“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…”- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (New King James Version)

Many Christians today believe that an amazing, worldwide revival will occur in the Last Days, in which hundreds of millions – or even billions – of people will come to Christ.  The Bible, however, teaches that a terrible “failing away” or “apostasy” occurs in the Last Days instead.  “Apostasy” is the Greek word for “falling away.”   continue

2 Timothy 4:3-5 - “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

The New Testament prophecies say that before the Lord’s Return, there will be a “Great Apostasy” (2 Thessalonians2:3), or falling away from the Truth, among those who call themselves Christians.  We see the evidence of this all around us, and it is important to dedicate ourselves completely to the Lord lest we fall into the same trap.   continue

2 Peter 2:1-3 - “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”

One of the most serious problems for God’s people in the Old Testament was the influence of false prophets, who misguided the entire nation (see the disturbing passages in 1 Kings 18:18-40; 1 Kings 22:6-23; Nehemiah 6:14; Isaiah 28:7, 44:25; Jeremiah 14:14; 23:32-34; 28:1-2; Lamentations 2:14; Ezekiel 13:1-9; Hosea 4:5; Micah 2:6, 3:5-11; Zephaniah 3:4; and Zechariah 13:2).  They spoke in the name of the Lord, but their words were not really from God Himself.  In many cases, the source of the problem was their financial arrangement – they received money or gifts in exchange for prophesying, so they naturally had to tell people what they wanted to hear in order to get more business.  They were a major contributing factor in the apostasy of Israel.  God rejected His own chosen people as a result.     continue

“…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 them.” - 2 Timothy 3:1-5

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“For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” - Jude 1:4

Many believers today expect a great End-Times revival where large portions of the world’s population convert to evangelical Christianity.  Many Christian books and preachers popularized this view.  It is true that the Bible describes a special outpouring and operation of the Holy Spirit for the faithful church immediately before the Rapture, but there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that that there will be an easy, massive harvest in our time.  Jesus told the disciples that the harvest was plentiful in their day (Matthew 9:37) , but then told them that in the Last Days, the love of most would grow cold because of the increase in wickedness (Matthew 24:12).

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