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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | falling away from the faith? | 2 Thess 2:3 | jbw | 84675 | ||
what is meant in the word where it says there will be a great falling away fromt the faith? Church's are jammed pack with people | ||||||
2 | falling away from the faith? | 2 Thess 2:3 | Scribe | 84676 | ||
2 Thessalonians 2:3 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; In context of this passage I believe it fits best to apply it to them that call themselves Christians. However an argument can be made for it applying to Jews. The argument for Jews can be made because of the reference to the Prophecy from Daniel about the Man of Sin. This may be enough to connect this passage to the Jews as those that fall away. However since Paul is writing to Christians in a Greek city, it would seem that the falling way here applies to christians since it is not further qualified or delimited with any further words. But the idea that he is speaking about OT prophesy is significant enough to at least be possible that he is speaking of an OT prophesy about a great falling away. I mean if he is mentioning in the same breath the OT prophesy of the man of sin is such as way that it appears he knows that his readers already know what he is talking about, then logic would suggest that there is a specific OT prophesy about a great falling away that they were familiar with and it needed no further explanation. And as we read we see that that is the case.. 2 Thessalonians 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?.. so they were already familiar with this teaching. Was it a teaching that began with Paul? I do not think so, it would be anyones guess what it meant if it were not for a beacon provide to help us navigate our way through this dark cloud of prophetic utterance. That beacon is the mention of the prophecy from Daniel used here by Paul about the man of sin. If this was part of the teaching that Paul had told them about already then we can go and search out the scriptures surrounding the man of sin and the son of perdition and if there is any mention of a great falling way associated with it, then we can fell confident that we have arrived at our destination. First we want to look at other NT verses that speak of a falling away associated with the anti-christ (same as man of sin or son of perdition) Revelation 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And the following passage seems to give insight on what kind of falling away it will be. 1 John 2:18-23 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Now let us look at the OT prophesy of the man of sin. Daniel 11:31-35 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. In summary, according to this passage, the Revelation of the man of sin, and the falling away are connected. This man of sin has a part in producing the great falling away. The passages in Daniel should be meditated upon and then compared with the NT passages I posted. I think you will see a pattern here that the falling away has to do with an antichrist doctrine that will force Christians to either deny Christ and give allegiance to the antichrist or die. This idea has been sensationalized in books and movies to the point of unbelievably but it is going to happen. |
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