But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Reason why persecutions must be expected, and these worse and worse as the end approaches. The breach between light and darkness, so far from being healed, shall be widened (Alford). Seducers, х goeetes (G1114)] - 'conjurers.' Magic prevailed at Ephesus (Acts 19:19), and had been renounced by many on embracing Christianity; but now, when Paul was writing to Ephesus, symptoms of a return to conjuring appeared: an undesigned coincidence. Probably sorcery will characterize the final apostasy (Revelation 13:15; Revelation 18:23; Revelation 22:15).
Wax worse, х prokopsousin (G4298) epi (G1909)] - 'advance in the direction of the worse.' Not contradictory to 2 Timothy 3:9 (cf. note): there the diffusion of the evil was spoken of, here its intensity (Alford).
Deceiving, and being deceived. Beginning with deceiving others, they end with being deceived themselves.