For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. 2 Cor 1:12

Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1 KJV)

….as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4 KJV)

The Great Apostasy is an end-time phenomenon in which a large number of our apparent ‘fellow believers’ fall away and give their complete allegiance to the advancement of the cause of Satan and the elimination of the Church. As history moves into its final phase, the end-time tribulation, and as the pressures during this ‘persecution of all persecutions’ escalate,  it is then that it will rapidly become clear who are of “the wheat” and who of “the tares”.

Presently, in the pre-‘great-persecution’ phase, it is only God who is capable of discerning between the true and the apparent believers, those believers who will apostatize. Progressively, as we move into the tribulation, our Lord will begin to make clear the distinction between the true believers, they who will be able to endure by His strength, and the apparent believer, who can’t.

It is important that this end-time phenomenon, the ‘Great Apostasy’, needs to be considered side-by-side with the ‘eternal security’ principle, the eternal security of the true believer. We will need to be secure in what we believe as we move into the tribulation, and have no doubts about our own salvation. I need to know that I am saved. That, at the instant when I placed my faith in person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and relied on His work on the cross, His death and resurrection, as the full payment for my sin, that I was saved. At that point I immediately became part of God’s family, a son or daughter.

Once I’m a child of God, nothing ever changes as to who, and whom, my Father is.

For the assurance of our salvation, refer to John 10:27-30, John 5: 24, John 6:35-38, John 11:25, 1 John 5:10-13, Eph 1:13, Eph 2:8, Eph 4;30 Matt 7:21, Rom 4:5, Rom 8:33, 2Tim 1:12, Heb 7:25, 10:10,22 and many other scriptures. The gospel of John, in particular, emphasizes that salvation is by belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, (and thus trust in His work on the cross as payment for my sin) as the only requirement.  John mentions various forms of “believe” 101 times in his gospel, an average of 5x per chapter. Eternal life, not being condemned, never perishing, living forever and being ‘raised up on the last day’ are repeatedly used in the same context as believing on Christ. John 6:29 affirms that this occurs at the exclusion of any works. It is subsequent to salvation, as the believer grows, that his faith likewise grows and his belief and understanding of the sinless life of Jesus clarifies. His trust in the words and works of Jesus then becomes the believer’s source of strength.

Scripture verses supporting our Eternal Security.

From the following scriptures three points become clear:

•  Our salvation, once received, is ever-lasting, i.e. forever, eternal, never-fading, secure.
•  God Himself , our father, keeps us safe from falling.
• We are sealed and given the Spirit in our heart as a deposit/guarantee/’down payment’ of our future holiness and perfection in Christ. (Eph 1:4,13)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  John 5:24 KJV

“….All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out……

And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:36-37, 39-40 KJV

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:27-30 KJV

Hence, according to John 10:27-30, even if we let go of the Fathers hand, he is stronger than anyone, he will not let go of us.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25-26 KJV

“He that believes on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believes not God has made him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son hath life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:10-13 KJV

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30 KJV

The Great Apostasy must be viewed in the light of the preceding verses. If we believe on the Son, we are saved. If we believe some other corrupted form of the message, we are not. If we believe that we need to add to Jesus’ work on the cross, we corrupt and spoil its power in our lives. In this case, we are in danger of the dreaded words where Jesus said: “I never knew you” (Matt 7:23), where those who accepted a gospel on their own terms are excluded.

“Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will  of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 KJV. 

John 6:39 and 40 explains what the will of the Father is:

And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:39, 40 KJV) 

They that accepted Jesus on their own terms, or rely on their own contribution towards salvation, were close to becoming family, but never were. They perhaps never accepted the merciful gift of eternal life on the Father’s terms, and insisted to add some condition, compromise or works of their own. Such a corrupted gospel will have no power to save.

Similarly, when interpreting other verses indicating apostasy, such as Heb 10:26, these should be seen in context of all preceding scripture. It appears from this verse as if a wilful sin will loose us our salvation. However,  David’s wilful sinning with Bathsheba, his repentance (Ps 54) and restoration should be balanced with the Heb 10:26, which states that if we sin willfully after receiving knowledge of the truth “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”  This extreme case (Heb. 10:26-31) thus also seems to add an eternal security limitation, in the case of wilful repeated sin of an apparent believer which has “trodden underfoot the Son of God, ….and has done despite unto the spirit of grace.” As per the preceding verses we trust that God will keep us (1 Pet 1:5) from such a brash treading underfoot of His grace. As with the other ‘hard’ verses (eg John 15:6) we need to acknowledge that there are scriptures that we will have difficulty with to fully understand. This is one. Nevertheless, as a preceding verse in Heb 10:22 proclaims, we can draw near to Jesus “with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

By standing on God’s promise of salvation by faith only, we have no fear that we will fall away:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 KJV

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 KJV

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22 KJV)

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (Jude 1:24 KJV)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born (, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but) of God. :- brackets mine… (John 1:12, 13 KJV)

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25 KJV

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10 KJV

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5 KJV

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5 KJV

Because only by the gospel of believing in Jesus Christ for the FULL, complete, and only payment for our sins by His death, burial and resurrection will we be saved. This free gift must be accepted ONLY as presented, not with any subtle repackaging of this gift to include works or our effort. The ‘works’ will not make it look God’s free gift anymore, it contaminates the gift and makes it a man made gift. A man made gift has zero power to save.

All we do is accept the gift. Anything extra that ‘we have to do’ corrupts the gospel.

Our eternal security is only possible if we accept Jesus’ gracious free gift of eternal life with Him, by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross to cancel our sin, without any ifs or buts whatsoever. (Eph 2:8) Thereafter, as we come to deeper understanding of the enormity of this free gift, we will treasure our eternal position as His child above all else. We will never return the gift.

We can embrace our salvation without works, which will make us bolder and more dedicated children of God. There is no need to fear that our eternal security, termed by some as a “Once saved always saved” heresy, will lead to slackness in the believer. Its the opposite that results, because fear restrains, but confidence emboldens. Once we have grasped the enormity of Christ’s gift of eternal life with Him, we will never return the gift, we will never give the gift back. Nevertheless, it is true that we still have to make a free-will choice to hold on to this gift. We already have received the gift, now we simply hold on to and enjoy this gift to the full,we treasure it, even if it results in opposition from some. If anyone fears that our “Once saved always saved” confidence becomes a license to openly oppose God, that person probably forgets that Father God is a powerful and able father, fully able to discipline his children to correct us. To correct us should be as much in His power as was His ability to create and call us in the first place.

 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.(Psalm 12:6-7)

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: (Jude 1:1)

 

Scripture verses seeming to speak against eternal security.

This principle, our eternal security, requires special consideration when discussing the great Apostasy, prophesied to occur during the great tribulation. Clearly we have a choice to make when the antichrist arrives on the scene and demands our allegiance, to be obedient to God’s Word, or not. Saved believers only have one option, we are not to take the mark of the beast or the number of his name.

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:  And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.{Rev 14:9-11 KJV}

Anyone who thought it possible for a Christian to take the mark of the beast, worship Satan, and still go into the presence of God in heaven as a saved person will find that their faith was powerless to save them. They have accepted a false gospel that was powerless. They were deceived by false prophets or any preacher who told them that they will still have a second chance after accepting the mark. The question now is:  Was such a person never saved in the first place, or are they believers who lost their salvation?

According to our study above it will not be possible for the believers to take the mark of the beast or his number, those who had a true change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit when they believed in Jesus Christ. Once we have grasped the enormity of Christ’s gift of eternal life with Him, we will never give the gift back. Nevertheless, we still have to make a free-will choice, it is a free will decision not to take the mark. God has made us in His image, he has given us the responsibility to choose. How we will be empowered to resist the pressure I don’t know. However, we trust that God’s Spirit will endow us with sufficient power to resist such pressures with clarity and purpose, when the time comes to do so.

As the testimonies of the many  martyrs have shown throughout history, we may trust that will we also be empowered by the Holy Spirit to keep our eyes on King Jesus, as our salvation is already secure. He promises to intercede for us in Romans 8:34 and also Hebrews 7, so that we can remain standing: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25 KJV. Furthermore, according to Romans 8:26,34 it is both the Spirit and Jesus who constantly intercede for us, the saints. In 1 Peter 1 we are assured that our “inheritance is incorruptible” and “reserved for us in heaven” (v4) and that we are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation…” (v5). God himself will keep us on track.

Those opposing the “once saved always saved” principle quote the Matt 10:22 and Matt 24:13  verses “but he who endures to the end shall be saved”. These verses, on their own, sound as if ‘the end’ means the end of our lives. However, both these verses are set in the context of severe end-time persecution. Here ‘the end’ refers to the second coming of Jesus! The context is thus not salvation and ‘eternal life’, but hope in end time persecution. In addition verse 22 clearly refers to physical survival: ” And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened“. The mention of “no flesh” is deliberate and clear. This clearly indicates physical survival, else no one would be left alive before the second coming! In this context, and by the mention of ‘no flesh’, Jesus is speaking of physical survival, not loss of eternal salvation.

Also note the endurance is required for the end time persecution. Thus, firstly, the endurance under severe persecution in both these scriptures cannot be taken to apply outside the end time scenario. Hence it is not a general statement about eternal security. Secondly, although these verses do seem to add a salvation condition, on closer inspection and reading them with the remainder of scripture, it can be seen as to refer to physical survival. Thirdly, this statement of Jesus occurs during the severest persecution, when all unbelievers would already have fled long before. There are none of the unsaved left among the believers!  So, in persecution, we trust that this verse is an exhortation to endure and keep our eyes on Jesus, as our salvation is already secure.

In a similar way, Gal 5:4’s “fallen from grace”, Heb 3:12 “departing from the living God”, most probably refer to those apparent believers who, who unbeknown to anyone, have not accepted God’s free gift on God’s terms and are thus not saved.  “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Heb 3:12. In this verse we have a person who is NOT a believer, not saved, having an evil heart of unbelief. This person is among the believers, but not one of them. It is easy to see why this person would fall away. He would be like the ‘hireling’ of John 10, who runs away at the first sign of danger.

Other verses:

In the Gospels: The following verses also initially appear to indicate we can loose our salvation. We will demonstrate, however, that this is not Jesus’ intent with these verses:

Luke 8:12-13: Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  They on the rock [are they,] which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 

John 15:5,6: I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

Verse 6 (and 13) in Luke shows that those without root or moisture wither, “some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.” Although there was belief at first (v13), it withered and died. The same with the branch, it did not abide and it withered and was thrown in the fire.

The beauty of the parable of the sower is that it establishes right away, in v12, the principle of “believe and be saved.” Had those with “the seed on the roadside” believed, and the seed germinated, they would have been saved. Jesus starts the parable’s explanation of the three following ‘seeds’ by first confirming that those who believe are saved. All the following seeds have thus germinated, these people believed, and are saved. Just as the prodigal son eventually returns to the Father, and as Jesus leaves 99 sheep to gather the one gone astray, so the Father will never abandon those who are saved. It is a matter of God’s integrity, not ours. God made us part of His family, His promise is unshakable. He remains our Father forever.

Now we can put the rest into perspective. It is true that we WILL wither if we do not take in and digest Jesus’ word regularly. He is the Word, and we are to consume it just as we need to consume food to stay alive. Without intake of his word we WILL wither away. This is very serious. The degree of our spiritual nourishment affects our spiritual walk. We will fade into nothingness without the Word. The withered branch becomes useless to Jesus. This is a fact. We will fade and die in our spiritual walk without nourishment. But that does not mean that God’s promise of eternal life is cancelled. His promises remain. We are unfaithful but He is faithful. He has shown His faithfulness over and over in scripture. With Moses, David (both murderers), Jacob with his many wiles and wives, and virtually all characters of the old testament with the exception of the prophets.

Eternal life is a free gift, and cannot be lost, else the gift would not have been eternal in the first place. Hence this post has been revised to remove the implication that ‘loss of faith’ is also ‘loss of salvation’. When we accepted God’s gift, nothing done on our part achieved our salvation, so nothing done on our part can cause us to loose our salvation. There may be discipline following a disconnect with our faith in Jesus, but loss of salvation is impossible. Any teaching to the contrary corrupts the gospel. According to Romans 8 both the Spirit and Jesus intercede for us, the saints, constantly. Once I’m a child, nothing ever changes as to who, and whom, my Father is. However, we need to exercise a free- will decision to hold on to the gift, not to be deceived into disposing of it. No one can pluck it out of our hands, our sinfulness cannot remove it,but it seems as if we still have to exercise our free- will, to treasure and hold on to God’s merciful gift. Peter speaks such of persons despising the gift:

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: {2:15}Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; {2:16} But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. {2:17} These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. {2:18} For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. {2:19}While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. {2:20} For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. {2:21} For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. {2:22} But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. (2 Pet 2:14-22)

Having established that God will ‘deliver us from evil’ , from becoming such wicked/polluted false teachers who have rejected God’s merciful gift after ‘the knowledge of  Jesus’ we may have faith that such an extreme scenario is reserved for the truly wicked. We can be confident in our salvation, treasure the gift that it is eternally secure. However, we can now picture the frightful scenario where many of our apparent ‘fellow believers’ will fall away and proceed to give their allegiance to the advancement of the cause of the Antichrist and Satan and the elimination of the elect.

Prophecies of the Great Apostasy:

In Matthew 24:3-13, Jesus is responding to a question from His disciples about the timing of these end time events. They ask:

• When these things will be, (temple destroyed) and
• what the sign is of your return and
• of the end of the world?

In Jesus’ response He puts the Great deception and the Great Persecution as one of the signs that has to precede his second coming:

And when He sat down on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us when these things will be, and what the sign is of your return and of the end of the age?” (4) And Jesus answered and said, “See to it that no one deceives you. (5) For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and they will deceive many people. (6) And you are going to hear about [actual] wars and impending wars. Make sure you do not become [overly] alarmed by such things. For these things must happen, but this is not yet the end of the Tribulation.

and

(9) Then men will betray you [bringing you] into tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all of the nations on account of My Name.(10) And at that time many shall be offended (by the Word i.e., will apostatize) and will betray each other and will hate each other, (11) and many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. (12) Now because of the increase of lawlessness at that time, the love of the many will cool.

and

(14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

and

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:)

and

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

and

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:14, 15, 21, 22, 24 KJV)

 

2) In 1st Timothy 4:1 the apostle Paul tells us that there will be a turning away from the faith in the end-times, due to full-scale deception and false teachings in all levels of church life.

Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith (i.e. apostatize) , giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 1st Timothy 4:1

This is already very noticeable, as discussed in posts 4.0, and the last part of this post.

3) In 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4,   two unmistakable events are mentioned that must precede the resurrection.These are highlighted below:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, {2:2} 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. {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; {2:4} Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4

4) Daniel:

Daniel 7:7; 7:19

Daniel 8:10-12.

He even magnified himself against the Prince of the host . The daily sacrifice was abolished by him, and the holy place  was desecrated. And along with the daily sacrifice, the host  fell into his power on account of the rebellion . And he threw truth to the ground, and was successful in whatever he did. 
And at the end of their kingdom (i.e., during the Tribulation), when rebels are being confirmed [in their apostasy], there will arise a stern-faced king (i.e., antichrist), well versed in deception. Daniel 8:23

Great Apostasy – Summary: 

 

2 Cor 11:2 “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ. {11:3} But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. {11:4} For if he that comes preaching another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him. ]

The current world-wide shift away from the centrality of the Word and towards the supernatural may be the first traces of the commencement of the end-time deception. Refer to https://youtu.be/AvTOm_2GcTM, https://youtu.be/RxItfu_gM8w and http://www.piratechristian.com/berean-examiner/the-six-hallmarks-of-a-nar-church to envisage how this drift away from the word would perfectly set up a local church for deception.  Excessive focus on the supernatural, revival, bringing ‘heaven down to earth’ and healing at the expense of chapter by chapter bible preaching is dangerous. By applauding the signs and wonders without due discernment makes a local church easy prey for the beast from the earth (Rev 13:11-18), the false prophet, and candidates for a fall into apostasy.

The tares are growing in the company with the wheat just as Jesus said they would. (Lk.3:16-17). Also consider the parable of the net which gathers good and bad fish (Matt.13:47-50) and the parable of the wedding banquet where some who show up are not worthy (Matt.22:1-14, Lk.14:16-24). The environment created by the shift away from the centrality of the Word will lead to a virtually indistinguishable mix of believers and unbelievers.

The place of repentance:

Acts 11:17-18 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? {11:18} When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Returning to our earlier discussion on the eternal security of believers, a topic worthy of investigation is that of repentance. As mentioned before, we need to be certain of our eternal security as believers when we get thrown into the cauldron of false teaching, persecution and deception rampant during the antichrist’s reign.

When we receive the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus, we experience a change of heart. The great gift of eternal life, with our Savior, inspires in us a thankfulness and a desire to please Him. This change of heart accompanies our faith in Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit. This is what repentance refers to. The very moment we believe in Christ with an accepting heart is when we are saved, receive the Holy Spirit, and are adopted as children of God. As children of God, and with our new spiritual nature, we will produce fruits indicating our new attitude, and bear fruits befitting our repentance.

However, repentance ‘from sin’ is often added by some as a salvation condition. This is a subtle form of works, something we have ‘to do’ to add to Jesus’ work on the cross. Repenting from sin then seen as if we need to list our major sins, confess them and ask for forgiveness, before we are saved. ‘Minor sins’ or forgotten sins are conveniently ignored.  To list, confess and repent from our sin this way is clearly an impossible task to do properly. Applying this doctrine makes it impossible to know if we did it right, or if we are saved. This view of ‘repentance’ can corrupt the gospel if misapplied, as repentance should only be seen as a change of heart after an awareness of our lost sinful condition and a resulting ‘turning to God’ for His mercy and salvation.

We understand that both John the Baptist and Jesus preached repentance, a turning to God, a change of heart. The fruit of that change of heart is a changed attitude which leads to a changed life. when the believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment he believes in Jesus Christ. He is now empowered to put his worldly nature to death and increasingly live by his spiritual nature.

Adding a subtle form of works is nearly always at the heart of any false teaching. There is not a single verse in (KJV) scripture stating that a repentance from sin is a requirement for salvation. Yes, we need to acknowledge that we are sinful (and will remain so till we die), and that we are in need of the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. But we cannot possibly repent ‘of sin’ prior to salvation, there are just too many sins that we aren’t even aware of. Anyone who says he’s repented from sin (i.e. turned away from sin) is a liar. He just couldn’t do it.

Hence repentance ‘from sin’ is not a requirement for salvation. This is not biblical, any such additional term ‘from sin’ needs to be deleted. The biblical meaning of repentance is turning away from our previous course of action. God Himself too repents in many instances: From destroying the Israelites, or the Ninevites, as we read in Jonah 3:9,10 (KJV). This is what happened after Jonah’s preaching, the Ninevites turned to God. God then repented from His intended course of action. As God can’t possibly sin, repentance does not mean turning from sin.  Our salvation, though, is accompanied by repentance in terms of our turning away from our previous belief system towards Jesus Christ.

The gospel of John mentions belief in Christ for salvation, in various forms, 101 times. John expresses the purpose of his gospel as “that believing ye might have life through His name.” (John 20:31). As the purpose of his writings is to show how we can be saved, isn’t it enlightening that THE WORD REPENTANCE IS NOT EVEN MENTIONED ONCE in John’s gospel?

The other John, John the Baptist, spoke about repentance extensively, however. John speaks about the fruits that befit repentance. Once we are saved believers we experience a change in heart about our sinful habits. As already saved children of God repent (turn away) from them, and the fruits thereof follow.

What many forget is that John’s audience contained already saved people. Paul explains very carefully In Romans 2 to 4 and 9-11 that OT believers were saved by faith, as was Abraham. No one on earth has ever been saved by keeping the Law. The Law was simply a schoolmaster to direct Jews to ‘call upon the name of Jehovah’, God Almighty, for His mercy and salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3).

When studying at Luke 3, we see John the Baptist exhorting three groups (the crowd, tax collectors and soldiers). It is astonishing that in all three cases John refers to their possessions: their things and their money. Reliance on these things belongs to the ‘old man’ and believers need to lay these off, to ‘starve’ these attitudes to death’.

The crowds are told they should give away part of what they have, their possessions: “if you have clothing and food, and someone you can help doesn’t, share it”. But the tax collectors and soldiers are told not to take more than what they are supposed to. Addressing a specific profession that is notorious for extortion, John puts his finger right on it and shows them that it does not befit repentance. The abuse was using their power to indulge their love of money by exploiting other people. Why is this contrary to humble reliance on the mercy of God? Two reasons: one, hankering after more money reveals an insecurity and discontentment that you won’t have if you are stretched out like a little baby in the arms of your Father’s mercy. Remember Hebrews 13:5. “Be content with what you have, for I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The fruit that befits repentance is, on the one hand, the refusal to exploit anyone to get more things of this world. On the other hand it is also to show mercy on a spiritual level, to bear spiritual fruit, proclaiming the gospel and leading others to Christ for their salvation.

The reality, however, remains that some will accept the gospel only on a superficial level, and not as God’s gift of salvation on God’s terms. These apparent believers will not able to draw on God’s strength during persecution or difficulties, and it most likely they that will ‘fall away’ during the Great Apostasy.

Bible Versions and the Great Apostasy.

The last 50 years or so has seen a great ‘explosion’ in the number of bible versions in English. Many bible studies are plagued by participants all showing up at home groups with their own preferred translation. Very few can explain their preference in any convincing way. Have all these versions been beneficial to their studies, or has it increased confusion and decreased clarity?

Has the increase in versions increased bible literacy? It is up for debate whether the increase in choice has increased the amount of scripture reading taking place in English speaking countries. It certainly hasn’t lead to a revival in bible reading and literacy.

The plethora of versions seems to have lent credibility to the secular attack on the bible. When making a choice on which bible to buy, if there are so many versions, a person may well question what translation is the most reliable? Is the bible at all still accurate? How many errors have crept in over the years? Some question whether the Bible is still God’s Word, or just a guide to what originally was intended, now left to the individual to decide what is still applicable? That line of thought is of course faulty because it assumes God is not any longer involved in keeping His word the way He wants it, and translated the way he sees fit, despite our human frailties.

With so many versions it is also easy to see that churches will naturally start gravitating towards a translation pleasing to all, probably one giving the least offense, the lowest common denominator. A translation that most people are comfortable with. Would that perhaps not also coincide with the translation that has the best marketing campaign in the bookstores and the most exiting commentaries perhaps? Anything is acceptable as long as it helps people read the bible, seems to be the logic.

The prophesied Apostasy (1 Tim 4:1 and 2 Thess 2:2-4), where Christians follow false teaching in great numbers, can only happen in a climate where the Word has been watered down, corrupted and misrepresented. The Bible is our only link to God’s Words, without it Christianity goes astray, is left powerless. At the same time such a climate can only exist where Christians prefer of the reasoning of supposedly educated men, whose philosophies leads them to folly. They forget that God’s power is more than sufficient to maintain His purposes with His own Word.

 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 Thessalonians 2:3)

The Logical Historical Approach.

Rather than attempting to prove which version is the most reliable, which leads to hair splitting and not convincing anyone, lets use our logic. Let us simply look at the first few centuries of Christianity, and what the likely migration of Christianity into the greater Europe would have looked like. Greater Europe of the time encompassed Britain in the west to Russia in the east. At the same time we will limit our study to the New Testament manuscripts only, which were written in Greek. Greek was the world language of the time, much like English is now.

In addition we will consider where any likely attempted corruptions of the bible would have come from. Only the very naïve will ignore the fact that Satan will have mounted attacks on the bible from the very first century. Is there any reason to believe this attack is not continuing to this day? It is no secret that false teachers, attempting to corrupt the gospel, arose simultaneously with the rise of Christianity. Peter and Paul already had to fight these men, as 1 & 2 Timothy, Thessalonians and Jude testify.

Persecution and the spread of the gospel:

If you were a Christian in Jerusalem in 40AD and had to flee for your life, where would you have gone? South to Sinai, Egypt and Africa or North into Asia-minor (Turkey of today). Note that Egypt of the day was a noted center of the dark religions and the occult, especially the city of Alexandria. The rest of Africa was uncivilized. It stands to reason that the great majority of common men would have gone north.

Next we look at a map of the middle east, Europe and Asia. We color in Turkey, as this country represents the first successful ‘invasion’ of Christianity. The apostle Paul’s first missionary journeys were all in Asia minor. Ephesus and the other six churches of Revelation were in Asia minor. Then color in the Greece and the country of Armenia (north east Turkey) with a special highlight. Armenia is extremely important in our logical historical approach because it is the oldest continually Christian country up to the 1900’s. To have remained Christian through all those centuries, completely surrounded by Islamic countries most of the time, testifies of a vibrant, robust and tested Christianity. Armenia was the secondary gateway of the gospel into eastern Europe and into Russia. Then we draw a vertical arrow, pointing northwards, originating form Greece. (Macedonia of that time). Macedonia was the primary gateway of the gospel into Central Europe. North pointed straight into central Europe. (Click on link to view map: Byzantine text)

The next the primary country in Europe to colour in is Slovakia, representing the Moravian (Slavic) empire if the 9the century. Moravia was the springboard of much missionary work prior to the reformation, which continued until the late 1700’s, also testifying of a vibrant, robust and tested Christianity.

Geographically, the ancient Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Croatia represented a wide and easily accessible gateway from Asia Minor, and the Byzantine empire,  into eastern Europe.  In contrast, travel to western Europe was much restricted and in many other ways difficult. Rome, comparatively speaking, was in chaos during and after its demise in 476 AD, when Odoacer became king of Italy.

Next we draw a thick line from the Eastern end of Austria to Monaco, curving through Switzerland. This line represents a natural barrier to free travel, the Alps. Then we color in Italy all the way up to the Alps. Contrary to our expectation, Italy and the Alps represent the opposite, not a gateway but a barrier to the spread of true Christianity into western Europe. The Catholic Church, with its obviously corrupted doctrine, was that barrier. By restricting the common man’s access to the Bible, the Roman Catholic church resisted true Christianity, and corrupted the gospel by adding their flavor to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. Was the Roman Catholic church then not in any way beneficial to true Christianity, thus representing the gateway for Christianity into western Europe? The answer seems to be no.

Firstly, the Roman Catholic Church was quick to implement ‘professional clergy’. These professionals were in many instances naturally inclined to protect their jobs, and it was in their interest to represent the bible as a book that only the learned could interpret. Private study of the bible was discouraged. It did not take long, after that, for the church to outlaw the possession of bibles by laymen. This became such an obsession with the clergy that the death penalty was soon imposed for possessing a bible. Many ‘heretics’ died at the stake for owning a bible.

In terms of stability, Byzantium, or the Eastern Roman Empire, established by Constantine in AD 330, maintained power in the region for over a thousand years. This provided superior security and a relatively stable base for the spread of the Gospel.  The countries to the north admired the splendor of Byzantium and its rulers. One such admiring ruler was the Slavic Emperor Rastislav. While he was in power, Greater Moravia had sufficient economic and military power to equal the Frankish Empire. In 855, he repelled such a Frankish attack.

Subsequently Rastislav contacted the Byzantine Emperor Michael III and asked for missionaries to be sent to teach Christianity in the Slavic language. The German clergy had come and gone without success, because the Moravians had insisted on ministers who could teach them the Gospel and celebrate the Liturgy in the Slavonic tongue, not in the incomprehensible Latin. Michael III sent the brothers Cyril and Methodius, who would have a lasting impact on the Slavic language and the alphabet in which it was written.

Cyril and Methodius were born in Thessalonica in 827 and 826, respectively. Their birth names were Constantine and Methodius. They came from a wealthy family, but denounced worldly things to become priests. Cyril and Methodius eventually became known as the ‘Apostles of the Slavs’.

Initially the Khazars were the first to send requests to Constantinople for a Christian teacher. At the time, the brothers were members of the monastery community at Bosphorous. Cyril was chosen to fulfill the Khazar request and Methodius was allowed to accompany him. The brothers were so successful in their mission to the Khazars that they were next sent to minister to the Moravians, at Rastislav’s request.  Cyril and Methodius were familiar with this spoken language. What was needed was a written version. Cyril created an alphabet and, together, the brothers transcribed the Gospels and relevant liturgical books into this new written (Cyrillic) language. From 863 to ca. 868, the brothers worked prodigiously among the Moravians.

The Germans did not approve of Cyril and Methodius. Part of the problem was that the brothers were from the eastern part of the Church, centered in Constantinople. The Great Schism with Rome was around the corner (1054), and the disputes that led to this event were very much afoot in the late 800s. Second, the German clergy resented the use of the Slavonic language in conjunction with the Divine Liturgy, instead insisting on Latin, incomprehensible to the Slavs.

The great abundance of the Byzantine text.

The above snippet of history illustrates the difference between the approach of Roman Catholic and Byzantine church. With this bit of background it is now easy to visualize that it would be most likely that one would find an abundance of evidence of true, living Christianity in Central and Eastern Europe. This evidence may be found in the form of NT Bible manuscripts referred to as the Byzantine text. Despite vicious attacks from the modern academia, nothing can dispel the evidence of the great number of manuscripts of Byzantine  origin as well as the evidence of great consistency among these 5300 manuscripts, now found dotted all over the libraries and universities of Europe. It is clear that reliable copies of the Greek New Testament were spread far and wide across all of central and eastern Europe.

Many years later, in 1510, when the printing presses were standing ready to flood Europe with printed bibles, they were waiting for the best Byzantine New Testament text they could find. The Swiss printers refused to touch the corrupt Latin bible, called the Vulgate. They wanted a reliable un-tampered Greek text to work with. Erasmus, the greatest Latin and Greek scholar of his time, was selected by the printers in Basel for this work. Even if Erasmus, under time pressure while the printers stood waiting, could only access six of these manuscripts to compile his Greek New Testament, God provided. The consistency of these texts, when later compared to other manuscripts of Byzantine origin, was so great that even enemies of the Erasmus’ work have to admit to it. They are forced to resort to minute and insignificant arguments, ladled with spoonfuls of emotion and rhetoric, to smear Erasmus’ work.

Of course there was a human element embedded in the Byzantine text that Erasmus used to compile the his work, called the Textus Receptus, or ‘received text’. That is why he placed all six handwritten manuscripts next to each other, to compare them verse by verse. It is easy to spot one stray verse or copy error, if five verses say one thing and one said another. Even today, we can easily determine ‘the odd one out’, if we were to determine in a similar way what the majority of the verses agreed on.

Of all the bibles in currently in print, it is only the King James Version, and to a degree the New King James Version, that derives from the Byzantine New Testament text. We contend that the KJV is the only English version that can be trusted as the most authentic translation in English. This seems very radical, but anyone making the effort to research the origins of their bible version, will quickly see that all the other bible versions (NIV, ESV, NLT, RSV, etc.) derive from the ‘Westcott and Hort’ Greek text. These two men managed to convince the academic world that their compilation was better than the Byzantine text, despite the fact that all historic evidence points to the opposite.

Westcott and Hort’s Greek text derives from three Greek manuscripts. The Codex Sinai(ticus), the Codex Vatican(us) and the Alexandrian Codex. Together with some snippets called papyri, these are now designated as the Alexandrian text type. By a similar application of history and logic, it can easily be shown that the Codex Sinaiticus, found in a monastery in the Sinai desert, was likely to be corrupt to start off with, and with preciously little backup. Where backup was presented, guess where that came from? None other than the Vatican, with also a single document, the ‘Vaticanus’.

The Alexandrian codex and the papyri speak for themselves. They were found amongst Gnostic writings specifically denounced as heresies by the church fathers. The gospels of Thomas and Mary, and the ‘Book of Truth’, all clear departures from the faith, have the same Alexandrian heritage. For a very detailed documentary on the above watch  https://youtu.be/ukRCVDmiAts

A simple question, to start of with, is to ask why the Catholic church, which has fought tooth and nail throughout the centuries to keep the bible away from the common man, would suddenly hail the discoverer of the Codex Sinaiticus, von Tischendorf, as a hero. Easily accessible history accounts that von Tischendorf had an audience with the pope and a number of Cardinals on his way to the Sinai.  After Tischendorf’s ‘discovery’ of the new manuscript, the Vatican also suddenly ‘discovered’ a forgotten manuscript in their archives which supported Tischendorf’s document. Why would the catholic church, who previously burnt and executed people who were caught in possession of a bible and made it their aim to destroy the bible-centred reformation, suddenly support a new Greek New Testament?  For a detailed history to back up the above, watch the “Lamp in the dark” series by Chris Pinto (YouTube link above, and the remainder of the series).

The main question remains the following: Why on earth would one trust a small number of Alexandrian documents with a ~30% variance (forming the Westcott & Hort New Testament)  over 5300 documents with a 1-2% variance? (forming the Textus Receptus). How is it possible that academics can be blind to such overwhelming evidence?

You may object: “How can it be that most academics and colleges are wrong on this”? The simple answer is that academics are the most likely candidates to value the opinion of men too highly, regarding their approval even more important than the opinion of God. It is the same question raised in the evolution vs. creation debate. “How can all those evolution professors be wrong?” Surely they can’t all be wrong? Yes, they are, they are wrong as ~99% of Pharisees were wrong in Jesus’ day. That is the nature of deception, once a person swallows a lie he will defend it as the truth despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Those accepting the ‘Wescott & Hort’ new testament went wrong in precisely the same manner as the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, the ‘professional academics’. They would not accept the overwhelming evidence that Jesus operated in the power of God and the Holy Spirit because He did not fit their perceptions. Acceptance and laudation amongst themselves and the commendation and applause of men had become their idol.

The danger zone for academia is that their jobs and their department grants  are locked into a system of compliance. Their ‘reputation’ amongst their peers is likely to cloud their thinking. Are they still independent readers of God’s word? Are they valuing the Word’s guidance more highly than the doctrines of their peers? Perhaps it is such men whose leadership should be trusted least of all. Rather do your own research and trust the evidence of history.

You may now also ask: “Does this mean that Erasmus should be considered a hero, and that those who contributed to the new bible versions are villains?” No, like Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and any of the other reformers, Erasmus also had his shortcomings. These were men that God used to influence history, but they remained just that, men. Men as likely to err in some fashion like all of us. No man is worthy to be elevated to hero status, every one errs seriously somewhere along the way. We all need God’s mercy and forgiveness. Nevertheless God wants to use us, He accomplishes His purposes through us despite our failures.

As may be clearly seen in the Old Testament, God has his hand in all of history, despite the apparent chaotic outcomes. He is the only One we can trust. He is the only One who saves us (from ourselves, our fallen nature). The amazing thing is that He wants us to engage in this world even if we are going to mess things up somewhere. He wants us to give life a full go, relying on Him, on His Word and to acknowledge His presence with us along the way. Only He offers us the gift of gifts, Jesus Christ, as payment for our many omissions and sins.

Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation. {12:3} Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. {12:4} And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. {12:5} Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this [is] known in all the earth. {12:6} Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great [is] the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. (Isaiah 12:2-6)

For further detail of manuscripts relating to the Byzantine text, refer to https://brandplucked.webs.com/byzantinetextlate.htm

Personal Opinion:

I cannot say that the new translations (NIV and the like) cannot ever be used by God to speak to us, His people. Of course He does speak to us through His Word, in our spirit, by His Holy Spirit. There is such an abundance of truth is God’s Word that the efforts of some men to corrupt it can not possibly change it all. They may succeed in changing some verses, but the truth will still come through in others. However iit should be read with extreme caution. Continuous editing and changing of these versions puts on on sandy ground.

An example of such a change with much backup would be Revelation 1:6: In the KJV we read: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, {1:6} And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” The new translations change this to “a kingdom of priests“. On its own it is a quite serious change, affecting our view, hope and expectation of our purpose in the millennium. However, Revelation 20:6 states that we will be ruling with Christ (we “shall reign with him a thousand years.”). We are His co-regents during the millennium. Hence the truth is still to be found elsewhere and the dilution, although serious, is compensated for. Also read Rev 5:10 “And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” The serious reader of the bible is less likely to be affected by these corruptions, because they would be aware of the substantiating scriptures. However, false teachers will use these corruptions to deceive weak Christians. For example, by using the corrupted Rev 1:6 verse above, they may use it to substantiate their false ‘kingdom now’ theology. (google ‘NAR’ (new apostolic reformation))

Another easy to spot change in the new translations, even the NKJV, is that the word “hell” has been removed entirely from the bible.  It is nowhere to be found, it has been replaced by the pagan concept of ‘Hades’. Would you think that ‘Hades’ an easier concept to understand than hell? Are the new translations not supposed to make the bible easier to understand? Or do they wish to water it down, dilute it, to make it more ‘palatable’.

We clearly need to draw a line in the sand, resist the corruption process and establish a benchmark. We need to realize that we already have a “go to” version in the KJV that can be trusted, and use this as the authoritative guide in our studies.

The most serious effect of the new translations, perhaps even greater than attempting to corrupt God’s Word, is that it attempts to erode the general view of the infallibility of God’s word.  Is Satan’s prime target not perhaps to erode our confidence in whether we are reading Jesus’ exact words? When anyone is confronted with the many differing versions, a person may well question what translation he should choose as the most reliable? Are the those words still God’s words?

Besides the attack on the individual’s confidence, the new translations have also lent credibility to the secular attack on the bible. Very few theologians will still have the confidence and faith to state openly that God has in fact preserved His Word, even he used fallible men to copy the original Greek and afterwards other men to translate it into English. Logically this attack is all too ridiculous. Could our Almighty Father, creator of the heavens, the earth and all contained in them, worker of great deeds and miracles, not accomplish a much simpler task, like preserving His Word?