How to Overcome the Perilous Times Preceding the Rapture

In the Bible’s own words, we are living in the “last of the last days”—a period Scripture says will be marked by fierce, grievous, perilous times (2 Tim. 3:1–5). The “last days” began at Pentecost (Acts 2), and as that timeline nears its finish, the Spirit urges us to pay close attention, gain skill, and understand what we’re seeing. These are difficult days not merely because of events, but because of how people will act—self-loving, truth-dodging, pleasure-first—yet believers are not called to panic; we’re called to overcome. Today, we’ll learn how to face mounting pressure without becoming what we resist—how to conquer evil with good, anchor our hope in Jesus, and walk in the fearless, gentle strength that marks Jesus’ followers as we await His appearing. How to Overcome the Perilous Times Preceding the Rapture all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Accept the Challenge

Live Awake—Live Ready!

This week, make a purposeful shift from simply believing in the Rapture to living in light of it. Each day, take one small action that reflects spiritual overcoming:

In these perilous times, you are not called to retreat — you are called to overcome. This week, make the decision to respond differently than the culture around you. Where others choose outrage, choose peace. Where the world promotes self, choose humility. Identify one area where the spirit of the age is pressuring you, and practice overcoming it with the opposite spirit of Jesus. Take intentional action to live as a victorious overcomer — not a passive observer of end-time events.

Living ready isn’t about fear—it’s about focus. When you live like Jesus could return today, everything in your life comes into proper perspective.

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question:

Question: As we near the return of Jesus, what do you see happening around you that confirms the “last of the last days” prophecies in 2 Timothy 3? How is God leading you personally to stand firm and overcome evil with good in this generation?

Share your thoughts — your insight could encourage someone else to stay strong in these challenging times.

Remember: Growth in God isn’t a solo journey — we build one another up when we share what He’s doing in our lives.

Episode Resources:

On Faith and Trusting God.

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 49 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes:

Prayer

Well again, welcome.
Let’s talk to the Lord.

Father God, thank you for warning us about the last days. You warned us, you gave us information so we can be ready. You told us so that we can prepare our hearts. As always, we ask for your guidance and a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. Show us the way that we should take as we navigate these last days in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Perilous Times: Last of the Last Days

2 Timothy 3:1–5 (ESV) — 1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

The Bible is rather plain in its descriptive of what the end of ‘end times’ will be for the people of Planet Earth.
The end of ‘end times’ is a scriptural way to describe these times as this first verse of Second Timothy three points out.
If you look at the words ‘last days’ in verse one in more detail, you will see this.
We know that the ‘last days’ began on the Day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:14–17 (ESV) — 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

If there’s a beginning to ‘end times’, then there is an end to ‘end times’ as well.

Perilous Times: Defining ‘Last Days’

‘These people’ whom Peter is talking about in Acts two are the 120 Upper Room disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues on the Day of Pentecost.
Peter said, these people, who spoke in tongues on that day, are not drunk with wine but are the fulfillment of what the prophet Joel prophesied would happen in the ‘last days.’
So, we know that the beginning of the ‘last days’ started 2000 years ago.
Well there is an end to the last times or, we could say it this way, there is an end to ‘end times.’
So, what Paul writes about in his letter to Timothy here in chapter three is not just the ‘last days’ but the last of the ‘last days.’
How do we know that?
Well, there’s a subtle clue in Greek language.
The Greek article ‘the’ — in the words ‘the last days’ does not appear in the Greek.
So, your translation will read ‘THE last days’ but, the translators added the word ‘THE’ so that it sounds right in English.
But, the word ‘THE’ is not there.
How this actually reads is:

‘But understand this, that in last days there will come times of difficulty.

The word ‘last’ pertains to being the last in a series of objects or events.¹
So, we’re talking about the last in a series of events related to days.
The Greek word ‘days’ means a point or a period of time.
So ‘last days’ is a point or a time period that’s at the last of a series of events.

Perilous Times: What We Must Understand

Now, concerning this last period, Paul uses some emphatic language.
Paul says to Timothy:

understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

The words ‘understand this’ are at the head of the sentence, which in emphatic Greek means ‘pay attention to this.’
The word ‘understand’ means to know or have knowledge about (someone or something); normally acquired through observation or the senses.
Paul is saying, Look around you — observe and know something about this series of events at the last of the ‘last days’ which we understand to be the final sequence of events in a string of events.
Another translation of this word to ‘understand’ is to be skilled, to be master of a thing.
Have some skill, gain some mastery of things pertaining to the ‘last days.’

Perilous Times: Times of Difficulty

What should we be understanding?
What should we be good at observing?
What should we have skill and mastery at knowing?
Here it is: these last of ‘last days’ will be times of difficulty.
That’s the ESV.
The KJV says ‘perilous times.’
The NIV ‘terrible times.’
The last of the ‘last days,’ the days leading up to the Rapture will be perilous times.
They will be times of difficulty.

Perilous Times: Definitions

Man, we know what this word ‘difficult/perilous/terrible means, and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.

The Greek word ‘difficult’ means troublesome, difficult to deal with, violent, dangerous, hard, or grievous.

Grievous is a word we use, right?
It refers to something that causes severe pain, suffering, or sorrow. It is often used to describe situations or actions that are serious or burdensome.
So plug this definition into this verse and what you have is a description of what the days will be like.
They will be difficult days.
Days that cause pain or sorrow.
There will be grievous situations that lead to significant emotional or physical distress.
Serious consequences, do you understand that?
That’s what difficult days are.
You could throw the word severe in here.
Do you think that the terms ‘times of stress’ would work here? ²
Absolutely, it would.
One translator said that when you must translate this word in languages other than English you should translate this as ‘in the last days, people will suffer very much.’³

Perilous Times: Other Uses of the Word ‘Difficult’

Now, by listening to these definitions, you can tell that the word ‘difficult’ is an intense word.
When you look up some scriptures where this same Greek word appears, you can come to the same ‘intense’ conclusion about this word.
Here’s one reference in the gospels.

Matthew 8:28 (ESV) — 28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Did you hear the word ‘fierce?’
It’s the same word ‘difficult.’
Difficult times are fierce times.
One lexical commentator wrote the following, and with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.

The Greek word for ‘difficult’ is used often for dangerous circumstances, which is precisely the case in 2 Timothy 3:1, which announces the onset of the last days: there will be dangerous or perilous times for the faith and the existence of the church, harmful for Christians, with a nuance of violence and aggressiveness that befits calamities.⁴

Here is something else to note about the historical use of this word in ancient times.
Have you ever heard this used about an individual, ‘this person is a difficult individual.’
This person, he or she, is difficult to deal with.
In ancient history, when the word ‘difficult’ applied to people, it meant that you were dealing with a ‘cruel’ person.
Now what about the word ‘times?’ — You know, difficult times are what the scripture said.
The word ‘times’ is a future period marked by characteristic circumstances.⁵

Perilous Times: The Source of the Difficulty

So, now we understand what the words ‘times of difficulty’ mean.
We’re talking about a future period that is difficult, hard, grievous, severe, and cruel.
Bad stuff.
Can we know why this period is so bad?
We can because the scripture tells us exactly why.

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be…

And what follows is a list of how people will act in this period of time.
It’s people that make difficult times grievous.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Times will be tough because of people will act poorly.
Because they will be lovers of self.
Self-lovers are those who care only about themselves, only about what gets them ahead, to the exclusion of others.
You know the self-sins are self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love, and self-promotion.⁶
Here is the question.
Are we seeing some of this in our world today?

Perilous Times: Abusive and Heartless

I’m going to pick out a couple of words here.
How about the words ‘abusive’ and the words ‘heartless.’
Abusive people are those slanderous, railing, reproachful, blasphemous.⁷
Blasphemous show irreverence toward sacred things.
What about the word ‘heartless?’
Difficult times come because people will be ‘heartless.’
‘Heartless’ people are those who are lacking good feelings for others, thereby jeopardizing the maintenance of relationships (e.g. political and family) that are essential to a well-ordered society.⁸
Are we seeing some of this in our world today?
Oh my goodness, where is the outrage when a person gets kidnapped or dragged right out of their home into human slavery?
Where is the powerful sense of grief when a man, who has a young wife and child, gets assassinated?
Where is the uproar when a rapist and sexual abuser of children gets released back out onto the streets because we don’t have enough compassion for people to hold evil people accountable?
Heartless.
People are choosing anarchy instead of honor.

Perilous Times: How We Got Here

You know I asked myself this question: how in the world did we get to this point where we are starting to see this kind of stuff leading up to the Rapture?
Men have always had character failures and integrity flaws since the day the Adam transgressed.
Human history has experienced extremely brutal periods of time where people have acted abusively and heartlessly.
But in recent American history, we can trace a significant dip in the public trust of its political leaders back to the Vietnam War.
During that time (which started in 1955) the media was reporting a credibility between what political leaders were saying about the war and what was actually happening on the ground.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about this but the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a major fabricated piece of lying that got us into a war that cost the lives of 58,000 American soldiers.
Because of President Johnson’s desire to be re-elected, Secretary of State McNamara created that story to get us into war.
Lying got us into that war — public trust of government officials went south.
President Johnson was a Democrat.
Then comes Watergate, another president, this one Republican, authorized the break-in at the Democratic National Committee by five men trying to plant eavesdropping devices in 1972.
The scandal, the cover-up, the illegal activities, the abuses of power by President Nixon lead to his resignation from office.
Take the lying about Vietnam and Watergate and put those together and you have a 50% drop in the public trust of the government.
And, we are only in the 1970’s.
Then you the stagflation that occurred in the 1970’s.
The government was ineffective in controlling stagflation which is stagnant economic growth, high inflation, and high employment.
More government distrust was the result.
Now we come to the invasion in Iraq in 2003.
We were told by a Republican President that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The intelligence was wrong; no weapons of mass destruction were discovered or recovered.
People felt that a President, once again, had lied to them.
More distrust.
Then we had the 2008 financial crisis and bailout of the major banks, which fueled yet more distrust because the feeling was nobody knew what they were doing.
Now, add to all of this all the lying and deception that surrounded the previous administration and BANG, here we are.
I’m telling you, lying is at least one of the root causes of why we are where we are talking about end times being difficult, perilous, hard, and grievous times.
The repeated breaking of one of God’s Ten Commandments has led us to these times.

Perilous Times: More on the Horizon

Now, there is more that I want to talk to you about along the lines of ‘difficult times.’
We want to talk to about verse five: ‘having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.’
We also want to look at these verses in First Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:1–3 (ESV) — 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

But, for time sake, we must save that for another podcast.
Let’s focus the rest of this episode on this thought.

Now, that we are experiencing some margin of difficult times, how can we overcome the difficult days preceding the Rapture?

Overcoming Perilous Times Revelation Style

The idea of overcoming is baked into the Bible and into the Church.
We have an order from God to overcome.

Revelation 2:7 (ESV) — 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:11 (ESV) — 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2:17 (ESV) — 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.

Revelation 2:26 (ESV)** — 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,

Revelation 3:5 (ESV) — 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 3:12 (ESV) — 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Revelation 3:21 (ESV) — 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

These verses are all from God’s messages to the Seven Churches.
The Seven Churches typify our church.
They are messages to the church before the Tribulation.
Is there a common theme here?
Yes, we must conquer.
We must overcome.
To overcome implies opposition.

Perilous Times: What Does Overcoming Imply?

The Greek word ‘conquer’ is the same word used in 1 John 5:4.

1 John 5:4 (ESV) — 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

The word group “conquer or overcome” denotes “victory” or “superiority,” whether in mortal conflict or peaceful competition.⁹
Basically, it means to win — to gain the victory as in a military conflict.
There is no second place in a military conflict.
Now what exactly are we gaining the victory over?
What conflict are we conquering?

Romans 12:21 (ESV) — 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The word ‘overcome’ here in Romans twelve is the same Greek word in the Revelation passages — and the same word in First John five.
Mark this down to overcome evil, the evil that men do, the evil described as the character traits of men in 2 Timothy three — you know that whole men shall be lovers of their own selves piece, as we approach the Rapture — to overcome evil means you cannot allow yourself to become evil while you’re resisting evil.
Do you understand that some are losing themselves in the fight.
You’re not going to fight liars by lying.
You won’t conquer abusiveness by pushing abusively back against abuse.
We’re seeing that in our day.
A man bombs an abortion clinic — that’s not overcoming evil — that’s being part of it.
An individual is outraged that his daughter was raped and picks up a gun and goes on a rampage — that’s not how someone overcomes evil — that’s being part of it.
We, the Church, overcome evil by doing good.
Refuse to move from who you are in Jesus.
What would Jesus do? is a brilliant question to ask.
Do you want to know how to overcome?
Read and practice the rest of Romans twelve.

Romans 12:9–21 (ESV) — 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

You can’t say this better than the way the Holy Spirit said these.
You don’t need commentary — just do it.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 (ESV) — 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

This is not easy.
But if you continue to do what you’re doing now — continue to lean on and depend on the Holy Spirit — learning not to lean to your own understanding and your own strength, you can and will overcome.
And to him that overcomes, there is good news.
Jesus is coming to snatch you on out of here as the final war on evil begins.

Application: How to Live Victorious in Perilous Times

So, how do we overcome in these times of difficulty?

Understand the times and do it without fear. Prepare. Don’t panic.
Refuse to ape and imitate the culture. The danger isn’t just being surrounded by evil — it’s being changed by it.
Guard your heart. Don’t become who you’re called to resist.
Use your faith and commit to overcoming God’s way. Overcome evil with good not retaliation. Honor God. Choose love, truth, and righteousness.
Anchor Your Life in Faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).
Stay Filled With the Spirit and Guard Your Heart with Confident Expectation and Bible Hope.

Call to Action

It’s time to act.
Do something this week.
Don’t just observe the times by looking at the news — overcome the news.
Choose one area where culture is pressuring you to be angry, and and respond with the Jesus kind of love.
Make this quality decision today: “I will not be overcome by evil— I will overcome evil with good, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Now, Father God, thank you for the victory that overcomes the world. We stay steady, tightly clinging to your Word. We give you the praise and the glory for the victory in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How to Overcome the Perilous Times Preceding the Rapture.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

————————

References

Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 610. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1075. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 244–245. ↩
Ceslas Spicq and James D. Ernest, Theological Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 494–495. ↩
Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New Testament Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Bits & Bytes, Inc., 2000), 212. ↩
A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2006), 42. ↩
William D. Mounce, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006) ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 146. ↩
Otto Bauernfeind, “Νικάω, Νίκη, Νῖκος, Ὑπερνικάω,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–) 942. ↩

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How to Overcome the Perilous Times Preceding the Rapture

Podcast: Light on Life Season Twelve Episode Forty

by Emery Horvath

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