"in the last days perilous times shall come"
(II Tim. 3: 1)
The word "perilous" (KJV) is from the Greek "chalepos" and means "dangerous, harsh, fierce, savage," or "hard to do or deal with, difficult," involving what is painful and grievous.
After describing the last days as perilous, Paul gave the reason for it, laying the cause directly to the immoral spiritual state of all men, with few exceptions, in the days immediately preceding the coming judgments of the four horsemen. After prophesying of the end time peril (vs. 1) he says:
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." II Tim. 3: 2-4)
By the word "for" Paul will identify the cause or reason for the unexpected Apocalyptic catastrophes, going to the root cause of the savage violence and evils of the days when Christ appears in the awful calamities (the presence of Christ being in those judgments before his final bodily appearing); And, what is that root cause? Is it some natural catastrophe like a worldwide drought, or climate changing meteor, or volcanic eruptions, or earthquakes, etc.?
No, it is the direct result of man's inner moral and spiritual depravity. Of all the adjectives Paul used to describe the men who will suffer the vengeance of the Lord in "the day of evil," let us focus on the word "fierce" because it directly relates to the ideas involved in the Greek word "chalepos" (perilous).
The word "fierce" is from the Greek "anēmeros" and means "not tame, or savage." It is thus closely related in meaning to "chalepos."
The only other time a form of the word "chalepos" (perilous) is used is in these words from the gospels.
"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." (Matt. 8: 28)
Here "fierce" (chalepoi) clearly denotes dangerously violent, a state where a person is totally given over to attacking and hurting others. Recall that "perilous" ("chalepos") involved the words savage and fierce and are the same words used to define "anēmeros." "Fierce" (from "anēmeros") signifies "not tame, savage" (from a, negative, and hemeros, "gentle", i.e. 'not gentle'), 2 Tim. 3: 3.
The coming time of great tribulation will see both dangerous and savage times and savage and wild people, where people are totally given in to their animal passions and sensual desires.
When the rider on the red horse arrives, his work will be to "take peace from the land," by the removal of divine restraints (as we have seen), cause brutality and savagery among men, and such as has not been seen on a world wide scale since before the great flood. Simply recall the "bloodsport" that was famous in the Roman coliseums! Bloodbath spectacles with crowds cheering! A world with little or no "moral restraint"!
It was said of Ishmael, the one "born after the flesh," that he was "a wild man" and that his wildness manifested itself by "his hand being against every man, and every man's hand against him." (Gen. 16: 12) What a description of the last days under the rider on the red horse!
Though mankind and the times of the coming judgment are "fierce," in a bad sense, yet the Lord at this time will be pouring out his "fierce anger" and "fierce wrath," and justly so.
Governmental Restraints
"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." (Rom. 14: 3-4)
One of the things that restrain crime and wicked behavior is "law and order" rulers (authorities) with their strong police forces to enforce obedience. Where are they in "the day of evil"? How can people be murdering one another on such a vast scale with such authorities in place? Obviously, for some reason, rulers and their police forces are unable to stop the mass mutual killing. But, why? Though I will expound on this important question in upcoming postings, I will just say this much now.
In light of present day rioting and the call to "defund the police" we can get a glimpse of the times under the presence of the judgments of the red horse rider. When there is little or no governmental restraint on law breaking, law breaking will increase unimpeded. Consider also the fact that the killing of one another is occurring among all men, including those in law enforcement. Police are killing each other just like the populace! So, they can be expected to do little to stop the killing when they themselves are part of the whole murderous enterprise.
In regard to the restraints that God has had in place, and which he will remove in the time of the end (of which I have already written much), Dr. John Walvoord had some excellent words in "The Person of the Holy Spirit Part 5: The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Unsaved World" (here - emphasis mine).
Walvoord wrote:
"The doctrines of providence and of the sovereignty of God demand that the power of God be effective not only in the saved but also in the unsaved world. While the ministry of the Holy Spirit is ever primarily directed toward the Christian, it is evident that He is working in the world as well, bringing to pass the will of the Father and the Son."
"The ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to the unsaved world falls into two categories which are not necessarily independent. The Holy Spirit is given the ministry of resisting evil and restraining the world in its manifestation. To the Holy Spirit, also, is committed the task of making known the way of salvation to a race which has no natural capacity to receive it with understanding. Most of the attention of theologians during the Christian centuries has been directed to the latter ministry, that of revealing the message of salvation to the lost and providing enablement for saving faith. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin in the world is most important, however, though few direct references are found in Scripture."
"The work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the unsaved world is most important for a number of reasons. In view of the power of Satan and his evident hatred of Christians and the truth, the work of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin is required to explain the relative freedom allowed the Christian in the world and the preservation of those conditions which make possible the preaching of the Gospel and the maintenance of some order in the sinful world."
"The work of the Holy Spirit in restraining the world from sin is found in every age, except during the period of unprecedented sinfulness during the great tribulation, when it is God’s purpose to demonstrate for the first time what unrestrained sin is. The character of this work of restraining sin varies slightly in different ages, however. In the previous discussion of this work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, it was shown that the Holy Spirit undertook to restrain sin throughout the Old Testament period. The striving of the Holy Spirit against sin in Noah’s period is definitely stated (Gen 6:3). While Isaiah 59:19 is not as clear a reference, it infers a similar ministry of the Holy Spirit. The many other ministries of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament tended to restrain sin. His work in revealing truth through the prophets, particularly the warnings of judgment to come, and the work of inspiration of the Scriptures with their power helped to restrain sin. The judgments which followed rejection of His striving against sin (Isa 63:10-11) had their effect. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit by virtue of His holy character was conducive to restraint of sin. Throughout the Old Testament, then, the power of the Holy Spirit guided human events into the path of divine providence."
In the time of coming great tribulation, where violent killing and general lawlessness prevail on a global scale, a great reason for it will be due to the absence of any state police force powerful enough to stop it along with the court system. This brings to mind the words of Solomon:
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." (Eccl. 8: 11)
Men's hearts will, at the time of the coming of the four horsemen, be "fully set in them to do evil." They will be doing the greatest of all evil to their fellow human beings, having no respect for life. People will be "out of control," as Paul said ('incontinent' or lacking self control). There will no effective police force to restrain the masses who are killing one another on such a massive scale. No longer is lawlessness and criminality not given speedy trial and execution, but not given at all! Horrendous times! Jesus spoke of them in connection with his return, saying:
"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." (Matt. 24: 12) Love gone! Hate and furious wrath abounding on every hand. A "hot-headed" people who murder for sport. This is what the world will have come to when Christ appears in the judgments of the four horsemen!
And, remember that one of his purposes (as we have seen) is to remove or "uproot" the wicked from the earth and then to bring peace on earth under Lord Messiah. Said Solomon:
"Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness." (Prov. 25: 5)
This is what we see coming "before the king" and before he establishes his throne on earth in righteousness in the coming judgments of the four horsemen. The Lord begins his work of "taking away the wicked" so that those who are left, "the meek," can by themselves "inherit the earth."
As we have said previously, peace on earth comes after the wicked have been destroyed.
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