"But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 5 They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these." 2 Tim 3:1-5
Wonderful passage. Back in 1982, I was leading a teen Bible study, when I was still a Pentecostal, and pretending to be a dispie, which I was very uncomfortable with, but didn't know anything about any other views, and that was what was being preached in my church.
Both the teens and I were astonished at this passage. The teens were the ones who said to me, "this is today!" And none of them were following God, either!
So 37 years ago! Oops! Hasn't happened yet! In the 1950's I heard people talking about this, in church. I was very young, but I remember talking about Jesus coming back soon. It scared me, at age 6, because no one told me the plan of salvation. The gospel was preached, but what 5 year old understands King James English? (Another reason for churches to use modern Bibles, so people, including children, actually understand the gospel!)
So, call that 60 years ago. Then, you can read about the history of the church. The Puritans in England, they replaced the corrupt RCC church, then became legalistic, because every single warning in those verses was happening.
Or go back to the Crusades. What were they about? Securing Jerusalem, so Jesus could return, because it was a millennium since Jesus died. (Like Jesus couldn't have secured it on its own?)
Of course, this verse was used, because people were not following the RCC. Kind of ironical, because the RCC had a lot of power. And lost it.
You can go back to the time of the early church, including when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, because, things were looking pretty dark. The Thessalonians church thought this proved Jesus was coming soon. So Paul had to write them, to reassure them, they had not missed the return of Jesus!
Here is a longer chart, which goes through many people in Christian history who thought their time was when Jesus would return. They were not right, and despite what the thought was a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_and_claims_for_the_Second_Coming_of_Christ
So, all I am pointing out, is that humans are depraved. They sin, they do not follow Christ. Or they go to the other extreme, and become rigidly legalistic, instead of following the Holy Spirit. People sin the same sins in every generation! It is the height of ethnocentricity to suggest we are worse or better than any other generation, decade, century or millennium.
Jesus will return when he is ready, not a moment before.