The Fruits of Apostasy
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV) 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;
The falling away in the above verse means apostasy.
Apostasy: apostasia {ap-os-tas-ee’-ah}
to forsake, falling away, a falling away, defection, apostasy
feminine version of the word apostasion.
Apostasion: divorce, repudiation, a bill of divorce .
The Apostasy/Great Falling Away is talking about a huge falling away from the truth or a departing from the faith. After this happens, the Antichrist is revealed and following that, the great gathering of the faithful to Christ will take place.
Apostasy. > Antichrist > Jesus Christ.
Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. So if there is a great falling away from the truth, then it is obvious that it means that many shall fall away from Jesus Christ himself because he is the truth. This is consistent with one of the meanings of the word Apostasy, which is the feminine version of the word Apostasion, meaning divorce. Many shall divorce Jesus as the Bridegroom. We the Church are the Bride.
So does this mean that many will just give up the faith and no longer profess Jesus as Lord, maybe. Perhaps it means that many of the truths that Jesus taught us, will be ignored, forgotten and replaced with man-made doctrines and doctrines of demons. After all if people ignore truth, then they are ignoring Jesus himself and the very principles of the Kingdom of God. Remember Jesus told us in Matthew 7:22-24 that many shall call him Lord, but Jesus will reject them because they never actually knew him. The difference is that many shall know about Jesus, but how many actually know Jesus ? One of the first things we need to do in order to know Jesus, is to believe in the words of Jesus and to believe the words that he spoke about himself and who he is. It would be contradictory to say that you know Jesus and yet ignore his words and not believe what he said about himself.
In fact things got so bad during the aptly named Dark Ages, that a reformation/revolution took place that restored some doctrines and scriptures to the people. One of the truths that was restored to the church was, salvation being a free gift of God and not the result of works. Another restored truth was about salvation in Christ alone, not the church or any organization such as the Catholic Church. However, not all have accepted these truths and many others remain ignorant to other important truths that Jesus, Paul and Peter taught us.
During the time of the first Apostles and especially after they passed into the next life, many false prophets have risen up and they have deceived many. Of course we should not be surprised that such a thing has happened because Jesus, Paul, Peter and John warned us that this would happened. See 1 John 4:1
Remember it is prophesied in 2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
So false teachers will cause men to speaking evil of the truth and you have to wonder if Islam would even exist today if Christians kept the truth and not departed the faith by worshiping idols and changing biblical doctrine. The trouble with bad things is that many who react against them also throw out the good in the process. You may have heard the saying “Do not throw out the baby with the bath water”. Well this is one of the undesirable results of evil. When men reject evil, they often reject the good as well because of their strong distaste for that evil.
Just some thoughts and I feel we are in that state of falling away from truth of God”s word and the only way back is through repentance and obeying God”s word which is the inspired word of God and pray much.
We must obey Acts 2:38 and be witnesses to others of this wonderful truth to save America and the rest of the world and the many who are being deceived and taught wrong just as I was over the years. But Praise the Lord Jesus who put in my path people who taught me the truth of Jesus’ name and Now I am living for God . I was in a state of sin and falling away from God even though I had attended church all my life. I was taught error and did not know I was not saved. I though I was saved but Jesus knew my hunger and the desire in my heart to know Him and people like pastor Rutledge and Abundant Life Cente. They took me in and helped me to know Jesus. I pray if you are out there and don’t know Him to consider coming to Him and seeking a church that does teach truth.
Acts 2:38 (KJV) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
God bless!
