The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines apostasy as:
A public denial of a previously held religious belief and a distancing from the community that holds to it. Almost always it has connotations of rebellion, betrayal, treachery or faithlessness.
Greek transliteration is: a falling away or turning away
The best I can determine, the word apostasy is found only twice in the NT. Acts 21:21, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3, we will take a closer look at the latter of these two passages as well as some others that teach us about the falling away.
One other definition I’d like to examine before we get going is the phrase “end-times” or “last days”.
For the purpose of today’s message end-times or last days is:
From the time Jesus first appears until His Second Coming.
Today, we are considering how apostasy correlates to end times.
BODY
Today’s message is centered around Jude’s epistle, which is 1 Chapter long. We’ll be looking at other scripture that supports Jude’s epistle, as we consider:
What is apostasy?
3 types or areas of apostasy.
As Christians, what is our response to apostasy?
What is apostasy?
I gave you the definition, but we need to understand who is an apostate.
Not the same as an unbeliever.
An apostate once believed in God, but has since rejected Him.
Has fallen or turned away from God.
I’d like to begin looking at scripture and understand how serious God takes the apostate.
Let’s start in the OT:
Deuteronomy 13:1–5 ““If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 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,’ 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. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 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, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.”
Deuteronomy 13:6–11 ““If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.”
Pretty serious stuff, huh?
Now, something in the NT:
Hebrews 6:4–6 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
This is what we are examining today.
In doing this we will consider three types or areas of apostasy:
Apostasy of the individual
The apostasy of the body of Christ
The apostasy of a nation
As mentioned, our message is centered around Jude, but only touch on a few key points in Jude, before we dig in a bit deeper in other passages.
Epistle of Jude is 1 chapter consisting of 25 verses.
He was brother of James and 1/2 brother of Jesus.
(see Matt 13:55, and Mark 6:3.)
3 main themes:
Battle for the Faith (contend)
Judgement
Hope
Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
When he sat down to write to them, he had a whole nuther sermon in mind!
I’m convinced the Holy Spirit moved him to write something different.
Contend (or battle) earnestly for the Faith.
Jude 5 “But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”
He is exhorting them: you don’t want to go there!
Jude 11–13 “Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
Jude is describing those that have fallen away as:
dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you
shameless shepherds who care only for themselves
clouds blowing over the land w/o giving any rain
trees in autumn doubly dead
wind waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameless deeds
wondering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness
Let’s look at some verses that bolster Jude’s words, beginning in:
2 Timothy 3:1–4 “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, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”
2 Timothy 3:5–9 “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 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, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”
Let’s unbox these verses for a few minutes:
2 Timothy 3:1 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:” (the time of appearance of Christ, till the Second Coming)
2 Timothy 3:2–4 “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”
Long laundry list the apostate!
Let’s look at the last part of v4 first:
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Why do you think it is so tempting to “love pleasure rather than love God?”
Maybe it is because pleasure is something we can control?
God cannot be controlled.
Most pleasures are easily attainable.
Love for God requires effort and sometimes even sacrifice.
Therefore we too often, forfeit commitment for pleasure or comfort.
And the benefits of loving God all too often, happen in the future.
Pleasure has a narcotic effect-taking away pain and problems in our lives. Much more immediate results!
2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
a form of godliness is an outward appearance of reverence for God, but denying the power of God.
Evidence of religious activity, connected to Jesus, but hollow on the inside “going through the motions”.
Locking the door in Crockett. Mindlessly going through the motions.
2 Timothy 3:6 “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,”
gullible women- it is easy to see how some make take offense to this somewhat unbecoming description of women, but let’s understand what his meaning here is.
Paul is reminding Timothy of something we see in:
1 Timothy 5:13–15 “And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan.”
You want to get people in today’s western culture riled up, just say “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house,
Controversial statement warning:
Due to heavy taxation on the American people, resulting in the need for dual income families, has resulted in shredding the basic fabric of the family!
Along with single parent households, and feminism.
My point with saying all that, is that we have become conditioned to be offended by such statements as that made by Paul.
How frequently do we:
give opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan.”
Paul is saying “give no opportunity to the adversary (satan) to express disapproval, blame or censure.”
Because we have given the adversary the opportunity to express disapproval, blame or censure, we have become conditioned to be offended by such statements as Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house,
His concern is that people will become apostates, if satan is given the chance.
2 Timothy 3:6 “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,”
“Creep into households” most troublesome part of Paul’s warning. This “falling away” is a gradual transition, not an “all of a sudden” happening!
Matthew 24:12 AMP Jesus said “because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.”
As “they” creep into our households, lawlessness increases until MOST people will grow cold.
Not just a few…MOST
I’m going to encourage you to walk around your house and your probably: anything creeping in? Take an honest inventory. Are there things that you have grown attached to, that maybe need to be removed? I fear this will be more challenging than most of us are willing to admit!
2 Timothy 3:7 NLT “such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth”.
That’s an ouch!
Men and women need to be truth seekers!
2 Timothy 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;”
Jannes and Jambres are not named in the OT, but according to Jewish tradition, they were 2 Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses.
Here’s why thy opposed Moses: Corrupt people resist the truth because it unveils their shameful thinking and behavior!
Let’s move to our next passage:
This is what is known as Jesus’ sermon on Mount of Olives.
Jesus gives a long discourse to a question the disciples asked of Him.
Matthew 24:3 “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?””
They asked:
What will be the sign of Your coming, and the sign of the end of the age.
In verse 9 Jesus gives them the straight skinny!
I’m sure that is not what they expected to hear!
A few months ago, I encouraged you to read Matthew chapter 24. So just to be sure you read it, please stand while we honor God and read Matthew 24 in it’s entirety! Just kidding!
Please stand while we read Matthew 24:9-14 together.
Matthew 24:9–14 ““Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 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.”
Jesus said “ then they will deliver you...”
“Then many will be offended...”
“Then many false prophets...”
“…and then the end will come”.
Matthew 24:10 NLT and many will turn away
the AMP version of the last part of that verse “and will be betray one another, handing over believers to the persecutors”. I couldn’t help think about how Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and handed Him over to the prosecutors.
Matthew 24:13 “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Greek transliteration of these phrases:
“who endures”- holds ones ground in conflict. suffers, perseveres
“to the end”-completion, consummation, fulfillment
“shall be saved”- from eternal death
v13 “but the ones who suffer and holds their ground in perseverance, to the completion and fulfillment, shall be saved from eternal death.
Remember “remnants” from last week? Here’s that definition again: people who have survived the onslaught of the enemy
Matthew 24 is the sermon on the Mount of Olives, right?
Check this out, church please listen to this:
Zechariah 14:2–4 “For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.”
I want to again urge you to read Matthew chapter 24!
Let’s look at two final verses in Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:24–25 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (that is the chosen, the remnants). See, I have told you beforehand.”
Jesus is saying, “when it all comes down, remember I told you in advance, that this was coming.
I know we are covering a lot of ground today, but I believe it necessary to grasp the gravity of apostasy.
2 Thes 2:1-12 Paul is addressing false teachings.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 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, 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.”
2 Thessalonians 2:5–8 “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9–12 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
2 Thessalonians 2:2 “not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.”
As Christians, we are caught in the tension between the possibility of Christ’s immediate return, and the impossibility of predicting that exact moment.
v.1-3 don’t be fooled.
v3 AMP Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first, that is the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians, and the man of lawlessness is reveal, the son of destruction, the Antichrist, the who who is destined to be destroyed.
v4-7 a lot of uncertainty of Paul’s intent here, but I believe Paul is saying God is restraining the man of lawlessness (satan) until He (God) decides to “cut him loose” into his path of destruction.
2 Thessalonians 2:10 “and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
They once believed, but they will be deceived and perish.
Let’s see what we can do to wrap this up.
By now, if you haven’t already, may be asking yourself, “why hasn’t Jesus returned”.
I think we can find the answer in:
2 Peter 3:9–14 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;”
2 Peter 3:8 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
God’s timing is not our timing!
Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Peter is not saying God is waiting until everyone is saved, but He is being patient (and holding back the rebellion, for now) to give everyone the chance to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
His coming will be:
Sudden
Unexpected
and cataclysmic
There will be no time to re-act. The time to prepare our hearts is now!
We’ve looked at individuals as apostates, the church; that is the body of Christ, as apostates, now let’s briefly look at when a nation becomes apostate.
Found in 2 Chronicles 28
King Ahaz completely turned away from God. The whole nine yards of turning away from God. We’ve seen Israel turn away from God, and here is another time that as a nation, they fall away from God. We see God’s wrath poured out on Israel.
Let’s consider how this apostasy relates to America today.
Signs of apostasy and described in scripture:
2 Tim 3:1-9 we find:
lovers of selves
lovers of money
boasters
prideful
blasphemers
disobedient to parents
unthankful
unholy
unforgiving
slanderers
lacking self-control
brutal
despisers of good
traitors
haughty
lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God
having a form of godliness but denying it’s power
Matthew 24:9-14 we see:
religious deception
social and political upheavals
natural disasters
disloyalty
persecution
1 Timothy 4:1–2 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
departure from the Faith
trusting in deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons
speaking lies and hypocrisy
their consciences are dead
2 Timothy 4:3–4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
not endure or believe in sound doctrine
itching ears-find false teachers who will teach what they want to hear
believing in fables or myths as they turn away from the truth
Closing
As Christians how do we respond to apostasy?
Per usual, let’s turn to scripture.
Jude 21–25 “keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”
I’d like to close today with a few questions.
Are you a many or a most?
Matthew 24:10 “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”
Matthew 24:12 AMP Jesus said “because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.”
Are you sharing what people need to hear from God, or what people want to hear from the world.
Are you protecting yourself and your family from false prophets, teachers and other deceivers?
Are you prepared for lawlessness to increase in the end time?
What crisis of belief are you currently facing?
What is God saying to you through His word?
Who is the Holy Spirit to you?
I want to encourage you to be discerning and stand firm!
Goodbye to online viewers.
Pray out.
