* The apostles John and Paul speak of the apostasy which will come in the churches in last days.

 

(Comments by Joan Boney)

The apostle John speaks to his church group about antichrist:

John says:

I John 2

18  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.

19 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.

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The apostle Paul called the elders at Ephesus together and he said to them:

Acts 20

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.

Even in those elders at Ephesus, some elders would arise speaking "perverse things", setting up other doctrines to draw away disciples to themselves, creating denominations and dividing the church at Ephesus.

And Paul spoke the following to the church at Thessalonica:

2 Thessalonians 2

3-4  KJV  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

In 1982, I was reading this scripture and God said to me:  "The falling away are not people leaving the churches.  The falling away are the churches leaving the scriptures."

NASB

3-4  No one is to deceive you in any way! For it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

The temple of God are the bodies of the individual church people.

I Cor. 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Antichrist would move into church people as they cast aside portions of scriptures.

II Thessalonians 2:6-9  NASB

6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders,

When I read v. 6 in the NASB, I said to God, "Who is it that restrains antichrist?"

Instantly God brought this to my mind by HIS Spirit:  "Jesus, The Word, restrains antichrist and keeps antichrist out of the church.  But when they set aside scripture they remove the restraint and antichrist moves into the church.  For the removal of portions of scripture is the removal of Jesus, The Word, from the church."

The fate of those who remove scripture and follow other doctrines in the church is as follows:

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12   KJV

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

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