Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.
2 Timothy 4:10
Some of the Bible’s greatest warnings can only be uncovered through careful study. In reading the letters of Paul, we find the name Demas three times. When Paul was first imprisoned in Rome under house arrest (Acts 28:30), he wrote to the Colossians, saying, “Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you” (Colossians 4:14). He also wrote this to Philemon: “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers” (Philemon 1:23-24).
But just a few years later, when Paul was facing his second Roman imprisonment under far worse circumstances, Demas was nowhere to be found. In his final letter, Paul wrote, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). What happened to Demas? Where did he go? No one knows. He is never mentioned again.
This will become a sign of the Last Days—as more and more apparent Christians fall away. Let’s guard ourselves and our hearts closely. Keep courage, and stay close to the Lord. Be a disciple, not a Demas.
