The “Fierce” of these Perilous Times

The “Fierce” of these Perilous Times

Terry James

Paul warned of how things will develop as the time of Christ’s return nears. We have looked at that passage many times. I refer, of course, to the great apostle’s “perilous times” prophecy of 2 Timothy chapter 3. I’ll let you look it up in totality but will dwell only on one element for our purpose here.

Paul said: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be…fierce…” (2 Timothy 3:3). 

Again, Paul wrote under Holy Spirit Inspiration of the very thing that would mark the end of the Age of Grace (Church Age).  He said that the “lawless one,” Antichrist, will be revealed following the removal of the Restrainer as governor of evil over this fallen world system. It will be the spirit of Antichrist that even in John the apostle’s day was prevalent that will pervade the human race and its rebellion against all godliness.

My great friend Gary Stearman had something to say about all this, giving us a Holy Spirit-influenced think-piece, I believe:

Years ago, I noticed something in Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. It struck home in a big way, and to this day directs my thinking about Bible prophecy. In the third chapter, there is an intriguing statement: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” Probably most serious Christians have noticed this warning, and then have continued to read the long list of character deficiencies that follow…

This description of latter-day societal shortcomings rings with a surprising familiarity to those of us who observe the daily media parade. As I read this, it occurred to me that I needed to do a deeper study of what the term “perilous times” really meant. Looking it up, I found that the word “perilous” came from the Greek word, chalepos.

Looking further, I discovered that in the New Testament, this word was used only twice, the other time being in Matthew, Chapter 8, in which Jesus and His disciples had sailed across the Sea of Galilee. A windstorm had risen and swamped their sailboat, until He spoke and calmed the waters:

“27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way”(Mt. 8:27, 28).

To my amazement, I discovered that the Greek word chalepos was used in the phrase, “exceedingly fierce!”

And fierce they were … so strong that in this territory of the beach and its cliffs, no one could pass. Their strength came from demonic possession.

I was immediately struck with the thought that when Paul wrote those prophetic words to Timothy, his exhaustive description of latter-day humanity was constructed around the idea of madness … raging insanity empowered by dark forces! Suddenly, I was deeply impressed with Paul’s true intent: to show Timothy – and us, in the twenty-first century – that the days before Christ’s return would be marked by a growing social insanity.

And not just that; it would be an insanity driven by the same dark forces encountered by Jesus and His disciples on the shores of Galilee on that day so long ago.

Always keeping Paul’s words in mind, I noted social changes and developments that were driven by raging insanity of the sort that suggested the presence of dark forces, working behind the scenes to fragment our civilized society:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12).

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