Apostasy and the "Great Falling Away"

Apostasy and the “Great Falling Away”

2 Thessalonians 2

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Jesus is coming back!!!!! I just wanted to begin by stating that point. We are definitely living in the days described in the Mt. Olivet discourse, where Jesus spoke of the condition of the world before His 2nd coming. In this passage of scripture in Thessalonians, Paul is writing about the conditions that will exist before Jesus’ return. Paul mentions a “Great falling away”, before Jesus returns. I believe this falling away is a departing of Christians from their faith in Jesus Christ. There are a number of factors that contribute to a large number of Christians who turn from the gospel.

Scores of Christians will depart from the faith because of the apostasy that is prevalent in the church today. This great apostasy is unchecked and growing within the church. It is very rare that we hear any sermons about apostasy. On the rare occasion when apostasy is preached, the apostates are seldom identified. I was told on one occasion that there were no apostates, that apostates were in the past. We know this apostasy exists because it was prophesied in the books of Peter and Jude.

2 Peter 2

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingered not, and their damnation slumbered not.

Jude

4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withered, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

The devil has made every effort to destroy the church. Throughout the centuries he has murdered millions of Christians through governments and false religions. But the church has endured and even grown through these attacks and oppression. In the last days devil has changed his tactics. He's created false religions which look like the true gospel, but actually teach false doctrines. He's also attacked the church and Christians through complacency. By creating an atmosphere of contentment and self-fulfillment, many churches fail to feel the urgency to spread the gospel. They're more concerned with self-fulfillment and acceptance in society. These two threats against the church have been devastating to the actual spread of the gospel. The message going out of focus in many mega-churches is the gospel of the second coming of Jesus; instead they’ve been equating blessings to materialism, and exulting idols. In too many churches across the country and Christian television doctrine of materialism, is preached and backed up by New Testament Scriptures taken out of context. TV shows like”The preachers of LA”, “Braxton family values”, “Mary, Mary”, and others repeatedly speak of how they are all blessed because of what they have. They talk more about their possessions than Jesus. Over time, the doctrine of materialism has caused many Christians to aspire to be wealthy and seek pleasures before seeking to please God. The small twist of seeking pleasurable things before serving God has had a deadly effect on the body of the church. Thousands of people across our country occupy church pews week after week because they're seeking things from Jesus but not seeking Jesus or his love and salvation. This is in opposition to an often quoted Scripture:

Matthew 6

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

False religions have taken their toll on the evangelistic efforts of the church. Many false religions look, sound, and behave like the true church, but fail to teach repentance or the gospel. These “fake churches” have preachers who entertain and sound like true men of God, but in actuality they seek money, above all else, sex, or influence over a large body of people. It's sad to see young men grow up in the church and learn the ways of the Bible believing church, only to pervert the gospel and exalt themselves. As these men line their pockets and entertain large church memberships, souls are lost in the deception.

2 Timothy 4

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

This great apostasy is sadly taking place right before the very end. Jesus is on the verge of returning to take all, who have asked him for forgiveness of their sins, is back with him to heaven. This will begin the ultimate state of happiness forever. It's regrettable that so many people would, fall away, right before the ultimate reward. Too many churches and pastors are silent on this topic. Many Christian and non-Christian people are aware of the difference between Christianity and other religions. Many non-Christians have knowledge or conviction about what is evil. Most pastors and preachers warn their congregation of the dangers that exist outside of the church. But not enough preachers warn their members about the dangers of the false doctrines within the church. Some congregations never hear the topic of apostasy preached or taught in their churches. This leads to many Christians vulnerable or naïve about the ”wolves in sheep's clothing”, there preach flowery messages that sound good and make everyone feel good but lead people into sin. For the church, the most deadly attack in of the devil has not come from the outside, but from within its own walls. I believe is no coincidence that the topic of apostasy appears in the Bible in the book of second Peter and Jude right before the book of revelation. More preaching and teaching about false religions need to take place. Apologetic teaching would help raise awareness of these false doctrines and the dangers they present.

1 Timothy 4

4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

The message to Christians is, “hold fast until Jesus comes back”. We are right near the end. We can see the fulfillment of Scripture as pertains to the second coming of Jesus being fulfilled before our very eyes. This should be an encouraging and draw us nearer to the word of God and the Bible. The stakes are high and the decisions of believers to evangelize have eternal blessings or consequences. We all must have a discerning eye and judge everything by the Bible. It's it is the effort of the enemies of God to draw a wedge between His believers and His word. When a church’s message and actions depart from the word of God, then it's time to depart from that church. I have found over the years that the best way to get a message across is with the Scriptures and video that illustrates it. Check out this video by G. Craig Lewis and Tetaun Moffett, who break down the annual “Mega-Fest” event that is laden with the apostasy. Here you can see it played out right before you. Unfortunately this is not the only place is happening, but it's a good example of what's going on across the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOZMwfOtm2g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOZMwfOtm2g