Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | 2 Thessalonians 2:3 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, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], [Dan 7:25; 8:25; 1 Tim 4:1] |
Bible Question:
Recently, I've been studying about the apostacy from a Biblical perspective and an historical one. I'd be interested in what exactly is the common view among most Bible students on this subject. What is the apostacy? Please based your discussions on what the Bible says about it. At the very least, I assume most of you will include 1 Tim 4:1. God bless you all. --Rowdy |
Bible Answer: Part 2 of 2 In my opinion and those of several million other Bible believing christians around the world, Paul was very concerned about this future event he referred to as the apostacy. He alluded to it briefly in Acts 20:30 as well as the scripture cited above to Timothy. He knew of the future and tried his best to prepare his "children" of the faith for it but it didn't do much good. Mankind doesn't have a very good track record for handling such controversies. That's why the Lord's pattern is so important to follow, that is each congregation having their own elders and deacons who share in the providing of leadership to the Lord's body throughout each generation since the beginning. Now, don't get me wrong or misunderstand. The original motivation, I'm convinced was as pure as driven snow. These men described in Part 1 had the best motives as they wanted to ensure uniformity and consistency throughout the whole church on a regional and even a world-wide scale. But they didn't know mankind's nature quite as well as our God and Father, the Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves. You see, with the Lord's pattern set up in the NT, an occasional instance of abuse of misunderstanding would be held to a minimum and thus not spread to other congregations or world wide. God knows when men are appointed over another group of men, there's always the opportunity for abuse and inevitably, some person will take that power too far and even set up rigid controls so as to keep that power contained and protected. So we as a planet have gone through the Reformation and the Restoration and learned many things about ourselves and man's basic nature. It didn't take a pyschology professor or a pyschiatrist to figure this out. It's just common sense; of course, being a parent, a Bible History student and going through a lifetime of experiences and world wide travel do help a great deal. Also please don't misunderstand my position about the Catholic organization or the Pope himself. I'd be the last person in the world to say anything bad about the Pope as he seems like a truly good human being but once again we ALL, including the Pope should be following God's Word with the knowledge that it's best for future generations. Yes, it's always possible that some person in the future could take the Pope's power and start some new phase of abuse and once again lead a bunch of people through more misunderstanding and abuse as in past centuries. Yeah, I know, you say it couldn't happen in this modern age and I'm thinking the folks before and during Martin Luther's lifetime thought the same way. It's ALWAYS best to follow God's Word. Once again, we see tremendous value in seeking and following God's pattern we see in His NT. Just as He provided in the OT, you can't go wrong by following his commands AND the examples He provides. I'd be interested in what you all think about this topic. God bless. --Rowdy |