Tag: Falling Away

The Apostasy Of?

by atharris, posted in Ministry, Prophecy

More prophecy teachers today are calling for the Rapture, more so than any time since I started looking for the Blessed Hope back in 2007. However, according to some, the Pre-wrath and post-tribulation position on the rapture are spreading like wildfire within the church. That is, Christians will go through the first half or all the Tribulation. The Apostle Paul believed in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. There is much to be celebrated and immense joy in the Rapture.

Remember, the devil has three objectives: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:” John 10:10. Surely, he wants to steal from Christians the joy of the Rapture and destroy any “hope” we have of leaving this earth before the Tribulation. Error always comes in when one teaches with an accusatory spirit; accusing one of not believing the truth because it is seen in a different way. Truth comes when teaching a blessing in a positive light. The Bible is clear when the Rapture will take place and is determined by only two conditions. Even at the beginning of Church history, Paul had to address the Thessalonians as they were already “deceived” into thinking they were in the Tribulation and had missed the Rapture.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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; 2 Thes. 2:1-3.

Paul is letting the Church at Thessalonica know that they were not in the Tribulation when they thought they were. This teaching is in the bible for the reason we see now. The key to this passage is “let no man deceive you”. That includes Bible teachers, myself included. He goes on to say, “that day shall not come”; what day? The day of the Tribulation. The first condition: a falling away takes place. The “falling away” or apostasia as the Greek says, must be something specific, something measurable. The common consensus view on the apostasy is that of the Church departing from the faith towards the end. But how does one measure that? This view never really made sense to me. Yes, some of the Church has left “sound” doctrine as the prophecy foretold in 2nd Timothy 4:3 (perhaps Pre-wrath and Post-Trib falls in this category), but there are still many bible believing churches today full of faith. The Lord has been on the move lately with revival around the country which will increase next year I believe. So, what is the “falling away” if not the church? There is another view, one to which I subscribe. The Apostasy in a spiritual sense is that of the Jewish acceptance of the Antichrist by signing the 7-year covenant which includes the ability to have temple sacrifices, and the world in general with their acceptance of the Antichrist as savior. That is a specific event that can be seen immediately. The majority of the early Church fathers associated the Antichrist with the “falling away” some even going so far as giving the Antichrist the title of “The Apostasy”.  At the time of signing, the Jewish leaders know it is wrong yet, choose to do regardless of the scriptural truth they know. Instead of receiving protection, Israel increases her troubles exponentially. Idolatry at its worst.

Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. Isaiah 28:14-18

One could say the Jews fell into a falling away already when they rejected Jesus by ignoring the Old Testament prophecies that foretold of His first coming. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. John 5:43. Here, Jesus is prophesying the Jews will accept the Antichrist when he comes. The second condition: the Antichrist is revealed. Well, the revealing happens right after the falling away when Israel signs the 7-year covenant (Dan. 9:27). So, if you look around and see the 7-year covenant signed and the Antichrist revealed, then you missed the Rapture. If you don’t see these two conditions, then the Tribulation is yet to come. The Bible never once calls on Christians to look for the Antichrist, but to look for “that Blessed Hope” Titus 2:13.

Speaking of the Antichrist, Revelation speaks of a beast (The Antichrist) rising out of the sea, having seven heads. One of those heads receives a deadly wound, but then is healed.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Rev. 13:1-3.

It has been suggested that this ‘head’ is one of the world rulers or politicians at the time who is slain; the soul goes to hell but Satan revives the body and inserts a soul of a previous Roman Emporer that becomes the Antichrist. The world will see this happen and “all the world wondered after the beast”. The Old Testament confirms this deadly wound, giving further credence to the Apostasy of the Jewish people at the time of the signing since they will clearly recognize this “Idol” Shepherd by his specific wounds mentioned in Zechariah.

 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. Zech. 11:15-17

This passage in Zecharia finds ultimate fulfillment when the Antichrist comes. The word “Idol” means worthless. We can see this shepherd will receive a wound to the head, specifically the eye and his right arm. Interestingly, Jesus sits at the ‘right hand” of the Father and here the Antichrist loses his right arm. However, perhaps the resurrected soul is not that of a former Roman emperor.

The Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” Ecc. 1:9. I believe Satan’s original sin was that as a traitor committing treason against God in which he took a third of the Angels with him causing an ancient war within Heaven and our Solar system. But that is a story for another day. John and Luke record an instance when Satan enters into Judas in order to betray Jesus. Judas becomes a traitor, committing an act of treason against Jesus. 

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. Luke 22:3
 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. John 13:27.

God allowed Satan at this time to directly enter Judas to control his soul so the prophecy of Christ’ death and resurrection could be fulfilled. When Judas died after hanging himself on a tree, the Bible says he went to his “own” place. That is a specific indication he went somewhere outside the normal location of unbelievers in hell. “That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” Acts 1:25. It is possible upon death that Satan was also allowed to retain Judas’ soul for his own purposes.

Revelation calls the Antichrist the “son of perdition”. Perdition means destroying, utter destruction. “Son of perdition” is used exactly two times in the Bible.  

 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; 2 Thessalonians 2:3
 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. John 17:12

Jesus in the book of John names Judas the “son of perdition”.

 

Maranatha!

 

 

Falling….Falling Away

by atharris, posted in Ministry, Prophecy

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; 2Th 2:3

The falling away continues to accelerate at break neck speeds.

The Southern Baptist Convention Chooses Gay-Affirming Pastor as 2020 Conference President

…and in the video below, “Baptist Pastor, Larry G. Mills, Calls LGBTQ The Head Cornerstone – A Title Reserved For Jesus”.

 

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The “Falling Away” – Has It Happened?

by atharris, posted in Prophecy

The following was written by Gary Stearman. Enjoy,

separation-train-tracks1

As we watch the relentless downward spiral of global society, we recall that biblical prophecy states that the latter days would be marked by a collapse of faith, morality and ethics. The question we’re now asking ourselves is simple: Have we gone beyond the point of no return, or will there be spiritual revival?

No one can really answer this question. God’s plans are His own. But our clear perception in the light of biblical prophecy is that we’ve entered the latter days. Israel is back in the Holy Land, embroiled in an international conflict that precisely matches the Scriptural prophecies. Everywhere, dark occultic and demonic schemes are growing in prominence. Evil genetic experimentation is now a reality. Morality is overwhelmed by shameless behavior. Many Christian writers have illuminated these developments for years.

But for Christians, there is one prophecy that is at the top of the list.It tells us that prior to the Tribulation, something called “a falling away” must come. In the light of many other prophetic developments, this event seems to be in the process of happening at the present time. But we must ask: Is this really true, and how will we know when it has reached completion. In other words, how much worse must things get before Paul’s prophecy is fulfilled?

As we examine the meaning of the term above, we would first note that it seems to be describing a latter-day spiritual collapse. A few months after sending his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul sent them a second one. It was an update and clarification of that first epistle, which had carefully laid out the doctrine pertaining to the rapture of the church. And it dealt with a specific misunderstanding that had been spawned by deceptive false teachers in the interim period.

Certain “teachers” had entered congregations and had begun to point to the ongoing Roman persecution of Jews and Christians, coupled with a developing revolutionary undercurrent, as being prophetically significant. They taught that the Day of the Lord had already arrived. They were apparently persuading believers that the Tribulation had by that time begun, and that they were currently going through it.

Paul vigorously refuted this mistaken idea, while supporting his original statement that the rapture would come before the Day of the Lord. We believe that this “Day” will begin with seven horrific years of catastrophe.

Like Paul and his early followers, we too live in an increasingly tumultuous world. The constant downpour of new and dramatic anti-Christian developments is a daily reality. The state of Israel has set the stage for a procession of prophetic fulfillments. Bible-believing Christians of our era have honed their anticipation to a fine edge. For decades, we have been searching the Scriptures under the conviction that through them, the Lord will speak words of confidence, comfort and hope in a world that is spinning out of control.

But in a repeat of the way it happened in Paul’s day, there is now an increasing undercurrent of negative teaching, in which some Bible expositors are suggesting that the Day of the Lord will come while Christians are still on the Earth. In fact, many of them are presenting what they interpret as “evidence” of this fact. In other words, the same problem of interpretation that plagued early Christians is alive and well to this day.

Those of us who believe in a pretribulation rapture also live in the moment-by-moment expectation that our “blessed hope” will be realized during our lifetimes. We speak, of course, of our Lord’s promise to come and personally escort us home, as we experience rapture and resurrection. The timing of this event will be a total surprise! This is the doctrine of imminency, taught with great clarity by the Apostle Paul. He believed it, and taught the churches of his own day to live in the light of this blessed expectation … awaiting the Lord’s arrival … which they all believed could come at any moment:

“16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:16,17).

This was followed by Paul’s unequivocal statement that Christians won’t experience God’s coming judgment of planet Earth: “9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess. 5:9).

A Falling Away

Amazingly, these and other assurances written in First Thessalonians weren’t enough for the believers in Thessalonica. Some of them were still being persuaded that the wrath of God had already begun.

In the process of writing his second letter of clarification, Paul gave them (and us) a remarkable clue as to the sequence of events that would come before the Tribulation. Its opening statement is absolutely clear:

“1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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” (II Thess. 2:1-3).

The terms of Paul’s clarification are crystal clear. Here, he acknowledges that some of his contemporaries believed that the Day of the Lord (here called “the day of Christ”) has already arrived. Because of false prophecy, mistaken preaching or forged letters, they had become convinced that God’s wrath had fallen upon the world.

At the time this letter was written (in the first century, around AD 51), the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius was nearing its end, marked by debauchery, political deceit and finally, the assassination that brought Nero to power. Claudius had persecuted the Jews, who had previously felt safe in the empire. Both Jews and Christians were shocked and repulsed by increasing debauchery in the imperial household.

Furthermore, Claudius had appointed Herod Agrippa II as king of Chalcis. This dark king was married to his own sister, Bernice. This strange couple had become the focus of gossip throughout the empire. To make matters worse, Agrippa controlled politics and finances at the Temple in Jerusalem. And its priests had long since been corrupted by their unholy political alliance with both Roman and Herodian governance. Jerusalem, itself, had fallen into utter corruption.

Looking at these and other events, it would have been easy to conclude that the vaunted stability of the Roman government was rapidly disappearing. It was being replaced by unscrupulous madmen creating the general conception that danger lurked on every hand. (Nero would soon be in power). The Jewish priesthood was irreversibly corrupt, suggesting that God’s judgment could be near.

Yet, with all this upheaval taking place, Paul still assured the early church that the event that he called “a falling away” had yet to happen. This term is a translation of the Greek apostasia, generally regarded as signifying apostasy from the faith.

We know with historical certainty that this mysterious “falling away” didn’t happen throughout the first century. This period marked the beginning and building of the church, not its demise.

And even throughout the reigns of Nero, Vespasian, Titus and Domition, (AD 54-96) with their infamous and deadly persecutions of the early church, this critical “falling away” didn’t occur.

Instead, there followed a continuing shift of power away from Jewish control of the Holy Land. Finally, in AD 135, the emperor Hadrian presided over the total defeat of Jewish resistance. He renamed Jerusalem as “Aelia Capitolina.” Israel, he called “Syria Palestina.” The diaspora had begun.

During all these events, the “falling away” hadn’t occurred. How do we know this? Because Paul wrote that when it came, it would introduce a chain of events. First, the “man of sin” would be revealed to perform the act of standing up in the Holy of Holies of the Jewish Temple, claiming to be God:

“Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:4).

It seems almost unnecessary to point out that none of these things has happened yet. The “man of sin” has not presented himself as God, or even “a god.” He hasn’t enthroned himself in the Temple of God. Nor did he do this in the first century, before the Temple was destroyed in AD 70. After AD 135, Hadrian placed a pagan statue of Jupiter in the Temple … in a rebuilt version of the Holy of Holies. And he also placed a statue of himself on horseback standing before this obscene idol. But after a short time, it crumbled into history. Historically, this is as close as we can come to finding an example of Paul’s prophecy. From that time to this, no man has ever enthroned himself in the Temple, proclaiming himself as God. And thus the situation has remained throughout the Church Age.

A Test

As Paul carefully penned Second Thessalonians, he gave the believers there (and the faithful of our own time) a test scenario. It is comprised of a specific set of instructions for the purpose of determining whether or not the Day of the Lord had come. Given this information, no believer would ever again be able to teach that the Tribulation had already begun.

On the other hand, a non-believer, living in the period following the rapture will be able to use Paul’s letter to affirm that the Day of the Lord has in fact, begun. It will be a simple matter of observing his predicted scenario and applying a little logic.

It would all commence, he said, with the mysterious “falling away.” An immediate question comes to mind. Does the term, “falling away,” apply to society at large, or just to the church? The answer to this question seems simple enough. Those outside the church – the unredeemed – are already in a fallen state. Technically, they are presently apostate in their belief systems. Their only real moral and ethical restraint comes from what little influence they receive from the longstanding cultural traditions of Judeo- Christian teaching.

Societies of the Western world are still deeply influenced by a longstanding Christian ethos. It is faint, to be sure, but still discernable. The believing Church is still a force in society.

The Departure

However, from the prophecy of the seven churches in Revelation, it is well known that the Church Age will conclude in faithlessness … in growing apostasy. The first of these churches – Ephesus – is the church characterized by Apostolic zeal, as the Gospel is carried to an unbelieving world in the first century after Christ.

The last church – Laodicea – has fallen from the faith, and is in danger of being rejected:

“14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out

of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:14-17).

Here, we find the latter-day church, which has come to depend upon its own wealth rather than the power of the Holy Spirit. Technically, it has isolated itself from the central premise and the very reason for the existence of the church: Salvation and the Gospel.

As depicted by one of the Bible’s richest metaphors, Laodicea is in danger of being spat out of the Lord’s mouth! This is the equivalent of being rejected from His body … the body of Christ. In other words, this church is comprised of unsaved people, posing as devout believers. They have wealth, social power, beautiful buildings and a network of business connections. But they don’t have the Holy Spirit.

This idea is reinforced by the closing words of the Lord to this church. He invites them to come and have fellowship with Him. In the language of the church, this would be communion … the Lord’s Supper. His invitation to them is to join Him, in other words, to repent and be saved: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)

The Door Opens

Immediately following the Lord’s invitation, we arrive at Revelation, Chapter Four, in which we find the metaphor of a door being opened in heaven, and the Apostle John being invited by a heavenly voice to ascend into the heavens, where he receives his amazing apocalyptic Revelation. Many expositors have remarked that this scene is a perfect representation of the rapture.

In other words, we have an affirmation of Paul’s own description of the events that will surround the rapture of the church. The “falling away,” which Paul describes as the delineating marker for the beginning of the Day of the Lord, is identifiable as that time when the majority of the professing church lapses into apostasy.

One could make the case that this has been true several times since the Dark Ages. But it will actually be true in the moment following the departure of the body of Christ – the True Church – from planet Earth. Much of the organized church will remain here after this event, but one thing will radically change. It will be an apostate church that welcomes the social and governmental changes we regard as horrifying. Most of all, they will welcome the Antichrist as the savior of the world:

“6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. “8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming” (II Thess. 2:6-8).

The Holy Spirit, whom Paul identifies as the restraining force holding back the “mystery of iniquity,” will accompany the believing church into the heavens. As Christ’s body of believers is caught up, and the restraint of the Holy Spirit is no longer a factor, Paul’s “falling away” will become an actuality. Then, and only then, can the “man of sin” be revealed.

The numerous Old Testament prophecies about the Day of the Lord will impact the Earth like a string of dominoes, propelling an unprecedented series of catastrophes that will radically alter life on planet Earth.

The “falling away” hasn’t happened yet. But we seem to have arrived at a tipping point, when unbelievers in the church outnumber believers. No man can accurately discern their numbers. But God knows.

– Gary Stearman