In the midst of the normal brokenness and trials that characterize the groanings of creation (Rom. 8:20–22) there will emerge seasons of unusual peril, which Paul calls “times of difficulty.” Christians should expect them, take note of them, and respond appropriately to them.

Sometimes Christians must live and minister through unusually difficult seasons. But occasionally the challenges that we face are particularly exacerbated by a degenerating society. Such is the nature of living in “the last days.”

Paul warns Timothy of this in the third chapter of the last New Testament letter that he wrote: “But understand this,” he warns his young colleague, “that in the last days there will come times of difficulty” (v. 1).

Some Bible teachers have misconstrued that phrase, “the last days,” by linking it exclusively to the years immediately preceding Jesus’ return to earth. Whole eschatological schemes have been developed to show believers how to recognize and navigate through these last days that are relegated to the end of history.

But Paul has something totally different in mind. He is warning about circumstances that will occur within Timothy’s own lifetime. That’s why he instructs Timothy to take specific action in verse 5.

The last days began with the fulfillment of Christ’s earthly mission. The only eschatological event left on God’s calendar is the second coming of Jesus. Unlike His first appearance, His return will be with an incredible display of power and glory as He culminates the establishment of His kingdom.

Until that day arrives, we should expect to see “times of difficulty.” In one sense, every day is difficult in this fallen world. Because of sin, things are not the way they are supposed to be. This has been the norm since Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden of Eden, and it will continue to be so until Christ returns.

In the midst of the normal brokenness and trials that characterize the groanings of creation (Rom. 8:20–22) there will emerge seasons of unusual peril, which Paul calls “times of difficulty.” Christians should expect them, take note of them, and respond appropriately to them.

Paul describes such seasons as being characterized by people who are “lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 2–4). Self-centeredness and lawlessness dominate the cultural landscape.

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