2 Timothy 3:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In the first epistle the Apostle said, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith” (1 Tim 4:1). Elsewhere in the same epistle he foretold something similar, which would occur afterward. Here he repeats the same thing again: “Know this,” he says, “that in the last days perilous times will come.” He proves this not only from future events, but also from past ones: “As Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses” (2 Tim 3:8). He also proves it from his own reasonings: “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver” (2 Tim 2:20). Why does he do this? So that Timothy, or any one of us, should not be troubled when evil men appear. If they existed in the time of Moses and will exist afterward, he says, it is no wonder that they also exist among us. “In the last days perilous times will come.” He does not condemn days or times, but the men who will then exist. So we too commonly call times evil or not evil according to the character of the deeds done by men during them. He immediately points out the cause. The root and source of all evils, from which they all spring, is excessive self-love. One enslaved to this passion does not even watch over his own affairs. He who does not think of his neighbor, and does not care for his neighbor’s affairs, will he care for his own? As those who care for their neighbor order both his affairs and their own well, so the man who despises his neighbor’s affairs will despise his own. For if we are members one of another, then the salvation of the neighbor concerns not him alone, but the whole body. The neighbor’s calamity is not confined to him alone, but causes pain to the whole body. If we are a building, then when one part suffers, the whole building is damaged. When that part is firm, all the rest can stand. So it is in the Church. Have you despised your brother? By this you have harmed yourself. Why? Because your own member has suffered no small injury. If the man who does not share his possessions with his neighbor is cast into Gehenna, then one who sees his neighbor in the gravest danger and gives him no help will be punished far more, because the harm is greater. Though I am weak, poor, and inexperienced in teaching, when I see your assembly I forget my weakness. I am unaware of my poverty and do not notice my inexperience. Such is the power of your love. Therefore I set before you my poor table with more zeal than the rich. You are the cause of this boldness. By your eagerness to hear, you rouse the downcast. You thirst to listen and keep your eyes fixed on the speaker’s mouth. So the young of swallows, when they see their mother flying in, stretch out from the nest, bend down their necks, and receive food from her. So you also, looking with great eagerness at the speaker, receive the teaching offered through his mouth. Before the words have flown from our lips, your mind has already grasped what is being said. Who would not call both you and us blessed, since we speak “into the ears of those who listen” (Sir 25:12)? The labor is common, and so is the crown. The benefit is common, and so is the reward. Therefore Christ called the disciples blessed, saying, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear” (Mt 13:16). Allow me to say these words to you also, since you show the same zeal: “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” That your ears hear is clear. I shall try to show that your eyes also see, as the disciples then saw, so that your blessedness may not be partial, but complete. What did the disciples see then? They saw the dead raised, the blind receiving sight, lepers cleansed, demons cast out, the lame walking, and every injury of nature restored. You also see these things now, though not with bodily eyes, but with the eyes of faith. Such are the eyes of faith. They see what has appeared and contemplate what is not yet complete. How is it known that faith is a seeing of the unseen and a conviction concerning the invisible? Listen to Paul, who says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). The wonder is this: bodily eyes see visible things and do not see the invisible. The eyes of faith do the opposite. They do not see visible things, but they see the invisible. Paul explained that they truly do not see visible things, but see the invisible, when he said: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (2 Cor 4:17-18). How can one see what is invisible? How else, if not with the eyes of faith? So elsewhere he says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Heb 11:3). How do we understand this, when we do not see it? “So that the things which are seen were made from things not visible” (Heb 11:3). Do you want me to bring another testimony that the eyes of faith see the invisible? Paul says in the Epistle to the Galatians, “Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was portrayed among you as crucified” (Gal 3:1). What are you saying, blessed Paul? Did the Galatians in Galatia see Him being crucified? Do we not all confess that His Passion took place in Palestine, in the midst of Judea? How then did the Galatians see Him crucified? With the eyes of faith, not with bodily eyes. Do you see how the eyes of faith behold the unseen? From such a distance, and after so long a time, they saw Christ crucified. So you also see the dead raised. So today you see the leper cleansed. So you see the paralytic rising. You see more than the Jews who were then present. They were present, yet did not acknowledge the miracle. You were not present, yet believed. Therefore I rightly said of you, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see” (Mt 13:16). If you wish to learn from another case that the eyes of faith see the invisible and do not gaze on the visible, listen to Paul’s discourse on Abraham. They cannot see the invisible unless they disregard what was mentioned above. See how Abraham, with the eyes of faith, beheld the birth of Isaac and so received the promise. What does the Apostle say? “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead, since he was about a hundred years old” (Rom 4:19). Great is the power of faith. Human reasonings are timid and weak, but faith is firm and strong. “He did not consider his own body, already dead, since he was about a hundred years old.” Do you see how he disregarded the visible? Do you see how he did not look at old age, though it was before his eyes? He contemplated with the eyes of faith, not with bodily eyes. Therefore he saw neither old age nor Sarah’s deadness: “and the deadness of Sarah’s womb” (Rom 4:19). Here the Apostle points to barrenness. There was a twofold weakness. One came from old age, the other from nature’s infirmity. Not only was the body, because of age, unfit for childbearing. The womb itself was dead, and the natural place of generation had been unfit even before old age because of barrenness. Do you see how many obstacles there were? The husband’s old age, the wife’s old age, and barrenness, which is still more incapable than old age and especially hinders childbearing. Yet Abraham disregarded all this and rose with the eyes of faith to heaven. He had the greatest proof of the fulfillment of what was promised: the power of Him who promised. Therefore “he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom 4:20). Faith is like a strong staff and a safe harbor. It delivers from the error of reasonings and brings the soul to great stillness. “Blessed are your eyes, for they see” (Mt 13:16). This saying must be repeated again. The Jews saw what was happening then, but the Lord does not call the outward sight blessed. It is not this sight by itself that sees miracles, but the inward sight. They saw the blind man and said, “Is this he?” and, “It is not he. Let us call his parents” (Jn 9:8-9, 18). Do you hear how they doubt? Do you see that bodily sight is not enough for the contemplation of a miracle? Those who were present and looked said, “It is he,” and, “It is not he.” We, though absent, do not say, “This is not he,” but, “He is the very one.” Are you convinced that absence does no harm when there are eyes of faith? Are you convinced that presence brings no benefit when there are no eyes of faith? What benefit did the Jews receive from seeing? None. We see more clearly than they. Since your eyes see with that sight, and your ears hear with that hearing which Christ called blessed, we shall now set before you the pearls of the Scriptures. Christ did not resolve questions for the Jews, but increased the obscurity, because they did not attend. Since you do attend, the hidden things must be plainly set before you. The disciples came to Christ and said in wonder, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered, “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see” (Mt 13:10, 13). But since you see without seeing, it is necessary to speak to you not in parables. You are not like those who, hearing, do not hear. If you, who did not hear then, hear now no less than if you had heard then, you must not be deprived of this table. Christ called the later no less blessed than the first: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29). Therefore do not be slow in virtue because you live now and not in those times. If you wish, this will do you no harm, just as many who lived then gained no benefit, because they were unwilling. What then was read today? “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come,” Paul writes again to Timothy. It is a fearful warning, yet let us take courage. He hints at those times, at the times following them, and at the times at the very end. “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.” The saying is brief, but its power is great. Aromatics give fragrance not by their quantity, but by their nature. So the divine Scriptures give us every benefit not by many words, but by the power contained in them. An aromatic is fragrant in itself by its own quality. When you cast it on fire, it reveals all its sweetness. So divine Scripture is very sweet in itself. When it enters our soul, as into a censer, it fills the whole house with fragrance. “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.” He is speaking of the end. But what is that to you, blessed Paul? What is it to Timothy, or to the hearers then, who would soon die and be freed from threatened evils and evil men? I do not look only to the present, he says, but foresee the future. I do not grieve only for the present flock, but am anxious and afraid for the flock to come. We scarcely show concern even for those who live with us. He shows great care even for those not yet born. So a good shepherd warns not only when he sees wolves rushing upon the flock and standing near the sheep. He points them out even when they are still far away. Paul also, as a good shepherd, sits in a high place, the dignity of prophecy. With prophetic eyes he foresees from afar the wild beasts running together, rushing at the very end and attacking the flock. He foretells and points this out beforehand, to prepare even those not yet born for vigilance. By this prophecy he encloses the whole flock. A father who tenderly loves his children often builds a magnificent and large house for them. He builds it so that it may be useful not only to them, but also to grandchildren and those after them. So a king, surrounding a beloved city with an outer wall, makes it secure, strong, and lasting. He does this so that it may serve not only his own generation, but all later descendants. It must withstand not only the engines of destruction of his own time, but also later assaults. Paul did the same. The apostolic epistles are walls for the churches. By them he protects not only his contemporaries, but also future men.

Since in those times there were many evil people, the Apostle first told Timothy, so that he would not be troubled by this, "In a great house," and so forth. Now he says that evil people will also exist afterward.

Even in the time of Moses there were Jannes and Jambres. Therefore this phenomenon is not new, and it will not continue only until your time. So do not be indignant.

"Perilous times" means very bad times. One must not understand the days themselves, for what days are bad? Rather, the bad deeds and people found in those days are meant.

So we too are accustomed to call times bad or not bad according to the character of the deeds that occur in those days, or according to the character of the people.

Moreover, by the inspiration of the Spirit poured out upon him, he speaks about the opponents who will rise up against the Church in the last days. In the last days, he writes, men will arise who will resist the truth not only by their words, but also by their conduct. From their deeds themselves one must recognize the corruption of the teaching which they will spread by words.

I think the Apostle foretold the present time, for our life is full of these evils. While clothing ourselves in the outward appearance of piety, by our deeds we prepare ourselves as an idol of wickedness. Instead of lovers of God we have become lovers of money, and we love slavery to the passions. In a word, one can find in us the rest of what the divine Apostle foretold. The Apostle commanded those entrusted to Timothy's care to avoid fellowship with such people in the following words. For he says: "And from such turn away." Continuing, he adds this also to the accusation.

Difficult times will come because of the grievous deeds committed in them. These deeds truly will be grievous and evil. For this reason the days themselves are also called evil.

In this teaching the Lord taught unity and, at the same time, love. In two commandments He enclosed the Law and all the prophets.

What unity does he preserve, what love does he keep, or what love does he even think of, who gives himself over to the impulses of discord? He cuts the Church apart, destroys faith, disturbs peace, uproots love, and defiles the mysteries.

Long ago, beloved brethren, this evil began. But now the devastating effect of this destructive evil has increased. The poisonous ruin of heretical corruption and schisms has begun more and more to show itself and spread.

Yet the Holy Spirit foretold through the Apostle and announced beforehand that it must be so at the end of the age.

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves... proud... insolent... traitors... having the form of piety" (2 Tim 3:1-5), and so forth.

Who are these people whom the holy Apostle describes in such dark colors? Although the Apostle's prophetic words, in their full scope, refer to the last times of the Christian Church, compare 2 Thess 2:3 and following, he speaks most immediately of those opponents of the truth and sowers of corrupting false teaching whom he has just mentioned before this in 2 Tim 2.

He urged Timothy to instruct them with meekness, "if perhaps God may grant them freedom from the devil's snare, who has captured them to do his will." This is especially clear from his further words.

Warning Timothy about subsequent times, the Apostle calls them grievous because human self-love, pride, arrogance, greed, evil speech, impiety, disobedience, lovelessness, and similar vices will be most fully revealed.

This will be especially so in the times that will be last in the proper sense, before the second coming of the Lord. Then, making use of this corruption, the Antichrist will appear.

"The Apostle does not condemn days or times, but the people who will then exist. Immediately he indicates the cause. The root and source of all evils is excessive self-love.

"One enslaved by this passion cannot even observe his own advantages. When someone does not observe what concerns the good of his neighbor, how will he, neglecting his neighbor's advantages, observe his own?

To give still greater weight to his exhortations, the Apostle now points to the coming of grievous times in the future, before the second coming of Christ.

By describing the extent to which human sins will come, sins now existing only in seed form in Timothy's time, he enables Timothy to assess rightly what is happening before his eyes. Without reference to the future, this might have seemed to him unworthy of special attention.

The Apostle does not mean that absolutely all people at that time will be vicious. He sketches only the general character of the conduct of the mass of mankind.

"But know this" is an expression of assurance, meaning that it will undoubtedly be so. It is like the First Epistle: "The Spirit expressly says" (cf. 1 Tim 4:1). There he spoke of apostasy from the faith. Here he speaks of moral corruption.

Perhaps this is why there he takes assurance from the Spirit, while here he is content with his own word.

"The last days" is usually referred in thought to the end of the age, but here it indicates subsequent time in general.

"Perilous times" means difficult times, in which it is hard to live. The Apostle depicts extreme corruption of morals. Since a decrease of righteousness, peace, and security is inseparably joined to this, life is always hard in such times.

Evil will prevail so greatly, and this is the substance of the last times, that good will no longer be able to be born, because the seeds will be so corrupt. Nor will good be able to be learned, because teaching will be so neglected. Nor will one be able to compel toward good, because right will be deprived of its weapons. Thus, what we began with has grown so old that modesty is now thought to be not renunciation of desires, but moderation in them. Therefore the man is considered pure who in no way would be pure.