Timing. 2 Timothy 3.

Paul makes an interesting statement in verse 1 of this chapter. "But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come." That statement is followed by a long list the ways in which the unrighteous will act, and make things difficult. It's not uncommon for Christians today to point to a list like this one (and a couple others in the New Testament), and say, "Aha! Look! We're in the last days." And they're right, but not because these behaviors are now being demonstrated. Paul was talking to Timothy about what he would experience, calling it "the last days."

Apparently, the last days began back then and continue to today. This is something we need to incorporate into our thinking. If we're in the last days, then Christ could come at any time. This is true, but it has been true for nearly 2,000 years. It's the tension we're intended to live in. Jesus said, in the midst of telling a couple of parables about expectant living, "Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13)

The point here is that we are to live in expectation of His return, and that expectant living looks a certain way. In His parables, Jesus paints a picture of what that looks like -- on the lookout, ready to "wait the night", and using the gifts, talents, and assets we have been given to further the Kingdom. Paul gives advice to Timothy to:

• avoid the evil ones (in the sense of entanglement, not gentle teaching)
• to continue following Paul's teaching, practice, purposes, patience, endurance, and love
• expect things to get worse, but to endure
• remember the Scriptures, which he had known since a youth, which are inspired and ... well, you know the rest, and I'll quote it in a minute

Paul's advice to Timothy includes an exhortation to adhere to the teaching of the text. It's a biggie in the pantheon of "what we believe," and how we should handle the text. Here it is.

Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16,17 NET)

While the emphasis in looking at these verses is usually either on the inspiration of Scripture (God's breathing into the text), or on the 4 ways it is useful, I'd like to point out today that the goal of God in giving us this instruction is that we might be equipped to do good works. Study without action is pointless. And in context, Paul is telling Timothy to continue to soldier on in the face of the hardships he will face in these last days, by relying on the text. For Timothy, that was the Old Testament, not the New. We understand that Paul's principles apply to the New Testament, but for Timothy only the Old was available. Ultimately, all of us doing the NT Read Through this year, will need to spend time in the Old Testament as well. Stay tuned.

Whether we're really, really close to Jesus' return, I can't say. Admittedly, I tend to dismiss that aspect that people often mean when they say, "We're in the last days." It's sufficient for me to know that we are in the last days, and we wait on God's timing. In expectation.