THE FALL AWAY

Paul, accompanied by Silas and Timothy, visited Thessalonica during his second missionary journey and established a church there before leaving. Furthermore, commentators believe the letters he wrote to the church in Thessalonica were the first of the thirteen epistles that Paul wrote. This letter, written around 51 A.D., was in response to the report of a misinterpretation of Jesus’s return that Paul received while laboring in Corinth.

In chapter two of Thessalonians, Paul clarifies his teaching on the second coming of Jesus. Apparently, after his departure, someone began erroneously teaching the new believers that the day of the Lord had occurred, along with some other false doctrines. Thus, he saw a need to provide correction. First, Paul informed the church that this event had not occurred and that they were not to be deceived, for prior to that time, there would be a falling away of believers, as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:3a.

Furthermore, prior to his execution in Rome, Paul wrote “The Pastoral Epistles” to Timothy to encourage him in the pastoral care of the churches in Ephesus. From his statement in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 which said, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” leads me to speculate that the church in Ephesus and Thessalonica were experiencing a similar issue with believers. Satan used individuals within the church to affect the belief system of fellow believers, and consequently, they were accepting falsity and departing from the truth of kingdom teaching.

Many misinformed believers living during the time of both writings thought the end time was happening during their lifetime; however, it was not. They overlooked the teachings of Jesus, where He shared events that would occur before His return to the earth and emphasized that only God knew when that would be, according to Matthew 24:36.

As Jesus said and Paul reiterated, false teachers have increased, leading many believers today to be deceived and depart from the truth. If you are reading this blog and find yourself disenchanted with God, His Word, or the Church, I encourage you to pray and ask God to give you an understanding of the times, as we all need to be drawing closer to Him.

It has been almost 2000 years since Jesus departed this earth, and His coming into our earthly realm to rapture His body is imminent; now is not the time to fall away. I assure you that you do not want to be a resident on this earth after the rapture, and I’m leaving you with the words of the old hymn, “Come To Jesus.”

1 Come to Jesus, come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

2 He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

3 He is able, He is able,
He is able just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

4 He is willing, He is willing,
He is willing just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

5 Come, confess Him, come, confess Him,
Come, confess His just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

6 Come, obey Him, come, obey Him,
Come, obey Him just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

7 He will hear you, He will hear you,
He will hear you just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

8 He’ll forgive you, He’ll forgive you,
He’ll forgive you just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

9 He will cleanse you, He will cleanse you,
He will cleanse you just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

10 Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you,
Jesus loves you just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.

11 Only trust Him, only trust Him,
Only trust Him just now;
Just now come to Jesus,
Come to Jesus just now.