APOSTASY – The Great falling Away

from The Patmos Paper E-magazine

“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.” 1 Timothy 4:1

Other versions say:

“abandon the faith” (NIV)

“fall away from the faith” NAS)

“turn away from the true faith” (NLT)

“turn from their faith” (CEV)

“desert the faith” (NET)

“shall apostatize from the faith” (Darby)

Greek word: ἀπαλλάσσω (Verb — apallasso) -signifying apostasy! Literally to draw away from, fall away, Refrain from and withdraw your beliefs.

The bible in many places talks about apostasy or falling away from the Lord. Israel fell away from God many times and got into idolatry. He would often cause calamity and many would repent and return to the Lord. The nation as a whole rejected God and was brought under the rule of Babylon, Assyria, Greece and finally Rome. During the first 300 years of the church many Christians were persecuted and martyred if they did not offer up incense to the emperor and worship him as God.

Many Christians apostatize and renounced Christ to save their lives. Later when Christianity was accepted under Constantine, there was a great debate in the church as to whether they would accept these apostates (called traitors to the faith) back into the church. Augustine urged forgiveness and toleration, but a African sect called the Donatists would not accept them back and this caused a great division in the church!

During the reformation, the Protestants declared that the Catholic church was in apostasy because they had become corrupt and departed from the scriptures in favor of tradition as well as entertaining certain pagan beliefs. This became known as the Great apostasy and thought to be the fulfillment of the great falling away declaration in Thessalonians. Many Protestant reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and Cotton Mather, felt the early church had been led into apostasy by the Papacy and identified it as the Antichrist.

John Wycliffe who opposed the teaching of the organized Church, believed they had clearly deviated from the original teachings of the early church and thus had become a wholly unscriptural entity. He concluded that there was a great contrast between what the Church had become and what it ought to be, and saw the necessity for reform. Thus the reformation was in part a declaration of an apostasy of the Catholic church and a return to the practices and teachings of the early church.

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches had developed from early on, the idea of infallibility of the Church but John Calvin and others saw them as an institution that had slowly turned away from the true teachings of Christ through corrupt popes, power hungry bishops and a carnal clergy who put the word of popes and the church over the word of God.

Though historically there have been great periods of personal and ecclesiastic backslidings, this is not the great apostasy in the bible. There are many who properly view the great apostasy as a future event, possibly before or when the Antichrist comes into power. Timothy said that the falling away or apostasy would occur in the “last” or “later days”. He viewed it not as just a condition but an end-time event. Paul wrote that the rapture would not come until there was a great falling away (the apostasy) first and the man of perdition (Anti-Christ) would be revealed. These are not just spiritual conditions but real time events:

“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 Thess. 2:3

Just as there is a spirit of anti-Christ that is already in the world and a real person anti-Christ that is to come, so there is also much backsliding and turning away from the faith throughout history but there will come some deception that will cause many to depart from the faith. This is a strong warning by the Spirit from the early church to the end-time church to be strong, vigilant and well anchored in Christ and in his word!

There has been much speculation as to what could cause such a movement of “Christian departure”; everything from deception of space aliens, and arrival of Nephilim giants to an Islam takeover or the Antichrist persecution and martyrdom of Christians.

Whatever the event, there could be a combination of underlying conditions that could prepare the hearts of many Christians to depart from the faith and many of those conditions are present in the world now which could be an indicator that we are indeed in the last days. Some of those conditions are as follows:

Apostasy Because Of The Condition Of The Church

If it is true that the churches in Revelation represent the history of the ages then we are indeed living in the Laodicean end-time church age. We have become lukewarm rather than hot or cold and it is a taste that makes even Jesus vomit. Today many mega churches are involved in entertainment instead of true worship, a social gospel involving human causes rather than the cause of Christ; dead messages rather than the gospel, carnality rather than real spirituality and has become an institutional failure rather than in inspirational fellowship. The church in the 60's was so dead that Time declared on the front cover that God was Dead! Church attendance had dropped and denominational churches became lifeless institutions with no move of the spirit. God proved them wrong with the release of the global Jesus movement followed by the charismatic movement, faith movement, and other moves of God! It seems however that the church is headed back to a backsliding state as less Americans are religious than ever and attendance is starting to fall as spirituality is waning. In my 50 years of serving God I have never heard so many people complaining about how they are so frustrated with church. The sermons are dry and the youth groups have become little more than clubs, So many people are finding with few exceptions it harder and harder to find a good church. With the onslaught of mega churches, personal intimacy and deep fellowship has been replaced with a social community of “church involvement” rather than kingdom involvement or we have become a body of observers rather than doers. Some believe there will be one more great move of God! I certainly hope so but unfortunately the masses tend to eventually drift away, fall back or sadly even depart from the faith.

The other effect of the church that will cause many to depart is the corruption and compromise that many churches are embracing. It is becoming a frequent thing when you hear of some pastor that fell into adultery or absconded with the church funds. You will always have wolves in sheep clothing that put on a great show until their sins are found out. Unfortunately when you strike the shepherd the sheep will scatter. Many sheep have been wounded by church divisions and splits and after being stranded and wounded many have become disillusioned by church leadership.

Also many churches are compromising with the world and thus abandoning Gods word for social acceptance. Homosexuality has been accepted by many church denominations and brought abomination to the church. Some will depart out of disgust and others will be offended by their hypocrisy! Paul even in his day saw this tendency and said concerning his death:

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.” Acts 20:29

Apostasy Because Of The Condition Of The World

Jesus described the conditions of the last days and it was not a pretty picture. There are physical signs that take a toll on faith such as wars, famines, earthquakes, etc. But there were also many spiritual conditions that effect the heart such as deception, the increase of wickedness and the love of many growing cold. Paul talks about the spiritual conditions of the endtimes in Second Timothy:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” 2 Timothy 3:3-5 (NIV)

Apostasy Because Of False Teaching!

Jesus said in the last days there would be false prophets and false teachers, thus error would creep into the church. A departure from scripture will lead many into apostasy.

Because of intellectual error such as evolution we live in the most atheistic society ever because many no longer believe in a Creator because science tells them we have created ourselves through random evolution. Even many Christians have been caught up in the evolutionary lie and struggle reconciling the bible with so called science. Paul also told Timothy:

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and the oppositions of science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith” 1 Timothy 6:20–21 (KJV).

This so called science falsely is “pseudo-science” or “pseudo knowledge” and has called many to question their beliefs.

Apostasy Because Of Persecution!

Finally Jesus said many Christians would fall away because of persecution.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.” Matthew 24:9,10

The nations will at some point hate Christians! Will it be an Islamic takeover or a Anti-Christ eradication? We do not know! But something will cause many to depart from the faith and commit apostasy but he who endures to the end shall be saved. The Anti-Christ who is Satan in the flesh will come soon and pure evil will run rampant in the world. The scriptures indicate that the precursor for this event is a great falling away. It is hopeful that the Lord will deliver His people before that great and terrible day but we must draw nearer to the Lord as never before and remain faithful as He is faithful. Many have endured much suffering, hardship and even death for the Lord but the last generation must give witness to an enduring faith, a better hope and a willing commitment to remain true to the very end.

Maranatha!