The great rebellion of the church
The Bible speaks of a great falling away. 'Let not anyone deceive you in any manner because [it will not be] unless the apostasy has first come, and the man of sin has been revealed, the son of perdition.' 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Darby Translation. When closely examining the scripture, you begin to understand that before Christ comes, many shall fall away, losing faith in God. Ahab ruled an apostate Israel, almost consumed with idolatry. What triggered the fallen state of Israel was Ahab's wife, Jezebel, who encouraged the worship of Baal and introduced foreign idols to a holy nation.
Jude speaks and says, 'For there are certain men crept in unawares.' These men Jude speaks of were like Jezebel, enemies planted within the church to corrupt it. In the time of Jezebel, the whole land seemed apostate. Of all the thousands of Israel, only a few thousands remained who had not bowed the knee or kissed the hand to Baal. This was surely a fallen nation. But just like in the days of Elijah, many shall compromise and turn away from the Lord.
The Bible says to work out your salvation, not your brother's salvation, but yours with fear and trembling. Many do not know that Christianity is a personal walk, and even though it's personal, we are a body and have a ministry to each other. Imagine in the days of Elijah, though there were thousands left, these people were so paralysed with fear and kept so still that their very existence was unknown by Elijah; the seasons of apostasy are usually seasons of great attacks and persecution, and this coming season for the church shall be a season of attacks and perception.
What will cause many to fall shall be the attacks the church will face from those in the world. But attacks on the church trigger God's judgments, so when the church is persecuted, the world economies and the nations will be pushed into turmoil. In the time of Jezebel, many died from the drought
Proverbs says, 'When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.' The hardships in the time of Ahab were because an evil leader ruled. Many have not mastered the role of the church in world affairs; as the church, we hold back demonic systems whose purpose is to destroy the world and her people. But in times of persecution, the church loses that control, allowing those forces to come in and manipulate the world, causing turmoil. Surely, a great falling away shall happen, but as the church groans, these groanings will become the groanings of the world. Elijah never gloried in the torment that came upon Israel in his days, and the church should never glory at the fall of world systems. The falling away will happen, and the turmoil will manifest, but there is hope.
The only light in all these situations is that the times shall be shortened and because of the elect. Remember, God took care of those that never compromised and those that did not bow to Baal. Though the world shall be in much pain and groanings, there shall be a remnant that shall not be affected by these events. Many shall fall away, and the world will consume itself, but in that period, others will experience great deliverance and provision. We have a role as the church to preserve the nations, and the only way to preserve them is through the preaching of the gospel.
