ARE THESE THE SIGNS OF THE APOCALYPSE?
The media shows images of wars, murders, natural disasters, collapsing governments, and bankrupt societies. People say these are signs of the Apocalypse, but they never think of them as a sign of the end times.
"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
This is The Bible's description of the people in the last days. It is an awful list. But one thing sums them all up.
"HAVING A FROM"
The people of the last days live by their own ideas and philosophies. They reject the Creator's instruction for their own.A form is a hollow shape inside a mold. It is an empty space, and when a substance is poured in like wax or plaster, it takes the form's shape. A form is an emptiness waiting to be shaped.
We not only want to avoid such people, but we also want to avoid being such people.
"OF GODLINESS"
Godliness can be defined as being like God or living a life He approves of or imitating God in the way you live.This world's religions are a form of godliness designed by man but cannot succeed in reaching God because man is flawed, and his efforts will be flawed. To say I am good enough for God is based on a lack of knowledge of God. God is holy, so no one is good enough for him, but God is powerful, and in His wisdom, He made a way through Christ (see below).
"BUT DENYING THE POWER THEREOF"
The people of the end times deny the power of God; this is a sweeping and broad statement. It includes:* The idea that God is smaller than our problems,
* That God is helpless or unwilling to do good.
* That He is old-fashioned or irrelevant to our needs today.
* That He just set things in motion and walked away.
The power of God is seen in the atoning death and resurrection of Christ. God is the basis of our relationship with God- not our works, merit, or effort. God is the basis that changes us into better people, not our own energies.
"HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCH PEOPLE"
Such practical advice since such people are never good for us. They bring discouragement and problems.
