Another trait of the people of the last days is that they are brutal (fierce), meaning savage and untamed. It is the word that describes the savage beast of the world that is unrestrained in its fierceness. It is a word that should never be true of people, but tragically it is. Never in the history of the world have men become as fierce and savage as they are today. People no longer just murder, they mutilate. They torture. They kill at random. They kill by twos and threes and by thousands and millions.

Pastor Carl Triplett was my pastor for 17 years, from age 5 through age 22. His great life and great ministry gave me the Biblical foundation to do the work of the New Testament evangelist! I was so very blessed to have many private conversations with him before he went to Heaven. One day he said: “I preach for a verdict!” He is saying that he preached to bring people to a decision! Jesus did, too! In Luke 13:3 HE states: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

Happy New Year! Praise the Lord that we serve the One who makes all things new! His name is JESUS! He can radically transform the hardest of hearts! Just ask the Apostle Paul (1 Tim. 1:12-17)!

One of the great joys of my life has been to serve alongside Pastor John Rogers of Beulah Baptist Church in Mohawk, TN. We have seen thousands of boys and girls give their hearts to Jesus through the First Priority Bible Club over the past 24 years!

Another trait of the people of the Last days is that they are without self-control. The word in the KJV is incontinent, meaning undisciplined and uncontrolled. They have no self-control, no power to discipline themselves. They are given over to pleasure and indulgence, to passion and sexual craving, to lust and lewdness. It is a passion that grips and enslaves a person until it becomes an unbearable habit and bondage.

The angel told Joseph: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21 NKJV). JESUS is CHRISTmas! What a mess this world would be in if it were not for JESUS! His glorious name transcends time and space for He is God in flesh! Praise His Holy name that He took our sins upon Himself on the CROSS at Calvary! The tomb where He was buried is empty, for He is resurrected, and He is alive today as He is seated at the right hand of His Father in Heaven!

Another trait of the people of the last days is that they are slanderers (false accusers).  What is slander?  Slander is the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.  Slander has become a public sport in American culture today in all walks of life, even in the ministry.  The Greek word for false accusers is “diabolos”, the very word for the devil.  William Barclay states: “The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers, and of