2 Timothy 3: 1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. ⁶ For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith. ⁹ But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.

More verses on the last days. 2 Peter 3:3-4 ESV Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 1 Timothy 4:1 ESV Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” Hebrews 1:2 ESV But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” Micah 4:1 ESV It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it.” Hosea 3:5 ESV Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.” Isaiah 2:2 ESV It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.” Daniel 10:14 ESV And came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” 1 Peter 1:20 ESV He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” Jude 1:18 ESV They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” Jeremiah 30:24; 23:20  ESV The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intentions of his mind. In the latter days you will understand this.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” Ezekiel 38:⁸ After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war ¹⁶ You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these.”

My church taught that the “last days” was the Christian Age that started in 30 AD in Acts 2 and is still going. I believe the phrase refers to the last days of the Jewish Age, the period from 30-70 AD. In 70 AD In 70 AD the temple and city of Jerusalem were destroyed. Hebrews 8:¹³ When He said, “A new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34),” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.” That was written in about 60 AD. Some say the old covenant ended in 30 AD, but this verse clearly says that the old covenant did not disappear till shortly after 60 AD, which would fit 70 AD as the date it disappeared. So we start to see that it makes more sense that the last days are the last days of the Jewish Age, ending in 70 AD.

The passage that really shows that is Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; ¹⁸ And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. ¹⁹ And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. ²¹ And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Peter was quoting Joel 2:28-32.

The “great and terrible day of the Lord” was predicted by Malachi 4:⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Of course, the coming of Elijah was fulfilled figuratively in John the Baptist. Matthew 11:¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” 17:¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ^[d]to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” That great and terrible day of the Lord would be when Jesus came in judgment on the evil Jewish nation, using the Romans, in 70 AD, killing a million Jews in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. That would be his 2nd coming. A lot of people say that the last days were the days between the 1st and 2nd coming, which is correct. They just think the 2nd coming has not happened yet. If you understand that the 2nd coming happened in 70 AD, then the last days were the days between the 1st and 2nd coming. See my blog articles on the “2nd coming” if what I just wrote sounds heretical! That imminent judgment day on the Jews in 70 AD is why Peter would cap off his sermon with a warning: Acts 2:⁴⁰ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” It was that generation of evil Jews that would be judged. Matthew 23: ³⁴ “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

I think that establishes that the last days were the last days of the Jewish Age from 30 to 70 AD. We are not living in the “last days” today as many would have you believe. The apostles believed that they were living in the last days, and it doesn’t make sense that the last days would last going on 2,000 years now. During those last days the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit would be poured out on “mankind”. Of course, that would mean that it was available to all mankind b/c the only way the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was given was by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. In the OT only a few received the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit (prophets mainly and Moses and the 70 men), but in the early church the miraculous would be given to all believers, men and women, servants and masters, as long as the apostles laid their hands on them. In Acts 8 the Samaritans were baptized but Acts 8:¹⁴ Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ (For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ¹⁷ Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.” Paul laid his hands on the 12 men in Acts 19:1 Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.” They received the miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The only exception to this practice was when God directly poured the Holy Spirit, the miraculous, on Cornelius to show the Jewish brethren and Peter that the Gentiles could be saved just s they were. Also God poured out the miraculous on Saul when Ananias came that Saul might be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9). Ananias was not an apostle so I assume God just gave Saul the Spirit.

It would make sense that, since the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of the apostles’. hands that the gifts would cease as they died off. Peter says in Acts 2 that the miraculous would be poured out during the last days from 30-70 AD, so that fits perfectly. Plus it is obvious that the miracles of those last days are not being done today.

As I said, my church taught that the last days was the Christian Age that started on 30 AD and is still going today until the 2nd coming. That’s a real problem since my church is mostly cessationist (i.e. the miracles ceased in the first century). According to Joel 2 and Acts 2, the miraculous would be poured out in the last days. If we are still in the last days, then the miraculous should still be abundant today, the same miraculous gifts found in the early church (1 Corinthians 12-14). But my church doesn’t believe they do exist today. The charismatics who believe in the miraculous today see that inconsistent interpretation and scoff at us. A correct understanding of the last days eliminates this problem.

That’s a long way to get back to 2 Timothy 3:1 but I thought it was a good place to basically do a study of the “last days” in the Bible. So Paul is saying that in the last days from 30-70 AD that all these sins would be rampant. There would be a falling away, an apostasy before 70 AD. Jesus predicted that: Matthew 24:⁹ “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time (i.e. the time of the end in 70 AD) many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” All that had to happen within that generation of Jews: Matthew 24:³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Also 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” Paul spoke of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:1Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” That “apostasy” could be the rebellion of the Jews against the Romans in the years before 70 AD that led to the destruction of the temple and city, or it could be an apostasy of believers (as Jesus predicted) who don’t endure in the face of persecution from the Jews and Romans.

As Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:9-12, this apostasy and falling away of believers would be led by false teachers who “slip into households and captivate weak women who are led on by various impulses”. They would “oppose the truth” just as the magicians, Jannes and Jambres, did when Moses came to Pharoah. Their names are not mentioned in Exodus, but they are here.

Then on a personal note to Timothy: 2 Timothy 2:¹⁰ Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, ¹¹ persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! ¹² Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³ But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Paul commends Timothy. Paul makes an interesting observation: All who want to live godly in Jesus will be persecuted”. That has been the general rule for the 2,000 years of church and Christian history. Martyrdom and persecution of believers has been the rule not the exception. The church was its strongest in the first 3 centuries before Constantine legalized Christianity. It got weaker when it became fashionable to become a Christian. Millions of Christians are still being persecuted for their faith in India, North Korea, Muslim countries, Iran, China, and many other places. The lack of persecution of the church in the U.S. has made the church weaker actually.

Paul closes with one of my favorite passages on the inspiration of the Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:⁴ You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture (graphé: Scripture, writing) is inspired (theopneustos: God-breathed, inspired by God) by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.” This is the only one occurrence of this Greek word theopneustos, but the idea of “inspiration” of Scripture is found elsewhere. 2 Peter 1:²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” “Men moved by the Holy Spirit to speak and write God’s word.” 1 Corinthians 2:¹⁰ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Notice that inspiration was in words. The Holy Spirit somehow allowed the inspired writers and speakers to use their own vocabulary and thoughts but guided their thoughts and words so as to give the actual word of God, without errors (infallible). The apostles were promised this inspiration of the Holy Spirit: John 16: ¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” So the Scriptures are verbal (in error free words) plenary (full truth, not just parts of the Bible but all of the Bible) inspiration (God breathed words by the Holy Spirit). Of course, only the original writings of the NT writers were error free. The copies and translations are not. However, a study of the transmission of the original writings will show that we have very, very accurate copies and translations even though we don’t have the originals We have over 5,000 partial or full manuscripts to use in making translations today.

This is AI and long but I think it is worth including:

The rejection of the inspiration of scriptures, often called biblical criticism or skepticism, stems from various viewpoints that challenge the traditional understanding of the Bible’s divine origin and authority. 

Reasons for Rejection:

• Historical and Literary Criticism:Some scholars argue that the Bible is a product of human authorship influenced by the historical and cultural contexts of its time, questioning its divine inspiration or inerrancy. 
• Scientific and Archaeological Discoveries:Some findings in science and archaeology have been interpreted as contradicting or challenging biblical accounts, leading some to question the Bible’s accuracy or reliability. 
• Moral and Ethical Concerns:Critics point to passages in the Bible that they consider morally problematic, such as violence, slavery, and discrimination, questioning its divine origin or relevance for modern society. 
• Internal Contradictions and Inconsistencies:Some argue that the Bible contains internal contradictions, inconsistencies, or errors that challenge its claim to be divinely inspired. 
• Humanist Perspective:Humanists, who emphasize human reason and experience, often reject the Bible’s claim to be divinely inspired, considering it a product of human culture and history. 

Consequences of Rejection:

• Loss of Authority:Rejecting biblical inspiration can lead to questioning the Bible’s authority as a source of moral guidance and religious truth. 
• Doubt and Uncertainty:Rejection of the Bible’s divine origin can create doubt and uncertainty about religious beliefs and practices. 
• Shifting Perspectives:Rejecting the Bible’s inspiration can lead to alternative interpretations of religious texts, emphasizing human agency and reason over divine revelation. 
• Conflict and Debate:The rejection of biblical inspiration can lead to conflict and debate between those who believe in the Bible’s divine origin and those who do not. 

Different Approaches to Biblical Interpretation:

• Literal Interpretation:Some believe the Bible should be interpreted literally, accepting its words as historically accurate and divinely inspired. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t figurative parts of the Bible. Context determines literal or figurative.
• Figurative Interpretation:Others argue that the Bible should be understood figuratively, recognizing its symbolic and metaphorical language.This method means that the Bible can’t be taken literally period.

The “sacred writings” that Timothy was taught from childhood would have been the OT scriptures, the 39 books of the OT as arranged into 22 books in 3 divisions: the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets (Luke 24:27). But as time went on, the writings of the NT inspired writers would be considered Scripture also. 2 Peter 3:¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, ¹⁵ and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” Here Peter is saying that Paul’s writings are Scripture just like the OT writings were Scripture. Paul was an inspired apostle although he was not one of the original 12.

It is the responsibility of parents to teach the word of God to their children, just as Timothy’s mother and grandmother did (2 Timothy 1:5). A correct understanding of the OT Scripture would lead one to faith in Christ. Romans 10:⁴ For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” John 5:³⁹ You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” The Law would convict men of sin and their inability to save themselves by animal sacrifices. The Prophets or Writings would make many messianic predictions which were all fulfilled with 100% accuracy although written hundreds of years ahead of time. The OT and NT Scripture is beneficial for correction and training so that the man or woman of God might be fully capable, equipped for every good work. The Scriptures do have all the basic doctrines of truth, but the ultimate goal of the Scriptures is to equip us to do good works for God.

This was AI interesting: According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 49% of Americans believe the Bible is inspired by God, but not everything in it is to be taken literally: Fables, history, and moral precepts: 29% of Americans say the Bible is a collection of fables, history, and moral precepts recorded by man. Literal word of God: 20% of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God to be taken literally.” There is a lot of semantics here that can confuse the issue. I consider myself to be a literalists, but there are many portions of Scripture that are figurative and not literal. Such as the predictions in Matthew 24 that the stars would fall within that generation (24:34) which was obviously figurative. A lot of that 49% probably consider the Bible to be inspiring but not the word of God, and perhaps not completed inspired but full of errors. Groups like the LGBQT movement obviously do not believe that the Bible is word for word the word of God.