Specific Characteristics of Society in the Last Days
But what was it specifically about these two men that the Holy Spirit distinguishes as characteristics or signs that we are living in the last of the last days?

The following is Mark’s account of the same story.

And they [Jesus and His disciples] came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
(Mark 5:1,2)

Notice that phrase “out of the tombs” (v. 2). Day in and day out, this man lived among the tombs — in the vicinity of death. So it’s very obvious that this man had death on his mind. We also find in that verse that he also had an unclean spirit. That word “unclean” always refers to some kind of sexual lewdness. So when it says that the man had an unclean spirit, it means the man was sexually unclean.

Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
(Mark 5:3-5)

Expounding on the phrase “…neither could any man tame him…” (v. 4), we find from the Greek that it means the man was literally untamable, and it paints the picture of an animal trainer such as the kind you’d find at a circus. Even those skilled at training the wildest, fiercest, and most uncontrollable animals couldn’t successfully subdue this man who had the unclean spirit.

Now let’s look at Luke’s account of this same story.

And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
(Luke 8:27-29)

We’re looking at the characteristics associated with this demon-possessed man that the apostle Paul used to describe the perilous (kalepos) times that would signify the last of the last days. So far, we’ve seen that this man:

1. Was taken over by sexual lewdness and uncleanness. The man was completely nude and roamed the area like an animal with no regard for the sacredness of the human body — but instead treated his body very shamefully.
2. Lived in the vicinity of death day after day after day. Everywhere he looked, he saw symbols of death. In fact, one could say that this man was obsessed with the idea of death.
3. Was violent, fierce, dangerous, and destructive in his behavior toward himself and others.
4. Was so completely out of control that he could not even be helped — tamed or subdued — by “experts.”
5. Was “driven” by the devil into isolation. The man was restless and on the run — his life completely devoid of peace and the ability to think sensibly and rationally.

All of these things are contained in this word kalepos that we find in Second Timothy 3:1! And the Holy Spirit is saying to us about this, “I emphatically want you to know beyond all shadow of doubt that these times — times that are exceedingly fierce — are coming upon the earth.”

Let’s take a look at each of these five characteristics of the kalepos man — the demon-possessed man in the tombs, whom Jesus delivered.

Characteristic #1: Sexual Uncleanness and an Obsession With Nudity
First, we see that he had “an unclean spirit” (Mark 5:2). This evil spirit had access to the man, and there was something sexually foul about him. In fact, as you study the original Greek in these verses, there’s actually an implication that something in the man’s mind had been opened to something sexually unclean — and that might have been the door that allowed access for all those other demons to begin to infiltrate him. So there’s an indication that sexual uncleanness was how this man became demonized to begin with.

Luke 8:27 says about the man that he “… had devils long time, and ware no clothes….” So kalepos also portrays the idea of nudity.

In the Jewish world at the time of this writing, public nudity was an affront. The Jews believed that public nudity wasn’t just indecent — it was an absolute shame in the presence of God. But here we find this man is stripped naked, and, in fact, he can’t even keep his clothes on; he rips his clothes off because the devil is continually humiliating him.

So the Holy Spirit is telling us that at the end of the age, there will be great nudity or a shaming of human beings through nudity. And isn’t it true today that in every form of media, there seems to be an obsession with nudity or with being scantily clothed?