As Paul the
apostle continued to give final instructions to Timothy his “dearly
beloved son” concerning “the last days”, he included
the fact that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution.” In chapter three and verse thirteen of
this final letter, Paul told Timothy how “evil men and seducers
shall wax worse and worse” where we read:
But evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being
deceived.
The
verse begins, “But evil men and
seducers shall wax worse and worse,...” Paul
began this verse with the word, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction meaning what is written next
takes precedence over what was just written. In this case it means,
“moreover, in addition, and” “evil”
or “bad,
of a bad nature or condition, diseased or blind, and wicked” “men”
which refers
to “human beings whether male or female”
“and seducers”
which are “wailers, howlers, enchanters, deceivers and imposters”
“shall wax”
which literally means “to beat forward and lengthen out by
hammering” and implies “promotion, furtherance, advancement,
increasing, progressing and proceeding” “worse
and worse”
which is one Greek word “cheirōn”
that
means “more, sorer and aggravated evil”. In other words, not only
will people who trust in, rely upon and cling to Jesus Christ suffer
persecution, but they will also notice that wicked people will
increase more and more in their evil deceptions and deeds.
The verse goes on to
say, “...deceiving, and being
deceived.” Paul
went on to add, “deceiving”
which literally is “causing to stray, lead astray, lead aside from
the right way, wander and roam about” and metaphorically means “to
lead away from the truth and to lead into error”. Paul also
included, “and being deceived”
which when
tied to the word “deceiving”
the entire Greek phrase is “planaō
kai planaō”.
The double use of the word “planaō”
shows us there will not only be those who are “leading” people
away from the truth, but there will also be those who are “lead”
from the truth by their deceptions.
When we consider
Paul's words, we easily observe the parallel with our society today.
How many “deceivers” are increasing and advancing their causes
and leading people away from the gospel of Jesus Christ? Many are
being “deceived” by their association with writings other than
the Bible, and thoughts and ideas whether expressed by voice other
other books are being relied upon as the truth. When we see these
things happening before our eyes, we should note at least two things:
Paul's words are being fulfilled just as he wrote, and these are
indeed “the last days”.
With the gravity of those thoughts within our minds, what manner of
people ought we to be? May the Lord open our eyes to the nearness of
His return, and may we heed the words of the apostle John in
Revelation chapter twenty-two and verse twenty, “Surely
I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Next
time Paul tells Timothy to “continue in the things”
which he “has
learned”, so read ahead, and
we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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