“The Apostasy Comes First”

And we probably are in it. Be encouraged.

I am supposedly preparing to write a book on practical aspects of the End of the World, on how we should respond to the fact that, as the old bumper sticker said, “Jesus is coming and boy is he ticked.” (I think a less polite word was used, but anyway...) The End will not wait for me to complete my book, and Jesus might not either, so I might as well get to writing more often on the subject while I still can.

And something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, perhaps even more than about the Roman Empire, is about the ongoing apostasy of the organized church.  Two passages come to mind on the subject, passages which 99% of preachers are neglecting.  The first is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  I won’t post it all (Read yer Bible!) but it begins:

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (NASB 1995)

Apparently, people writing stuff that makes Christians obsess about being “left behind” is nothing new.  But I’m getting off topic already.  Continuing…

Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

So two things will happen before Jesus returns: one is “the man of lawlessness” will be “revealed.”  As a 1970’s Christian teenager, I take that as the Antichrist, of course.  But I don’t want to focus on Pope Francis just yet.*

The second occurrence preceding the Return of Christ will be “the apostasy.” Paul spelled out what he meant by that in 1 Timothy 4:1, 2:

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron…

To which I say . . . some will fall away from the faith?  Maybe the Holy Spirit was engaging in some understatement there.

But before I proceed with my correct interpretation, I acknowledge that “the apostasy” can be interpreted in different manners by the faithful.  For example, some of a very Protestant mindset might think the apostasy occurred with the Church of Rome in the Middle Ages.  Papists might think the Reformation was the apostasy.

But I think apostasy is more ecumenical.  I also think it is very present.  At least in the West, most of the organized church has gone, or at least is going, apostate, and in much larger numbers than any time before in church history.  The mainline Protestant denominations, with the exception of the Southern Baptists, went apostate in the U. S. in the 20th Century.

The Roman Catholic Church was creeping toward apostasy in the late 20th century and has been running toward it in the 21st in Europe and in the U. S.  Now Francis and his cohorts may be dragging the whole thing down as

Rod Dreher

fears.

The Pope Of Catholicism's Disintegration?

The Roman Catholic Church going apostate — the significance of this development can hardly be overstated, and not just in church history, but in world history.  The Church of Rome was seen as a great bulwark against apostasy and with not a little justification in spite of all its issues through the centuries.  But now?  Francis has so stacked the College of Cardinals (which John Paul II and Benedict XVI did not do, for better or for worse) that I cannot see how it recovers save a miracle.

Now God does miracles.  But the way he usually deals with apostates is to let them be apostates:

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.  (Hebrews 6:4-6 NASB 1995)

How many apostate church leaders have repented of their apostasy?  Very few indeed. I can think of only one, and I am not sure he counts.  So I do not expect the Church of Rome to recover from the pontificate of Francis.  Trust that I say that with grave sadness and pray often for the still many faithful that remain in the Roman Catholic Church.

Now I do not expect Jesus to say, “That’s enough, Francis” and return tomorrow in a bad mood like the old bumper sticker says.  For one thing, I do not think this Great Apostasy we are in is finished.  Most of the Orthodox have not apostatized yet.  And most of the church in Africa is remaining faithful and quite numerous, too.  (And, especially among Anglicans, African clergy ministering to us in the United States has become frequent.)

Some might therefore tell me, “So you should have hope for the organized church, you gloom-monger.”  And there are even those, many of whom I respect, who hold to post-millenialism, who think society as a whole will turn to The Faith before Jesus returns.

Well, Jesus wants to have a word with all of you:

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?  (Luke 18:8 KJ)

That is a pointed question he did not answer.  But, although the simplest, most obvious interpretation of Scripture is not always the best, I find it hard to get around the most obvious answer to Jesus’ question — the faithful will be few and far between when he returns.  So I think the Great Apostasy likely has quite a ways to go.

So be encouraged!. . . No I’m serious.  There is reason for encouragement and for more practical attitudes and responses to the current apostasy than despair.  But that will have to wait for another post.

But for now, I think we need to be realistic about the state of most of the organized church at least in the West — apostate or heading to apostasy — even if I am mistaken about my eschatology. . . . And I’m not, of course.**

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*That was a joke . . . maybe.

** That was also a joke . . . maybe.