LATTER TIMES. 1st Timothy 4:1. A new era began when Messiah entered the world in human flesh. This marked the start of an age when God would deal with sin once and for all by providing a perfect sacrifice for all humanity that would satisfy His justice. Not only by revealing sin in its evil, dark results—still evident today in false religions and cults—but also through His plan and purpose, which was for the Light of Life to expose all things. That Light, shining in the darkness of this world polluted by sin, was the One God chose to remove sin’s root and pay its terrible price Himself. This made it possible for even in these latter days, people to be born again and start a new life of faith and fellowship with God.
The words of the Holy Spirit mentioned could be the prophecies in Daniel seven and eight about people turning away from God and His word. It might also be that Paul is referring to the truths about the Gospel and the church of God that the Holy Spirit taught him. Either way, or maybe both, the message Paul had to pass on to Timothy came from God.
Most people, when hearing the Gospel, reject it because it not only conflicts with how they want to live, but also because they must leave behind their old way and become a new creation in Christ Jesus. This happens not only in places where false religions dominate people's minds and lives, but also in this so-called Christian town, where the Gospel has been preached from the beginning by believers. Many have intentionally turned away from faith, and the light that once shined here has dimmed. Now, most people don’t read the Bible; if they listen to it, it’s to try to find comfort after moral failure. People deceive themselves, and others deceive them, claiming everyone will go to heaven after their sinful lives. They try to convince themselves that if there is a God, He is too kind and gentle to allow people to suffer for their sins.
In these later days, many people turn away without considering the moral and spiritual darkness that is controlling their hearts and minds. Even those who once seemed to hold firm to the truths we know have been tested and proved to have compromised what they learned; they now live without godly fear. The “seducing spirits” have taken hold, and people believe in their false teachings. There is open hostility against fundamental truth and faithful Gospel preaching. Replacing truth and holiness is a false Christianity of a dangerous kind that deceives people by telling them what they want to hear. There is no doubt that we are now living in the last of the latter times.
False teaching, originating from the powers of darkness, had already been active in the early church. Deception from false apostles, hypocritical Jews, and likely others was leading some professing Christians away from the teachings of the apostles. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets who received God's word from the Holy Spirit. Their understanding of divine truths and the order of the New Testament church was begun by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the chief Cornerstone.” False teachers threatened the Lord's people in Ephesus during the time of the apostles, so Timothy was instructed to correct those false doctrines immediately.
That same threat exists today. A teacher might have what appears to be a positive message and be persuasive in delivering it. He may be personable, pleasant, and persistent in sharing his doctrine. He might even live a disciplined and morally upright life. He could use scriptures from the Bible to present his message and claim that he speaks for God, but if his teaching contradicts the contextual understanding of God's word, he is a false teacher. He might be bluntly outspoken or subtly discreet, but we, as children of God, need to first understand what he thinks of Christ and his commitment to the verbal, inerrant, and perfect scriptures of truth.