The following recording is made available by Faith Community Bible Church. Information on how to obtain additional messages will be given at the end of the message. I'm turning your Bibles to the book of 2nd Timothy and we are in the third chapter. Don't know how far we will go, probably not as far as I intended when I prepared this message. But we will read the first nine verses. 2 Timothy chapter 3, This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful. unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women, laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." The study of Bible prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled is called eschatology. It's the study of last things. And this doctrine has suffered lots of abuse at the hands of many people. And that's because it lends itself towards sensationalism by teachers trying to read current events into the Bible. It's always a dangerous thing to do. Now I'm not saying that Bible prophecy of this sort should be ignored because it does comprise a very large part of the Bible, but we must be very careful that we don't make pronouncements that we cannot know with certainty. Some men have made a living out of doing Bible prophecy seminars as long as I can remember. In the passage that we just read here in 2 Timothy 3, Paul deals with the subject of false teachers for the final time in this epistle. And he does so in the context of a characterization of what the world will look like in these last days. So I titled this sermon, A Portrait of the Last Days. The last days will bring great trouble upon the earth. This is what Paul says. He says, I know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come. Friday's tragic shooting that occurred in a crowded theater in Aurora, Colorado, is just another bit of evidence that we do indeed live in perilous times. James Holmes, a San Diego native, walked into a theater that was showing the premiere of the movie, The Dark Knight Rises. He was wearing a gas mask, full bulletproof armor. He opened fire with an assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a 40-caliber handgun. He killed 12 people, and he wounded 59 others. Colorado Governor John Hicklen Looper says, the attack in Aurora is not only an act of extreme violence, it is also an act of depravity. Now, I don't know the governor's theological background, but his assessment was correct, wasn't it? It was an act of depravity from a very depraved heart, an inexcusable act. Are we in the last days? Absolutely. But this statement needs some qualifications. The expression, the last days, appears in the New Testament, and there are other words that mean the very same thing. 1 Timothy chapter 4, we looked at this already in our study of that epistle. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times, Some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. And we have seen over and over again in our study of 1st Timothy and 2nd Timothy that false teaching will be prevalent in the last days. And we have many false teachers in the world today. But the church, my friends, has always had that problem. That's why some of the early Church councils were held, even beginning with the very first church council at Jerusalem in Acts chapter 15, which dealt with the problem of the Judaizers. False teachers were making converts in Ephesus where Timothy was serving. The problem that we face today is, however, of a greater degree because of the means that we have available to spread false teaching worldwide very quickly via the radio, the television, literature, and, of course, the Internet. In 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 1, Peter begins to write, This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior knowing this first that there shall be and notice the phrase again the in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts we have plenty of scoffers among us today who ridicule Christianity And they ridicule the idea that Jesus is coming back to rule upon this earth. The new atheists, if you're familiar with any of them, they scorn the idea of the existence of God. They just don't deny it. They absolutely hate the idea of God. And they are selling lots of books. Men like Richard Dawkins, who wrote The God Delusion. Daniel Dennett, who wrote Breaking the Spell, that's holding all of you people in this superstition. Michael Onfray, who wrote The Atheist Manifesto. And Christopher Hitchens, who wrote God is Not Great. Hitchens died last December, so he knows better now. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, prophets of the Old Testament, hath in these last days, so notice the last days were then, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. 1st John 2.18, little children, it is the last hour. Not the last hour will come sometime. It is, present tense, John said, the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now, present tense, many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They were present in John's day. Antichrist, as John describes them here, or refers to them here, that little preposition anti means two things in the Greek. It means to come in place of, so Antichrist can be someone who comes in place of the Christ, and then it also means in opposition to. So the Antichrist presents himself as Christ, but in reality he is opposed to Christ and the things of God. He is against them. Matthew chapter 24 verse 23 Jesus says if anyone says to you look here is the Christ or there do not believe it do not believe it do not follow them for false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive if possible even the elect so the the latter times The last days, the last hour are synonymous terms. The question then is when did the last days begin? The last days began at Pentecost. Turn with me to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, and we will start reading in verse 15. And you know what Acts chapter 2 is about, the coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were filled with the Spirit. They began to speak with utter tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And then when you look down in verse 15, Or 14, it says, Peter stood up, he lifted his voice, and he says, You men of Judea, and you who dwell at Jerusalem, by this be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. For these, those men and women who are filled with the Holy Spirit, are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day, but this, the events that were taking place then, this is that which was spoken or prophesied by the prophet Joel, and it will come to pass, when? In the last days. So what was happening was happening in the last days. It will come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophecy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. And on My servants and My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit, and they will prophecy, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapors of smoke." That did not happen at Pentecost. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon will be turned into blood, before that great and noble day of the Lord's coming, His return. And it will come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So the last days began at Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And they will continue throughout the entire church age, And they will include or culminate with great cosmic signs that Joel also prophesied, which didn't happen at Pentecost. They will happen prior to the return of Christ. Turn to Revelation chapter six. This is the opening of the seven seals by the only one who is worthy to open it, the Lord Jesus Christ. For the sake of time, we'll just pick up in the 12th verse. And John tells us, I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, that lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. That is a direct quote from Joel chapter 2 and verse 31. And the stars of heaven shall fall to the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island will move out of their place. So catastrophic things will be happening in the heavens and upon the earth. and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." for the great day of his wrath." The final outpouring of his wrath, is what John is referring to, has come. And who is able to withstand it. Who is going to be able to stand against that? Absolutely no one when the Lamb pours out His wrath. All right, now go back with me. So you see that it began at Pentecost, but all of the things that Joel prophesied did not occur at Pentecost. They were not completely fulfilled. There were events that will be carried over until the last hour of the last day, if you want to call it that. Let me draw your attention back In 2 Timothy chapter 3, in the very beginning of that verse, where he says, This know also. It's very emphatic. But know this. I want you to know this. that in the last days perilous times will come. So Paul is telling us that every Christian must be mindful of an increase in evil in the last days. As a matter of fact, if you look over to verse 13 in this very same chapter, what does it say? Evil men and seducers shall what? grow or wax worse and worse. There will be an increase of evil throughout the last days, which began at Pentecost, culminating in a great outpouring of evil and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Now, why should we Be mindful of the evil nature of the last days, so we don't get caught up in it. The Christian is salt and light. We are to be holy because God, who is holy, called us to holiness. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ, purchased with His blood, is now 2,000 plus years down the road from the start of the last days. And it will not get any better until Jesus returns. He alone has the power to banish evil from the face of the earth, and He will do it. No one else can do it. No government can do it. No peace treaties can do it. Only Christ. Now the word perilous here, when it says that in the last days perilous times will come, has been translated in different ways. Grievous. Grievous times will come. Difficult times will come. Terrible times will come. Savage times will come. Fierce times will come. Violent times will come. Turn to Matthew chapter eight. Matthew chapter eight, verse 28. So speaking of Jesus, Matthew 8, 28. And when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two men, possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs. Notice what it says, exceedingly fierce. That's the same word, perilous, in 2 Timothy, chapter three. so that no man would even go by that way. And behold, they cried out saying, what have we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God? They knew who he was. They knew he was the son of God. And it's interesting that they knew Jesus and referred to him as the son of God, but never as the son of man. Have you come here to torment us before the time, the time of their judgment? Now a good way off from there, there was a herd of many swine feeding, so the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. I tend to think they knew he was going to cast them out, and they still wanted to inhabit some kind of a body. And he said to them, Go! So when they had come out, they went into the head of swine, and suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and perished in the water. Now, when you look at that story, it is really startling. I mean, we are confronted with the face of evil in these men, demonic powers. And these demonic powers so controlled these men to the extent that they were uncontrollable by any human means. Luke tells the same story in chapter 8. And he records that one of the men, probably both of them, they broke the chains that were holding them. They were fierce. They were violent in their behavior. They had supernatural strength. But they met someone with greater supernatural power. The Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what the Bible says? And when the Son sets you free, you will what? You will be free indeed. I mean, what an incredible thing. I mean, nobody wanted anything to do. Nobody could do anything with these men. And Jesus comes and He confronts them. And all He says is, go. That's it. Go. Get out of him, you demonic powers. And they obeyed him. And they were destroyed in the process. But my point in sharing this story is that the last days will be filled with violence. Fierce times. Genesis chapter 6 verse 11, it says, in the days of Noah, the earth also was corrupt before God. Now you think about the earth today. You just think about it. I mean, there are some beautiful places and we love to go to those beautiful places, you know, to get away for some rest and relaxation and just take in the, you know, the beauty of nature. But the earth, in spite of those beautiful places, is absolutely corrupt. Corruption is everywhere. We only see a very small part of that corruption, right? Could you imagine seeing the whole of the corruption of the earth like God does? The earth also was corrupt before God. And notice what it says in the days of Noah. The earth was filled with what? Violence. You know, it was not that way at the beginning. It was not corrupt. It was not filled with violence. Everything was good. And God pronounced it, in fact, very good. Until sin entered. Until sin entered. The existence of evil is actually a proof for the existence of God. I don't know if you ever thought about it that way. But how would anyone define evil without God who determines what is good and what is evil? Without God, there is no foundation for morality. Why doesn't the law of the jungle prevail in the human species everywhere if we evolved from apes? Where did human conscience come from? One man wrote, evil cannot be defined without there being a moral standard which is violated. A moral standard which cannot exist without there being an ultimate authority to whom or to which to appeal. That ultimate authority cannot be man. We cannot appeal to men for an ultimate standard of morality. Even in this country, abortion is seen as a women's right by nearly half the population. while others see it as the taking of a human life. That's a pretty great difference, right? In terms of standards of morality. Some say homosexuality is normal. Yesterday was the gay pride in America's finest corrupt city. And for the first time ever in that parade, men and women in uniform marched. military uniform, and they received the loudest applause. So, for many people, homosexuality is perfectly normal. For many others, it's what? A sign of depravity. It's sin. Man cannot determine ultimate standards. Man cannot agree upon those standards. There was an episode on the TV show, Judge Joe Brown. A man was suing another man to recover the cost of stolen stereo equipment. The defendant admitted that he had stolen the stereo equipment. The problem was that he already sold the equipment and he no longer had the money. So Judge Joe Brown asked the defendant to hand over the keys of his house to the bailiff. And the defendant said, why do I have to give you my keys? And the judge said, I'm going to give them to the plaintiff so he can go take some of your stuff to cover the cost of what you stole from him. And you know what the defendant said? That's not fair. So even thieves have a sense of fairness when it's to their advantage. Where did a sense of fairness come from? My dog doesn't have a sense of fairness. He would eat his dinner, my dinner, Marie's dinner, and your dinner without blinking an eye. And he has absolutely no regard for my property rights. None whatsoever. He does whatever he wants to do. He has no conscience. But human beings created in the image of God are different. We have a God-given conscience. We have a moral code built within us that restrains our behavior when it is functioning like God intended it to function. But it can become utterly reprobate, as you see in this passage which we read this morning. And the result is what you saw happen in Colorado on Friday. a man without a conscience, a man whose conscience was seared to the uttermost, who had no regard for human life of any kind, not even little children. And what on earth was a six-year-old boy doing in a movie theater at 1230 at night? Matthew chapter 24 verse 37 says, But as the days of Noah, remember, they were what? Filled with violence. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. The days prior to the return of the Lord will be like the days of Noah, corrupt and filled with violence. The good news is that just as Jesus delivered that demon-possessed man or men in Gadara, He will break the power of evil in the last days. And he will usher in what Peter called in Acts chapter 3, the days of restoration. I mean, the earth is utterly corrupt, but God is going to restore it. And it is going to be very good once again. Praise God, I am waiting for that. I am so waiting for that. You know, not only in the natural realm, because we know that even nature itself is groaning and travailing, and it is crying out for its deliverance. Because you see, it was cursed. And that's why we have what men call natural disasters. It's all because of the fall. Because sin entered into God's perfect creation and utterly ruined it. But Jesus is going to restore it all. And you know what? We're going to be there. In this restored creation. How wonderful is that? Wow. I can't wait. How long will the last days last? That's the great unknown. We've been in the last days for 2,000 plus years. We don't know how long it will last. Think of it this way. When Paul says perilous times will come, The word times is not chronos in the Greek. We get the word chronological. We think of chronological increments of time like calendar time, day one, day two, so forth and so on. It's not that word. It's the word kairos, which refers to periods of time, to seasons, to epics or to eras. So think in terms of seasons, not moments or calendar days. Think of it like this. The last days which began at Pentecost would be a succession of seasons. culminating in the appearance of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, the very face personified of evil. Look in 2 Thessalonians 2. Verse 1, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming, and that's the parousia, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that you be not so soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter from any of us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. So see, even back then, people were saying, it's here. He's coming. He's here. It's near. It's at hand. Well, that wasn't true. They were even attributing me to Paul by way of a false letter. He says, let no man deceive you by any means for that day. That's the day of his wrath. will not come except there comes a falling away, that word comes from the word apocalyptic, a falling away, apostasia. except an apostasy, a great apostasy occurs first, and the man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition, who will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God will sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember the preposition anti means what? Against and in place of. This is exactly what He is going to do. Remember you not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things, and now you know what withholds that He might be revealed in His time. For the mystery of iniquity or sin, lawlessness is already working, only He who now letteth or permits it will continue to do so until He is taken out of the way, until that restraining force Perhaps the Holy Spirit is removed and then will that wicked one be revealed, he hasn't been revealed at any time in history, whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. So this brings to the end, the culmination of the evil of the last days. But go back to 2 Timothy now and we'll get the picture. the face of evil in the last days and we see right off the bat that men will live according to their fleshly desires and in the second verse it says men will be lovers of self now there is no doubt that Paul has the individuals who turned away from the faith in mind. He's been dealing with that throughout this epistle. And you can gather that from just reading further down, which we will get to, not today. Traits that we see, they're prevalent in men, every man, every woman to some degree, they're prevalent in men who will walk according to the flesh and not according to the spirit. But it's interesting, in the fifth verse it says that these men and these women have a form of godliness. But they deny the power thereof. There's no reality to their godliness. They have a form of godliness. They might even attend church on Sunday morning. But they will be lovers of self. The Greek word there for love is phileo. It speaks of an emotional love as opposed to a love that is what the Bible calls agape love, the love that has the well-being of others in mind. Hubert says this points to the fact that the center of gravity of the natural man is self rather than God. And let me say to you this morning that every time a man makes himself or a woman makes herself the center of their life, everything becomes distorted. Everything. The essence of Christianity is the denial of self. It's not the accommodation of self. When self is on the throne, God isn't. It's as simple as that. If self is on the throne of your life, then God isn't. Ephesians 5.29 says, For no man ever yet hated his own flesh. That's interesting because modern psychology says, before you can love anybody else, you've got to love yourself. That didn't come from the Bible. No man ever yet hated his own flesh. But he nourishes it, and he cherishes it. He takes care of number one. That's what the Scripture says. Self-preservation, self-care, self-improvement is natural to man. And it's not entirely wrong to take care of some things about yourself, to try to improve yourself in ways that would be beneficial to others. But a man or woman in love with themself, well, they think that the whole world revolves around them. They live to please self. They are totally absorbed with self. They're like Narcissus. Remember Narcissus? He was that mythological, you know, young man. who couldn't find anybody to please him, but one day he went and he saw a pool of water, and the water was absolutely perfectly clear, and he looked in the water, and he saw a reflection of himself in that water, in that pond, and he couldn't get over how beautiful it was. And that's all he did, was stand there and look at his reflection in the water, and he died there. And then, you know, that mythological story says that a flower grew up where Narcissus died. And today we have a flower called the Narcissus flower. I guess it's beautiful. I don't know. I don't want one. What saith the scripture, Philippians chapter 2, verse 3? Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but what? What does it say? In lowliness of mind. That's humility. Let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. I mean, our society today is, no doubt, preoccupied with self-image. I mean, we don't even want to destroy anybody's image to any degree, or how they think about themselves. That's why now, you know, when I grew up, and I just heard Roger Hitchcock talking about this the other day, some guy was mentioning this from Canada. He says, you know, when I grew up, there was first, second, and third place, and that's it. Now everybody gets a ribbon. Now everybody gets a trophy. Because we don't want to bruise their self-image. You might ruin their life if they didn't get a ribbon. That's where we are. Now, what does it take if you're going to live for self? It takes what we see in the next vice listed here. As a matter of fact, every one of the vices that are listed here flows out of love for self. Men will be lovers of themselves, and then it says, covetous. They will covet material things. Covetousness is the unrelenting desire for the things of this world, principally money, because with enough money, someone could presumably buy everything that they need to satisfy all their desires. Luke chapter 16, Jesus said this, 23rd verse, No servant can serve two masters. That's straightforward, isn't it? You can never serve two masters with equal devotion. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. If money is on the throne of your life, God isn't. And the Pharisees, notice this religious crowd. The Pharisees also who were what? Covetous. They heard all these things and they were very upset. They derided him. Do you know why? Because it hit them right in their heart. They knew that he was right. Luke 12, 15, Jesus says, take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses. I was thinking about that. A man's life, okay, Lord, my life does not consist in the number of the things that I possess. Amen. Your life does not consist in the number of the things that you possess. But looking around our malls and the catalogs that come in the mail, and our homes and our garages, you would think that a man's life does consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses. And it seems as though if we are brutally honest with ourselves, It's hard to be content. It's hard not to be jealous. It's hard not to want what someone else has. A.W. King says, instead of complaining at his lot, a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are. I mean, God is merciful. God is gracious. We don't deserve this, do we not? Do we? Instead of greedily desiring something more than the supply of His present need, and that's what Jesus, you know, that's what the Scripture says we are to be content with. Just the basic things of life. The contented man rejoices that God still cares for him. Such a man is content with such as he has." And that's the biblical attitude that every Christian should have. Be content with such things as you have, because you brought nothing into this world, And it is for certain that you are going to carry nothing out of this world when you leave. You will leave everything behind. That's why I always, you know, I laugh when people say, well, so-and-so died. Boy, he had a lot of money. How much did he leave behind? All of it. Right? You're going to leave everything behind. And I have news for you. Someone else is going to have to clean out your garage. Don't call me. I've got enough to clean out on my own. Just think about what Jesus said. Foxes have dens. Not fancy, but they're content. The birds of the air have nests. Nothing elaborate. They seem to be content. But the Son of Man, The God who created the foxes and the birds and everything that we sung about, this is my father's world, had nowhere to lay his head. Think about that. He didn't even have a tent. Now he did stay in people's houses at times. He accepted hospitality so he could graciously minister to them. But when he traveled around, he did not even have a tent. He had nowhere to lay his head, no covering over his head. So let me ask you. All right, let me ask you. Why isn't greed as big a sin as some of the other sins that we tend to emphasize? Why isn't it? I think it's because it can masquerade itself as success so easily. Sometimes a man or a woman is seen as being really ambitious, a real go-getter. And we applaud that in them. without knowing the motives of their heart and what is driving that ambition. Maybe it's just greed. Maybe it's just the desire for more. Maybe it's just the desire to be somebody, to have a name that people will recognize. Success. Is it really? Next in the list of the last day vices is men will be boasters. They will proclaim their own worth and accomplishments, even if it is embellished. They build their own monuments and then they polish them. They stand on their self-made pedestals. Listen, I'll tell you what. I am not enamored with men. I am not enamored with any man. I don't care what he has, and how much he's done, and all his credentials. He is just a man. The best of men are men at best. They've got feet of clay. They've got hearts no better than mine. Just as wicked as mine at times. There really is nothing to applaud in man, except that which God does through a man, by His grace. What do you have that you have not received? What does any man have that he has not received? Nothing. Nothing. It's all of God. This church is only what God makes it. It's not what I make it. It's not what you make it. It's the grace of God and nothing more that allows us to even come here and worship here in this place and allows me the privilege of preaching His Word. That's all it is. It's the grace of God. You know what it says here? The men will be boasters. Originally the word was associated with traveling merchants. I found this quite interesting. Traveling merchants who peddled their goods, and they hyped up their value so somebody would buy it. We used to call them snake oil salesmen. Or think of the late night infomercials that run on cable TV. They're very successful, those little infomercials. That's why advertisers run them. They're very, very successful. They try to sell you something. They hype it up. And they try to get you to make a quick decision to purchase that thing. And then three weeks later, you're asking for your money back because it was a piece of junk. But of these boasters, Swindoll says, they sell glory for themselves without providing anything of worth to those around him. I think that that's an excellent description of the faith healers and the prosperity preachers who take their traveling roadshows from city to city, country to country, promising things that they do not and cannot deliver. Healing, deliverance, and prosperity. Peter warned about such men, 2 Peter 2.3, and in their greed, their desire for money, they will exploit you with false words. I mean, how gullible can people be? Let me think about it. How gullible can people be? Back in the 70s, Some of you are too young to know this gentleman. You probably remember him. There was one of these faith healers named Peter Popoff. Anybody ever hear of him? Put your hand up if you ever heard of him. I call him Peter Ripoff. Well, he went everywhere, huge crusades, making millions of dollars. And then he would call people down from the audience and he would say, Mary, Mary Baker, come. And Mary Baker thought that God had given Peter a revelation about him. And she would come down the front and he would say, Mary, you're suffering from arthritis, are you not? Everywhere in all your joints. And you've been suffering from this for 10 years or longer. And she'd be astonished at this knowledge that Peter had. You know where he was getting it from? He had a little receiver in his ear and he was getting it from his wife who was relaying this information that they had picked up from Peter Popov's crusade. And he was exposed by a skeptic named James Randi on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show. And guess what? That was the end of Peter Popov's ministry. He went bankrupt. But you know what? He's back. He's back, he's been back for several years now, making millions of dollars and his latest scam is... You can write to him and send him $30 or whatever it is, and he will send you a bottle of miracle water as part of his get-out-of-debt program. And if you drink this miracle water, and you take a little pack of salt that he says comes from the Dead Sea, which is just those little packs of salt that you get in the restaurant, and you open it up, and I am not joking, I am not making this up, you couldn't make this up. You take the salt and you sprinkle it over your checkbook while you drink this miracle water and watch your debts go away. He's making millions running these infomercials. This is the truth. This is no joke. In their greed they will exploit you with false words. You know why people send them money? I just read a little thing about one woman and her husband who just, debts they cannot possibly pay, send him $5,000. Because once they get you hooked, you just keep coming back. You got to do more. You got to sow more seeds of faith. They do it because they're desperate. And listen, people who prey on desperate people deserve the deepest part of hell. they will get it too. Well, I'm only a third done. Men will be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud. This means to exalt yourself with a sense of arrogance. It's not just that proud look. It's that arrogant look. Thinking that you are better than everyone else. It's turning your nose up and looking down on people because you are superior to them. Men will be blasphemers. The word means revilers. And, you know, when you think of blasphemy, we usually associate it with, you know, taking God's name in vain or, you know, some other derogatory words that we speak against God. But Paul is referring here to a more general use of the word that includes the things that we speak against our fellow men. And the things that we speak against our fellow men in a derogatory way come out of that sense of self-centeredness. The blasphemer puts people down with words or by his actions because he feels that he is superior to them. I'll take one more. Disobedient to parents. I didn't want the children to get away. Are you all listening? Not only you little children, but all you adult children, because this is what this includes. Disobedient to parents. You know, in Greek and Roman society, that was an unforgivable sin. In the Old Testament, if a child struck his mother or father, they were to be put to death. Stoned. This is rebellion against the authority that God has set over them. Children who don't appreciate their parents. Their parents who brought them into this world and cared for them. I said it also includes adult children who will not accept any counsel from their parents. Who reject their parents altogether, they won't care for them in need. There's an even bigger issue here. If they won't submit to their own parents or respect them, who will they submit to and respect? Nobody. Nobody. Well, we'll take one more, then we'll close. Unthankful. No sense of gratitude comes out of the heart. From the very beginning of their learning experience, we teach our children to say, please and thank you. Why? Why have I taught my daughter from the time that she could comprehend words and begin to speak? Why did I withhold everything from her or anything from her until she said thank you? So she didn't grow up with a sense of entitlement. That's why. Did you know that in the ancient world, a person who was unthankful, who had a sense of entitlement, they were considered barbaric? Barbaric. So parents, if you do not teach your children proper manners, if you do not insist that they say please and thank you, then you might be raising selfish barbarians. That's a good place to close. Because it doesn't get any better as we go on here. Listen, you know what? Such were some of you. Such was I. And we still struggle with these things, right? We still struggle with them. But praise God for the grace that is working in our life, whereby we can see our sin. And we can fall down before God and say, God, forgive me. If you would like a list of other audio messages or other resources available from Faith Community Bible Church, please write to us at 2375 Center Place, El Cajon, CA 92020. The telephone number is 619-461-2245. Thanks for listening.