The Last Days

3 Remember this! There will be many troubles in the last days. ² In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. ³ They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good. ⁴ In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God. ⁵ They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people. ⁶ Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have. ⁷ Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith. ⁹ But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.

Obey the Teachings

¹⁰ But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. ¹¹ You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. ¹² Everyone who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. ¹³ People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.

¹⁴ But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. ¹⁷ Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.