realm of the supernatural is now spilling over into our dimension and becoming visible to the human eye. You must put on God’s supernatural weapons of war.

Most of the demonic phenomenon occurring these days is ignored and brushed aside because of a lack of knowledge, belief, or even interest. Some of this ignorance might even be generated by fear. Not only fear of the demonic itself, but fear that believing demonic forces exist might not be what a Christian should think about.

If God wanted you to be ignorant of this evil He wouldn’t have allowed so much about it in His word. Not only does He say it is around us, but He tells us how to fight it. First, don’t open the door for it to enter.

Drugs are weapons of Satan. They numb your mind and you cannot fight the enemy when in a drug induced stupor. In our society today give our children on drugs at a very young age. If little Johnny has too much energy, we give him drugs instead of discipline to stop him from bothering us. Horoscopes are satanic, so don’t read them. Ouija boards are not entertainment, but a portal to evil. Yoga invites evil spirits to enter us. “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Don’t open doors.

Draw closer to God. Study your Bible and don’t have a “that was then and this is now” attitude. Every word is there for your edification so make it a part of you…let it rule your life. When God’s Word says not to be a part of abhorrent lifestyles, He means it. When He says to not be yoked with unbelievers, He means it.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).

God’s wrath will come against those who hold back His truth. If you don’t study His Word because you are afraid it might warn against a sin you enjoy, then you are on Satan’s side.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

When Christians don’t study and understand God’s Word, Satan has the advantage.
Always pray. Prayer is a powerful resource for Christians, but is often ignored. There are some wonderful prayer warriors around, but most Christians don’t bother to pray, or when they do pray little thought goes into it. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.

Worship services usually include a time for prayer requests and then a minute or so is spent asking God to be with those who have lost loved ones or are ill. Don’t misunderstand, these things need to be taken to God. The problem is that a quick prayer is said and off we go to sing the next hymn. When was the last time a prayer request was made regarding spiritual warfare and demonic activity? When was the last time that Holy Spirit inspired prayer was prayed, calling on God’s power to come against the demons lurking behind our government, entertainment, public schools, news agencies, etc.? When was the last time you really prayed for a new convert who has invited Christ into their life but now needs to come away from the sin of which they’ve been forgiven?

Do you know someone with a drug addiction? If so, don’t just pray a quick “God help my neighbor with his drug problem” then move on. Go “boldly unto the throne of grace” and linger there in prayer. Spend 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or even an hour before God’s throne. Boldly pray for old and new believers. Pray for government leaders…pray against the evil power that wants to rule them. Prayer is powerful. Go before the throne of God in prayer.

Before we accepted Christ as our Saviour we were blind to Satan’s ways, but once we accepted Christ we then need to learn biblical truth, and that includes recognizing Satan’s ways.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Don’t be in denial that the evil supernatural exists. More important, don’t deny that God is more powerful than any evil. Satan will soon show his hand – reveal what he’s up to. He and his minions of evil are obsessed with prevailing against God, and too many Christians are asleep. Satan believes if he can disrupt the plan of God by deceiving the masses that God will be made a fool and a liar. God is neither a fool nor a liar.

Satan is a deceptive liar and the father of lies. Don’t be deceived. He twisted God’s words in the Garden of Eden and mankind was expelled because Satan’s lies were believed over God’s truth. He is still twisting God’s truth and people still believe his lies. We fight a battle against the supernatural, but we don’t admit there is evil supernatural to fight. Satan wants it that way.

These are very dark times and we are in a battle that may not be over soon enough. There may be many casualties before Christ removes His ekklēsia (the called out Body of Christ), then again we may be raptured before you finish reading this commentary. Whatever the case, Jesus tells us to be spiritually prepared for the spiritual battle.

Know the enemy and fight accordingly.

God bless you all,

Ron & Nathele Graham

God’s Word declares that there is only one way by which a person can be forgiven of sins and approach God, and that is through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That narrow, one-way path was opened when Jesus chose to die on the cross. The cross of Jesus is foolish to many people and for many others it as a stumbling block between them and truth.

“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The simple truth of the cross was something the Jews could not grasp. They wanted a sign that their Messiah had come, but were blind to the miracles He did while He walked this earth. The Greeks valued wisdom, so to them the simple truth of the cross wasn’t easy to understand and deemed foolish.

“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:24-25).

Many people are stumbled by the truth of the cross and foolishly try to find other ways to gain eternal life. There is no other way but by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Is it too simple? That simple gift was purchased at a tremendous cost.

What is the significance of the cross of Christ and what was the cost? Jesus Christ came to this earth to fulfill His Fathers will. If the Jews had accepted Him as their Messiah there would have been no crucifixion, but our Lord loves Jews and Greeks alike. He loves every man, woman, and child and doesn’t want anyone to perish.

“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14).

God loves all of His creation, but Adam was created in God’s image and that made him special. When Adam chose to sin mankind was separated from God and the fellowship they shared in the Garden was broken. God knew that there was only one way to redeem us. He had to become one of us and then shed His own blood to take our sin away.

Does this seem like foolishness to you? To me it seems like perfect love that can only be given by God Himself. The death that Jesus, God Almighty, endured in order to purchase our redemption was horrendous.

I urge you to take time to read Psalm 22:1-18, which is a very graphic prophetic description of what He endured. It wasn’t just the nails pounded into His hands and feet that caused His suffering, but He was whipped until His bones were exposed. He was also beaten, spit upon, and a crown of thorns was stuck into His head as a way to mock Him. He was fully God, but He was also fully human and the human side of Him felt the pain. The divine side of Him loved His creation enough to endure the torture in order to redeem us.

There was no other way…no ritual, works, or law would suffice. On the night of His arrest Jesus was well aware of what He would soon endure. He wanted there to be another way, and He went to God the Father in prayer.

“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

If there had been any other way to redeem us, God the Father would have not let God the Son endure the beatings, mocking, and death on the cross. The answer to Jesus’ prayer was “No.” So we can be assured that there is no other way. Because Jesus submitted to the Father’s will we are offered salvation. This offer has to be accepted individually, but it is available to everyone.

The cross is not foolishness but it does offend many people today. They say Christianity is too narrow. “All roads lead to God so it doesn’t matter what you believe.” That is foolishness. The agony that Jesus Christ endured and His death on the cross declare that there is only one way to God, and that is through the shed blood of our perfect God Himself.

If it were possible that Man could be saved by being “religious” the cross would have been unnecessary. If Man could be saved by keeping the law, the cross would have been unnecessary. If people could be saved by being good, the cross would have been unnecessary.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

There is no other way for your sins to be forgiven and for you to gain eternal life but through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus willingly left Heaven and became a man to save us.

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

His obedience is our salvation. What Jesus accomplished on that cross almost 2000 years ago is quite sufficient for anyone and everyone who wishes to spend eternity with God. It cannot be added to or taken away from. Good works should be a result of your faith, but good works do not bring salvation.

Jesus didn’t suffer and die that horrible death to be a part of salvation; He went through all that He did because that is the one and only way we can be saved.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

It really is that simple. Jesus’ death on the cross was not a tragedy; it was an accomplishment and a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is not offensive or foolish, nor should it stumble you.
Brethren, don’t be ashamed of your faith in what Christ did for you. Stand firm on the truth of what Jesus accomplished on that cross.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

When Jesus entered His creation He first came to the Jews. When they rejected Him the Gospel was spread throughout the world. God has made salvation available for everyone, but He will not force anyone to choose heaven if they think the cross is foolish, or if they find it to be a stumbling block.

There are many religions and cults that believe they have the answer to eternal life and that they have a way to enter heaven other than the narrow path by which the Bible proclaims.

These groups are terribly deceived. Those who teach that there is a way to enter heaven other than by Jesus Christ will actually be in worse condition than others who just refuse to believe. “…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” (2 Peter 2:1).

Peter said there would be “false teachers among you” which means within Christian groups. Be careful, my brethren. Study God’s Word so you won’t be deceived by false teaching.

“And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil
spoken of” (2 Peter 2:2).

Even among Christians the cross will be foolish and a stumbling block.

Many people reject the truth of the Bible and say it is a book full of myths, steeped in antiquity with no basis for factual evidence. These people have no idea of what the Bible is really all about, and they declare it to be foolishness.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Spiritually discerned means that only those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them have the God-given ability to understand the Scriptures. For all others the Bible is foolishness. In a way, this is proof of biblical truth. Satan would not try so hard to deceive people into being stumbled by the Bible’s truth if he weren’t threatened by it.

Many people have been influenced by Satan and they try to rid the world of the Bible, but he is no match for God. Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and if we allow Him, He will give us the power to confound those who try to twist God’s truth into foolishness. Don’t be confused by Satan’s lies. Study God’s truth and stand on His Word.

The Bible is packed with prophecy, many have been fulfilled but some are soon to be fulfilled. This is one way to know God’s truth. True prophecy comes from God. He would speak to a prophet and reveal something that was going to happen. Prophecy isn’t what God will make happen, but what God sees will happen.

A few of the fulfilled prophecies relating to Jesus are: Micah 5:2 (He would be born in Bethlehem), 2 Samuel 7:12-14 (Son of David), Psalm 22:1-18 (crucified), Zechariah 12:10 (He would be pierced).

These are just a few of the prophecies fulfilled by Christ’s First Advent. This fact alone authenticates God’s Word. God is not restrained by space or time, but He exists outside of our time domain. God sees tomorrow as clearly as He sees today.

God knew that Adam would sin before Adam was even created, and He knew the redemption for that sin would be His own death on the cross. He knew every sin you and I would commit before He even created us. He also knows who will accept the truth of the cross, and who won’t.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

This is not foolishness…this is love.

Christ overcame death and the grave for you, but you need to accept that fact. The cross is not foolishness, but it is foolish to reject it. If it is a stumbling block for you, talk to a Christian who can explain why Jesus shed His precious blood. Where you spend eternity depends upon the choice you make today.

God bless you all,

Ron & Nathele Graham