We turn together to the Word of God as it is recorded in the second letter of Paul to Timothy and the third chapter. We will also read on into the fourth chapter and conclude with the eighth verse. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 to chapter 4 and verse 8. Let us hear the Word of God, reading from the New American Standard Bible. But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant revilers. Disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these, for among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth. Men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all. Just as Janus and Jambres' folly was also. Now you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 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. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 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. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. I solemnly charge you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things. End your hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. In the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Amen. May God bless to us His Word. You're aware from the order of service what my text is, and also that the sermon has something to do with the question, What is the time? That being so, you will not be at all surprised to learn that the answer to the question is not 7.32, December the 31st, 2001. We read in the opening verse of 2 Timothy chapter 3, But realize this, that in the last days, difficult or perilous times or seasons will make themselves present. And what we want to try and do for a little while this evening, is not to be dismissive of the time setting in which we find ourselves, but to relate that to what we find set out in this verse as a kind of programmatic statement by the Apostle Paul regarding the future. Many at this time of the year, and I suppose we all do it to some degree or other, though most of us have the sense not to make known our reviews of the past or our anticipations of the future, we inevitably do it. That's the way we're built and made. And there's nothing inherently wrong, of course, in doing so, provided we refer to the word of the eternal changeless God. who sees the end from the beginning, who's planned everything in between, and who has disclosed for the benefit and guidance the wisdom and good of his people, and indeed of all mankind, if they had but ears and wit to read and understand, that which cannot be discovered by a mere investigation of the past or an investigation of the future. There'll be chat show hosts, and perhaps they've already been doing it, who have looked back and looked forward. There have been journalists who do the same, and scholars will do the same, and presidents on their ranches will do the same. And we're going to do that a little this evening, review the past, and anticipate a little the future. But with reference to this statement from the Word of God, realize this, that in the last days, dangerous or perilous times will come. Now to do this sort of thing, to integrate our time-space situation, the year that is coming to a close, the year that is about to open up before us, to integrate that with the Word of God is not inappropriate. As we've been reminded, God is the creator of time. He's the sustainer of time. He directs and controls time. Times and seasons are at His beck and call. we find ourselves at the beck and call of time he isn't he's above it all he is not characterized by any of the change that is associated with progress development let alone mistake and improvement and what the apostle Paul was telling Timothy was intended to give to Timothy an understanding, first of all, of the days through which he would live and might live. After the Apostle Paul's martyrdom, we're located here in the 60s, in the first century. And here's Paul in Rome writing to Timothy. Father writing to Son in the faith. And Paul is saying to him, second person singular, not plural, Timothy, you realize this. That in the last days, perilous or difficult times will come. And you'll be passing through them after my departure, until your departure. You'll be living in the last days. You may well be called upon to pass through a perilous time. Settle it in your mind now. Get this kind of framework to your thinking. So the 60s AD and the whatever years followed, we don't know what happened to Timothy. When it was that he laid down the task that the Lord had given to him. But from the moment when Paul wrote to him until that time, this statement was going to be as a kind of Paul star for his whole life and ministry. But there's another dimension or another level of truth, isn't there, to this statement. Here is not just the Apostle Paul speaking to Timothy, father to son. Here is the Apostle Prophet speaking to the church. This chapter ends with a reference to all Scripture breathed out by God and its fourfold profitable purpose. And here, these statements by the Apostle Paul are being put on par with the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament. And they've become that book of complete, sufficient truth for the church in every place, in every time, and in every age. And the opening verses of chapter 4 anticipate His appearing and His kingdom. So that the very context of this statement that I've highlighted for you, I hope, Realize this, that in the last days perilous times shall come. The whole context of that statement is something that should set us on our ears, Waken us up. Remind us that we are not just to think, just to think, of the passage of time in relation to either the goodness of God or in relation to the providence of God, but in relation to the redemptive purpose of God, Which from time to time is assaulted and attacked and attempts fiercely made to bring it to naught, to turn it on its head and to destroy that saving purpose of God in and through Jesus Christ his Son. Because that's what the last days refers to. And on the other hand, that is what these dangerous, perilous times or seasons refer to. So we must lift up our minds and our hearts and realize this. That's the word that is used in the New American Standard Bible in verse 1 of 2 Timothy 3. The New International Version has not the old King James, no, and realizes better than them both. Because what is being underlined here is the importance not just of an awareness of facts or truths, no. nor merely the making of a note or a record as we do on our calendars from time to time. What is being described is a state of mind, realization. The effect of facts and truths. An understanding of the seriousness of times and seasons. The very term realize is pretty close to the noun, reality. And frequently we hear the expression, the reality of the situation. And by contrast, of course, what's meant is this, that frequently it's in terms of things that are superficial. Data, events, that can be noted intellectually, but somewhat theoretically. Or incidents that can be seen occurring. And it's on that superficial level that one has an acquaintance with this external world of reality. The Apostle Paul is wanting to go much deeper than that. And he's calling upon Timothy to go much deeper than that. And he's saying that there is something on the move. In the midst of time, amid all that human beings do, God's doing something. And not only is God doing something, but Satan is opposing it. these perilous times, these difficult seasons. Realize it and don't be intimidated by it. Like Hamlet was in Shakespeare's play, the times are out of joint. Oh, cursed spite that ever I was born to put them right. That isn't Paul's intention at all. It's rather the reverse. Be strong, endure. You know, you understand. And you and I are called upon to realize the times in which we live. Now, we don't change our clocks at this time of year, do we? And when we do, it's not by much. An hour forward or an hour back in the spring and in the fall. But minimal though those changes are, They're not without some significance. They're not without some impact. Fail to do it, and you'll be out of sync. Fail to do it, you'll miss a plan. Fail to do it, you'll miss a lecture. Fail to do it, you'll miss a sermon. Just an hour. But it's important. Travel, however, a distance from North America. And you become conscious of a different kind of clock, body clock. And that means that you can be awake when others are asleep. You can be wanting to eat and drink when your hosts are not wanting to feed you. You're on a different planet. It's a different world. Now pursue that just a little further. Not know the body clock. But the mental clock, the clock of our understanding, how is it that we understand time and times and seasons? Is it just by the number of the year or the month or the day? Is it just by the season? We do have seasons in California, don't we? Is it just on that superficial level? Or in the light of the Word of God, Not now as stargazers or turning the Bible into an almanac or anything ridiculous like that. But in the light of what God has seen fit to reveal to us about times and seasons, what questions are we asking? How are we evaluating what is happening? Are we saying to ourselves, the last days, we're in the last days. Are we asking ourselves, could this be a dangerous season? Could it be a perilous season? Because you see, if we're like Rip Van Winkle, unnod our way through time, then we're not just wasting time. We're not working in the light of eternity. We're not cooperating with God in His cause and in His kingdom. That's what we're here to do. And therefore it's vital for us to realize this, that in the last days perilous or difficult times shall come. So what we're called upon then to do is to plug ourselves in to God's calendar. And not just think of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, an ordinary day, or a good day, or a day that wasn't as bad as we thought it might be. Much less are we doing what many have done in Trafalgar Square in London. What many probably will do in Times Square in New York. Trying to catch a moment of seeming timelessness. A buzz that gives them the impression they're free of this time, space, prison. house, in which their lives are set, and from which there is no escape till we get into eternity. Just as there were those twelve months ago, or twelve months before that, depending when you think the millennium actually began. Who the first knew second. Hoped that it would mean that there would be a change. A new self. A new environment, a new world. And in spite of all the fireworks and all the angels, nothing happened. But then Y2K didn't happen either. That's dreaming. That's mythology. That's deceiving and being deceived. The only way to live in time is to take stock of the last days and perilous times. And that's what we must do as Christian people. Well, let's take these two expressions, the last days and perilous times, and just unpack them a little bit. First of all, the last days. What is it that's in view here? Well, note that the Apostle uses two nouns, different nouns, in the first verse of 2 Timothy 3. There's the noun day, the last days, and then this noun times, literally seasons. And you see that these seasons or times are located within, they occur within the last days. They're of shorter duration then, than these last days, which make up a much longer period. Because the last days include not just one difficult season, but several, many. And the Apostle Paul never uses this expression, last days. It's not the same in 1 Timothy 4, by the way. Lot of times there, not last days. He never uses this expression, last days, in any other way than to describe that whole period between the Lord's first coming and His second coming. The definitive statement, and perhaps some of you might think, well, this proves that the Apostle Paul did write the epistle to the Hebrews after all. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by a Son. This is what demarcates this period as distinct. The coming of a son to earth. And the speaking and the ministry of a son upon earth. And those last days continue until they run into the last day. His appearing. At the end of time, the dawn of glory and the crack of doom. That's when it happens. That's what he means by... So the last days are not a short period, as some would have you believe. Don't plug into left behind, that growth industry. That isn't what's being referred to at all. A short period before his return, that would be a season, wouldn't it? Here's the last days. that whole expanse and tract of time which is peculiarly Christian because it began with the incarnation of the eternal Son of God ran up to that midday of redemption high noon justice and redeeming grace on Calvary and on until he returns again in great power and in great glory. So then, we've lived through a year in the last days, haven't we? 2001. was a year of our time within this great period of the last days. How shall we describe it? What shall we call it? Well, we can't call it B.C., before Christ. We used to call it A.D., didn't we? A.D. Anno Domini. In the year of our Lord. That's what the last days is. But now it's becoming somewhat popular to talk about A-H. The year of the flight of Muhammad to Mecca. Or C-E, common era. Making time secular, not sacred. If you want an alternative to A.D., try G.B. I don't mean Great Britain. I mean glory begun. That's what it is. These are the times in which you and I are living. In which all those who have gone before us in the faith and fear of Christ have been living. Way back to that day, whenever it was, when God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, made under the law to redeem those that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons, that's when it began. And it's irreversible. Here's a clock, my friends. that can never be turned back. Here's a calendar that you'll never ever need to replace. God, the Creator, has stepped into time. And it's because of that that it's possible to correlate time from God's standpoint As He looks upon us and our times, time from a human, ordinary standpoint, as we live within it. This was what the Old Testament looked forward to. We don't have time to look at Daniel 9.24. Look at it when you go home. There you find an anticipation of something being brought to an end. And the introduction of something endless. To cover iniquity. To atone for sin. To deal with transgression. There it is. Ended. Jesus Christ came. To put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Did it once and for all and forever. But on the other hand to bring in everlasting righteousness. To seal up vision and prophet, to fulfill all Old Testament prediction. To anoint the holiness of holinesses. That is the Messiah replete with the Holy Spirit in all his vigor and vitality for the church, for everyone who trusts and believes in him. So that we are living in the last days. There's someone who has died for us and rose again. who is at the right hand of the throne of heaven, making intercession for us, guiding, ruling. We can go to God with confidence. There's pardon, there's cleansing. Seventy times, seven and more. We're in the last days. There's but a step between us and eternity. And these things are, this is. The reality, realize it, its glory began below. Now secondly, there are grievous or perilous seasons. And we have to take note of this too. Realize this, that in the last days, perilous times will come. Times of trouble, times of danger, for the church and for Christian people. Look at the way in which these seasons are described. The verb that's used in verse 1 of chapter 3, will come, really means will be actually present. Plain and obvious. Staring you in the face. Undeniable. And what will characterize these seasons? Well, we're told that a particular kind of religion will characterize them. We think of secularism, don't we? materialism, as the great foe, and who, in his senses, would undermine that, or want to deny it. But there's a kind of religion which feeds on all that. And it's described here, verse 2 says, for men. It's described in 2 Timothy 3 from a human standpoint. One Timothy 4 speaks about the doctrines of demons. There it's from a demonic or a satanic standpoint. We need to bring both together. We want a view of life my friends. If we want a view of this world that is true and accurate that isn't cloud cuckoo land being optimistic without facing reality, here it is. Bring these passages together. Look at them closely yourselves and what you'll find is this. That what characterizes this false religion is an absence of true love and an absence of love for the truth. These 18 characteristics in verses 2 through to 4 they're all to do with loving. They begin you see with self-lovers money lovers, the middle you have without natural affection. Then at the end, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, or rather than lovers of God. Here is a love of self, a love of power, a love of influence, a love of gain, which manipulates people, and which advances error and ungodliness but also opposes the truth as these two men named here Janes and Jambres the magicians of Egypt opposed Moses they have no love of the truth and they have no true love and it's a form of godliness A formation, you can see it, it's apparent, but it's a shell. It's like the Pharisee, inwardly full of ravening and wickedness. It's the shell of hypocrisy, coupled with a shell of heresy. And down through the edges, there have been times when these twin evils have risen, and risen to throttle the church, corrupt it, and if possible to throw into reverse the last days. If there is a precise point in our text, chapter 3, verse 1, it's this. Timothy, you realize that when perilous times come, it's still the last days. Realize that it's in the last days they'll come. The fact that they come doesn't mean that the last days have come to an end. It doesn't mean that the last days are about to be brought to an end. How could they? Of His kingdom. There shall be no end. Was 2001 a dangerous, perilous season? Will 2002 be? 2001 could. It certainly was in some areas of our world, wasn't it? In Muslim countries, in the Sudan, in Indonesia. What could happen? In 2002, we don't know. And we're not in the business of prognosticating. But don't let's be completely staggered and surprised if something terrible does come. If there should be an unholy alliance between political power and religious error. founded on a joint desire and program to preserve civilization against fanatics, against fundamentalists, religious terrorists, in other words. Take ye heed, our Lord said, I have foretold you all things. And Paul is here, just picking up on Matthew 24 and 25 and Mark 13 and Luke 21, the predictions of the Lord Jesus Christ about future times. So, realize that perilous times do come in the last days. And don't be completely thrown, should that happen. Jesus still reigns and cannot be dethroned. One more word that takes us outside this text, but not outside Paul's letters and teaching. Is 2 Timothy 3 verse 1 the complete picture? The last days, they've begun, they're irreversible. There'll never actually be a post-Christian age, you know. It's impossible. Christ is enthralled. he rules time he pursues his purpose until all for whom he died north, south, east and west they'll come an innumerable host and he'll deliver up the kingdom to God and his father and God will be all in all until then he must reign until his enemies be made his footstool. But is that the complete picture? That he'll continue to reign but from time to time there'll be these dips these lows when perilous times difficult seasons if you think of a graph a steady line alright if you like an upward line. But then these tffs. Perilous, difficult kinds. But the church pulls out of it, as it were. Why? Well, their folly shall be manifest to all. Sooner or later people see through a good deal of falsehood and treat it in the way in which it deserves. But is that the complete picture. That's my question. A continuing line with troughs, lows. Might there not be highs? Could there not be highs as well as lows? Not something better than Anno Domini, as AD was better than BC. But something more manifest, transforming, pervasive in the church and through the church, In society that needs the gospel so desperately of the reign of that Christ, who is Lord? Doesn't the Apostle Paul teach us quite explicitly to expect such a time? As he asks the question, has God cast away his people whom he foreknew? What's your view of Israel? Is there any hope for Israel? Is it not the case? Romans 11. But one day, Israel en masse, not every individual, but in sufficient numbers to enable one to say, Israel has seen a Messiah, Jesus, the one who is crucified, and now is resurrected and enthralled, and will come into the church. All Israel will be saved, just as it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion and remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. What a high! This intractable conflict, resolved, how? by Jews becoming Christians and learning from the gospel of redeeming, forgiving grace what it ought to have learned from the Old Testament. And when that happens, Paul says, it's going to be like life from the dead. Picture it. Ezekiel 37, Valley of dry bones. Very dry. Scattered. How could that ever be an exceeding great and mighty army? Possible? Yes. By the mighty power of the Spirit of God. Breathe upon the slain. The noise. The coming together bone to bone. Skeletons being formed. then flesh, then life. What a high! It's less than Calvary. It's less than glory. But what a high! And Paul is there doing nothing more, it seems to me, than what Peter said in Acts 4, where he spoke about seasons of refreshing, coming from the presence of the Lord and using the same expression he will send Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean the second coming. What he means is Jesus Christ and his salvation coming in and through the preached word by the power of the Spirit. Quickening, regenerating, saving, Empowering, enlivening, invigorating the church for the sake of a witness to the world. Build that in. As you think of 2001, 2002, think of the last days that have begun and are moving on to a glorious consummation and fulfillment. If there should be a perilous season, lift up your heads. Your redemption is drawing nigh. If there is a perilous season, and surely, in a sense, don't we all need a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power. Let us pray. O Lord our God, we rejoice that Thou art sovereign and Jesus Christ is the one to whom all authority has been given in heaven and earth. Thou hast assigned it to Him, setting Him as Thy King on thy holy hill of Zion according to thy decree and all the raging and opposition of the nations and even from Satan and all his hosts all together futile in unable to dethrone him or to pluck from his hand one who trusts in him we thank thee that thou hast brought us to him we're in him through faith and he is our redeemer and our guardian and our Lord oh God we pray glorify him to the ends of the earth perilous seasons or not we pray that we might yet live to see something like the glorious reformation when hypocrisy and heresy are outed and that truth which brings life and that life which brings godliness may fill the church to overflowing and many be brought from darkness to light and death to life. Hear us and receive our thanks and grant that each day and night that we live we may know that we are His and He is ours forever and forever. Amen.