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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Soon!-The promise of His coming. (Pt. 2)

(Part 2)

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”-2 Timothy 3:1-5

Not only are the scriptures clear about the promise of His coming; they are also very descriptive regarding the conditions of the world just prior to His return. This passage in 2 Timothy expounds upon, what it refers to as perilous times. The remarkable thing about the list found here in verses 1-5 is that, each item mentioned has to do with the conditions of men’s hearts.

Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, proud and disobedient. They will be unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, headstrong and haughty! They will have a form of godliness but deny the power of God!  Jude 1:18-19 describes those days this way:

How they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”

Although these signs are very plainly written, it is easy to overlook these as indicators of the coming of Christ, because we have subtly eased in to these behaviors over the course of generations. This slow fade into moral depravity has caused us to become desensitized to the very things that Paul declared, in his letter to Timothy, to be indications of Christ’s return.

When we see these behaviors prevalent within our society, we should take notice. The Bible is very clear that no man knows the exact timing of Jesus coming (Mark 13:32), but each of us should be aware of the signs of the times. In fact, Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his days for having a grasp on reading the weather, but could not discern the signs of the times:

He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”-Matthew 16:2-3

How is it that we have become so obsessed with weather conditions but oblivious to the conditions of men’s hearts? There are those who look at natural disasters, astrological anomalies, and seismic readings as a message from God to mankind; but rarely do they discuss the breakdown in the moral fabric of our society as a serious; even more grievous message.

The Sons of Issachar were a some of King David’s most valiant men and they are described for us in 1 Chronicles 12:32:

“From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.”

These men were not consumed with dates, times, weather conditions or signs in the heavens. They were, however, able to discern the depravity of their day and direct Israel to the best course of action.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

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