The Great Falling Away

With this months newsletter being the last one I shall be writing within the 20th century, my mind is racing back over this century, and also at the same time, envisioning the events that may lay just ahead, prophetically speaking, in the next century.

The 20th century has witnessed two world wars, it saw the advent of nuclear weapons, it has seen the miraculous rebirth of the state of Israel, and it has also seen the church experience extreme fluctuations in its earthly ride amongst the nations.

As a Christian, looking forward into the upcoming century, I can't help but sense deep down inside, a spiritual sensitivity that suggests to me that the Lord is soon to come, and that the completion of history is not only imminent, but at hand, at the very door.

Many Christians today enjoy a deep soul-stirring excitement about the prospect of the long anticipated second coming of Jesus Christ. But, then again many do not seem the least bit fired up about that being an imminent event.

I get many questions from readers and enthusiasts of Bible prophecy regarding events during the great Tribulation, and events leading directly into it, but I find that many people seem to be unaware of some of the signs of the times which would prevail right inside of the church itself, prior to the Tribulation.

These ominous signs began with the very birth of the church 2000 years ago, but their subtle, gradual leavening within the church has produced a prevalent spirit of complacency and apathy among its numbers especially in our 20th century; which has witnessed a culminating consequence of doctrinal compromises.

This culminating condition in the last days church is known in the Bible as the "Great Falling Away." This condition was prophesied to exist within the universal church just prior to the Day of the Lord. In fact, this condition may be said to be of a necessity for the logistical underpinning of the Man of Sin, or Antichrist.

So then, while Biblically discerning Christians can watch all the unfolding seasonal signs of end times prophecy concerning Israel, they should also be more acutely aware of signs within world churchdom itself, signals which correspond with the conspiracy of the "mystery of iniquity".

The mystery of iniquity has a long history. It was fathered by Satan himself. It is a supernatural spirit of evil scheming, perpetuated by the think tankers of Hell, seeking to undermine the working of the great mystery of God's wonderful Grace!

It has long given up on conquering the church of Jesus, and subsequently, has thus sought to infiltrate the church by joining it, and seeking to conform it over into another entity, under another Christ.

The Christian must therefore be constantly alert to the unceasing attack of the demonic horde from hell upon the church. Remember, Jesus said; the gates of Hell would never prevail over his church. Although the church will never be stolen or defeated, the fact remains that Satan will subtly obstruct its mission.

In reality, the fact of the matter is that the very church itself has exhibited symptoms of many signs of the last days even before the miraculous birth of the nation of Israel began a countdown to the end.

In his letter to the assembly of Jesus followers in the city of Thessalonica, Paul alluded to just such a condition that would permeate many of the churches during the last days.

II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a Falling Away first; and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

So, very clearly then, we have definite advice that something shall have needed to take place within the church world itself before the Antichrist can appear.

So, what is a "Falling Away"? What does it mean?

Since it comes first, before all of the other things with regards to the man of sin, the rapture, the timing of great Tribulation; we should know more about it; as it stands to reason that we should experience it.

According to scripture, there shall be unmistakable and progressive signs within the church before that event known as the Rapture takes place, although the final condition of the last days world church will not reach the Apostate condition until after the genuine church has been caught away to be with the Lord.

A Falling Away, is defined as a deviation from, or the forsaking of an authentically established position.

The letters to the seven churches in the book of the Revelation conveys an evaluation of churches all throughout church history. Those letters culminate by addressing lastly the church of Laodicea. This analogy shows that Jesus is knocking on its door, yearning to be let inside by anyone who may hear him knocking.

How is it that the founder of the church ( Jesus ) has come at this point to be in a position altogether outside of the church, knocking on its door, seeking admission, rather than on the inside where he began?

Revelation 4:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and annoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.

This verse indicates that this particular church has never even experienced spiritual rebirth through Jesus death, burial, and resurrection to start with. Implied by the accusation of being naked, is the idea that it appears exposed to every old wind of philosophy, due to its spiritual lack of doctrinal covering. Therefore it is blind, and in need of healing before the sense of spiritual sight can even be functional within it.

This church typifies the Great Falling Away, which has become so prevalent among churches during the 20th century, simultaneously with Israel's rebirth.

Today, there is a very deep concern within sincere Christiandom sensing a lacking of that abundant life that Jesus offers to all that follow him. That spirit of life abundant needs constant feeding, therefore the neglect and absence of teaching, hearing, preaching, sharing, understanding, and defending the unchanging and absolute eternal truths of God's Holy Word will lead to a church environment of lukewarmness.

Jesus attempts to introduce himself to the church at Laodicea under the name being Faithful and True is really an effort by him to establish the foundation of faithfulness and truth inside of that church.

The spiritual disparity between churches today is a direct product of the good seed falling on unsuitable soil. Jesus alluded to this disparity in his parables of the sowing of the fields.

Verse 23 of Matthew 13 indicates that only after the good seed has taken root in understanding can there come forth good fruit to an ever increasing yield.

The stony ground, thorns, and tares growing along side of the wheat all point to an unreceptive mind; and a lack of rootedness in the words of life.

In essence there are two patterns of believers in the church. One is characterized as hearing the word but not discerning the word, being more preoccupied with the things of this world. The other pattern for hearers of the word is that it is received in all good faith, digested for consumption, producing abundantly the water of spiritual life springing up from inside.

Today's falling away church has failed to consume the True Word, and stifles those believers who have truly absorbed the Holy Spirit fueled endowment of spiritual wisdom and insight. Thus, generation after generation of church members come and go without any concept of the fervent power and sustenance of the Abundant Christian life obtained from feeding on the meatiness of the Holy Bible!

The church in this prevailing condition ultimately shall find itself swept along into the Apostate church establishment of the post-rapture era, completely and totally susceptible to the Grand Delusion perpetrated by the Antichrist himself.

The present church age shall indeed end in apostasy rather than ending with the church conquering the whole world. The apostasy has already taken its firm stranglehold in the church by successfully leading the church away from doctrinal and moral standards that were once the fixed, unchangeable anchors of Biblical absolutes.

Apostasy has always been categorized as a departure from faith in God's revealed word, and also a sound understanding of that word, whether written or spoken.

The church, which for so long was kept pure, by the Satanically inspired battles of persecution, has in our 20th century found a comradery with this world, and become indoctrinated with this worlds ideology, both doctrinally and spiritually; and the result is that it has no desire to be separated from this world.

Someone has stated that the first casualty in the art of warfare is the truth. Indeed, it is the case, as Satan began immediately to cast aspersions upon the word of God, and he has ever since kept attacking the divinely inspired record. The purpose of course is to divert people away from the truth.

The very first thing the demoniac conspiring horde behind the mystery of iniquity conspires to do is to cast doubt upon, or discredit God's word. This tactic was utilized by Lucifer in the garden of Eden when he suggested to Eve the old question; Hath God actually said thus?

When the pure inspired word of the living God is shackled, it leads to a Falling Away!

II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Notice that all of scripture is divinely inspired by God, and is intended to serve the purpose not simply to provide information, but also serves as the weapon for combating the assimilation of false doctrines.

The 20th century has witnessed an abandonment by the church of the doctrine of God's inerrant capacity to preserve his word without any stain of error.

Whereas Papal Rome attempted to keep the truth of the Bible hidden from the masses of people during; the dark ages by reserving the right of interpretation to themselves, the 20th century church has permitted that inerrant book to be viciously slandered, bringing a spirit of contempt on its credibility.

This condition was foreseen by Paul in his epistle from II Peter 2:1-2:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

By what method again? By allowing the truth to be evil spoken of!

The last days Apostasy could never have come into prominence were it not for the fact that the church allowed the precious, divine and perfect word of God to be maligned by modern scholarship.

This radical obliteration of the very foundation of the church paved the highway for departure from the Christian faith to such a degree that it often chokes out the very planting of the word seed itself.

Therefore, the church looses its foundation when it allows itself to be disjointed from the absolute 100% reliability of God's word!

1. The inerrancy of Holy Spirit inspired recording of God's word is an absolute essential for the basis to establish all doctrine of the church. The allowance of permitting doubt upon the Bible constitutes denial of God's omnipotence.

II Peter 1:21 specifically indicates that God inspired "Holy Men", to record his words. God does not use Unholy men to write, or translate his word. Also, it has never been the quality of God to have to revise his inspired word. He always inspires 100% accuracy on the very first attempt.

Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, he informed his apostles of the writings they penned, and Jesus himself personally signified, and sent the Revelation to John for recording. Had there been any errors in any of these writings, Jesus would have over-ruled in their being spread as his word.

Any variation from the directives expressed within the Bible would therefore denote a falling away from the church's original design and purpose.

The Word of God strips the apostate mind of any veneer of respectability, and exposes them as the tools of Satan that they are. It is for this reason that the adversary seeks to soften its punch, in order to gain an entry into the church's functioning leadership.

Jesus himself rebuked the writers and translators of the Old Testament in his own day for perverting the Word, and being an inhibitor of the exposition of the Truth, and therefore becoming a usurper of our duties to plant that good seed among mankind.

God takes a far more serious view of the pollution of his word than the modern church today does. The hallmark criticism of today's fallen church rings loudly down the corridor of time, as it emanated from Jesus very own lips:

Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither ye suffer them that are entering to go in.

Today, it is the exception rather than the rule for the great fundamentals of the church to be sounded aloud from the pulpit, and just as rare for the pews to manifest the transforming grace of God in lifestyle or in devotion.

The incremental growth of hyprocrisy, selfishness, and outright total disbelief in even the most fundamental doctrines of Christianity within the bounds of many of today's professing churches reflects the fact that the shepherds have, not only failed to feed the flock; but have led the flock directly into the pack of wolves.

The church of today is overtaken by its worldliness and the lives of its people are often indistinguishable from those who live outside of the church. A Prayer meeting in today's church is almost a non-event!
But, that is little wonder in most churches, as the Holy Spirit hasn't been promulgated there by strong powerful, uncompromising preaching in generations.

The shocking condition of today's churches, being in a Fallen State came about due largely to the sad consequence of having lost the innate spiritual guide which enlivens the mental capacity to utilize wisdom from Biblical doctrine to detect false teaching.

The result is that the people enjoy the laid back, carefree traditions of church affiliated lifestyles. They wallow in Biblical ignorance and laziness, completely incognizant of the waging war of the cosmos, a war in which they can't seem to find the enemy in their own backyards.

II Timothy 4:3 describes it thusly: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap unto them teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Having lost the fundamentals of Christian doctrine and having been exposed to worldly philosophy, thus acquiescing to a non-confrontational theology, many of today's churches cannot endure to hear the sound doctrine penetrate their hearing, chastising them always to stand and oppose worldly evils.

Today's congregations simply will no longer tolerate in their pulpits those expositors of apostolic doctrine and Bible fundamentalism. Rather, today's listener fits the pattern of believer who prefers a preaching style that will deliver unchallenging sermons, and leave the the membership in an undisturbed air of positivism, and also delightfully and cozily entertained.

II Peter 2:17-22 describes the Fallen Away church as being like a well without water, or clouds which are carried along by any old tempest, with preachers who speak great swelling words of vanity.

Misguided by religious phrases and the pomp and ceremony of modern churchdom, with all of its mask of Biblical scholarship and its supposed correction of Biblical error, many today are either simply confused, or unwilling to contest the heresy being propagated by teachers of false Christianity.

The modern liberal church cannot hide behind its mask of vanity, hypocrisy, and empty doctrine; as the Bible foretold their rise to prominence before the fact and reminded true Christians to beware of the wolves in sheep's clothing that would creep into the church of the last days.

II Timothy 4:1 Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and Doctrines of devils:

A gospel from seductive spirits, and authored even by the very Devil himself?

Can you imagine the Devil even wanting to go to church? Yet here we see that he not only attends a church, but even utilizes his demons to teach among the churches by promoting false doctrines.

This fact makes it all the more imperative that all true Christians should make it their personal duty to be able to differentiate between true and false gospel!

We have an adversary, who cannot hope to defeat the church, but he sure can join it, and even assume leadership inside of it, and all to often this is the case in today's church world.

No notion was ever incorporated upon the church with less justification than the post-millennial notion that the world would over the ages gradually progress to acknowledging the spiritual triumph of the church. The idea that the church would gradually subdue the world and bring the world into submission to Christ is flatly contradicted by the Bible.

II Timothy 3:13 states that mankind has embarked upon a course of devolution, rather than evolutionary enlightenment and progression.

But evil men shall and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived.

The condition of the church in the end of the age would also suffer like consequences. Verse five in this chapter indicts the church as having a mere form of Godliness, but denying the power of God. It has ever increasing learning at its disposal, but is incapable of discerning the real knowledge of truth. This paradox is the direct result of its abandonment of the basic Biblical precepts. It has become a church of self pride, having lost its first love.

II Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the Last Days perilous times shall come:

Verse 8 of this chapter further indicts the Fallen church as resisting the truth, becoming a people with corrupt minds, reprobate; undiscerning true doctrine!

Therefore, recognizing the perils that the Mystery of Iniquity would unleash against the last days church God admonishes his preachers to do the following:

II Timothy 4:2 Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and Doctrine.

Pastors are admonished to preach the word, at all times, in every season, year after year. Churches are advised to adhere to doctrine, and confront any other gospel. The command to be instant, means to quickly oppose the spread of false doctrine. The reason that the directives of, reprove, rebuke, and exhort are here presented in this dissertation on the last days church is because the Lord knew that the mystery of iniquity would seek to corrupt the church; as the great signal of Israel's rebirth began a countdown of God's clock. Furthermore, in verse 5 of this chapter, ministers are admonished to make full proof of their ministry.

These guidelines were directed for the intention of helping to safeguard the church from the onslaught of iniquity, which if allowed to fester, would in time lead to the condition, of the people following after their own lusts and wishes, even preferring teachers that would passify their prideful state, even to the extreme that they revel in false doctrines, despising the actual truth, and therefore becoming engulfed by the foolishness of Fables!

A fable is a fanciful tale of legend and myth, that may convey an ideal, but it is based on falsehoods! This is what the Gospel is reduced to when the very word of God himself is brought into disrepute by its very own constituents inside the church.

Christians should be well-grounded enough in the Word to be able to avoid the indoctrination of subtle deceptiveness, and continue growing in the word to be able to efficiently function in this evil world.

Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

Notice the implicit indication that deceivers many times will lie in wait, in anticipation of gaining a subtle entryway. Lying in wait denotes entrapment! It ought never to be lost in the Christian mind that growth in the word is essential to sustaining his individual spiritual discernment!

Psalms 119:89 says: Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in Heaven.

If it is settled there, why doubt it on earth? Why consider compromise, or tolerance? If the word is all settled in Heaven, why can't it be defended here?

Ephesians 6:14 instructs all Christians to girt up his loins with the truth and to employ the protection of righteousness for the specific reason that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual liars in high places. This indicates again that the mystery of iniquity would be a persistent adversary, not only of each Christian, but also of the church.

I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to Doctrine!

The command from Luke 19:13 rings loudly from Jesus in the first century all the way to the church of today, "Occupy Till I Come"!

The usage of the terminology of occupy means to hold on, to continue engaging the enemy, and persist with endurance, until the Savior comes. The church cannot win the war, but we are on the winning side!

In these closing days of the 20th century, it quite often seems that the church is merely trying to hold on while the Devil is running wild, and having his way. I think that is the reason the Lord used that term, "Occupy" till I come"! The church is charged with the task of being a restrainer, and holding fast to the faith, until He does indeed come.

The epistles of John issues the hopeful clarion call of exhortation to all believers, to take hope, recalling that while antichrists shall come and go, and that a Last Days Antichrist will appear in the last day, lurking over its shoulder, there is no need to fear if we stand firm in the doctrine of Christ.

The apostasy alluded to here under the Antichrist is a culmination of the apostasy which characterizes the Fallen Away condition of the last days church, It centers around a man claiming that he is in fact God. The radical departure from the true faith is evidence that this ultimate faker is on the horizon of time.

The Laodicean character of apostasy prevalent in our 20th century church, when viewed from the light of scripture concerning the end of the church age; seems to draw a clear parallel to the revelation that one should anticipate immediately prior to Rapture.

The scriptures that I have utilized in this article reflect that there is a nearly completed progression of fulfilled prophecy in the church itself to suggest that the Falling Away condition of today's church is primed to be included into the Apostate Church of the post rapture era.

That church is seen in Revelation 13!

The apostate condition of that great whore church known as Mystery Babylon, needed as its prerequisite, the foundational stones laid by the church of the the Great Falling Away period!

In Matthew 14:24 there is presented the picture of Jesus disciples in the storm tossed ship upon the sea of Galilee. Today's church is very much like that ship in the stormy sea.

The restless, relentless and windswept waters of the sea aptly portray the worlds uneasiness with the true Gospel of Christ, while the violent waves crashing into the ship personify the worlds violent attitude toward the church of Jesus Christ.

The ship containing the disciples within its shield of cover, serves as a symbol of the church. It is in the sea, but not an actual portion of the sea. It gets tossed to and fro, it is even battered by every crashing wave of this world. The mighty winds that aggravate the sea, causing it to rise up and assault the ship are spewed forth by the prince of this world. He is energetically attempting to blow the ship of the church off course in today's world.

Meanwhile, the call to occupy remains the church's battle cry. As long as the church maintains its faith in the doctrines of Christ, it cannot be driven away from its charted course.

As Christians, we in like manner as Peter venture out onto the water, and try to walk erect upon the sea, till we become overwhelmed by the tossing sea, and loose sight of the truth of Jesus word.

The church of the 20th century is no longer sailing upon the sea with a destination in mind. In far too many instances it has either abandoned the ship, or it is simply riding out the rolling waves, traveling along wherever the storms of wind might take it.

The stage is now set for a powerful demonstration of God's love and judgement. He will soon extend his hand down once again to snatch ( rapture ) us out of the storm tossed billows, and set us down in a land where there shall be no more wind, and no more storm.

As the 21st century dawns, I believe it also brings the reverberating sound of an echo, the sound from a distant trumpet, signifying the final days to the climactic era of the church age.

I myself have been a Christian, and thus a member of that old embattled ship, the church, for 42 years. Sometimes it seems to me like it is a ship that is about to sink, but always, I find myself looking up, up toward Jesus, and realize that he is the real Captain of this ship, and not anyone else.

And too, I am reminded that this world is not my real home, I really am just passing through. My treasures are already laid up somewhere beyond the blue. And also too, that the Captain of the ship is coming, and will appear before the storm can overtake us.

To my fellow Christians, we may take heart amidst this old, old stormy battle the church is engaged in. We may rightfully assume that even if the entire world unites in its opposition to Christ, and we are left standing totally alone, abandoned without any comrades in arms; that Jesus will still be returning just to evacuate us.

And remember, we are only a mere twinkling of the eye away from being presented before God, as a part of the spotless, faithful bride of Christ!

LET US OCCUPY UNTIL THAT GREAT DAY

by Darrell G. Young