2 Timothy 3:1-4
[1]This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2]For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3]Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4]Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Many folks serve their father diabolos (the devil). They are slanderous liars, “incontinent” (without self control), savage “despisers” who are opposed to “those who are good.” They will be treacherous, rash, and “high minded” people who are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”

New Defender’s Study Bible Notes

2 Timothy 3:2
3:2 lovers of their own selves. This catalog of characteristics of the dangerous last days begins with what is essentially a definition of modern humanists—“lovers of their own selves.” The entire list seems peculiarly descriptive of the emphases and attributes of modern evolutionary humanism. Furthermore, these characteristics seem almost a duplication of the characteristics of ancient pantheistic paganism, as outlined in Romans 1:29-31, except that the characteristics listed here in Paul’s letter to Timothy seem to be developing within the framework of the professing church rather than the pagan world. In other words, there will be little distinction between the secular world and the religious world in the last days. Note in particular the cult of self-love, now being strongly promoted by secular psychologists and increasingly prominent even in counseling methods used in modern evangelical churches, as the answer to all psychological and sociological problems.

3:2 covetous. Covetousness is idolatry, the worship of the money god, Mammon (Luke 16:9). The Greek word here used for “covetous” means “money-loving” (philarguros, “lover of silver”). Note also I Timothy 6:10; Ephesians 5:5.

3:2 Proud. Humanistic pride—whether of riches, intellect, physical strength, beauty, position or anything else—is the sin of the devil (I Timothy 3:6), eventually leading in effect to self-worship, as well as self-love.

3:3 Without natural affection. The implication is that their “affections” are “unnatural.” Note Romans 1:26-27. Evidently a great and dangerous increase of perverse sexual behavior will characterize the last days.

3:3 trucebreakers. Translated “implacable” in Romans 1:31. The etymology of the word suggests people who refuse to make or honor treaties or agreements.

3:3 false accusers. The Greek for “false accusers” is diabolos, meaning “slanderers” or “devils.” Satan himself is the diabolos, the devil, the false “accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10), and there are today a multitude of people slandering Bible-believing Christians, doing the specific work of the devil.

3:3 incontinent. The Greek for “incontinent” (akrates) means “without strength,” meaning, in context, powerless to do what is known to be right.

3:4 Traitors. This word was used of Judas (Luke 6:16), who betrayed Christ, suggesting that the latter-day church harbors many Christ-betrayers.

3:4 highminded. The word means “puffed up.”

3:4 lovers of God. One need only compare the number of pleasure-seekers on the Lord’s Day to the number of people in church!

But, “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4)

From : bibleteacher.org
When Angels Preached The Gospel

bibleteacher.org

Luke 24:1-12 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words …

The Bible Is God’s Book!
People ask me why I believe that this Bible is God’s Book, written through the Prophets and Apostles. Why do I believe that “no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21, CSB)? It is because I have experienced the power of this magnificent Book. God has given us – you and I – a Book written by His Spirit, and taught by His Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).

Every time I come to the Bible, if open to the Holy Spirit, I nearly always find something new.

For instance, as I read this story of the resurrection of Jesus, a message I have preached before, I thought “what could be new in this text?” then God answered.

Angels Preached The Gospel The Day Jesus Rose
I was reading a commentary the other day when I came across this statement:

“During the current dispensation in which we live – the church age – angels are not permitted to preach or share the Gospel (the message of Jesus) with people. They are, however, involved in the process of people being saved or born again”.

Christian, there are lots of good commentaries out there, and I’m sure this isn’t a bad commentary. But never take the word of man above that of God. Men and women make mistakes. I make mistakes. “Try the Spirits, whether they be of God or not”(1 John 4:1). Is it true that “angels do not preach the Gospel”? Let’s look at what the Bible says. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 1:8-9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. [9] As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The Apostle suggested that an Angel could preach the Gospel – and called the curse of God on any Angel that preached a contrary Gospel to that which is presented in the Scripture. I do not believe that Angels normally preach the Gospel, as the Great Commission was given to the Church by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). However, on the Sunday that Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Cleopas we are told an angel rolled the stone from the tomb of Christ, and said:

Matthew 28:5-7 … Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

An Angel preached the Gospel! In our Sunday School lesson today (I wish you would attend Sunday School – you’d be blessed!) we’ll see the resurrection account in John chapter 20. When Mary Magdalene gets to the tomb of Jesus, she sees the stone rolled away. The Bible says:

John 20:11-13 Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, 12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

Mary thought that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. As she and the other women came to the tomb, they came to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial.

When they took Jesus down from the Cross to bury Him, He was hastily buried because the next day was the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Leviticus 23:6-7 …. on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation (Hebrew miqrā’, a special time where Israel was called together to worship) ; you shall not do any ordinary work.

Had Jesus’ body been stolen, He would have been defiled by Jewish law. His preparation was not complete! Mary was devastated. We’ll see in Sunday School that Mary will look into the Tomb and see …

John 20:12 … two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain

There are two angels there. In our text today we read in Luke that, when they looked into the tomb perplexed …

Luke 24:4 … behold, two men stood by them in shining garments…

These “TWO MEN” in “SHINING GARMENTS” were angels. Though angels do not normally carry the Gospel, God used the angels to remind the disciples to get busy and spread the Gospel.

Sadly, we as humans are fickle. Sometimes we need an angel to get us moving in the right direction. The disciples did not need to waste time wondering where Jesus is. Jesus is where He is supposed to be. Let’s get busy!

The Great Physician Luke was used to God to write both the Gospel of Luke, as well as Acts. At the empty tomb Luke tells us that “two men in shining garments” share the Gospel. After Jesus is reunited with His disciples and gives us the Great Commission, Jesus ascends into Heaven. The Bible tells us that:

Acts 1:10-11 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

I believe that this is the same “TWO MEN – ANGELS – IN SHINING APPAREL” that were at the empty Tomb. Stop staring where Jesus went up to Heaven. He is coming again. Get busy, and tell others that He has risen just as He said.

The Gospel Is That Jesus Died, But Rose Again
The Gospel that Jesus gave us – a Gospel first preached by Angels – is very simple. We read:

Luke 24:5-7 … Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

The Angels redirected the gaze of the disciples, reminding us that death has no hold on Jesus. Jesus repeated told His disciples that He had to die on the Cross. In this same Gospel we read:

Luke 9:22 {Jesus said} The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and BE RAISED THE THIRD DAY.

Jesus often used the title “Son of Man” for Himself. In the Old Testament the term “son of man” was used to describe fallen man. The Prophet compared man to God, saying …

Job 25:6 How much less man, that is a worm (rimmâ, that which causes decay)? and the son of man, which is a worm?

Though God put man on a perfect earth, and gave us all that we needed for a great life, man chose to try and be like a god (Genesis 3:5). It came to my attention the other day that some of these television preachers are saying that we as humans can be gods This is hogwash! God has said,

Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me …

There is NO GOD beside our God. We cannot be gods. We are sons of men. But Jesus Christ – Eternal God in the flesh – became the Son of Man so that He might bring us to God. Jesus Christ – the Only Begotten Son of God – became the Virgin Born Son of Man. “What is man, that God would remember us? What are the sons of men, that God would come down to visit us?” (Psalm 8:4).

Jesus is the Son of Man prophesied in Daniel, the Messiah come to bring us to God (Daniel 7:13).
Jesus told His disciples …

Luke 9:44-45 .. Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Jesus would be “DELIVERED” over to judgment to make payment for our sinfulness. Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in Scripture. Just three days before the empty Tomb, Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 18:31-33 … Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32 For he shall be DELIVERED unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: AND THE THIRD DAY HE SHALL RISE AGAIN.

“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was beaten and bruised.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was stripped and mocked.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus was spitted on and scourged.
“DELIVERED unto the Gentiles” Jesus as nailed to the cross, and died.

Pierced with a spear, Jesus’s dead body yielded blood and serum (John 19:34). Hastily buried, the Disciples came looking for His body. Three days and three nights Jesus did as He said:

Matthew 12:4 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish because of his disobedience to God. Jess, however, stayed three days and three nights among the dead. He has paid the penalty for our sin, fulfilling the promise of God in the Scripture. The Scripture says:

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ (the Son of Man) hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Jesus died to make PAYMENT to God for our sins. Jesus rose from the grave to give us CONTINUING REDEMPTION from sin.
Titus 2:13-14 … Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

He lives, so we live. He died, so that we will never die. Jesus defeated sin and Satan, death and destruction. The Angels preached:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”, the Angels preached. He is not here – He is risen, just as He said!

The Resurrection Is A Key Part Of The Gospel
When the women ran to tell the disciples what the Angels preached, we are told:

Luke 24:11-12 … And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.

Peter went to the Tomb to inspect it for himself. When he got to that tomb, he found something interesting. If Jesus’ body had been stolen from that tomb, the grave robbers would not have taken the time to take off His linen burial cloths, laying them neatly to the side. When a person was buried, the Jews would tightly bind a NAPKIN, the Greek soudarion. The soudarion is a larger version of what I carry in my pocket, a handkerchief or a veil, also equated to an apron (Acts 19:12). When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Bible says:

John 11:44 … he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin (soudarion). …

The “soudarion” was not laid on the head, but bound AROUND the head. Lazarus had to be released from his “soudarion” (also John 11:44). When Peter saw the “soudarion” the Bible says:

John 20:7 … the napkin (soudarion) that was about {Jesus’} head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

This was not the act of grave robbing. Grave robbers would have taken the body of Christ along with all His coverings. Instead, the body was carefully unwrapped, the grave cloths neatly folded. Jesus’ death was carefully planned by God to save us. Jesus rose from the grave to walk with those whom He saved.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen …

The actual death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of the Gospel of salvation. You cannot be saved unless you believe Christ both DIED then ROSE AGAIN. Jesus walked on this earth for forty days following His death and resurrection. He was SEEN by many who, in turn, were willing to die affirming that they saw a Living Savior. The Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:17 … if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

In order to be “saved” a person must “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD” (Romans 10:9-10). Without the resurrection death is still man’s greatest enemy. But since Christ has conquered death we can say with the Apostle: 1 Corinthians 15:55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

One day, dear soul, physical death will come to each and every one of us. If you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, death will have no hold on you. Where Jesus is, we who love him will someday be. But to those of you who have resisted the Gospel, rejecting Christ as the Son of Man – you will not only die PHYSICALLY, but you will remain in SPIRITUAL death. Your ending will be never ending. You will be relegated to a place where the Son of Man says,

Matthew 7:23; 25:41 … depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I never knew you, you who work at iniquity.

The choice is yours. Believe He died for you, and rose again for you Receive Him as SAVIOR in His death, and SOVEREIGN in His resurrection. May God the Holy Spirit guide you to give yourself to Him today. Amen and Amen.

From bibleteacher.org.

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“He received 39 stripes because 40 was known to kill a man. They wanted him alive. They held handfuls of his beard, and hair and pulled it out by the roots. They wanted him alive. They kicked, punched, and spit on him for hours. Until there wasn’t a single spot on his body not covered in blood.
They shoved a crown of thorns down on his head so harshly it stuck in his skin. After hours of being beaten, mocked, whipped, flogged, and tortured they made him walk with a cross. They made him carry it. A rough piece of wood with splinters digging into fresh wounds.
They wanted him to feel every ounce of pain they could bring. He had to feel it in order to heal us. Crucifixion was historically one of the cruelest most tortured deaths a human could face. Hours upon hours of torture. Torture most of us can not mentally think of because the cruelty isn’t normal. It isn’t something our minds can comprehend. We celebrate Easter with pastel colors, happy kids hunting eggs, and chocolate. Truth is there was absolutely nothing happy about the day Jesus died. It was cruel, bloody, and nasty.
He could have stopped all of it. He could have called every angel in heaven to demolish every person standing and shouting “Crucify Him!” He didn’t. He knew in order to have a Sunday you have to have a Friday. He knew in order to have joy you have to carry your cross. He felt everything that day.
On that cross he held the rapist and murderers, the sinner and the saint. He leveled every playing field and said ALL of you are worth it. He knew he had to carry the cross. He never promised the cross you carry in this life would not be heavy. His wasn’t. His promise is that Sunday is coming.
No matter how heavy Friday is. Financially, emotionally, mentally, or physically. Friday is heavy. That cross is weighing you down and you are about to crumble under its weight. His promise was simply this. He won’t make you carry it alone. What kind of king would step down from his throne for this?
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God did. For you.
He did every bit of it for you and me. Ohin yes it is heavy. So heavy sometimes you do not think you can take one more step. But look up, because Sunday is coming.”

Gods judgement is on America. America has written in its laws that a man can lay with a man and a woman can lay with a woman, allowing marriage of the different sexes.We have allowed millions of babies to be slaughtered in their mothers womb and call it women’s rights. God sees it as the murder of HIS Creation. Two men cannot make life together, either can two women. “Male and female created he them.” The end is near for America.

Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.