Falling Away
Hi Everyone,
I am writing today about a vision concerning today and the end times. The Lord shows us things in visions to remind us of events that have been foretold in the Bible. But I have come to believe that these events will take place in our lifetime. Since the word of God has already revealed these events and times to us, then I believe that if God is showing us these same things again, it must be that the time is very near. Yet, even if these events were not soon coming, we must live every day as if the Lord could return for us at any moment — for that is absolutely true!
The Vision
The Congregation
From about 25 feet above, I saw a group of people packed together shoulder to shoulder in a large church. They were in one section of wooden pews. The remaining sections of pews were not entirely visible from my perspective, but from what I could see, the remaining sections appeared to be empty. At the end of a row, within this highly packed section, were a few people attempting to exit. A shorter woman wearing a simple shift, led those who were departing. Her eyes were looking downward. In the aisles, were about eight to ten men, dressed in dark suits and wearing sunglasses.
As I began to think and pray about this vision, I realized that the theme of this vision is apostasy. If you are not familiar with the term, it means to leave the faith. The writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament spoke of apostasy. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Hebrews 3:12
In the vision, the people that were standing shoulder to shoulder are believers. They might represent the core of true believers, for they appear to be the only ones still left in the church. They are looking forward, nearly still. Perhaps focused on the Lord.
From that group of people, there were some who were leaving. I could not help but notice that their heads were looking downward. They may have been looking down to see where they were going, but it could also be that they were attempting to leave and not be noticed. Often we do not want to make eye contact with others when we feel awkward or ashamed.
In the vision, the men wearing dark suits and sunglasses might be mistaken for ushers, for they were quite at ease in their surroundings. Two of them stood next to each other exchanging a few words as if sharing a secret. But I believe that these men represent demons. They were tall and trim, neatly dressed and appeared to be clones of one another. They stood in the aisles, conversing with each other and at the same time appeared to have confined these people to their pews. The clustered group of people reminded me of sheep crowding together when a pack of wolves threatens them. These people stood shoulder to shoulder to give support to one another and for their mutual protection.
A few things seemed odd to me. Why would demons seem to be confining people to their pews? Why did it seem that the demons were in control? Why was such a large church nearly empty? Where did the rest of the church go? Could it be that the rapture has occurred and these people were left behind? Or could this instead represent the great falling away that the Lord spoke of in his teaching?
Jesus predicted this falling away from the faith to be part of the events leading up to the end times and the tribulation. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:7-14
After much prayer, I asked the Lord to show me something to direct me. I opened the Bible, and my eyes fell upon this sentence: “Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” 1 Timothy 5:15
The Lord was confirming my initial understanding that this vision concerned the great falling away or apostasy.
Apostasy occurs for several reasons. Jesus’s parable of the seeds gives the main reasons for leaving the faith. “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:3-8
Jesus explains the parable: “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:18-23
So when a person first receives the gospel, he may not fully understand or appreciate the message of salvation, so it is undervalued. The enemy can easily take what one has, but does not value. Other people become believers but never become disciples. Their knowledge of God is limited, and not based on personal experience, knowing the word of God or knowing the Lord intimately. So again, when persecution comes, they can easily give up what they do not value. And for others, they like the idea of salvation, and heaven, but their jobs, their social activities and outside commitments take precedence over knowing the Lord. The time needed to develop a real relationship with God, to become mature and strong in faith, is never given priority. Their faith is lost once again, because of under-valuing the gift of God which is eternal life in Christ Jesus. So placing no priority upon knowing the Lord, having little understanding or appreciation for the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, or the salvation for which it procured, and adding to these, even a small amount of persecution, will cause people to fall away.
One common reason for personal apostasy is offense. If we become embarrassed, or falsely accused, or criticized by a leader or another person in the church, we might become offended and say to ourselves, “I’m never going to that church again!” If we have not developed a strong faith and relationship with the Lord, when we get offended, we simply walk away. It then becomes questionable as to whether we look for another church. We may say, “Who needs to be treated like that! I have better things to do than spend my time with people like that! They are all alike—you can’t trust people—even in the church!” Eventually they no longer seek God or trust him.
Apostasy can also occur because of false doctrine. If we are not grounded in the word of God, it is very easy to be misled. Paul, Peter, James, Jude and other writers of the New Testament, warned us over and over again to be careful of false teachers and false prophets. Without realizing it people can be deceived. Paul warned: “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Acts 20:29-31
Today is no exception. Today we are living in a time of great uncertainty. Emotions are running high. Fear is in the air, and people are doing things now that they would never have dare do in the past. Wickedness in the hearts of politicians, and fear and divisiveness in the messages of the media, are fueling the mob and empowering them to “kill, steal and destroy.” They are doing the devil’s work. There is evil all around us. “For the thief (the devil) comes only to “steal and kill and destroy.” John 10:10
And in this hour of confusion and uncertainty, we see that there are many prophets on the internet making grand claims. Anyone can make a video these days and join in the hullabaloo. They echo the messages and claims made by the more notable prophets. But what are we to believe? Are we asking for God’s wisdom and discernment, or are we merely accepting these messages that we hear because they sound plausible.
Not every message is from God. Sometimes our imaginations can get the better of us and we can be carried away by our fears and anxieties. One may claim that a terrible event will take place in September, October or November and judging by the current events, it is entirely possible. But we still need to test the Spirits. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1
Let’s check in with the Lord and simply ask him, “Is this true? Is this what you are telling the church? Are we to go and buy food and stock our shelves for fear of starving?” “Are we to believe that ______ will win the election?” “Is the nation of America going to end tomorrow?” “Is the vaccine really an injection of a computer chip to receive the mark of the beast?”
I have heard all the messages above. I do not want to discount the possibility of anything happening. But I am certain that we need to run these by the Lord for his confirmation. If all the apostles before us have warned us “night and day with tears!” then it should behoove us to test the Spirits and the actual message.
I also wanted to focus on the subject of persecution because it is a very real cause of apostasy. Jesus said, “If they persecuted me they will persecute you also.” John 15:20 We know that persecution will come to the church as a whole, and also to individual believers. Persecution of the church is only now becoming apparent to the average American. We see that abortion clinics, remained open during the Covid shutdowns, calling them essential, but the churches were closed. Rioting in the streets was condoned by the left, but singing in church was made illegal. There is free speech for the left, but it is considered “hate speech” for anyone with opposing views. Persecution of the church is bound to rise, because evil is increasing. The Left’s agenda is to silence any group that would stand to judge their actions and ideology (communism or socialism) as morally and ethically wrong. Communism is a secular “religion” with its own tenets of faith, which is not compatible with any other religion, philosophy or form of government. It is evil by design. Wherever it is established, you will find persecution of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and even groups like Falun Gong practitioners.
Even within the walls of the church you will find persecution. Just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, there will be leaders in the church that are more interested in their social standing and their positions of honor, than they are of developing Christian character within themselves or in the church. These leaders will not follow Biblical standards when they fear that to do so would affect the bottom line.
The leaders of the church are commanded to not compromise with the world, but to stand for God’s values, But in today's church we see compromise with the world’s values to be the norm. If the church departs from Biblical standards for morality, then the church is in rebellion against God. When this is the case, the church becomes apostate. In today’s churches, we see leaders who are not so concerned for the moral condition of the flock, but who instead are most concerned for growing their numbers and competing with other churches. They see their operation as a business. The larger the congregation, the larger the offering. Church growth is analysed and directed by community surveys, and statistics, not by the power of God. People are selected and hired for their musical talent, not necessarily for their faith and moral character.
And we can see that the American church has suffered loss because of this. When the church loses its primary reason for existence, to honor God and to reach the lost, then it is no longer a church but a social club. We trade worship of God for a rock concert. We trade the presence of God for a feel good message. We trade the Holy Spirit for self-gratifying activities and intuition. And we trade the power of God for a “form of godliness. The Church becomes a place to gather for social reasons, but not to meet with God.
Because the American church has for the most part become a business, with guest speakers, books, T-shirts, Christian conferences, Christian entertainment, Christian concerts and all the rest, it has lost its source of power - God himself. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
We see miracles in places around the world where there is genuine faith. But the American church displays no power to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to raise the dead simply because of its friendship with the world. “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4
The ramifications for the church as a whole is devastating. When sin is tolerated in the church, you can bet that that Church will be a powerless church. “Don’t you know that a little yeast will leaven the whole dough?“ Galatians 5:9 When a little sin is allowed, it works its way through the whole body of Christ, the church. Soon others will notice that no one has confronted the member(s) about their lifestyle sin, so they will tell their friends, “Oh, our pastor is cool. He won’t say anything about it. He’s okay with it.” When leaders tolerate sin in the congregation the church becomes useless to God. The church then is no longer a city on a hill or a lamp for the rest of the house. The church becomes dark.
When there is no genuine standard to which the church adheres, then salvation becomes cheap. If there is no commitment or requirement to live a holy life unto the Lord, then salvation is easy--merely saying a little prayer, asking Jesus to “come into my heart,” is all that is needed. But is salvation genuine when there is no repentance and no demand to leave the sinful ways behind? Does the Lord honor the prayer of one who makes no commitment to being faithful to him?
True believers will not stay in a church like this. They will look for a group of believers that love the Lord and will be true to him and his word. So if you are outspoken, and bring up these discrepancies between what is commonly practiced in church and what the word of God declares, be prepared for a bit of push back from the pastors. At some point you will be seen as a thorn in their side, particularly if you mention the need to confront believers in the congregation living in sin, or why they promote a cheap salvation message, with little to no commitment.
Whether persecution comes for within the Church or outside the church, persecution will make your faith and commitment stronger or it will cause you to compromise or abandon it altogether. James refers to persecution as trials. And God uses these trials to train and test our faith. “Count it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
There is a reason that the Lord tests our faith. He wants to know whether we will stay the course and remain committed to him even when the going gets tough. He only wants those who are completely devoted to him in heaven, for eternity is a long time.
And to those who overcome the natural inclination to choose the easy road, or the way without pain or hardship, God promises eternal life. The Lord’s messages to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, are to encourage, and correct the churches that have suffered persecution for his name. To each church, he gives instructions, and to those who overcome he gives great promises.
The Church in Ephesus
Jesus tells John to write, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev. 2:5 And then he follows with a promise: “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Rev. 2:7
The Church in Smyrna
The Lord speaks: “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Rev. 2:10 And then he gives this promise: “He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Rev. 2:11
The Church in Pergamum
The Lord rebukes the church in Pergamum because they had people in their congregation who were holding to the teachings of Balaam (teachings that led people to compromise their faith for personal gain), and the teachings of the Nicolaitans, (teachings that conformed to pagan worship - idolatry and sexual immorality). The church in Pergamum did not attempt to correct or remove these people from among the true believers. This is the sin that I mentioned above, that is widespread throughout our churches today. Jesus makes this threat to the church: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:16
And again, Jesus makes a promise to those who overcome: “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17
The Church in Thyatira
The Lord was disappointed in the church in Thyatira, and he rebuked them sharply. Apparently they too were under the instruction of a false prophetess who misled them into sexual immorality, and eating food sacrificed to idols. Jesus warned them of his judgments against them: “I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead...I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” Revelation 2:22-23
However, “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--.....I will also give him the morning star.” Revelations 2:26, 28
The Church at Sardis
I believe this church also represents many American churches for they are spiritually complacent and asleep. “I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” Revelation 3: 1-2
Jesus instructed them to wake up, to repent and to obey his teachings. And again he warned them: “If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” Revelation 3:3
And he promised those who had not soiled their clothes, and those who would overcome: “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5
The Church at Philadelphia,
The Lord had no correction for this church for they were walking with him and doing his will. And for their faithfulness, he gave them an exceptional promise: “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” Revelation 3:10
He also promised: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.” Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.” Revelation 3:12
The Church at Laodicea
And to the last of the seven churches, the Lord found that they were lukewarm in their devotion to him. They were a wealthy church and thought of themselves as being self-sufficient: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say that ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17
He again tells this church to repent and these instructions: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Revelation 3:18
The last words to the church at Laodicea are really a summary and an invitation to walk with the Lord and to overcome all obstacles, so as to receive all of the Lord’s great promises:
“Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:19-21
After seeing the Lord’s great love for us and his plans expressed through these messages to the churches, how is it possible that anyone would want to walk away from him? The early churches experienced great persecution, yet the church as a whole grew throughout the known world. I believe that we are living in the last days. Wickedness is increasing and things are heating up. Now is not the time to be complacent. Now is the time to get serious about knowing the Lord, and spending time with him. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose heart is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
We have to return to the Lord. We can no longer compromise with the world and be a fruitless, powerless church. Many people have left the faith today because they see church as a useless endeavor. When the church is faithless and powerless, when it is no longer a place of hope and answered prayers, then there is nothing to attract the unbelievers to come. There has to be something more to appeal to those who are genuinely seeking God. If we cannot offer them anything more than what the world could offer them, why would they come to church when we invite them?
The average person sees Christians as no different than themselves. They look at us and see hypocrisy. But if the church moved in power: the sick were healed, the oppressed were set free, the dead were raised to life and those who were in bondage to drugs, alcohol or depression were delivered, then people would flock to the churches. I know that God is the answer to every problem. When we spend time with him and seek him on behalf of others, he hears our prayers and we see miracles. It is time for the church to return to the Lord. We need to return to him in repentance, and with a heart that is willing and ready to rededicate our lives to him. Revival will come when we seek the Lord with all our hearts. Let us pray for a nationwide revival so that the people of America will experience God for themselves. They will see the church moving in power, taking their place of authority over the Lord’s enemies.
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. “ 2 Chronicles 7:14
So be blessed and keep the faith! “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
Please share this message with others. And please pray for our nation and for our churches that they will return to a genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. Pray that the church will not compromise with the world’s values and that when persecution comes that our faith will not fail.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
