What Does Paul mean by Apostasy in 2nd Thessalonians?
How would we define apostasy from what Paul tells us in the context of his second letter to the Thessalonians? As the concordances we looked at in the previous chapter indicate, the apostasy is a time of falling away, of a great deflection, a divorce from the truth of God “Once and for all delivered to the saints” Jude 3.
The Church Age has existed for over two thousand years now, and it’s history has for the most part been well documented by hundreds of historians and leaders from days past. That the church has gone through many periods of revival and devival, apostasies, as well a periods of stagnation is well known. However there is a tendency with some people to see the last days in every event and every period of history and we want to avoid reading too much into any one circumstance or set of circumstances.
And yet on the other hand there is an opposite tendency on the part of many others to adopt an “Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” attitude towards church history in general and our present period. On an extremely short scale, the last seventy years, I think the evangelical church has gone from perhaps an over emphasis on the Lord’s imminent return since the re-establishment of the Jewish people in Israel, to an attitude among many of the Christian young people today of; “everything continues as it has since the beginning of creation,’ 2 Peter 3:4. The context of Second Peter is that just such a lax attitude towards the second coming would dominate before His return. However because the time scale is so short I am not offering that as one of the evidences of our being in the Apostasia.
The point needs to be made that all eras and periods of church history have not been the same. Paul the Apostle as well as the Apostle Peter definitely earmarked a certain period of history that would be marked by an increasingly apostate church, a church that would not only fail to have much effect on the surrounding culture, but would instead conform itself to meet the standards of an alarmingly aggressive apostate and pagan society.
This period of apostasy wouldn’t apply so much to the areas of the world where the gospel is still spreading, places where there either never was or hasn’t been a real church presence for a long period of time. For this reason China, India and many parts of Africa would not have to be included in a survey of apostasy in the church. The term “apostasy” is a falling away, a turning away from something once widely held and taught.
Historically, many would call the turning away from biblical truth in the beginning of the medieval ages a type of apostasy and they would be accurate. However the areas of the world which have been dominated by the church and the Christian faith for centuries, particularly the European nations and their colonies did go through a reformation which centered the church back on the Scriptures again. The Catholic Church also participated in the reform in many ways, and both continued to have a strong influence on their respective societies for centuries afterwards.
Basic truths and ethical mores remained the same for over a millennia, whether you were a catholic or protestant, a peasant or of the nobility. While the Catholic might have placed the pope and the catholic hierarchy over the Word of God and it’s interpretation, no one doubted that the Bible was indeed, the word of God. No one questioned it’s authenticity or authority, even though they may have argued over it’s interpretation. Certain fundamental beliefs were held to be true by all, catholic or protestant.
By fundamentals I simply mean an English protestant would have shared many of the fundamental truths of the faith that any Cape Breton catholic would have believed 500 years ago. The Scriptures were the authoritive words of God and our guide for life and religion. The universe was created ex-nihilo by a triune God; Jesus Christ was God and man, both would have accepted an historical 6 day creation; Adam made from dust, Eve from his side; they would have understood an initially good creation marred by a literal fall and curse, meaning no death before sin; they would have shared a common faith in a physical death and resurrection and ultimate return of the Jewish Messiah; a physical heaven for the saved and physical and eternal hell for the lost. All these basic beliefs were held in common throughout most of Christendom, not just for a few decades, but for centuries.
Differences of emphasis, teaching, church structure, and doctrine were wide spread, but for the most part the basics of the historical Christian faith were firmly held. For almost two thousand years, this was the case.
Fundamental beliefs about morality also pervaded throughout Christendom. Divorce was almost unheard of, sex before marriage was considered the sin of fornication, infanticide and pre-natal infanticide were made illegal everywhere, whether you lived in a catholic or protestant region of the world. Modesty was held to be the standard that both men and women should follow, not something to be mocked or looked down upon. Open displays of sexuality were not condoned nor considered healthy for society in general. Sexually transmitted diseases were not a serious problem for centuries. Homosexual behavior was largely kept out of view and there were no major plagues associated with either homosexual or heterosexual promiscuity.
