Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians describes the great apostasy that will occur in the last days.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. [2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, RSV]

Paul is telling the Christians that the coming of the Lord will not occur unless the rebellion comes first. This is called the great apostasy which occurs just before the coming of the Lord. Apostasy refers to the faithful who renounce, desert, or become traitors to their faith.

In Part II, we noted that the Laodicean church was […] Continue Reading…

Near the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount, Christ admonished His disciples about their mission in a dark and desolate world.

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:13-16. RSV]

When considering Christ’s instruction that the church should be salt and light to the world, it appears to conflict with His instruction at the end of His Sermon on the Mount in which the church is commanded to walk a separate path from that of the world. Throughout its history, the church often has had difficulty with balancing these seemingly contradictory commands. […] Continue Reading…

The separateness of the church from worldliness and the wicked is a consistent theme which runs throughout the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. One of the clearest statements to the believer regarding God’s command to be separate is found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.

Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God…Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them…” [2 Corinthians 14-16a, 17a. RSV]

Life is a journey and the separateness of which Paul spoke is not achieved by a one-time inoculation of holiness. To be holy or set apart is both a singular event at salvation and a continuing process. We must contend for separateness as described by Christ near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads […] Continue Reading…