End Generation
This Wicked Generation, Proof We Are In The Last Days
One of the most obvious prophecies that are being fulfilled today is the description of the last days generation. Let’s take a look at 2 Timothy 3:1-9 which says, "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 powers. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith: but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was.
Some say that this can describe any generation. However, our generation is by far more prominent in these things. Let’s so over these and see.
Men will be lovers of themselves
This Scripture is referring to the selfishness of mankind, not homosexuality. Although every generation has had men who were like this, it has gotten worse in recent times. There are men that will be nice to a woman just to have sexual intercourse. There are women looking for a rich man so they can live in luxury. Back in the early church days the Romans would try to have abortions with unwanted babies. Because of lack of technology they would not fully succeed and the baby would come out deformed. Christians of the day would hide in the woods and when these babies were dropped off in a field to die, the Christians would come out of the woods, take these babies, and raise them as their own children. Now days many so-called Christians would rather sit at home and watch TV than tell people of the everlasting Gospel. They will go to their fleshly feel good revivals yet won’t be persecuted for the chance to save someone’s soul. There is no denying that today this Scripture is being fulfilled.
Men will be lovers of money
It’s not hard to see men being lovers of money today. Many people are in competition today at being rich. Everywhere you look somebody is trying to sell you something. Telemarketers try to manipulate people into buying their products. One time we got charged over $200 for something we don’t remember ordering because somehow we were manipulated by a telemarketer. Credit card companies are continually sending junk mail so they can make money off of us. You go on the Internet and it is next to impossible to escape e-mails or pop-ups that are trying to sell pornography. Pornography is big business and worse than useless. Fairs, carnivals, and theme parks sell things at very high prices to get your money. I remember a while back going to Six Flags Darien Lake and needing some water. They refused to give us tap water so we had to pay over $2 for bottled water. Everywhere you look there are people trying to get your money. Churches aren’t much better. I remember Trinity Broadcasting Network selling a Bible for $200. They also sell other items at overly high prices such as video tapes, teaching cassettes, anointing oil, books, and many other things. Christian bookstores sell videos at $20 or $30, more than most Hollywood and Disney movies are sold for. I sometimes listen to a Christian prophecy radio broadcast online and the speakers spend half the broadcast either trying to sell their products or get donations from people. When my wife and I were going through a financial difficulty in our life, our pastor at the time threatened to remove me from leadership on the worship team because we weren’t able to give at least 10% of our money. Another woman that claims to be a full-time Christian tried to turn in Desert Cry so she could get $500 out of us. The accusations were false and no action was taken. There will be more on this type of action later in this issue.
Boasters
Whether it be boasting about themselves, the things they sell, the things they accomplished, and so on, people are certainly boasters today. Have you ever ran into someone that constantly talks about themselves? Many of these people you will hear boasting about something. They will tell you what they are good at, what good they have done for others, and so on. Certain ministries love to boast about the products they sell. I heard one preacher boasting about a tape series he has saying that his series is needed by everyone to be able to understand these last days. Have you ever gone to a church event and have a guest speaker boast about all the healings he has performed and the strength of his faith? Paul of the Bible called boasting foolishness. Boasting has come into the church and needs to be repented of.
Proud
Proud and boasting kind of go together. It seems as if today people take pride in many things they do. If you ask people if they are good enough to go to Heaven most will say "yes" even if they don’t believe in Jesus. Pride today is taught as if it is a good thing. 50 years ago you wouldn’t have heard of the phrase "gay pride." Everyone has heard of the phrase "proud to be an American." Some will say that it’s patriotic and there’s nothing wrong with it. The Bible doesn’t ever distinguish patriotic pride from other forms of pride. Pride is wrong according to the Bible no matter what form it comes in. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." What will happen if American continues in its pride? Some preachers even get proud of how good of a preacher they are. That is still a form of pride and needs to be repented of.
Blasphemers
This world is full of blasphemers. Look at the music industry. Some of the band names say it all such as Eyehategod and Deicide which means to kill all that is holy. I have gone in chat rooms on the Internet and will see people writing blasphemous comments. Movies and books have come out either portraying Jesus as gay or having sexual intercourse with Mary Magdalene. Some exalt the Catholic pope as being God which is blasphemy. Whenever people use the name Jesus as a cuss word they are blaspheming Him. Take heed that you do not do this. Sects like the Jehovah Witnesses deny the deity of Christ which is blasphemy. Blasphemy has become more rampant than it ever has. Those who blaspheme God will not escape judgment.
Disobedient to Parents
Like never before has a generation been so disobedient to their parents. Unfortunately it seems as if those parents are slacking on discipline because of all the disobedience. Teenagers stay out late at night against their parent’s orders. When asked to do a few simple chores children will yell at their parents refusing to do it. Movies seem to portray teenagers being rebellious as the norm and if parents use discipline they usually look like the bad guys. Instead of parents being in authority we see children running the household. In the last 50 years there has been a severe increase in children being disobedient to their parents. Children and teens do many things behind their parent’s back. They will go off with friends of the opposite sex that their parents don’t want them around. Many will do drugs even though their parents don’t approve.
Unthankful
Society is never satisfied with what they have. People will order a nice meal at a restaurant and harshly harass the waitress if one little thing goes wrong. We complain about the cars we drive instead of being thankful that we have a much faster way of transportation than horse and buggy. Many people want a nicer house than they have. Many children will get upset when you get them a gift for their birthday because it either isn’t good enough or not what they wanted. It’s getting to be less and less often that you see people giving thanks to God for the meals that they eat. In the Bible, you see those suffering persecution giving thanks to be accounted worthy to suffer for the Lord. How many people today give thanks to God for the sufferings they go through for His name’s sake? Most people try to avoid any sort of persecution but this wasn’t the apostles’ attitude in the early church. We need to be thankful in all things.
Unholy
Another term for unholy could be impure or ungodly. Any kind of sexual
relationship outside of a husband and wife marriage is unholy. In the last 50
years we have seen a significant increase in homosexuality, premarital sex,
adultery, molestation, and so on. Just a few years ago several Catholic priests
were arrested for molesting young boys. This is a detestable and unholy act
before the Lord. Instead of kicking some of these priests out of the priesthood,
the Catholic church relocated them. The sad thing is, is if a priest gets married
they must be removed from the priesthood. There are priests who sleep with
harlots and are never removed. If you read the testimony of Sister Charlotte
Wells (real name not given for security purposes) you will see that some priests
rape their own nuns. (You can get this testimony through us or type in "Sister
Charlotte’s Testimony on a search engine on the web to see what goes on behind
closed doors in the Catholic Church.) Priests are allowed to have unholy sexual
relationships and remain in the priesthood yet doing things right and getting
married would get them kicked out. Homosexuality has become more out in the
open and accepted. Most colleges have a homosexual club of some sort which is
usually one of the most prominent clubs on campus. Ask your grandparents if
they had gay parades when they were children. They would say ’no.’ Sex before
marriage is running rampant. Many Christians struggle with this also. On TV and
movies pre-marital sex seems like the norm. Bars and night clubs are crowded
with those looking for a one night stand. Go into an online chat room and you
will read the perverse talk of those looking for a sexual relationship.
Pornography has defiled the thoughts of many and has destroyed marriages. You
hear unholy talk wherever you go. People gossip about one another or backbite
one another which is something God hates. Many jokes told now days are
considered unholy. Immodest dressing is considered unholy in the sight of the
Lord. The beach is an excellent example of immodest dressing with women in
bikinis and/or short shorts and men walking around with no shirt on.
Drunkenness is an act of unholiness, which many people partake in. The rites
performed by secret sects like the Illuminati, Order of the Skull and Bones, the
Masonic Temple, and so on are usually Satanic and therefore unholy before the
Lord. The list goes on but unholiness is obviously on the increase.
Unloving
Abortion, child abuse, spousal abuse, rape, are all unloving acts. Millions of
innocent babies are murdered through abortion. Child abuse, spousal abuse, and
rape seem to be everywhere. So-called Christians who don’t tell others of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ are unloving. How can you know the way of eternal life,
not tell others of it, and still be loving? I once heard a well known evangelist
say that “if you’re not concerned with getting people saved, you are not saved
yourself.” I totally agree with him. The divorce rate has increased from less than
1% in the early 1950s to over 40% in the late 1990s. Divorce is caused by lack
of love. Not only is child abuse unloving but so is lack of discipline. Look at the
road rage now days with people swearing at one another. I once got out of my
car and the wind grabbed a hold of my door and bumped it on someone’s truck.
After apologizing I went to where I was going. I came back out to find that the
guy slammed his truck door on my car door causing damage. Many churches are
lacking in love. Some United Pentecostal Churches will look down on men with
facial hair. Some churches are more about getting to your pocket book then
showing love and kindness. One time I stopped giving money to a certain church
because we were having financial difficulties and when I left I received no phone
calls from anyone. I had been going there a while and was the worship leader at
the time. I bet if I was putting good money in the offering plate the pastor
would have called to see where I was. I have since forgiven the pastor and only
intended to use this example to make a point. Remember, not all churches are
this way and believers need to be in fellowship at a church. I don’t want to turn
people away from going to church but only to be aware of false churches. There
are loving believers out there. I recently have gone to a church where some
people there are always looking for ways to help others. Again, the reason I’m
stating this is so I don’t turn people away from church. I do write about things
wrong in some churches in hopes that they will repent and do what is right. Let
those that are believers show the ultimate act of love by laying down our lives
and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others so they might be saved.
Slanderers
Slandering is when someone attempts to hurt someone else’s reputation with
false accusations. This can be seen everywhere. Tabloids which are sold at
most grocery and convenient stores are constantly telling lies about well known
people whether it be presidents, famous actors and actresses, and so on. I
remember being labellized a drug user in high school when I never used drugs.
Stores that are in competition will make up lies about the other store in order to
distort their reputation. People running for office will many times slander the
other to get an advantage. Negative campaigning has gotten much more
prominent in today’s society than ever before and much of it is slander. People
slander others for position, power, to win favor, or simply to get others to laugh.
Slandering is like backbiting with a lie attached to it.
Without Self-control
This could refer to many things. People lose their tempers and injure people
around them or damage property. Many people don’t exercise self-control when it
comes to sexual immorality. Many people don’t exercise self-control when it
comes to their tongue. The Bible says that if you can’t bridle your tongue, your
religion is in vain (James 1:26). How many people can honestly say that they
exercise self-control when it comes to their thought life? This world seems to be
getting worse and worse when it comes to self-control.
Brutal
Again, here we can mention the many victims that suffer abuse and rape. There
are also those that are brutally murdered. Behind closed doors at the closed
convents of Catholic Churches unwanted babies are thrown into lime pits and the
nuns are treated very brutally. (Again, I suggest you read Sister Charlotte’s
Testimony for more information on this). Muslim extremists can be very brutal
with their acts of terror and persecution on those who don’t believe as they do.
Christians who kill for their religion aren’t Christians at all. It was said that by
the time a child is 15 they will have witnessed 35,000 humans get killed and
around 200,000 brutal acts of violence just by watching TV. In the USA there is a
violent crime approximately every 25 seconds, approximately every 6 minutes
someone is raped, and someone is murdered about every 25 minutes.
Despisers of Good
Believers that abstain from sexual immorality, gossip, backbiting, crude joking,
pornography, ungodly movies, ungodly music, are usually ridiculed by many. The
things God says are good, society teaches as bad and vice versa. It is good in
the sight of the Lord to preach the Gospel. Society will tell you that it is wrong
to push religion. In fact, in Canada it is considered a hate crime to use
Scriptures against homosexuality. The Bible says to hate and despise money
(Luke 16:13). Most people today love their money. Many churches won’t even
teach people to hate and despise money. Believers need to have the right
attitude toward money and hate and despise it. The Scriptures are very clear as
to what our attitude toward money should be, do not be deceived.
Traitors
This world is full of traitors. Have you ever had someone that is a friend to your
face and then turns around and says and does things against you? I’m sure that
most people have had one, if not many, so-called friends do that. I can assure
you that I have had people do this to me. In fact, I have done this to people
myself and needed to repent of it. We have been so seduced in this society that
betrayal seems the norm. There have been many times I have trusted someone
only for them to betray my trusts those that go to church and put on an act and
then go live in sin are traitors to Jesus Christ. All hypocrites are traitors.
Headstrong
Today people are more headstrong than they ever were. Teenagers will do what
they want against what their parents tell them. Husbands will walk out on their
wives after and fight and go to the bar. Wives will do the same. Students will
refuse to do what their teachers tell them. Teachers will sometimes make rules
which are so ridiculous that it will teach the students to become headstrong.
People get headstrong in the church over something as simple as the color of the
carpet and end up leaving because they didn’t get their way. When sometimes
sharing the Gospel with someone they will give every excuse to not believe in
Jesus. They have a headstrong attitude toward the Gospel. Many people are
headstrong toward repentance and baptism. They will make excuses as to why
they don’t need to get baptized. A lot of people will say the “sinner’s prayer” yet
when it comes to repentance, they want nothing to do with it. Or they may
repent of some of their sins but not all of their sins.
Haughty
Haughtiness deals with someone’s pride in oneself and contempt towards
others. The classic example of this is a rich person looking down on a poor
person. Haughtiness doesn’t always come from rich people. Anyone that has
played on a sports team probably ran into someone that is haughty because they
were good at the sport. Some people that get high grades in school look down
on others who get lower grades. Schools don’t help any by giving parents
bumper stickers that say “proud parent of an honor student” on it. These stickers
not only increase the haughtiness of the student but puts down the self-esteem
of those students that don’t receive a sticker. Parents that flaunt around these
stickers are in sin since they promote pride. Believers everywhere need to repent
of their haughtiness.
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
This one is real easy to explain. People won’t miss a TV show to go to church.
We will go to our family gatherings, exercise, play video games, and when all is
said and done we have no time for God at the end of the day. We were too busy
soaking up pleasure to spend time with God. How many believers will go have
fun at a festival and not even hand out a single tract or talk to someone about
the Lord? Believers all over will get on the Internet and talk to people but not
take time to talk to God. Many people will be obsessed with the pleasure of
being drunk and not turn to God. Even many believers will justify their sins so
they can continue in their pleasures and not fully give their lives over to the
Lord. This prophecy fits this generation perfectly. With today’s technology,
people are so focused on pleasure that they forget God.
Having a form of godliness but denying its power
There is no question that this Scripture is referring to believers. Anyone with the
Holy Spirit has power over the sins in their life. I’ve heard church goers claim
that we are all sinners and use it as an excuse to sin. It is true that all have
sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but we need to repent and turn from
our sins. We may slip up and sin once in a while but we can’t continue to live in
sin. Believers who only give over parts of their life have a form of godliness but
deny the power. This Scripture can also include those who don’t trust God to
meet their basic needs in life. Any ministry that demands money to get the
Gospel out aren’t trusting the power of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t it funny that most
of the prosperity teachers will tell you that you need to have all kinds of faith to
get the blessings of God, yet they will put extreme pressure on their followers to
give? It’s almost like they don’t have faith themselves.
After the listing of what people will be like in the last days, the Bible tells us to
turn away from them. The Bible talks about men creeping into households and
make captive gullible women who are loaded down with sin and lead away by
various lusts. We see this going on all the time. Men will trick women into
sexual intercourse with smooth words and then leave them when they get
pregnant.
We see those today that are always learning but never coming to a knowledge of
the truth. People go to Bible college and learn all sorts of deep theology yet
have no understanding of repentance and baptism. Theology has watered down
the severity of what it is to sin against God. Some theology teaches that works
have nothing to do with salvation but the Bible says, “works without faith is
dead” and “it is impossible to please God without faith.” Theology teaches that
God won’t allow Christians to suffer, yet most of the apostles suffer much and
then were killed for the Gospel’s sake. Theology will not lead you to the truth,
only the Bible and the Holy Spirit will. If the Bible contradicts what Desert Cry
Magazine says then take the Bible’s word over ours.
There are 2 purposes for me to write this article. The first reason is because it is strong evidence that we are in the last days. Some would say that the last days began at Pentecost. While that is true. Paul was writing of a future last days for he said “in the last days perilous times will come.” The word “will” shows that it is yet to come. Paul was describing what it would be like in the last of the last days. Much of the wickedness has severely increased just in the last 50 years. Believers everywhere need to give their full lives over to God and not get involved in the sins mentioned.
