Are We Nearing The End Times - Part 3 - Disobedient to Parents, Ungrateful, and Unholy
So far we have seen five of twenty characteristics of men that have become prevalent at this time: You can review Part 1 discussing Men will be Lovers of Self and Men will be Lovers of Money (see here) and Part 2 discussing Boasting, Arrogance, and Reviling (see here). Back to our passages:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NASB)
[1] But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. [2] For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, [4] treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
Romans 1:28-32 (NASB)
[28] And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, [29] being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; [32] and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Men will be disobedient to parents - the definition of disobedient is not doing what someone or something with authority tells you to do : refusing or failing to obey rules, laws, etc. So being disobedient to parents involves refusing or failing to obey their rules or the law that they have set down. It is interesting to note that both of our passages, 2 Timothy 3:2 and Romans 1:30, show disobedience to parents as one of the End Times indicators. Just how far this has gone might be difficult to figure out since we are dealing with something that is typically a private activity (within a household) but only reveals itself indirectly to someone observing. People just simply don't want to talk about such things. However, the scripture is clear on obedience:
Colosians 3:20 (NASB)
[20] Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-3 (NASB)
[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [2] HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise ), [3] SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.
Notice that these passages do not require the parent to obtain their respect so far as the parents do things that are viewed positively by the child. That means the morals, values, and ethics of the parent, especially as it relates to God. The need for submission to parents is a way of teaching the child the need for submission to God as they get older. When a child has not submitted to God, difficulties can arise and the spread of the gospel can be hampered. In fact, obedience to parents was very important to God, and disobedience was treated the same as murder, as illustrated in the law given to Moses:
Exodus 21:15 (NASB)
[15] He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (NASB)
[18] "If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey * his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, [19] then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. [20] "They shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey * us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.' [21] "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
So in what ways does not obeying your father and mother manifest itself? In stubbornness, mocking, scorning, angrily talking back to them, thievery, and violence (see here from Martin G. Collins). In the gospels, as Jesus was instructing his disciples prior to them going out to preach, he indicated that children would rise up against their parents as part of the things that were to come. This can be construed to be part of the depraved mind brought on by not seeing fit to acknowledge God any longer as seen in Romans 1:30.
Matthew 10:21 (NASB)
[21] "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
Mark 13:9-13 (NASB)
[9] "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. [10] "The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. [11] "When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever * is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. [12] "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. [13] "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
We could see an example of disobedience to the will of parents during the Riots when a young man of 20 set a police car on fire in Philadelphia and was brought to the police station by his parents to turn himself in. This incident was not to the level of rising up against parents and having them put to death in the passages mentioned in Matthew and Mark, but it does indicate that disobedience to parents was going on during the Riots. Again, this was an indirect indicator that something was amiss, if the young man had been following what his parents had been telling him, there would have been no car fire and no need to go to the police station. There were a great amount of young people involved in the Riots. I am sure that lessons that they learned from their parents were tossed out the window in order for them to be involved in the Riots, which involved looting businesses and harming other individuals, some of whom were just innocent bystanders. We have also seen further indirect examples of this in the willful disobedience to police officers. In fact, we are seeing a push to get rid of the police altogether in the "Defund Police" movement as a direct result of the Riots.
Maybe we should come back to this topic one after reviewing other topics that may show indirectly that disobedience to parents is true of this time.
Men will be ungrateful - to be ungrateful is to be unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred. This one is fairly easy to get a handle on. How many times have you heard young people, either in conversation or on a news broadcast, tell us that we live in a terrible country. How we have no freedoms to speak of. How as a country we have pushed everyone down. That is a display of ungratefulness, exacerbated by our current professors who lean far to the left in their interpretation. If you back up and look at the United States in comparison to other countries, we have got it made. Even our poor can still get fed and clothed. We have so many benefits to living in this great country, notice that we still have the freedom to make our way in life. We are not hampered by caste or circumstance, because we have the freedom to work. This is not true of a lot of other countries. It would seem that we always have our hands out with the word "GIMME" printed on it with a frown on our faces. Why? Because we are not grateful for what we have and have been given by our forefathers. If you are ungrateful for what has been given you, you will do your level best to create your own version of what is good, to your detriment. Gratefulness is also something that parents are supposed to pass on to their children, so being ungrateful is showing that disobedience to parents may be a cause. Are men ungrateful to the level that shows we are entering End Times? I think the answer is yes.
Men will be unholy - to be unholy is showing disregard for what is holy : wicked. You have heard it said that darkness plus darkness equals more darkness. An increase in wickedness results in more wickedness. So if we look back to the description in Romans 1:32 we find that "... they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Hearty approval will entice men to continue in their evil deeds. So disregard for God leads to wickedness and further being unholy.
There was recently a call from Shaun King, of Black Lives Matter, to tear down all images depicting Jesus as a “white European” should be torn down because they are a form of “white supremacy.” King later sent out another post ... saying that “white Jesus is a lie” and a “tool of white supremacy” created to help white people use Christianity as a “tool of oppression. {Fox News} This is typical leftist double speak, but what is says is telling. Here is a person with no regard for what is holy. Choosing instead to push a rhetoric based on Communist values. This along with calls to push out any semblance of allowing people to worship as they desire, shown by opening bars but not churches, and elevation of the state over things of God.
But what does God say about being unholy? The following verses indicate that not only is this wrong, but God will turn his back on you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 [NASB]
[9] Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, [10] nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Titus 1:15-16 [NASB]
[15] To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. [16] They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Revelation 20:11-15 [NASB]
[11] Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
So, can we say that men are showing a disobedience to parents, being ungrateful, and being unholy - check.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NASB)
[1] But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. [2] For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, [4] treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
Romans 1:28-32 (NASB)
[28] And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, [29] being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; [32] and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Men will be disobedient to parents - the definition of disobedient is not doing what someone or something with authority tells you to do : refusing or failing to obey rules, laws, etc. So being disobedient to parents involves refusing or failing to obey their rules or the law that they have set down. It is interesting to note that both of our passages, 2 Timothy 3:2 and Romans 1:30, show disobedience to parents as one of the End Times indicators. Just how far this has gone might be difficult to figure out since we are dealing with something that is typically a private activity (within a household) but only reveals itself indirectly to someone observing. People just simply don't want to talk about such things. However, the scripture is clear on obedience:
Colosians 3:20 (NASB)
[20] Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-3 (NASB)
[1] Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [2] HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise ), [3] SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.
Notice that these passages do not require the parent to obtain their respect so far as the parents do things that are viewed positively by the child. That means the morals, values, and ethics of the parent, especially as it relates to God. The need for submission to parents is a way of teaching the child the need for submission to God as they get older. When a child has not submitted to God, difficulties can arise and the spread of the gospel can be hampered. In fact, obedience to parents was very important to God, and disobedience was treated the same as murder, as illustrated in the law given to Moses:
Exodus 21:15 (NASB)
[15] He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (NASB)
[18] "If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey * his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, [19] then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. [20] "They shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey * us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.' [21] "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
So in what ways does not obeying your father and mother manifest itself? In stubbornness, mocking, scorning, angrily talking back to them, thievery, and violence (see here from Martin G. Collins). In the gospels, as Jesus was instructing his disciples prior to them going out to preach, he indicated that children would rise up against their parents as part of the things that were to come. This can be construed to be part of the depraved mind brought on by not seeing fit to acknowledge God any longer as seen in Romans 1:30.
Matthew 10:21 (NASB)
[21] "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
Mark 13:9-13 (NASB)
[9] "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. [10] "The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. [11] "When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever * is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. [12] "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. [13] "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
We could see an example of disobedience to the will of parents during the Riots when a young man of 20 set a police car on fire in Philadelphia and was brought to the police station by his parents to turn himself in. This incident was not to the level of rising up against parents and having them put to death in the passages mentioned in Matthew and Mark, but it does indicate that disobedience to parents was going on during the Riots. Again, this was an indirect indicator that something was amiss, if the young man had been following what his parents had been telling him, there would have been no car fire and no need to go to the police station. There were a great amount of young people involved in the Riots. I am sure that lessons that they learned from their parents were tossed out the window in order for them to be involved in the Riots, which involved looting businesses and harming other individuals, some of whom were just innocent bystanders. We have also seen further indirect examples of this in the willful disobedience to police officers. In fact, we are seeing a push to get rid of the police altogether in the "Defund Police" movement as a direct result of the Riots.
Maybe we should come back to this topic one after reviewing other topics that may show indirectly that disobedience to parents is true of this time.
Men will be ungrateful - to be ungrateful is to be unappreciative; not displaying gratitude; not giving due return or recompense for benefits conferred. This one is fairly easy to get a handle on. How many times have you heard young people, either in conversation or on a news broadcast, tell us that we live in a terrible country. How we have no freedoms to speak of. How as a country we have pushed everyone down. That is a display of ungratefulness, exacerbated by our current professors who lean far to the left in their interpretation. If you back up and look at the United States in comparison to other countries, we have got it made. Even our poor can still get fed and clothed. We have so many benefits to living in this great country, notice that we still have the freedom to make our way in life. We are not hampered by caste or circumstance, because we have the freedom to work. This is not true of a lot of other countries. It would seem that we always have our hands out with the word "GIMME" printed on it with a frown on our faces. Why? Because we are not grateful for what we have and have been given by our forefathers. If you are ungrateful for what has been given you, you will do your level best to create your own version of what is good, to your detriment. Gratefulness is also something that parents are supposed to pass on to their children, so being ungrateful is showing that disobedience to parents may be a cause. Are men ungrateful to the level that shows we are entering End Times? I think the answer is yes.
Men will be unholy - to be unholy is showing disregard for what is holy : wicked. You have heard it said that darkness plus darkness equals more darkness. An increase in wickedness results in more wickedness. So if we look back to the description in Romans 1:32 we find that "... they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Hearty approval will entice men to continue in their evil deeds. So disregard for God leads to wickedness and further being unholy.
There was recently a call from Shaun King, of Black Lives Matter, to tear down all images depicting Jesus as a “white European” should be torn down because they are a form of “white supremacy.” King later sent out another post ... saying that “white Jesus is a lie” and a “tool of white supremacy” created to help white people use Christianity as a “tool of oppression. {Fox News} This is typical leftist double speak, but what is says is telling. Here is a person with no regard for what is holy. Choosing instead to push a rhetoric based on Communist values. This along with calls to push out any semblance of allowing people to worship as they desire, shown by opening bars but not churches, and elevation of the state over things of God.
But what does God say about being unholy? The following verses indicate that not only is this wrong, but God will turn his back on you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 [NASB]
[9] Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, [10] nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Titus 1:15-16 [NASB]
[15] To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. [16] They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Revelation 20:11-15 [NASB]
[11] Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
So, can we say that men are showing a disobedience to parents, being ungrateful, and being unholy - check.