A L M A C I A S

THE APOSTASY OF THE CHURCH

It seems to me that when it comes to the subject of the apostasy of the church, there are many who are not willing to accept the fact that it actually happened. As we look around, we see that there are so many religious groups in existence that people do not know who to believe anymore. We have so many different sets of beliefs that it is not a simple matter for someone who is looking for the truth to know who actually has it. What do the scriptures teach regarding the apostasy of the church, and how can we know that the apostasy has already come?

In the scriptures, we find that the apostle Paul wrote, by inspiration of God, that there would be an apostasy not only of the church as a whole but also that in some cases Christians could apostatize as individuals. We read in II Thessalonians 2:1-8 that the apostasy was already in existence, at least in seed, and that eventually it would develop into a full-grown apostasy. First of all, the apostle Paul told the brethren in Thessalonica that the apostasy would happen before the Lord would come for the last time. In I Thessalonians 2:3, Paul specifically says that before the coming of the Lord, there would definitely be a falling away first and then the man of sin would be revealed, the son of perdition. How this man of sin could be identified would be by what he would do with his position of power. Paul said of this man that he would oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, and that he would sit in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

People in the religious world do not have any problem in believing that the Lord will some day come to judge us all, and that on that day this world of ours will be destroyed. The problem here is that sometimes these same people do not believe that the church has ever apostatized. Yet, as we look at the passage before us, we cannot but see that the Lord will not come until the falling away has happened. If it is the case that the church has never and will never apostatize, then we must conclude that the Lord will never come again. We all understand that the scriptures do not contradict themselves because God does not contradict Himself. We all must accept that if the scriptures say that the Lord is coming again (I Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1ff; II Pet. 3:1ff), and the scriptures do say this, then it must follow that there would be an apostasy. Let us all understand that not only was the apostasy possible, the apostasy is already a reality.