“Apostasy” means there is a “falling
away.” If there is a “falling away”
from something, then there must be a
“falling to” something else, right?
What we are actually talking about
is that people are moving away from
one ideal, which has its own set of
rules or laws. Take, for instance,
music: After the fifties, there was
an “apostasy” (a “falling away”) of
rockabilly. Rockabilly required a
song to sound a certain way, with
the required musical instruments and
the required beat, thus we are able
to hear a difference between
rockabilly and R&B. It simply means
that the musicians have moved on to
playing a song with different
instruments, different beats, or
whatever. Here you see that apostasy
means moving to something different
than what we are presently used to.
Does this mean that apostasy is
always a bad thing? No, it simply
means there is a movement from one
to the other. And yet, when you look
at those two words, it implies a
“fall” from somewhere, to drop in
height or some level. When you walk
off a cliff, there is an extreme
apostasy! So we “feel” this
word...we “sense” that it is not a
good thing to “fall away.” It leaves
us with the idea that to “fall away”
means to be moving from normal to
something less than normal. It then
requires other words to describe
whether the “fall” is hurtful or
not, whether we will be able to
survive the fall, and whether we
will experience suffering—or even
death—as a result.
In this text,
we are using the term “apostasy” as
in the “apostasy of the church of Jesus Christ” from the Bible, God’s Holy
Word. In Revelation 2:5, we see
where the Lord is speaking to the church of Ephesus. He says, "Remember
therefore from whence thou art
fallen, and repent, and do the
first works; or else I will come
unto thee quickly, and will remove
thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent"
(emphasis added). This is a perfect
example of apostasy. In this verse,
we see that there was a level
already founded in the church of Ephesus and that now, there was a
“falling away” or an “apostasy” of
those in that church to something
less than the normal. The following
verses speak of the various churches
that “fall away” from preaching the
gospel of Jesus Christ! The
preaching of Balaam and Balac is
mentioned; in actuality, it is
saying that they are preaching
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING...other than
the gospel of Jesus Christ. In
another phrase, it could be money or
prosperity in life or work that is
replacing the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Look at the verse above and
notice that it says “from whence
thou are fallen.” Makes you feel
like they fell a great distance,
right?
So it is here
that we must understand that the
Bible is simple in nature. That fall
off the cliff where they HAD been
was a fall without a bottom! This
shows that death, to a human, is the
disembarkation point from this world
and the embarkation point to the
place you have chosen to go!
It is so
simple to see where those verses say
“Repent” (“You go to heaven”) or
“Don't repent” (“You go to Hell”)!
You must understand that “the fall”
was your choice! God does not stand
there at the cliff and push people
off! The Lord God Almighty WANTS to
save you from that fall! God wants
to stop you in the walk you are on,
to open your eyes with His wisdom
and discernment so that you will see
the path you are walking (the cliff
ahead) and turn around. Still....it
is YOUR choice!
Today, people are hungry for
salvation! They are able to see
where this life is going, and 99.9
percent of it is going down the
drain! Many of us grew up seeing a
bright and shining future, only to
be continually faced with hardship,
pain, and suffering. It is Satan who
comes along and tells some, “It is
God's fault; HE made this happen to
you. If He was a loving God...this
wouldn't have happened!” These same
people simply give up, like when
they are falling off the cliff.
Wouldn't it be better to question
what you are thinking: “Would God
really do this to me? If God IS
love, then why would He allow this?”
It is so sad when people are not
willing or are too lazy to ask the
right questions. Is it because they
WANT a lousy life....? NO! They
simply want a fantastic life handed
to them! They don't want to do
anything for it, or they feel it
should be an automatic feature,
because of who they are. “Pride...goeth
before a fall.”
My favorite...Matthew
11:28–30:
"Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly
in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light."
So here we are, in the midst of
churches that are heavily embedded
into ecumenism (“there are many ways
to God”) and those who preach
nothing but how to be financially
prosperous (“the best ways to make
it in this world”). But the Bible
specifically states that this world
is about to come to an end, and that
the ONLY way to heaven and the
Father...is through Jesus Christ!
Are we missing something here?
“Repent” from
teaching...anything...other than the
gospel of Jesus Christ. That IS the
“apostasy” that is going on right
now, the “falling away” of so many
people from Jesus Christ!
I must make a
point here: It is one thing to turn
your back on Jesus Christ and choose
to go to hell, but it is a whole
different story to be a minister or
pastor or any other teacher and
teach people the WRONG gospel! There
is going to be a “special” place of
suffering for those who do these
things! This is a willful decision
to pervert the Word of God for your
own gain, in whatever form that gain
comes.
Hell is not some egg basket that
everyone simply jumps into, and off
we go! Hell is a place that will be
specifically designed for each and
every person, according to their
deeds, according to the intent of
their heart. As with anything
dealing with the Lord God Almighty,
everything is on a very personal
level! Think in terms of Judas
Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus
Christ. Jesus said, “It would be
better that he had never been born”!
Can you imagine for a moment what
his place in Hell might be like??
This apostasy of the church of Jesus Christ
is a cold and hard decision
perpetrated by those who are against
God. There are NO two ways about it!
Matthew
6:19–21
states: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal: But
lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal:
For
where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also."
Are we missing
anything here? Are any exceptions
noted? You must remember that the
Lord sees the heart, so every
intention of your heart is known by
the Lord, and this is how He will
judge you.
So what are the reasons for this
apostasy? As with any SIN ever
committed by man, it always begins
with pride, and pride does go before
a fall. So what is pride? If you
remember, it was pride that made
Satan, as Lucifer the angel, want to
be LIKE God. It is a personal and
most boastful desire in us to be
better than anyone else, or higher
up the status than another, or to
subjugate anyone. God, in His
infinite wisdom, did NOT design us
to that end! When we allow pride in
our lives, we are in defiance of
God! When this occurs, we are
telling everyone around us that we
are better than they are, and
therefore God should be even more
respectful of us, to that end. How
brazenly blasphemous to God, much
less anyone here on earth, can
anyone be?! Then, we hear that
little statement of late,
“Well...it's all about ME!!” What so
many people forget is that the Lord
is offering us a gift of life
eternal. A gift can only be GIVEN to
someone else! In that respect, the
person saying “It's all about me” is
giving nothing...that person is
only
taking!
Luke
6:31–38 states: "And as
ye would that men should do to you,
do ye also to them likewise.
For if ye love them which love you,
what thank have ye? for sinners also
love those that love them. And if ye
do good to them which do good to
you, what thank have ye? for sinners
also do even the same. And if ye
lend to them of whom ye hope to
receive, what thank have ye? for
sinners also lend to sinners, to
receive as much again.
But love
ye your enemies, and do good, and
lend, hoping for nothing again; and
your reward shall be great, and ye
shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye
therefore merciful, as your Father
also is merciful.
Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged:
condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned: forgive, and ye shall be
forgiven: Give, and it shall be
given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into
your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall
be measured to you again."
The apostasy is against everything
these verses have stated! “To
him that has ears...let him hear.”