01 - Alarming Apostasy 2009

"Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [Jesus' return] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction," (2 Thess. 2:3, NASB).

APOSTASY means to FALL AWAY FROM THE TRUTH. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God.

APOSTASY is a rebellion against God because it is a rebellion against truth. In the Old Testament God warned the Jewish people about falling away into idolatry. In the New Testament the epistles warn us about falling away from the truth.

Paul warned in 1Tim. 4:1-2:

“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.”

And Paul warned the Thessalonians:

"Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition)…” (2 Thess. 2:3, AMP).

Many are looking for the coming of the anti-Christ. But what Paul calls “the apostasy” must come first. Most Christians are looking for the anti-Christ but are not looking for signs of apostasy.

Apostasy is always about denying the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at a few Primary Essentials on the Nature and work of Jesus Christ that apostates turn away from. You cannot deny the following truths and be a true Christian since they are explicitly stated in scripture.

Jesus is both God and man (John 1:1,14;8:24; Col. 2:9; 1 John 4:1-4).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—John 1:1

Jesus rose from the dead physically (John 2:19-21).

Salvation is by grace through faith (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 5:1-5).

The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Gal. 1:8-9).

Jesus was born of a virgin (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23).

Has the church of today begun to turn from these truths?

According to a survey generated by a random sample of senior clergy taken between March 3 and September 15, 2008 from each of the seven largest mainline Protestant denominations with 2,658 respondents, the final data emerged:

Two-thirds of mainline clergy disagree that "the Bible is the inerrant word of God, both in matters of faith and in historic, geographical, and other secular matters." Only 29 percent of mainline clergy agree that the Bible is inerrant.

Inerrant: The original text of the Bible was divinely inspired, and nothing has been lost in the transmission and translation. Containing no mistakes.

2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

A majority of clergy in every denomination—except the American Baptist Churches—do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, with clergy from the Episcopal Church least likely to believe so.

Only 10 percent say cultural issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage are the most important national issues.

51 percent of all mainline clergy support the legality of abortion in all or most cases

65 percent support either same-sex marriage or civil unions

54 percent do not support the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in public school biology classes

43 percent disagree that evolution is the best explanation for the origins of life on earth. So…only 57 percent of mainline denominational leaders believe that Creation by the hand of God is valid!!

This poll shows a shocking and tragic departure from the Word of God.

George Barna also released a poll of professing Christians on January 12 that revealed:

Christians expressed a variety of unorthodox beliefs. Nearly half of those interviewed do not believe in the existence of Satan, one-third believe Jesus sinned while on earth, and two-fifths say they don't have a responsibility to share their faith with others.

AND IN a major Pew research poll of 35, 000 Americans, 65 percent of American Christians (including 47 percent of Evangelicals) think that many different religions can lead to eternal life. Among these Christians, 80 percent cited one non-Christian faith as a route to salvation; 61 percent named two or more.

Major denominations are reeling from the effects of encroaching apostasy.

One Presbyterian pastor recently voiced his dismay as Presbyterians in Charlotte approved an amendment that would open the way for the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals. He writes:

"The approved amendment, in violating the teachings of Scripture and our confessional history, puts the church in the position of accommodating itself to a culture that is demanding permission for behaviors and patterns of life that, while self-gratifying, are not biblically permissible," states the pastor of Carmel Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., in a commentary published Thursday in The Charlotte Observer.

Meanwhile, the Presbytery of Charlotte – a regional body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – voted 177-139 to support a constitutional amendment that would delete language requiring clergy "to lead a life in obedience to Scripture" and to live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness."

In the west there is an undeniable apostasy taking place among many of the denominations that once served as bulwarks of the truth of scripture.

Who Was and is Jesus?

Jesus once asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

He said to them, But who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘You are blessed, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven"’ (Matthew 16:13-17).

Notice, Jesus first asked who the crowd thought that He was. Then He wanted to know Who His disciples thought He was.

It’s the same today. The crowd will give you endless beliefs and ideas on Who Jesus was. But if anyone should know the correct answer, it is His disciples.

So, Who was and Who is Jesus?

The Book of Colossians was written to counter apostasy way back in the first century. It is all about clarifying the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Several passages begin the words, “He is” and proceed to tell us Who Jesus was and is.

“He is the image of the invisible God…”—1:15

“Image” a precise reproduction. Jesus said to Philip, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.”—John 14:9

God is invisible, yet Jesus was the visible, precise reproduction of the unseen God.

“He is the firstborn over all creation…”

This is not stating that Jesus was the first creature to experience being born. This would mean that He had a beginning.

The word “firstborn” means first “begotten.” Jesus was the first and only to have been literally “begotten” or “conceived” of God in the womb of the virgin Mary.

This is why John said, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”

Jesus had no beginning as one who is born and begins his existence. Jesus was God incarnate, therefore His existence spans eternity past!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

When the beginning began, Jesus as the second member of the Godhead was already there!

When Micah predicted the coming of Messiah, he described Him as one “whose goings forth have been from of old, from eternity.”—5:2

He appears often in the Old Testament in what we call “Christophanies.”

In the Old Testament we read of: "the angel of the LORD." This angel (lit. messenger) claimed to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. Ex. 3:1-6). He claimed to be the great "I AM" (cf. Ex. 3:13-14). In Genesis 22, we see the angel of the LORD instructing Abraham as to the sacrifice of his son Isaac. In verse 12, the angel of the LORD told Abraham, "I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son. . . . from me." In Genesis 31:11 the angel of the Lord called Jacob in a dream. And in verse 13 the angel of God said, "I am the God of Bethel. . . . "

Clearly then, the angel of the LORD or God, claimed to be God Almighty Himself (see also Gen. 32:22-30; Judg. 6:11-22, 13:17-22).

This angel could not have been the God the Father, Scripture is clear: NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN THE FATHER AT ANY TIME (cf. John 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 John 4:12). God the Father is invisible (cf. Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17). So if this angel of the LORD is not the Father, who then? The most probable answer is that this angel was the pre-incarnate Jesus.

Paul tells us that the Rock that followed the people in the wilderness was Jesus Christ.

The “fourth Man” in the fiery furnace with the 3 Hebrew children was recognized by Neb. as being “the Son of God.”

In verse 17 of Col. 1, Paul leaves no doubt about this.

“And He Himself is before all things…”

The phrase “before all things” means “before all things in time.”

And back to verse 15, He is…

“…over all Creation.”

He is the Sovereign ruler over the whole created order. This includes things visible or invisible; whether it be thrones, dominions, principalities or powers, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, holds sovereign sway over them all!

He is the holder-together of the entire created order

“…and by Him all things consist.”

“Consist” means “to cohere.” Put simply: Jesus Christ is the reason the universe is a cosmos and not a chaos.

For instance, the principle of gravity, which keeps all things fixed and in their place, and regulates the motions of things moving is an expression of His mind.