The apostasy must come first

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First of all, you cannot "go to" what you ARE. "Church" is a misnomer applied to a building because of a Germanic tradition.

Secondly, a believer should assemble with other believers in their area being careful not to foment divisions among the Body of Christ.
So you agree of believers garher together regularly, worship, serve together?
 
I am into focus on 1 local church, commitment. But I know many nearby churches teach similar doctrine. So this coming Sunday will visit one church, since mine is away and I can't go away.
In the past we also have office Bible study, meet in person, that is kind of multiple denomination, such as Baptist and pentecostal together. , which is fine too, we focus on the core that we agree.
I am a member of one congregation that I serve in. But our ministry is an evangelistic ministry for churches in the city and so once a year we give them a report. There are many brothers in the ministry so I don't go to every report, but I might go to five or six a year.
 
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How many women are voting members of The Gideons?
The Gideons are a men's ministry, the auxiliary are their wives. We don't have single women, though we do have widows who are still in the auxiliary. The men vote for the various offices in the men's ministry and the women vote for the various offices in the auxiliary.
 
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You are failing to understand---apostasia can mean departure
Yes, that is the definition, but the usage the first time in Acts is of the children of Israel departing from the faith. "the departure comes first". What caused God to tell Moses to get down from the mountain? It was because of the orgy and the idol worship and the departure from the faith. Moses doesn't come all the way down, he stands on a high place overlooking the camp and calls the Levites up to him. That is a picture of Jesus coming down and catching us up to Him in the clouds. God waits for the apostasy to remove the idol worshippers.
 
Secondly, a believer should assemble with other believers in their area being careful not to foment divisions among the Body of Christ.
From above, you agree believers should get together regularly to worship serve God ?
 
The Gideons are a men's ministry, the auxiliary are their wives. We don't have single women, though we do have widows who are still in the auxiliary. The men vote for the various offices in the men's ministry and the women vote for the various offices in the auxiliary.
Oh, so not a congregation then. Just a ministry. A ministry that excludes women from participation. So, not an example of a church.
 
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From above, you agree believers should get together regularly to worship serve God ?
Worship may happen every moment of a believer's life: sometimes privately, sometimes corporately. Worship is action because of the ascribed majesty of God. Most of the time it does not include music or singing but decisions that reflect a person's level of respect for Him.

Did you have an idea that it meant something else?

Also, our acceptable level of service is quite clear in Romans 12:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Being available to the Lord, so that He might work through us by His Spirit, is our acceptable service.
Did you have an idea that it meant something else?
 
1 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.

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

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The time will come that people will not want to hear the truth of the Bible but according to their own lusts.

This is speaking of the new age christianity that will come out at the latter times which is the religion of the antichrist.

Which they interpret the Bible and religions according to the occult and evolution, and people are going to evolve to be spiritual, and greater, and Jesus became an ascended master, and there is no personal God but they honor the God of forces the power of the Cosmos, and the New Age Christ is the final teacher.

When the New Age Christ starts working in the world he will push the agenda of the new age for three and one half years and things will change drastically.

And to prepare the world for when he claims to be God and Savior by evolving to be greater.

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church and the hypocrites do not belong to the Church.

The only people that can belong to the Church are the people who act Christlike by the Spirit.

So the Church can never fall away.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

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;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Daniel 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

The saints will not be gathered unto Christ the resurrection until there is a falling away first.

Which is the condition of the world in response to the truth all nations enforcing it on a world wide level.

Which they stopped the preaching of the Gospel and the belief in a personal God.

Which is the time when the antichrist pushes the agenda of the new age with all religions interpreted by them.

Which has nothing to do with the Church falling away and is a system with all religions interpreted the same.

At the end of the three and one half years the antichrist pushes the new age it is the falling away first when the transgressors are come to the full.

Then the New Age Christ will claim to be God and make war against the saints then the saints will be gathered unto Christ.
 
Oh, so not a congregation then. Just a ministry. A ministry that excludes women from participation. So, not an example of a church.
We don't exclude women, but yes, it is primarily a men's ministry so no single women. And yes, to be in this ministry you must also be a member of a congregation and be recommended by your pastor. Since the vast majority of men are married we have a very high percentage of women to men, almost 50% (because of the widows)
 
Which is the time when the antichrist pushes the agenda of the new age with all religions interpreted by them.
Kinda like "A person cannot be a pastor unless they have an advanced degree from a Seminary"? or "Apostles and prophets are no longer active gifts, today"? or "We are allowed to divide the Body of Christ based upon doctrinal differences"?

These things have been in the earth for a very long time.
 
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1 Tim. 4:1 clearly says that in the latter times some shall "depart from faith". So, definitely it is not talking about rapture. It is falling away from faith. The reasons for falling away are manifold. As someone reported about sexual abuse, there are other reasons as well. The church leaders have not been faithful to their calling. It is true that the Bible calls us to assemble, but people are confused as to where to assemble because some of the churches have failed in their responsibility. Therefore, the best way is to ask the Lord to guide us where to assemble. The ideal place would be a bible-based church where the leaders are faithful.
 
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Worship may happen every moment of a believer's life: sometimes privately, sometimes corporately. Worship is action because of the ascribed majesty of God. Most of the time it does not include music or singing but decisions that reflect a person's level of respect for Him.

Did you have an idea that it meant something else?

Also, our acceptable level of service is quite clear in Romans 12:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Being available to the Lord, so that He might work through us by His Spirit, is our acceptable service.
Did you have an idea that it meant something else?
Definitely sounds magnificent.
 
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1 Tim. 4:1 clearly says that in the latter times some shall "depart from faith". So, definitely it is not talking about rapture. It is falling away from faith. The reasons for falling away are manifold. As someone reported about sexual abuse, there are other reasons as well. The church leaders have not been faithful to their calling. It is true that the Bible calls us to assemble, but people are confused as to where to assemble because some of the churches have failed in their responsibility. Therefore, the best way is to ask the Lord to guide us where to assemble. The ideal place would be a bible-based church where the leaders are faithful.
Agree.
Members have responsibility to keep the leaders faithful too. If one leader sinned such as stealing, murdering, immorality....members should take that leader down, help him repent....


Every true Christian has responsibility, don't take it lightly.
 
2 Thessalonians 2:3a Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,

Institutional Church Attendance Report: A Measure of Departure (1965–Present)


The Greek apostasia means "a standing away from" — a departure. Measured as weekly attendance at Mainline Protestant and Catholic churches, that departure is stark and sustained.

Catholic: Weekly Mass attendance stood at ~71% in 1965. It fell more than 20 points by the 1970s, then roughly four points per decade through the mid-1990s, stabilizing briefly mid-2000s (45% in 2005–2008). Decline resumed: 39% by 2014–2017. By CARA's stricter measure, weekly attendance was 24.4% pre-pandemic (2019) and remains near 24% today — a floor, not a recovery. Gallup's broader measure shows 45% weekly in the 2000s down to 33% now. Wikipedia + 5

Mainline Protestant: Membership (a proxy where attendance data is sparse) fell 2000–2020 across every major body: United Methodist -24%, ELCA -39%, Episcopal -32%, American Baptist -22%, UCC over -40%. Mainline share of all Protestants fell from 55% (1973) to 29% (2024). Only 45% raised Mainline still identify as adults — the weakest retention of any tradition. Substack + 2

Conclusion: Both bodies show the same shape — a mid-century peak, a first collapse (1965–1980s), a partial plateau, then renewed decline from the 2000s onward, with no institutional reversal comparable to the growth seen elsewhere. Whatever theological weight is assigned to "the falling away," the behavioral data — people literally standing away from the institutional gathering — has been continuous and structural for six decades, not a single event.

Apostasy as Rebellion: The Rejection of Biblical Inerrancy (1976–Present)

Apostasy also means rebellion — a doctrinal revolt, not just physical absence. Measured by belief in biblical inerrancy, that rebellion is documented and accelerating.

Individual belief (Gallup, tracked since 1976): From 1976–1984, an average of 38% of Americans called the Bible the literal, actual word of God (peaking at 40% in 1980 and 1984). By 2022, that figure had fallen to a record-low 20% — half its peak — while 29% now call the Bible mere human-authored "fables, legends, history and moral precepts," the first time in Gallup's near-50-year trend that skepticism has outnumbered literalism. The "inspired but not literal" middle view has stayed flat near 49% throughout — the collapse has moved literalists straight to outright rejection, not to a moderate middle. Gallup + 2

Institutional split: This is bimodal, not uniform. Mainline denominations (PCUSA, ELCA, UCC, Episcopal, Methodist) institutionally embrace higher criticism of scripture, formally treating the Bible as a fallible human product — the same bodies already shown collapsing in membership. The Southern Baptist Convention moved the opposite direction on purpose: its 2000 Baptist Faith and Message states Scripture has "God for its author... truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter," the fruit of a deliberate 1979–2000 internal takeover fought explicitly to reassert inerrancy against a moderating faction. SubstackGallup

Conclusion: The data shows two simultaneous, opposite responses to the same cultural pressure — one institutional wing formally abandoning inerrancy, one deliberately re-fortifying it — while the general population drifts steadily away from both toward outright rejection.

Apostasy means repudiation of saving faith. The Jewish apostasy occurred when most of them rejected Jesus as Messiah (John 8:42-44, Romans 11).
😢
 
There are four OT types of the rapture.

1. Moses, a type of Christ, ascends the mountain to get the marriage covenant, meanwhile at the base of the mountain they make an idol, a golden calf, and engage in idol worship. God tells Moses to get down. He breaks the two tablets, the marriage contract and calls the Levites up to him to meet him half way up the mountain. That is a picture of the rapture and the apostasy, the departure from the faith came first.

2. Elijah is on the top of Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. This is all about the children of Israel deciding between the ministry of Elijah and the ministry of the prophets of Baal. When fire falls the children of Israel all confess that Elijah is the one presenting the true God. Then they kill the prophets of Baal. Before the fire fell, the apostasy, the departure of the faith by the prophets of Baal had to come first. Just like Paul said, you need those ones to fall away so that you can know who is approved of God.

3. Samson is battling the Philistines. He is deceived by Delilah, his covenant with God as a Nazarite is shaved and removed, he is blinded, and then he is brought to the Temple for a great sacrifice to Dagon. While there he pushes out two pillars, depicting the rapture of the church since the church is the pillar and base of the truth. The temple collapses. Before the rapture can take place with Samson pushing out the two pillars you need the Philistines and their great sacrifice to Dagon. Hence, the apostasy, the departure from the faith must come first.

4. Adonijah attempts to usurp the throne from Solomon. He meets at En Rogel to have a banquet, which is around 600 m above sea level. Meanwhile Nathan and others go to King David in his palace at around 670m above sea level. They descend to Gihon which is 635 m above sea level to crown Solomon. Again, just like Moses descending from the mountain to meet the raptured saints halfway. Adonijah's attempt to usurp the crown precipitates this event, that is "the apostasy must come first".