End Time Crisis: Falling Away From the Faith

The End-Time Crisis in the Church: Falling Away from the Faith

I. PAUL WARNS US OF A FALLING AWAY FROM THE FAITH IN THE END-TIMES

1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Second Coming) and our gathering together to Him

(Rapture)

…3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come

unless the falling away

comes first

, and the man of sin

(Antichrist)

is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts

himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God,

showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these

things?...8 The lawless one

(Antichrist)

will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of

His mouth… 9 The coming of the lawless one is

according to the working of Satan

, with

all power, signs

and lying wonders,

10 and with all

unrighteous deception

among those who perish, because they did not

receive the love of the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)

1 Now the Spirit

expressly

says that in

latter times

some will

depart from the faith

, giving heed to

deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience

seared with a hot iron… (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

A. Believers will depart from the faith as their consciences are progressively seared.

2 Speaking lies in

hypocrisy

, having their

conscience seared

with a hot iron… (1 Timothy 4:2)

B. A believer can only depart from the faith, when their conscience is seared.

4 For it is

impossible

for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have

become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age

to come, 6

if they fall away

, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves

the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

II. JESUS PROPHESIED OF A FALLING AWAY IN THE END-TIMES (MATTHEW 24:10, 12)

3 The disciples came to Him privately, saying, "…what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of

the age?" 4 Jesus said to them: "Take heed that no one

deceives you

. 5 For

many

will come in My name,

saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will

deceive many

.” (Matthew 24:3-5)

9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's

sake. 10 And then

many will be offended

, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many

false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because

lawlessness will abound

, the l

ove of many

will grow cold

. 13 But he who

endures

to the end shall be saved. (Matthew 24:9-13)

22 You will be hated by all for My sake. But he who

endures to the end

will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)

26 He who overcomes, and keeps My works

until the end

, to him I will give… (Revelation 2:26)

5 He who overcomes…

I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life

… (Revelation 3:5)

11 I am coming quickly!

Hold fast

what you have, that no one may

take your crown

. (Revelation 3:11)

III. PAUL WARNS US OF THE LAWLESSNESS THAT WILL INCREASE IN THE END-TIMES

1 But

know

this, that in the

last days

perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves,

lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,

unthankful

, unholy, 3 unloving,

unforgiving,

slanderers

, without self-control,

brutal

, despisers of good, 4 traitors,

headstrong

, haughty,

lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5

having a form of godliness

but denying its power. From

such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of

gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7

always learning

and never able to

come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

IV. PETER WARNS THE CHURCH OF THE DANGERS OF FALLING AWAY (2 PETER 2:1-22)

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as

there will be false teachers

among you,

who will

secretly

bring in

destructive heresies,

even denying the Lord…2

Many will follow their

destructive ways

, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will

exploit you with deceptive words… (2 Peter 2:1-3)

For if

God did not spare the

angels

who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into

chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the

ancient world,

but

saved

Noah

…a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the

cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

into ashes, condemned them to destruction,

making them an example

to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered

righteous Lot

, who was oppressed by the

filthy conduct of the wicked… (2 Peter 2:4-7)

Then

the Lord knows how to

deliver the godly

out of temptations and to

reserve the unjust

under

punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and

especially

those who walk according to the flesh in the

lust of uncleanness

and

despise authority.

They are presumptuous, self-willed….12 these, like natural

brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed…will

utterly perish

in their own corruption, 13 and will

receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They

are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes

full of adultery

and that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls. They have a

heart trained in

covetous practices

…15 They have

forsaken the right way

and gone astray, following the way of

Balaam… 16 who was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained

the

madness of the prophet

. (2 Peter 2:9-16)

17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness

of darkness forever. 18 For when they speak

great swelling words of emptiness

, they allure through

the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the

ones who have actually escaped from those who live in

error

. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by

whom

person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if,

after

they have escaped the

pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are

again

entangled

in them and

overcome

, the

latter end is worse for them than the beginning

. 21 It would

have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to

turn

from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true

proverb, "A dog returns to his own vomit and a sow,

having washed

, to her wallowing in the mire."

(2 Peter 2:17-22)