In Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1-2, the author again says, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” Again, the “last days” are the days in which Jesus becomes the fulfillment of the prophet’s words.
That gives us a great backdrop as to what the “last days” that Paul characterizes as repetitive cycles of distress and perilous times are. These words are not a prediction of the last days for the church but rather the cycle of days that will keep coming and at some point in time will culminate in THE LAST DAY, of which is best described! What Paul wanted Timothy to know and understand is that “times must not dictate the character and attitude of the believer.” That’s why Paul starts with the phrase, “But know this…” There will be times and have been times for 2000 years where we will witness the worst in humanity; they will be dangerous times, times of great suffering, times when our trust in Christ and His word will be pushed to the limit, times when we, the Church, will be under constant threat. Times in which people will be noted for these 18 characteristics. One of the things I notice is that the chief characteristic of the religious is “love,” but in the religious, their love is directed at themselves instead of God and others. As one has said, “The heart of every problem is a problem of the heart.” They are as Isaiah described in chapter 5 verse 20: “calling evil good and good evil.”