APOSTASY BEGINS

2Th 2:1-12 MSG
1  Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him.
2  Don’t let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master’s arrival has come and gone.
3  Don’t fall for any line like that. Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan.
4  He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as “God Almighty.”
5  Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short?
6  You’ll also remember that I told you the Anarchist is being held back until just the right time.
7  That doesn’t mean that the spirit of anarchy is not now at work. It is, secretly and underground.
8  But the time will come when the Anarchist will no longer be held back, but will be let loose. But don’t worry. The Master Jesus will be right on his heels and blow him away. The Master appears and—puff!—the Anarchist is out of there.
9  The Anarchist’s coming is all Satan’s work. All his power and signs and miracles are fake,
10  evil sleight of hand that plays to the gallery of those who hate the truth that could save them.
11  And since they’re so obsessed with evil, God rubs their noses in it—gives them what they want.
12  Since they refuse to trust truth, they’re banished to their chosen world of lies and illusions.

Apostasy Defined – From biblestudytools.com/dictionary

a-pos’-ta-si, a-pos’-tat (he apostasia, “a standing away from”):

I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the Greek original, to express abandonment of the faith. Paul was falsely accused of teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses (Acts 21:21); he predicted the great apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Matthew 24:10-12) which would precede “the day of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). (

During my earlier years of ministry I use to expound that in the last days before the return of Christ that there would be a great global revival; I now after about forty years and thousand of hours later of study I believe I was wrong in this theory.  Yes, I knew this particular passage but that was before I changed my view on the Church and the tribulation. My previous thought of revival and the Scripture above cannot abide in the same place, they are contradictory.  God’s Word always superceedes man’s thought and theory.

If you have been one that has a strong grasp of the Word of God and End Time Bible Prophecy that both the thesis of a great revival and the above portion of Scripture know then that these two are contradictory.

There is not one person living or dead except God himself knows the day or the hour of the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  However, Christ did tell us we can know the season and of the events preceeding His second coming.

Mat 24:3-14 MSG
3  Later as he was sitting on Mount Olives, his disciples approached and asked him, “Tell us, when are these things going to happen? What will be the sign of your coming, that the time’s up?”
4  Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers.
5  Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people.
6  When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end.
7  Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places.
8  .This is nothing compared to what is coming
9  “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name.
10  And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.
11  “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people.
12  For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.
13  “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved.
14  All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

For some time now I have been noticing what I would deem as alarming.  A trend where those in leadership are restructuring the very essence of their services.  I truly believe that this is starting to go down a slippery slope.

When asked why, the answer of ninety-nine percent is this, “we are trying to attract more youth”.  I agree for congregations to contine throughout the decades is the adding of congregants.  My concern is the method/s taken to achieve this goal.

During the “charismatic” and “word of faith” movements the first method was the style of music during the worship portion of the service.  I have for as long as I can remember that songs sung in a minor chord arrangement denotes slavery and bondage.  It started when Israel was captured.  They took their harps and hanged them on willow trees.

Psa 137:1-9 KJV
1  By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4  How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?
5  If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6  If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7  Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8  O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9  Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

To the undiscerning these songs sounded happy, upbeat music. The beat might be foot tapping, but they were to be songs of captivity and defeat.  This is not so for the believer, the body of Christ for He went to the bowels of the earth.

Col 2:6-15 KJV
6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Eph 4:8-10 KJV
8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Go back to the time of King David of Israel and the armies of Israel had gone into enemy territories and re-captured the ark of the covenant.  We see the dangers of touching the ark of the covenant incorrectly results in death. Handled correctly victory in the camp of Israel.  David gets in front of the armies and begins to dance and sing a song of victory, a song in the major chord.  This could be applied as an example of the body of Christ for He through His death and resurrection was victorous over death, hell, and the grave.  Just to add one more thought; I believe in the dance, but, however it should be by the unctioning of the Holy Ghost and not man made.

Take note of the atmosphere among the people who were ushering Christ through the gate of Jerusalem.  It was jubilant filled with glorious praise.

Mar 11:1-11 KJV
1  And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2  And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3  And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4  And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5  And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6  And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7  And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8  And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9  And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
11  And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

I am of the opinion that this was the slow start into what Paul describes in Thessalonians as “apostasy”(the falling away).

In part two I would like to address another sign of the falling away.  I would like to address the attitude now in the sanctuaries across North America and around the world.