Prediction of the apostasy
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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
Contents |
Question
Does the Bible predict an apostasy from the church founded by Jesus Christ?
Response
The Greek word translated as "apostasy" (αποστασία) meaning a defection or revolt, from απο, apo, "away, apart", στασις, stasis, "standing". Thus, an "apostasy" is not a failure of the Church due to persecution from without, but is fundamentally about the betrayal of the Church from within.
The Bible predicts an apostasy before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ:
- 1 NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
- 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
- 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... (2_Thess. 2:1-3)(emphasis added)
The Greek word translated "falling away" in the King James Version is αποστασία, apostasy.
Other translations render it:
- Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (NIV) off-site
- 1Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
- 2that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
- 3Let 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... (New American Standard Version) off-site
Paul also taught that after his departure, people from within and without the Church would change doctrine and lead the members astray:
- 28 ¶ Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
- 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
- 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)
Paul warned Timonthy:
- 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
- 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2_Tim. 4:3-4} (emphasis added)
Peter also taught that false teachers would be present in the Church and would seek to deceive members:
- 1 BUT there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
- 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.(2_Pet. 2:1-2)
Conclusion
There are clear Biblical teachings of an apostasy. Attempts to argue otherwise must disregard a great deal of Biblical data.
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
| Apostasy wiki articles |
- Apostasy
- Apostasy and the "gates of hell"
- Evidence of the apostasy in the Bible
- Individual versus organizational apostasy
- No complete apostasy?
- Original sin
- Patristic evidence of the apostasy
- Prediction of the apostasy
| FAIR Priesthood wiki articles |
- Bible teachings about priesthood
- Christians don't need a mediating priesthood?
- Elias and Elijah at the Kirtland Temple
- Jesus is the only Melchizedek priesthood holder
- Location of the organization of the Church [needs work]
- No Paid Ministry
- Priesthood non-transferable?
- Need for priesthood restoration
- Date of the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood
- Women and the priesthood [needs work]
FAIR web site
| Apostasy FAIR articles |
- FAIR Topical Guide: Apostasy and restoration FAIR link
- FAIR Topical Guide: Priesthood restoration FAIR link
- Roger Keller, "The Apostasy," FAIR 2004 conference. FAIR link
Dr. Keller is a former Presbyterian minister.
External links
| Apostasy on-line articles |
- Richard L. Anderson, "Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp: Three Bishops between the Apostles and Apostasy," Ensign (August 1976): 51. off-site
- Kent P. Jackson, "Early Signs of the Apostasy," Ensign (December 1984): 8. off-site
- Roger D. Cook, "How Deep the Platonism? A Review of Owen and Mosser's Appendix: Hellenism, Greek Philosophy, and the Creedal "Straightjacket" of Christian Orthodoxy," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 265–299. off-site PDF link
- William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson, "The Evangelical Is Our Brother (Review of How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation)," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 178–209. off-site PDF link
- Kent P. Jackson, "Early Signs of the Apostasy," Ensign (December 1984): 8. off-site
- Hyde M. Merrill, "The Great Apostasy as Seen by Eusebius," Ensign (November 1972): 34. off-site
- Hugh W. Nibley, "Evangelium Quadraginta Dierum," Vigiliae Christianae 20 (1966):1-24; reprinted in Hugh W. Nibley, Mormonism and Early Christianity (Vol. 4 of Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Todd Compton and Stephen D. Ricks, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1987), 10–44. ISBN 0875791271. off-site GospeLink direct off-site
- Dallin H. Oaks, "Apostasy and Restoration," Ensign (May 1995): 84. off-site
- David Stewart, Jr., "The Christian Apostasy," cumorah.com off-site
Printed material
| Apostasy printed materials |
- Matthew B. Brown, “Evidences of Apostasy,” in Matthew B. Brown, All Things Restored, 2d ed. (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2006), 1–32. AISN B000R4LXSM. ISBN 1577347129.
- Noel B. Reynolds (editor), Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apostasy (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2005), 1. ISBN 0934893020. off-site (Key source)
