The falling away of the church

Olga has asked about where the Bible says there will be an end-times revival. I’m not sure what she believes on the subject, and though I could extrapolate a little from things she’s said, I won’t do that.

There are many who say that there can be no great end times revival… the Bible talks about the “falling away” and therefore the church must become apostate. But that’s not a problem because Jesus is coming and He’s going to keep that promise that if you mumbled some words once it doesn’t matter how you live, because your ticket’s punched for the train to heaven.

I maintain that SOME of the church will fall away… but not all of it. Those who fall away will NOT be going to heaven. The church is being jolted right now. Some will come out of complacency and into the sonship of the Lord. Some will retreat to comfortable hidey-holes and continue on as before. Some will rise up powerful and some will rise up hateful.

There’s plenty of Bible to support that theory (read on), and the dreams and visions God has given me recently back it up too.

LONG POST WARNING

Before we go into justifying what God’s up to at the moment (as if!), let’s look at this theory. It’s based on a passage from 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 3 and 4:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

And also from Matthew Chapter 24:

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. 15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

And another, this time from 2 Timothy 3:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Well.

There are two schools of thought regarding the status of the church in the end times. The first, and quite probably the most prevalent, is that the church will “fall away” and then Jesus will come. The second is that the church (or a remnant thereof) will experience a renewing of faith and trust in her Savior, in anticipation of the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Let’s do a quick A+B=C scenario. IF the church MUST fall away AND THEN Jesus will come, what are we waiting for? Let’s ditch church, drink, smoke, and have casual sex and only refer to Jesus’ name as a swear word. Let’s become pro-gay (or just gay), pro-abortion, and off the old folks and the disabled. If that’s what it will take to get Jesus on the scene, it shouldn’t take long.. (oh, but wait… most of the church already does that. Hmmmm. Maybe those of us who adore Him are what’s holding Him up?)

I maintain that the above verses (and similar ones) are grossly misinterpreted by some readers. Let’s dissect:

Let no one deceive you by any means;

Some will be deceived. Some will not.

for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,

The falling away must come… and indeed, there’s only One to fall away FROM. So there will be some who fall away. But hearken back to the “Let no one deceive you”… those who are not deceived will not fall away. Those who are deceived will fall away.

and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

This refers to a yet-future event. Many have theorized and hypothesized all sorts of people and things, ranging from the Pope to Osama to individual men placing themselves higher than God in God’s temple (their hearts). While I believe that this passage refers to a particular person at a particular, future point in history, there are many things in the Bible with dual meaning and I think this is one. Those who are deceived oppose God, they exalt themselves above all that He’s doing and above the worship going forth to Him, sitting even as God in the temple of their hearts, content in all their knowledge of rightness. (warning: danger!)

And then look, Jesus says the same thing (well, actually, Paul said the same thing as Jesus said to the Thessalonians but we’re going backwards here)…

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

Again… why would Jesus say, “Take heed”, if all will be deceived?

5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

This is happening right now in Miami and Siberia, among other places… and the church is by and large ignoring the fact that men have risen up, gained HUGE amounts of followers and large amounts of money, and have proclaimed themselves to be the Christ. This is no flashy misleading of people – this is a direct statement these men are making: I am the Christ. Worship me. (and instead those deceived focus on men who proclaim Jesus to the nations… thus proving their deception).

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Bad stuff will surely happen, but what did Jesus say? See that you are not troubled. Implying that some will be, but those who know Him need not be troubled.

9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Why will Christians be hated? Surely not for being loose and apostate… friendship with the world gets you everywhere with the world. Jesus said we would be hated for His name’s sake… that means that SOMEBODY in the church is going to STAND UP FOR HIS NAME.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Well my goodness. Isn’t that what’s happening now? Many are offended. Why? Somebody in the church is standing up for the Name of Jesus. And so they are offended, they betray the brethren, and the hate is so evident it’s almost a tangible thing.

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

Ahhh, false prophets. That gets slung at people in the apostolic/prophetic movement a lot. It’s even been slung at me recently.

What is a false prophet? I’ve heard people say that “false prophets” are anybody who says something that doesn’t come true, and therefore (A+B=C) they must be put to death. But is that what the Word of God says?

Deut. 13:1 ”If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’--which you have not known–’and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God,

So… false prophets deserving of death are those who urge people to TURN AWAY from God. Not those who urge people to turn TOWARD Him. (Interestingly the same folks who natter on wildly about killing false prophets would not stone their teenager if they became Wiccan, or their mother if she became an atheist… to which I say, “uh-huh”.)

What does God say about prophets who speak things that do not come to pass? Deuteronomy 18:22… when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken, the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him. But take note – for how many years was it prophesied that Messiah would come? How long must we wait before judging a prophecy incorrect?

Furthermore, why would God tell us in the New Testament that in the church, prophecies must be judged… but not give any sort of prescription for the stoning of people who earnestly speak what they think God has said but don’t get it quite right? Hmmmm.

Back to the passage we were dissecting:

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Lawlessness abounds. That IS talking about the falling away… and many will indeed fall away from Christ in the last days. This IS talking about the church. But Jesus did not say the love of all will grow cold. He never said the entire church will fall away. Since He says in Revelation that he’s going to vomit the lukewarm folks out of His mouth, there is a strong implication here that the love of at least SOME folks will grow HOT.

Speaking of Revelation, again in Chapter 3, Jesus says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” In Luke 12:9, He said, “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”… so if in the end times the church falls from Christ, denying Him, WHO THEN IS HE RETURNING FOR?

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Jesus just repeats Himself, doesn’t He? If he who endures to the end will be saved… what of those who fall away? (I don’t know whether to laugh, or cry, at the notion that one can fall from God, remain fallen, and be saved…it’s preposterous.)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

If the church must fall away first, who’s going to preach the gospel? Who will be able to witness?

(I’m skipping over the part about the tribulation because it’s not relevant to my point. There will be tribulation, and that’s all there is to it.)

22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

The elect are who… the fallen-away, don’t care for God church?

23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

I’ve already addressed the issue of false christs… but false prophets is a contentious issue. I find it interesting that the only false prophet I can find in the NT is a sorcerer who sought to turn the proconsul from the faith.

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Again, are the “elect” the ones who have denied Him by falling away?

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:

This bit of Scripture has been used by many a heresy hunter and revival policeman, and I occasionally agree with them with regards to preachers being lovers of money. It takes money – sometimes in large amounts – for ministry… and it’s right and proper for ministers to raise money. The Apostle Paul did. However, a minister doesn’t generally need gold-plated toilets and fine mansions and limousines (to paraphrase Senator Grassley, Jesus made do with a donkey…)

There will be perilous times in the last days. No doubt. But if the church is who will fall away, then ALL in the church will be the following things:

2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

And, as I said before, if such will hasten the coming of Jesus, maybe we should go for it? (I think not)

Let’s look at this for a moment.

Men will be lovers of themselves. Me #1. That’s pretty typical of America and of much of the Western church… but not all of it. Lovers of themselves think they are powers in their own right – particularly intellectually.

Men will be lovers of money. I see this being partly a preacher thing… but I see it also in those believers who insist on stockpiling food and supplies.

Men will be boasters and proud (of themselves) – in these days, it’s seemingly the case with those standing against the move of God. Look at me! Look at how holy and righteous I am! Thank God I’m not like those people….

Men will blaspheme – they only want God on their terms. If He comes on His terms, forget it. They’ll denounce anything they don’t like because, again, men are lovers of themselves…

Disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, lovers of pleasure rather than of God – when have we ever seen such, as in these days? Indeed, even in the church. (but is it all the church? no.)

Unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty… PLEASE google Todd Bentley’s name – or mine, for that matter – and see how the church treats its own in these last days. (but is it all the church? no.)

On that lovers of pleasure thing… for a moment… There is a price to pay for the anointing. How many do not carry any level of God’s power and anointing simply because they choose the pleasures of the world and their own comfort? What price are you willing to pay? Some in the church will give anything… do anything… for Him and for His glory.

having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

There’s the crux of it… having religion but lacking life.

Paul exhorted us to STAY AWAY from people who are caught up in religion, who make people captives, who are always learning and never coming to knowledge of the truth. Now, why would Paul admonish to turn away from such if he knew that none would?

so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

There will be men and women of corrupt minds who deny what God is doing through others, and who will effectively block Him from moving in themselves. Their concern is godliness, not the manifest presence of God, not His glory, not HIM. But their folly WILL be manifest.

The falling away will indeed come from within the church. Sinners have nothing to fall away FROM. I believe it has begun. God is separating the wheat and the tares. The wise virgins are making sure their lamps are full of oil.

Ah. I just found another passage that illustrates my point quite nicely… I was looking up the parable of the ten virgins and saw the end of Matthew 24. Paraphrase: The evil servant says, “gonna fall away, it doesn’t really matter what I do”.. he attacks his fellow servants (!!!) and eats and drinks with the drunkards. What happens to him? The master shows up, cuts him in two, and appoints him his portion with the hypocrites. GET THIS: There’s not going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth in HEAVEN… the portion of the church that falls away isn’t going.

In the parable of the ten virgins, what happens to the ones who were not prepared (obviously illustrating Christians, because why would sinners have lamps and be looking toward the Bridegroom coming???)… the foolish virgins go chasing after Him saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” and Jesus says, “I do not know you.”

I weep for the segment of the church that refuses to turn WHOLEheartedly to God in these last days.

I’m already well over an hour late to get started on work for the day… so I need to leave off here. Perhaps during lunch I’ll come back to this issue.