Disobedient to Parents, Part 2

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From 2 Timothy 3:2. This disobedience and rebellion toward parents have caused a breakdown of the family; and so, instead of following God’s design in the family authority and structure, each member of the family (children and adults) go their own way in following the path of self-love. This path of the rebel no doubt seems much easier; for it is the way of the old sinful, lustful self. The mentality here is to satisfy my own desires and wants first, before pleasing God and parents. And it follows right along with what the world (and even professionals) are saying—that self-love is most important.

And there is so much in the world to build on this mentality: our entertainment (TV, movies, etc.), social media, many eating establishments to satisfy our body cravings, various forms of pornography to feed our lusts, and of course the world’s emphasis on self-image. It is no wonder that there is a decline in the importance of the family.

The solution to counter the family breakdown, as I see it, must begin with proper training of children. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

It is well known that early training will insure lifelong good habits; and the best training is to teach godly principles from God’s word—even to begin a regiment of Scripture memory. Oh, it is so much easier to memorize Scripture when you are young. And when the child has fifty to sixty good verses under his belt, it will make a difference in the way he lives. And I employ you parents to do most of the training yourself. You can let Sunday School programs help with it, but you are responsible for your own children. Don’t let a busy life take you away from the training of your children. Here is a passage to consider:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Way back, just after Israel received the Ten Commandments, it was the plan of God that each family (the parents and the children) were to memorize, and meditate on, and teach the Scriptures, and to talk about them inside and outside of their house—so that they were on their heart and in their life.

And bible knowledge must be followed up with loving discipline and correction. It can never be the goal just to store up knowledge. It must be our ultimate goal, as it was with Israel, to love the LORD our God with all our heart and soul and might. And the parents must instill this goal in their children. 

Now, even though disobedience toward parents is prophesied for these last days, parents, as well as children must try continually to stop the moral decay of the family and believe that God will be pleased with our effort. Here are some Scriptures to consider.

Colossians 3:20

Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

This is a good verse for children to memorize. When they see from the holy Scriptures that God commands them to obey their parents in all things, they may be more likely to do it. And also, seeing that it is pleasing to the Lord to obey them, this will encourage them.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.

Here is another good memory verse. Parents ought to instill in their children that their obedience and careful listening will greatly pay off; it will be like earning a medal. And if parents are wise, they will actually award worthy children some kind of award for good conduct that they can display.

Ephesians 6:2-3

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

Not enough has been said about this truth—that obeying and honoring parents will actually bring us good health and longer life. The evidence that I have seen supports this. Those that have a good family life and who love their parents live long and are happy. But those that are involved in crime and sins tend to die young.

Source: From the book I am presently writing, will be entitled, Difficult Times in these Last Days: 19 Attributes that Depict These Days (from 2 Timothy 3:2-5).

Disobedience to Parents

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As with all of the nineteen points (in 2 Timothy 3:2-5), being disobedient to parents is a prophetic sign of spiritual rebellion and moral decay in these last days. Spiritual rebellion comes first, and then moral decay sets in. And the more one is rebellious, the more he is infected with decay; and they both work toward the sin of disobedience—to God and to their parents.

Now some may ask, why is it rebellion not to obey our parents? Well, for one reason, God has instructed us, ordered us, to obey them (Eph. 6:1-2). And secondly, we should obey them because it is how God designed the family to work—with our parents as the authority figure. Let’s look at two different Scriptures on this subject.

Ephesians 6:1-3

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.

John MacArthur comments well on verse one.

The child in the home is to be willingly under the authority of parents with obedient submission to them as the agents of the Lord placed over him obeying parents as if obeying the Lord Himself. The reasoning here is simply that such is the way God has designed and required it (“right”).1

In verse two, “HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,” is a quote from the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:16). And the promise is that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

Certainly, to honor our parents goes along with obeying them. It is at the heart of it (or the attitude of it). If children don’t obey their parents, it is because they don’t honor them and respect them.

Proverbs 6:20-24

My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21 Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk about, they will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24 To keep you from the evil woman,

From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

In these Scriptures, in verses 20 and 21, is the command from the parent to the child, to observe (and obey) the father and mother. They are to be so diligent in observing and obeying them (in whatever they told them to do) that they should tie a note of some kind around their neck to remind them of what they were told. Perhaps this reminder was of some Scripture, or some words of wisdom. This wisdom would be for a them a guide, and protection, and teaching, and to keep them from evil; especially the son from the evil woman (a prostitute). Hence, we see that the design of God was that the parents are to be the one in authority over the children as their guide and teacher, whom they must obey so that they will be protected from evil and live long.

1 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible: (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2006), John MacArthur’s notes on Ephesians 6:1.

Revilers, from 2 Timothy 3:2

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This fifth attribute that depicts these days, is identified by the Greek word blasfeemoi, and means to speak evil of a person, to be slanderous (insulting), reproachful (critical or accusing), railing (attacking and condemning), and abusive.  

It is interesting in comparing some of the most popular bible versions, how many different word translations of the Greek word blasfeemoi are used. The most literal translation is in the KJV and the NKJV as “blasphemers.” The NIV and the RSV use “abusive”; the ASV use “railers”; the NLT use “scoffing at God”; and the translation I prefer, the NASU and the NAS use “reviler.” I think reviler is the best because it tends to include all that is in the definition. I like the NLT and use it often for casual reading, but I think the translation they use, takes a lot of liberty. It is indeed scoffing at God, but it is also scoffing at people, especially Christian people.

The Greek word blasfeemoi is used four times in the New Testament. We will examine each of these references.

Acts 6: 10-11

But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

Here is where Stephen, being greatly used of God in preaching as well as in works, was persecuted by certain Jewish leaders, and they persuaded men to say that they heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. These are terrible accusations, because if it was true, according to Jewish law, he could be stoned to death. For in Leviticus 24:16 it states that “…one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him.”

Hence, this word “blasphemous” in verse 11, has the connotation of speaking evil of God and is probably how these men justified stoning (Acts 7:58-60). Also, in the context of 2 Timothy 3:2, we definitely see in the word the meaning of speaking evil of God; thus, we see in the word that it is far more than a casual cursing; it is a terrible offense.

1 Timothy 1:12-13

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;

This passage tells us that before Paul was a believer he was a blasphemer and also a persecutor of believers. Paul didn’t realize his sin at that time; he acted ignorantly. I’m sure he would say that he was a believer in God, but he did not see who Christ was. And in truth, since Jesus was God’s son and Himself God, he was speaking against God. Hence, when we speak against Christ we also speak against God.

2 Timothy 3:2

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Here is the verse we are most concerned with, which in the NASU it is translated as “revilers.” But, if I may repeat it, in the NIV and the RSV it is translated as “abusive,” in the KJV as “blasphemers,” and in the ASV as “railers.” So, in this verse we have a lot of different opinions of what the translation should be.

I also want to say that in observing all the different words/attributes, it may be concluded that they are all in the mind and in the heart. Paul, I think, is showing us the evils of the mind in these last days (men of depraved minds, v. 8). But of course, there is the implication that evil deeds will result. For example, in verse 6, Paul speaks of the unholy actions of some who enter homes and “captivate weak women.” And of course, we know of so many evil deeds in the world—all that result from such men and women with evil, depraved minds. It starts in the mind and will naturally regress to various evil deeds of murder, rape, fornication, burglary, war, and fighting, etc.

2 Peter 2:9-13

9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.

Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,

Here Peter is talking about false teachers of his day who are so corrupt, self-willed and ignorant about the demonic world that they revile them (speak evil of and ridicule them). They probably weren’t aware that even the holy angels did not speak evil of the demons.

Here we get more information about a reviler: they are corrupt, self-willed, and like unreasoning animals that are creatures of instinct. And they, probably all of them, are ignorant of the higher authorities.

Arrogance, Using the word “Proud” 

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Proverbs 16:5 

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

Here we see how God thinks about pride; it is a disgrace to Him. And God will surely punish it. We also see here that pride comes from the heart—inside the very center of the person. Pride is more of an attitude; the attitude of stubbornness or refusing to bend; whereas arrogance is more vocal. It is the expression of pride, the talking up of self and the talking down of others.

Isaiah 2:11-12

The proud look of man will be abased

And the loftiness of man will be humbled,

And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

12 For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning

Against everyone who is proud and lofty

And against everyone who is lifted up,

That he may be abased.

Here we see that a proud person will have his day of judgment, where he will be humbled; for God is opposed to the proud. Here also, we see that the proud one has a certain look about him; a loftiness or a haughtiness.  

Isaiah 13:11

Thus I will punish the world for its evil

And the wicked for their iniquity;

I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud

And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.

This time of punishment on the world will be during the seven-year Tribulation. Notice that all three of our words are used. In that time of severe punishment, the man who is proud in heart will be arrogant in his words and haughty in his look. God will put an end to it all before He brings in His holy kingdom where He will reign for one thousand years.   

Daniel 5:20-21

“But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. 21 “He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys.

Here is a message and a warning to Belshazzar from Damiel, that he should humble himself before God, and that if he does not, he may become like his father Nebuchadnezzar who became proud and therefore, God took his throne from him and he became like a beast (from Daniel 4:31-32). Notice that both the words proud and arrogant are used: “[He] became so proud that he behaved arrogantly.”  Pride is that condition of the heart, and arrogance is the visible manifestation.  Notice also how God dealt with him to put him in his place.

Luke 1:50-51

“AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.

51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm;

He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

In this portion of Mary’s Magnificat, she tells how God scatters those who were proud. Notice that their pride was in the thoughts of their heart.

1 Peter 5:5

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Here Peter declared, from Proverbs 3:34, that God is opposed to the proud. These same words are recorded in James 4:8

Arrogance

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The attribute of arrogance, seems to be tied closely to the attribute boastful. But it goes beyond boastful. Where the boastful man tries to convince others of his greatness, this man is convinced of it—so much so that he appears ‘stuck up,” and often treats others as lower than himself and with contempt. He even at times despises others.

The Greek word for arrogant in 2 Timothy 3:2 is hypereephanoi, and appears in four other New Testament verses. It is in Romans 1:30 as arrogant. Then it is also in Luke 1:51, James 4:6, and 1Peter 5:5 translated as proud.

In our study I think it would be beneficial to look at some scriptures that portray this attitude of arrogance. I have found that three different words have been used to expose this idea of arrogance: arrogant, proud, and haughty (or a haughty look).

Using the word “Arrogant” 

Psalm 119:51

The arrogant utterly deride me,

Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.

Here the Psalmist (possibly David, Daniel or Ezra) complains that the arrogant deride him (which means to ridicule, scoff, mock or scorn). And it would seem that he is derided for being a believer who follows God’s Word. Yet the Psalmist is strong enough in his faith that he refuses to discontinue his regular practice of following God’s law. Hence, we find that the arrogant person is one that is strongly apposed to the faithful believer, and he will go out of his way to scoff at him. In these last days we will find, more and more, this kind of arrogance.

Psalm 119:69

The arrogant have forged a lie against me;

With all my heart I will observe Your precepts.

Here we find that this arrogant man is not only a derider but a liar. He will gladly lie against a believer in order to shut him up. But the Psalmist is strong enough, in spite of the arrogant person, to observe God’s precepts with all his heart. And that is what every believer needs to do.

Psalm 119:122

Be surety for Your servant for good;

Do not let the arrogant oppress me.

Here the Psalmist reveals to us that the arrogant man wants to and will oppress you—the lover of God. And he does it because he hates God and he hates believers. Hence, when he lies about you, ridicules you, scoffs you, and mocks you, he really intends to oppress you. And maybe he will not admit what he does because he is under the influence of Satan, and he doesn’t always know what he is doing. He maybe is blindly following Satan. Nonetheless, the arrogant one is an oppressor.

But we can overcome him and the devil by the grace of God. Pray and trust God and He will help and guide you so that you won’t fear the arrogant oppressor.

Biblical Examples of Boastful Men

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The Scriptures record many accounts of boastful leaders and individuals, which most often led to their downfall, and which we may see as contributing to the difficult times mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:2.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria. When King Sennacherib came to attack the fortified cities of Judah, he sent a message to king Hezekiah through his personal representative. It wasn’t a secret massage. He stood and shouted the message to many people on the wall of the city in Hebrew so they all could hear it. The messenger boastfully mocked the God of Israel by shouting,

‘Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 ‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand? 35 ‘Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand'” (2 Kings 18:33-35)?

Well, after King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah heard of King Sennacherib’s threats, Isaiah encouraged King Hezekiah to pray for Israel’s deliverance. And God heard his prayers (2 Kings 19:1-35). For it happened that night that 185,000 Assyrians were struck down by the Lord (verse 35).

Haman the Agagite. Haman was promoted by King Xerxes as prime minister, making him the most powerful official in the Persian empire next to the king. One day, he gathered his friends and his wife together at his home just to boast and brag to them about the honors and the promotion the king had given to him over all others. But when his wife and friends suggested that he set up gallows to hang his enemy Mordecai on it, Haman was doomed. For when the king discovered what Mordecai had done for him years ago, saving him from assassination, he planned to publicly honor him. Then, as it happened, when the king found out that Haman was planning to hang Mordecai, he, being enraged, had Haman hung on those same gallows that were meant for Mordecai (Est. 3:1-7:10).

King Belshazzar. While King Belshazzar and his nobles were boastfully celebrating and drinking to honor their Babylonian idols, a hand appeared out of nowhere and wrote a message on a wall. The king was terrified and wondered what it meant. He sent for all his wisest men but they could not interpret the message. Then Daniel was summoned and he easily gave the interpretation.

The word Mene means “numbered”—that God has numbered the days of your reign. Tekel means “weighed”—that you have been weighed on the balances. And Parsin means “divided”—and given to the Medes and Persians.

Well, apparently, the king believed Daniel and immediately dressed him in purple robes, hung a gold chain around his neck, and promoted him to the third highest ruler in the kingdom. And that night Darius took over the kingdom and Belshazzar was killed.

The Prince of Tyre. The prince of Tyre boasted that his city was perfect in beauty (Ezek. 27:3), that he himself was a god (28:2), and that he regarded himself wiser than Daniel—that no secret was hidden from him (28:3). Because of his boastful pride, God brought against him and his city enemy armies until he and his city ended in ruin and death (Ezek. 26:3, 20, 21; 28:7-10).

King Uzziah. At age sixteen Uzziah became the king of Judah and reigned in Jerusalem for 52 years. He was a good and godly king and pleased the Lord (2Chron. 26:4-5). Hence, God gave him success in everything he did.

  • He built towns (v.6-7).
  • He was victorious in wars so that he became powerful (v. 7-9).
  • He dug many water cisterns (v. 10).
  • He had many nerds of livestock (v. 10).
  • He had many farms and vineyards (v. 10).
  • He had many well-trained warriors, war equipment and new war machines (v. 11-15).

In all those things he became boastful and prideful, and he thought he could do anything. So, he sinned by attempting to do the duty of a priest in the temple. When he began burning incense on the altar, suddenly, God caused him to have leprosy, which he was plagued with until his death.

Absalom. The story of Absalom, David’s son, began when he turned against his half-brother Amnon when he heard that he had raped his sister Tamar. So, after two years he commanded his workmen to kill Amnon; and then Absalom fled to his grandfather for safety. Well, David and Absalom did not see each other for over three years, but finely they did come together. And apparently, while Absalom was away for so long, bitterness had built up in him, so much so that he thought he would be a better king than his father. His plan was to build up himself (with boasting of his own beauty, strength, and wisdom) in front of all Israel in order to steal the hearts of all the people. In fact, most of Israel followed Absalom instead of David. But in the end, according to God’s will, Absalom was killed in battle, and David’s throne was restored to him (2 Sam. 13:1-18:15).

The Antichrist. The Antichrist is a futuristic figure who will come on the scene during the seven-year Tribulation, or just before it. His boasting will actually be more than the pretend boasting that we find in 2 Timothy 3:2 from the word alazones. The Hebrew and Greek words for his boasting (from the books of Daniel and Revelation) are simply translated as “great.” I guess we could describe it as a boasting in his own greatness. And he will actually think that he is great. In fact, 2 Thessalonians tells us that he will take his seat in the Temple (the coming Tribulation temple) and will display himself as being God.

The fourth word in 2 Timothy 3:2, translated as arrogance or haughty, (hypereephanoi in Greek), may actually be closer in describing The Antichrist. But since Daniel 7:8, 11 and 25, and Revelation 13:5 describe him as having “a mouth uttering great boasts,” I think we should think of him as being both boastful of himself and very prideful. He will think that he is actually God. And this will be quite reasonable to him since the dragon (Satan) will give him great power and authority, and since the people of the earth will worship him and say to him, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him” (Rev. 13:2-4)? I imagine that he will become quite bigheaded.

Now, I have to say, before we go on to the next chapter, much of what I have given you as examples in history of boastfulness may not be exactly true to our text in 2 Timothy 3:2. In fact, you may find that the characters I have given have a combination of boastfulness (alazones) and arrogance (hupereephanoi)—or, as I explained about The Antichrist, thinking and talking about his greatness (even more than Mahammad Ali).

I think that our best bet in finding the true meaning of boastfulness (from our text) will be to go back to Romans 1:30. In this context one who boasts (as well as all the other wicked things that are listed) come from a depraved mind, which are those whom God has given up to their degrading passions. Boastfulness in this light is one of the things (evil things) that we are seeing more and more in these last days.

And, I guess, as far as looking at examples of boasting (like I have given—and more) if we can see in those cases that their boasting is out of a wickedness and carries the same impression of Romans 30:1 (of a depraved mind), then we can use it and see it as how difficult times are upon us. But sometimes, I suppose, it is hard to see the heart for what it is. Only God can see the heart for what it truly is.

Examples of Boastful Men

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The meaning of this word boastful, I think, will becomes clearer for us if we can come up with some examples. We will first look at a few tyrannical leaders and popular figures in secular history; and then some biblical figures.

Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.). Caesar was known for his ruthlessness in battle. His famous boast followed a military victory in Asia Minor. In three words he said, “Veni, vidi, vici.” (I came, I saw, I conquered).1

Genghis Khan (1162-1227). “Genghis Khan’s most famous boast is a chilling declaration of divine wrath: ‘I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sin, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.’”2

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). “The Führer of Nazi Germany openly bragged about his ruthlessness, using historical atrocities to justify his actions and declaring that the victor is above the truth.” He said, “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”3

Idi Amin. “The brutal dictator of Uganda famously boasted about his absolute power and even declared himself the uncrowned “King of Scotland”. He said, “There is freedom of speech, but I cannot promise freedom after speech.”4

Salvador Dali (1904-1989). “Salvador Dalí was just as famous for his audacious boasts as he was for his surrealist art. He treated his entire life as a performance, famously proclaiming, ‘The only difference between a madman and myself is I am not mad’. Dalí frequently declared himself a genius, boasting about his own superiority and claiming that his art transcended ordinary human logic.”5

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Arriving at the New York customs office in 1882, the famously witty Irish playwright reportedly made his self-worth perfectly clear. He said, “I have nothing to declare except my genius.”6

Muhammad Ali. “Muhammad Ali was as skilled with words as he was in the ring. His poignant sayings about sports and life figure to remain iconic for generations to come alongside the lore of his historic fights.”

Here are a couple of his most well-known boastful quotes:

“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.”

“Float like a butterfly. Sting like a bee. You can’t hit what your eyes don’t see.”7

1 The Best Quotations, at https://best-quotations.com/catquotes.php?categ=0935.

2 YouTube, @ The Art of Thinking 42, July 4, 2023.

3 Tyrants Quotes, at https//www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/tyrants.html.

4 10 Worst Human Dictators, at https://muc.fandom.com/wiki/10_worst_human_dictators.

5 Surrealism in the Art of Dali, at https://alyakhemji.medium.com/surrealism-in-the-art-of-dali-bf84f7b965d7.

6 Oscar Wilde quotes, at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0928492/quotes/.

7 Muhammad Ali’s 10 Best Quotes, at https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/id/15930888/muhammad-ali-10-best-quotes.

Boastful – from 2Timothy 3:2

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We come now to the third evil attribute, boastful, followed closely by the next attribute, arrogance. We may note that the first two attributes, to be lovers of self and lovers of money are directed only to self for self-pleasure. It is a self-idolatry or self-worship. Now, in addition to this self-pleasure and self-idolatry, men also in these evil times take on the evils of boastfulness and arrogance, which is more outgoing—or an evil designed to build up self. 

The term boastful comes from the Greek word alazones and has the meaning of “empty pretender.” In other words, it is a person that tries to exaggerate his importance or greatness. He is an empty braggart, but tries desperately to convince others of his greatness. The fourth attribute arrogance has a similar meaning: to speak pridefully of themselves; but they genuinely believe they are better than others; hence, this word for arrogance, hypereephanoi, may also be translated “haughty.” While the boastful man tries to impress others with words, the arrogant or haughty person is convinced (by deception) of his own greatness and acts with contempt toward those around him.

Now, let’s concentrate on this attribute boastful. The Greek word for boastful is found only in 2 Timothy 3:2 and in Romans 1:30. In the Romans passage you really get the flavor for its evil. In this passage (from verses 24 to 32) it speaks of those whom God gives up to their degrading passions: those with a depraved mind, who are filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents…”  

As you can see, this Romans list is very similar to the list in 2 Timothy. And so, we may conclude that they are both speaking of what people are like in the last days—which are these days, and which are getting worse and worse.

Here are a few more verses on boasting that I found in the Old Testament that may also shine some light on its basic meaning. In all the following verses the word translated boast and boastful are from the Hebrew word halal having the meaning, “To shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus, to be foolish.” This word seems similar to the Greek word alazones; and so, in a general sense of its pridefulness, I think we can use both Hebrew and Greek words for ideas of its basic meaning.

Psalm 49:5-6

Why should I fear in days of adversity,

When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me,

6 Even those who trust in their wealth

And boast in the abundance of their riches?

Here we see the obvious difference in this Old Testament word Halal. Boasting is boasting; it is prideful and foolish. And here it is in one’s wealth. In 2 timothy and Roman it is more in the person of the one boasting.

Psalm 75:3-5

3 “The earth and all who dwell in it melt;

It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah.

4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;

5 Do not lift up your horn on high,

Do not speak with insolent pride.'”

Here the one boasting is a wicked man. He does not believe in God. He obviously is boasting about his own strength and beliefs, and he lifts up his “fists in defiance at heaven.” (NLT of the Bible). God plainly tells us not to do that; that He is our creator.

God obviously is against the boastful man of these last times. He is boastful because he is an unbeliever and he is rebelling against God our creator. He boasts because he is making himself a god. He is lifting himself above the true God.

Psalm 97:7

7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,

Who boast themselves of idols;

Worship Him, all you gods.

All of us must be ashamed to have idols (things that we put before God). In the end (in His kingdom) all things will be subject to Him—will give Him worship. We must not boast and brag of all those things, and also about all our gifts and talents and strengths that we have received from God.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

Verse 23 is very close to the boasting of men in the last days. They will boast in their wisdom, their might and their riches. And they will not think about what they really should boast in—the Lord.

How the Love of Money Has Increased Over Time

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Since the beginning of time this evil has been with us. But we have seen the love of money sprout its evil wings, particularly in the last few decades—with the increase of knowledge, with new inventions, and with our growing economy.  Here are eight different causes by which the love of money has increased.

1. There are more ways to make money. With the worlds recent growing economy and technological advances, more people are working, and thus they have more opportunities to make money, to handle money, and to see money. This phenomenon no doubt has caused people to think more about money, thus increasing the love of money.

2. Because of credit cards and bank cards. The first credit cards came out in the early 1950’s. The positive aspect of these cards is their convenience. It is so much easier to present the card then to get out your check book and write a check, or to pay in cash, if you remember to carry enough cash. The negative side is remembering that your card is like money. I mean it comes out of your bank account. So, you have to know whether you have enough money in the bank. If you have a regular credit card, you can get into a lot of trouble—debt, because on most accounts you don’t have to pay it all back every month. This is where the love of money comes in. Since it is so convenient to use your card, people often forget that it is just like cash. And if they don’t have cash they very easily say, Oh I can put it on my card, no worry! And they end up using their card(s) very irresponsibly. And in many cases, they will sort of fall in love with their cards because they allow them to very easily buy whatever they want.

3. Through visual displays of wealth. It was not too long ago that photography and magazines were all in black and white. In the last few decades color has done wonders for our visual appetites, and unfortunately, it has stimulated our lust for wealth. There is nothing like excellent photography that makes advertising profitable; but on the evil side, it gives people a visual display of wealth causing them to fall in love with all that money can buy.

I suppose the temptation of wealth, mainly for young women is the glamor magazines. It will cause them not only to desire to be more beautiful, but to be rich and beautiful. And there are other magazines that sell new homes, new cars, and beautiful vacation spots. Again, these magazines are not only selling their product, but are causing the reader to desire to be wealthy—more than their neighbors!

Visual displays of wealth come not only in magazines but in stores selling everything imaginable. I’m sure you know that most people who shop in popular stores, like Walmart, buy much more than they need. They have been afflicted by the love of money.

4. Status and power. With the prospect of status and power more and more people are seeking job promotions or even entrepreneurship and owning their own business. And the more prosperous they become many are inflicted with greed and the love of money. But don’t get me wrong, promotion and owning a business does not necessarily equal something bad. It could be a blessing from God. However, if you don’t give Him the credit and thanks for it, you will become prideful and greedy.

5. Seeking a wealthy lifestyle. It seems like more and more these days people are seeing and dreaming about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, because of the happiness they think it will bring them. Of course, before the invention of television and the movies people had no such dreams. They had to rely on their own imaginations. But these days, with our computers and with AI giving everyone a boost, and with millionaires and billionaires everywhere, it is not hard to see and desire a wealthy lifestyle.

6. Mega churches. Paul taught that an overseer must be free from the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3); but I think that in many cases the main reason for building a large church is to bring in more people, in order to bring in more money. I have also heard (from reliable sources) that these mega churches follow a secular business model. Hence, in every respect they run the church like a business. I suppose that in some areas that is wise, but it shouldn’t be that way in every area. The churches’ goal should not be to make so much money, rather to minister to people, to teach people the truth from the bible.

7. Sports teams. The four most popular professional sports teams: baseball, football, basketball and hockey, have only been around for about 170 years. When the earliest teams (probably baseball) started the players didn’t make much more than the common laborer. But today superstar baseball players could make more than 40 million dollars in a single season.

Why the big jump in earnings? I have a house painting business and I make more money now, after four years in business, but good grief! I will never make as much as a baseball player. They say that the sports industry is driven by supply and demand. The supply is the few elite players and the demand is the demand for their performance calculated according to the money generated by what fans are willing to pay for ticket sales and for television and internet viewing. So, I suppose, there is a logical reason why sports players and owners are making so much money. But isn’t the demand coming from the fans—what they are willing to pay to see a game and certain players? Those who demand to see a game will use whatever money they are willing to spend on a ticket. They demand it! They demand it because they are lovers of themselves. And they are lovers of money because that money will allow them to pay for a ticket. Hence, sports teams, you could say, feed our lust for money and for our own entertainment desires.

8. Fraudsters. Recently, all over the country, and particularly in Minnesota where I live, fraudsters have been stealing hundreds of millions from government programs. These criminals set up fraudulent, non-profit shell companies that exist only on paper, and then link them together in complex networks to disguise who actually owns and controls them; then they systematically bill state agencies for services never rendered.

During the recent pandemic they organized what they termed “Feeding our Future,” and claimed to be feeding thousands of children daily, but it was all just on paper. They fed few to no meals and submitted rosters of fake names generated by software. They also pretended to make medical visits that were never made and phony healthcare agencies billed the state for the care. Once the government distributed the funds to the fictious companies, the money was rapidly funneled here and there to obscure the paper trail. Ring leaders spent millions of taxpayer money on luxury housing, sports cars, jewelry, and international travel. Hence, in this fraudulent scheme, it is plain to see that their motive was purely self-interest—the love of self and the love of money.