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1 Timothy 4 1-1 Timothy 4 3
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.
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Psalms 89:38-47
But now you have rejected him and cast him off. You are angry with your anointed king.You have renounced your covenant with him; you have thrown his crown in the dust.You have broken down the walls protecting him and ruined every fort defending him.Everyone who comes along has robbed him, and he has become a joke to his neighbors.You have strengthened his enemies and made them all rejoice.You have made his sword useless and refused to help him in battle.You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne.You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him. InterludeO Lord, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your anger burn like fire?Remember how short my life is, how empty and futile this human existence!
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2 Timothy 3 1-2 Timothy 3 17
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.( Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.)These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra— but the Lord rescued me from all of it.Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived.But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
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Revelation 11:2-19
But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months.And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called“ Sodom” and“ Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified.And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them.All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them.Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets,“ Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:“ The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”The twenty four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.And they said,“ We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
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Job 21:21
For they will not care what happens to their family after they are dead.
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2 Thessalonians 2 3-2 Thessalonians 2 12
Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed— the one who brings destruction.He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.
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Revelation 12:13-17
When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth.But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon.And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children— all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
