The Last Days

EARLIER THIS YEAR, an article appeared in the Enquirer entitled, “Empty Churches, Empty People.” It was a review of a book written by Thomas C. Reeves entitled, “The Empty Church.” The book begins by citing statistics that 30% of all births were to unwed mothers, saying further, “Illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time—more important than crime, drugs, poverty, illiteracy, welfare or homelessness because it drives everything else.”

MORAL DECAY

Citing more statistics, the book says that nearly one-half of the young people attending mainline Protestant churches drop out of churchgoing altogether. Some professors of religion have concluded that part of the problem is that churches have espoused liberal social ideas, saying, “The church is the dull exponent of conventional secular political ideas with a vague religious tint.”

Students in prominent schools of divinity have taken a dim view of Western religion, one of them at Harvard saying, “It is not good, and Christianity is the worst.” Overall statistics on church attendance of people in the United States of America is down. Tabulated below from data in the book review is the percentage of Christian families and individuals along with their attitudes toward Christian principles:

ATTITUDE	PERCENTAGE
Totally secular; do not go to church	30%
Barely religious	29%
Modestly religious	22%
Practicing Christians	19%

The book emphasizes that moral decay in our society is responsible for this condition. The book reviewer refers to another writer who tells of a similar moral decay in our society in the late 1800’s, and that the Victorians of that era were able to reverse the spiritual and moral slide so that by the end of the century they had substantially reduced crime, halved illegitimacy, and produced a complex, powerful and sophisticated moral order! It was the express hope of the book reviewer that the same events could recur soon with similar results.

A further endeavor in this direction was reported recently in the Newark Star Ledger. For the last two years, a report has been in preparation by a twenty-four member nonpartisan Congressional panel. The report, issued in May 1998, said that “Americans must find a way to agree on a public moral philosophy if democracy is to survive.” Changes were suggested by the report to the tax code, television producers, religious institutions, and the government. The article said, “Without such changes, America is doomed to continue a long-term moral decline that 67% of the public already believes is well under way.” The panel wrote, “As our social morality deteriorates, life becomes harsher and less civil for everyone, social problems multiply and we lose the confidence that we as Americans are united by shared values.”

THE LAST DAYS

The Apostle Paul was given insight into our day by God. The last letter that he wrote to Timothy before he died tells of many problems for both the young people of his day, and ours. After advising Timothy to “study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15), he admonishes young Timothy to “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”—vs. 22

Then he gave Timothy (and us) a vision of what was to come in the last days of this present evil world, saying: “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people. For among them are those who make their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith; but they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”—II Tim. 3:1-9, RSV

In speaking of these perilous and stressful times at the end of the Gospel Age, the Apostle describes the attitude of Christian people toward God’s principles. Most strive to be lovers of God, because such is the basic teaching of Christianity, yet are lovers of pleasure, and behave contrary to God’s commandments.

JANNES AND JAMBRES

Whenever there were trying times in the past, God protected his people by appointing a leader. When the nation of Israel was in slavery in Egypt God appointed Moses to be their leader. Moses is mentioned in Paul’s recitation of these, then future, evil days when he says that “as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith.”—II Tim. 3:8, RSV

Jannes and Jambres are believed to have been the magicians in Pharaoh’s court in Egypt at the time of Moses. They tried to imitate Moses and Aaron in their miraculous signs and plagues, as if to say, ‘We can do the same things with our gods’ powers’. (Exod. 7:11,12,22) When Moses approached Pharaoh the first time (Exod. 5:1-19), Pharaoh’s reaction was to impose more work on the Hebrew slaves under much harder conditions. They were to make the same number of bricks without straw and the straw was to be searched out by them as an additional task. The people were distraught and appealed to Moses.

Moses and Aaron went a second time to Pharaoh with the same message: “Let my people go,” and as a sign, Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and the rod became a serpent. (Exod. 7:10) Pharaoh called his wise men and magicians who then cast their rods on the ground, and these became serpents.

This duplication of the sign Moses gave to Pharaoh, by the king’s magicians—Jannes and Jambres—represents present-day philosophies which appear to support some features of God’s plan. The serpents could represent the many varied teachings regarding the permission of evil. As Pharaoh watched, a remarkable event occurred! Aaron’s serpent swallowed all the other serpents! God plainly showed that Moses and Aaron were his emissaries, not Jannes and Jambres. Likewise, in our society there are philosophers who mislead the people—or, as the Apostle Paul explains concerning Jannes and Jambres, that they “oppose the truth” being “men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith.”—II Tim. 3:8, RSV

PLAGUES ON EGYPT

Moses was then instructed by God to bring plagues upon Egypt. After each plague had subsided, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and Pharaoh would not let the people go. It would take ten plagues before Pharaoh relented. Though the magicians were able to duplicate the first two plagues (water turned to blood, and the invasion of frogs) (Exod. 7:22; 8:7,18,19), they were not able to duplicate the third plague, nor were they able to get rid of the frogs. The third plague was that of gnats (called lice in the King James Version) which occurred in great swarms everywhere.

These plagues represent the trouble which comes upon mankind. The first plague could be associated with the shedding of blood. The second plague is significant because the Egyptians worshipped the frog-head goddess, Heka. Frogs were sacred to the Egyptians, and the magicians could not dispose of them. This means that the trouble could not end without God’s intervention. When they also could not duplicate the third plague, they told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”—Exod. 8:19

From then on, the magicians could not duplicate any of the plagues God sent upon Egypt. After the first three plagues affected the entire area of Egypt, including the land of Goshen, where Israel was living, the Israelites were spared the last seven plagues. The tenth plague, the slaying of Egypt’s firstborn of man and beast, however, required careful preparation by Israel to be spared. Israel had to slay the Passover lamb, representing Jesus, to safely endure that night. The blood of the lamb had to be sprinkled on the door posts and lintels of each dwelling. Israel represents the world of mankind in bondage to sin and death, and the firstborn represent the spiritual class God is seeking in this Gospel Age. The opposition to God’s commandments, bringing on the moral decay, are the ‘Jannes and Jambres’ effects of our society in these last days of the Gospel Age.

The firstborn of Israel were the only ones in jeopardy of losing their lives during that night which corresponds to the nighttime of this present evil world. The selection of this class is the important work of the Gospel Age, spanning the time of our Lord’s First Advent to our day. As the world approaches a condition of anarchy through moral decay, we see that the church class is the first to receive special testings. The Apostle Peter said, “Judgment must begin at the house of God.” (I Pet. 4:17) All of the experiences in the world must be endured by the church first. It is a part of their trial and development, while living in the midst of sin and death, chaos and temptation.

THE HOUR OF TEMPTATION

In Revelation 3:10, Jesus says to the church of the Philadelphia period, “I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” The Laodicean period of the church is not spared the experiences of the ‘hour of temptation’. The last members of the church are exposed to these trying times.

If the troubles that occur in the hour of temptation affect any of the church class, they should seek help immediately from the Lord. God has given the church leadership in the form of duly elected elders, based on qualifications in I Timothy 3:1-9. All elders should endeavor to provide the correct type of leadership in these troublous times, recognizing always their own needs as imperfect men. As the world strives to become independent of all government, there could be some among the Lord’s people who want to be completely independent. This is one of the last tests upon the church.

The world of mankind, also, needs to see that no fleshly scheme will solve current problems and that a complete reformation is needed. Moses was quoted by the Apostle Peter as saying: “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.” (Acts 3:22) Such a reformation was also recognized as needed as mentioned in the last prophecy of the Old Testament. We read: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”—Mal. 4:5,6

SUCCESSFUL REFORM

The Prophet Elijah, representing the church in the flesh, was not successful in bringing about this reform in Israel. It awaits the end of the last days of this present evil world and the antitypical Moses, representing the glorified Jesus together with his church, to do this.

Soon ‘that prophet’ which the Lord raised up like unto Moses will take control of earth’s affairs. The people of the world, after enduring the moral decay of the last days, will be glad to listen to the Christ, Jesus and his church. As Peter said, “Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”—Acts 3:22,23

As the Gospel Age comes to a close, so also will the influence of the antitypical Jannes and Jambres, and all other false and evil influences. This will enable men to engage in the true worship of God and to bring honor and glory to his name. This great reformation will succeed in eliminating moral decay and will promote the restoration of mankind to the image of God. Then it shall come to pass that the words of Habakkuk will be fulfilled: “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”—Hab. 2:14

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