With the conclusion of a bleak description of the last days, and the false teachers in that era, Paul gives Timothy some insight into how they operate as they try to spread their false religion.

Take a look at this week’s passage, found in 2 Timothy 3:6-7:

At first glance, you might think that this entire passage describes the false teachers. But that is not the case. These two verses begin with how such teachers operate, but then transitions into a description of those who fall for their traps.

These false teachers infiltrate homes, often under false pretenses. Some commentators suggest that these homes are of people that Timothy knows. These homes may even refer to some of the younger widows in the community, who have enough wealth to give them ample time to listen to and perpetuate such false teachings. These widows would have been “easy marks” for the false teachers, with the extra time on their hands.

These false teachers captivate such minds, gaining control and planting their ideas into fertile soil. Such minds are weak-willed. Take note that Paul is not describing women in general with this statement, but certain women in particular within Timothy’s church or community.

After encouraging Timothy to be the kind of leader and minister that he needs to be to face the false teachers in Ephesus, Paul shifts to describing just how that opposition would come. Serious dangers face the church, and Paul stresses to Timothy just how those dangers will occur in an effort to keep Timothy strong, faithful and encouraged.

We will look at the first two verses in this description, finishing the list next week. You can find the beginning of this list in 2 Timothy 3:1-2:

Paul begins this chapter with a phrase that has confused many people. He tells Timothy that “in the last days” there will be difficulties. Many have assumed this to mean that the Second Coming is imminent. While I suspect that Christ’s return may be very soon, that’s not what this phrase means when it is used in the Bible. The phrase, “the last days,” every time it is used in the New Testament, refers to the church age, from the time of Christ’s first coming to the second. The “last days” are happening now, and have been since Paul penned these words. And they will continue until the end.

As an example of this, take a look at 1 John 2:18, where the phrase is used to describe John’s own day. No, Paul is describing to Timothy here a reality that he faced in Ephesus, and a reality that has continued until the present time and beyond.

From here, Paul begins to describe what characterizes evil people living in the last days. Of this list of eighteen descriptors, five of them are found only here, two more are used only in Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus, and and another three are found only here and Paul’s similar listing in Romans 1:29-31. That makes this description especially poignant.

Paul describes these people as being: