Glossary
Apostasy
The day of Christ’s Second Coming “will not come, unless the falling away comes first” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). In the original Greek this referred to a great apostasy or defection. Today, many are falling away from the church and from Christ and from God in indifference, or outright rejection of the truth (Matthew 24:12; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3). Another view, in light of 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12, is that of a rebellion of humanity as a whole against God. Just as fallen humankind has been plunged into ever greater depths of sin as a result of the Fall (Romans 1:18–23, 28-32), so it will engage in all-out rebellion against God when the Antichrist appears (2 Thessalonians 2:4).