Falling Away

[cactusj]

What do ya'll think the falling away is?

2 Thessalonians 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;

 

[Rebirth In Flames]

Throughout history there have been individuals who epitomized evil and who were hostile to everything Christ stands for, ( 1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 John 7). These antichrists have lived in every generation and will continue to work their evil. Then just before Christ’s second coming, “the man of lawlessness…the son of destruction,” a completely evil man, will arise. He will be Satan’s tool, equipped with Satan’s power (2:9). This lawless man will be the antichrist.



It is dangerous, however, to label any person as the antichrist and to try to predict Christ’s coming based on that assumption. Paul mentions that antichrist, not so we might identify him specifically, but se we might be ready for anything that threatens our faith. If our faith is strong, we don’t need to be afraid of what lies ahead, because we know that this lawless man has already been defeated by God, no matter how powerful he becomes or how terrible our situation seems. God is in control, and he will be victorious over the antichrist. Our task is to be prepared for Christ’s return and to spread the gospel so that even more people will also be prepared.



(When Paul first wrote to the Thessalonians, they were in danger of losing hope in the second coming. Then they shifted to the opposite extreme – some of them thought that Jesus would be coming at any minute. Paul tried to restore the balance by describing certain events that would happen before Christ’s return.)

 

[MbiaJc]

Leaving sound doctrine.