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New Testament Prophecy On the Apostasy In the Latter Times
II Thessalonians 2: 3 says "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."
In the modern timeline, the falling away began at some point in the 19th century, for example in the 1830's when dispensationalism began, or at the time of the Niagra Bible Conferences from 1876 to 1897, when dispensationalism was spread in the United States. Another date that is important for the falling away is 1909 when the first edition of the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford University Press. But there were other problem teachings in the 19th century, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses. the Mormons, Christian Science and other smaller cults. So, the falling away began sometime in the 19th century.
Luke 13: 21 on the leavening of the church supports II Thessalonians 2: 3-4. That text says "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The word till indicates the leavening occurs over time.
Paul in I Corinthians 5: 6-7 warns that "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened."
He is warning that a little bit of false doctrine will grow and contaminate the entire loaf, that is, a little bit of false doctrine will increase over time and make an entire ministry impure in its teachings.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24: 11
"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;" I Timothy 4: 1
"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." II Timothy 3: 13.
"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." II Peter 2: 1
Paul's prophecy about the personality traits of people the last days when perilous times shall come is also a prophecy of the falling away from the Gospel once delivered to the saints. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." II Timothy 3: 1-7
Paul is not talking only about non-Christians here, but also about Christians, because what he is saying describes a whole generation of people in the last days, and more than one generation. It is almost as though Paul has looked ahead to the counterculture of the sixties and seventies of the last century and to the entire Baby Boomer generation and is describing them - and their descendants. Transformational Marxism since 1950 has brought about much of this change from the older generations to the counterculture and the Baby Boomers.
Christ said to his disciples in Luke 10: 18 "...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." But when was Satan thrown out of heaven?
I want to quote ten verses of Revelation 12, because it forms a whole part of teaching "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Revelation 12: 1-10
The woman is a metaphor, and need not be anthropomorphized into some literal woman in scripture. This text describes the rebellion of Satan and his angels, and the birth of Christ, who was to rule the nations. The woman's child, Christ, was caught up to God. And there was a war in heaven and Michael and his angels opposed Satan and his angels who lost the battle. Satan was cast out of heaven, to the earth. It doesn't say when the war in heaven took place here.
When Jesus Christ was born as a man on earth to change physical Israel into a spiritual house in him, Satan was ruling on earth. Until Christ refused to go into a dialectic dialogue with Satan in the temptations of Christ by Satan in Matthew 4: 11, Satan apparently believed he as ruler on earth could defeat Christ in the dialectic process by which he defeated Eve. But three times Christ refused to budge from obedience to the Father's didactic authority, and instead of dialoguing with Satan Jesus said to him "It is written." In verse 10 Christ said to the dragon, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Satan then left.
At the Cross and on the day of Pentecost Satan's rule was further diminished, It was diminished so that the Gospel of Israel reborn in Christ could go out from the apostles without being blocked by Satan, though Satan continued to harass the apostles and members of the early Body of Christ.
So Satan's power was diminished when he was defeated by Christ's obedience to the Father and refusal to get into the dialectic with the dragon during the temptations, again at the Cross and the Resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost and the converting of a Remnant of physical Israel - and on to Paul's successful ministry to those who had been Gentiles.
There is that text in Revelation 20: 1-3 which some in the churches have considered as part of the prophecy on the thousand year reign of Christ. Revelation 20: 4 does say of the first resurrection of verse 6 that "...they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20: 1-3 says "and I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
Revelation 20: 7 also says "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison."
Revelation 12: 9 says Satan was cast out of heaven to the earth with his angels. Could Revelation 20: 1-3 be describing the same event, when Satan's power was diminished at his defeat in the temptations, at the Cross, at the Resurrection and with the going out of the Gospel and its fruit for a Jewish remnant and for Paul's Gentiles? And Christ's saying in Luke 10:18 that he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven, is this the same event of throwing the devil out of heaven?
In Revelation 20: 1-3 the angel who binds Satan metaphorically throws him into the bottomless pit.
And Revelation 20: 3 and 20: 7 say that after the thousand years is over, the devil is to be loosed from his prison, metaphorically from the bottomless pit. Now look at Revelation 9: 1-3, and 11: "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power......And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."
Locust-scorpions in Revelation 9: 3 came out of the opening of the bottomless pit. And in Revelation 9; 19 serpents as tails of some kind of creature which is a metaphor also appear. Scorpions as a metaphor for God's people in apostasy are found in Ezekiel 2: 3-6, and serpents as the Pharisees are in Matthew 23: 33. The present day false prophets and hireling ministers are like the Pharisees of Christ's time.
When is Satan's power which was diminished in Christ's time and during the life of the apostles, restored to him, that is, metaphorically he is let out of the bottomless pit? Wouldn't it make sense that the falling away as a process, like the leavening of the churches in Luke 13: 21, would occur at the time when Satan is released from the bottomless pit. Remember that Revelation 20: 1-3 does say the devil was cast into the bottomless pit and a seal was put on him.
The false doctrines of the 19th century - in several cults - and the virtual takeover of the denominations by the most popular of the 19th century false doctrines, and Paul's prophecy of the traits of people in the last time are a manifestation of an increased spiritual power of the dragon during this period of time.
II Thessalonians 2: 3 says "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."
In the modern timeline, the falling away began at some point in the 19th century, for example in the 1830's when dispensationalism began, or at the time of the Niagra Bible Conferences from 1876 to 1897, when dispensationalism was spread in the United States. Another date that is important for the falling away is 1909 when the first edition of the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford University Press. But there were other problem teachings in the 19th century, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses. the Mormons, Christian Science and other smaller cults. So, the falling away began sometime in the 19th century.
Luke 13: 21 on the leavening of the church supports II Thessalonians 2: 3-4. That text says "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The word till indicates the leavening occurs over time.
Paul in I Corinthians 5: 6-7 warns that "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened."
He is warning that a little bit of false doctrine will grow and contaminate the entire loaf, that is, a little bit of false doctrine will increase over time and make an entire ministry impure in its teachings.
"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24: 11
"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;" I Timothy 4: 1
"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." II Timothy 3: 13.
"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." II Peter 2: 1
Paul's prophecy about the personality traits of people the last days when perilous times shall come is also a prophecy of the falling away from the Gospel once delivered to the saints. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." II Timothy 3: 1-7
Paul is not talking only about non-Christians here, but also about Christians, because what he is saying describes a whole generation of people in the last days, and more than one generation. It is almost as though Paul has looked ahead to the counterculture of the sixties and seventies of the last century and to the entire Baby Boomer generation and is describing them - and their descendants. Transformational Marxism since 1950 has brought about much of this change from the older generations to the counterculture and the Baby Boomers.
Christ said to his disciples in Luke 10: 18 "...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." But when was Satan thrown out of heaven?
I want to quote ten verses of Revelation 12, because it forms a whole part of teaching "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
3. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Revelation 12: 1-10
The woman is a metaphor, and need not be anthropomorphized into some literal woman in scripture. This text describes the rebellion of Satan and his angels, and the birth of Christ, who was to rule the nations. The woman's child, Christ, was caught up to God. And there was a war in heaven and Michael and his angels opposed Satan and his angels who lost the battle. Satan was cast out of heaven, to the earth. It doesn't say when the war in heaven took place here.
When Jesus Christ was born as a man on earth to change physical Israel into a spiritual house in him, Satan was ruling on earth. Until Christ refused to go into a dialectic dialogue with Satan in the temptations of Christ by Satan in Matthew 4: 11, Satan apparently believed he as ruler on earth could defeat Christ in the dialectic process by which he defeated Eve. But three times Christ refused to budge from obedience to the Father's didactic authority, and instead of dialoguing with Satan Jesus said to him "It is written." In verse 10 Christ said to the dragon, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Satan then left.
At the Cross and on the day of Pentecost Satan's rule was further diminished, It was diminished so that the Gospel of Israel reborn in Christ could go out from the apostles without being blocked by Satan, though Satan continued to harass the apostles and members of the early Body of Christ.
So Satan's power was diminished when he was defeated by Christ's obedience to the Father and refusal to get into the dialectic with the dragon during the temptations, again at the Cross and the Resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost and the converting of a Remnant of physical Israel - and on to Paul's successful ministry to those who had been Gentiles.
There is that text in Revelation 20: 1-3 which some in the churches have considered as part of the prophecy on the thousand year reign of Christ. Revelation 20: 4 does say of the first resurrection of verse 6 that "...they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20: 1-3 says "and I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
Revelation 20: 7 also says "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison."
Revelation 12: 9 says Satan was cast out of heaven to the earth with his angels. Could Revelation 20: 1-3 be describing the same event, when Satan's power was diminished at his defeat in the temptations, at the Cross, at the Resurrection and with the going out of the Gospel and its fruit for a Jewish remnant and for Paul's Gentiles? And Christ's saying in Luke 10:18 that he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven, is this the same event of throwing the devil out of heaven?
In Revelation 20: 1-3 the angel who binds Satan metaphorically throws him into the bottomless pit.
And Revelation 20: 3 and 20: 7 say that after the thousand years is over, the devil is to be loosed from his prison, metaphorically from the bottomless pit. Now look at Revelation 9: 1-3, and 11: "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power......And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."
Locust-scorpions in Revelation 9: 3 came out of the opening of the bottomless pit. And in Revelation 9; 19 serpents as tails of some kind of creature which is a metaphor also appear. Scorpions as a metaphor for God's people in apostasy are found in Ezekiel 2: 3-6, and serpents as the Pharisees are in Matthew 23: 33. The present day false prophets and hireling ministers are like the Pharisees of Christ's time.
When is Satan's power which was diminished in Christ's time and during the life of the apostles, restored to him, that is, metaphorically he is let out of the bottomless pit? Wouldn't it make sense that the falling away as a process, like the leavening of the churches in Luke 13: 21, would occur at the time when Satan is released from the bottomless pit. Remember that Revelation 20: 1-3 does say the devil was cast into the bottomless pit and a seal was put on him.
The false doctrines of the 19th century - in several cults - and the virtual takeover of the denominations by the most popular of the 19th century false doctrines, and Paul's prophecy of the traits of people in the last time are a manifestation of an increased spiritual power of the dragon during this period of time.