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Since, as this image of the incense shows, our Lord's substitutionary death is completely acceptable to the Father, a sweet savor (which the incense reproduces) satisfying His righteous demand for the propitiation of all our sin, it has also opened up the floodgates of grace for all who turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ. For this reason, the image of the incense has a further application, namely, to express the validation or rendering acceptable of everything done in His Name. That is clearly the main thrust of the image of the incense used here in verse two, where its sweet savor is said to rise up for the prayers of the saints.⁽⁵⁾ In other words, these prayers are made and considered completely valid through this heavenly incense – though not through the incense per se, but rather by the empowering sweet aroma of the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross which the incense represents.

3. The Angel with the Censer and the Golden Altar: The angel here, is not identified by rank, but is clearly subordinate to the elders (from whom he receives the incense), and is likewise not a member of either the college of the cherubim or the archangels. Given the important nature of his duties, he may very well be of the fourth elect angelic rank, the "authorities".⁽⁶⁾ This angel mediates the offering of the incense – not the prayers of the saints. Angels frequently carry out God's responses to the prayers of His people (e.g., Dan.10:12-14), but it is Jesus Christ who is the Mediator between God and man (Gal.3:19-20; 1Tim.2:5; Heb.8:6; 9:15; 12:24), and it through His work, the sweet aroma of the cross, that our prayers are rendered valid and acceptable to the Father.

The earthly counterpart for the altar mentioned here is not the "brazen altar" (which speaks of the cross), but the golden altar of incense in the holy place (see part 2B). This second, earthly altar which stood beside the inner veil of the Holy of Holies was necessary to represent the heavenly altar we see here, and was so closely connected with the Holy of Holies that Paul in Hebrews can accurately describe it as actually "in" the Holy of Holies (Heb.9:4). That is entirely appropriate when we consider the symbolism of the golden altar, namely, a picture of the glorified Christ entering into the presence of the Father on our behalf.

As we pointed out in our last installment of this series, there is no place for a brazen altar of sacrifice in heaven. To redeem sinful mankind, Christ had to come to earth, taking on true humanity in order to die for all humanity. After this victory of victories, having passed through the veil of the heavens, Christ is shown through His session at the Father's right hand to have successfully and acceptably performed His blessed sacrifice on behalf of us all. But while a brazen altar in the presence of the Father would be inappropriate for this reason, the presence of this memorial altar of incense is most fitting, in order to recall and to affirm the validity of His sacrifice (recalling in its fire the intensity of His suffering, and in the aroma it produces the acceptability of that work). That is the chief function of both the earthly and heavenly golden altars, whereon no animal sacrifice is ever placed, only the incense whose fragrant aroma brings these wonderful truths back to memory. The heavenly golden altar thus stands for the verification and proclamation of the acceptability of Christ's work, both symbolizing the resurrected and glorified victorious Messiah entering into the presence of the Father on our behalf (exactly the same symbolism portrayed by the earthly golden altar), and recalling His work in the sweet savor of the incense burned thereon.⁽⁷⁾

In the golden altar, therefore, we have a clear picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in His role as our High Priest, the One who has accomplished the critical sacrifice, having entered into the true Holy of Holies, and having won for us our redemption through His own blood (Heb.7:11-28).

The sum of what we have said is this: we have a High Priest of such [amazing] quality that He has [actually] taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, a Minister of the holy things and of the true tabernacle which the Lord has pitched, not man.
Hebrews 8:1-2

While the Levitical high priest offered every year an animal sacrifice on his own behalf and then sacrificed for the people, Christ offered Himself once for all (Heb.9:11-12; 9:24-28), and it is as a result of His selfless sacrifice that we now have access to this very throne room of heaven through His priestly mediation. As a result, we see here in our context our prayers being quickened by His work on the cross which the incense recalls, a sweet smell to our God. Jesus, our advocate seated at the right hand of the Father, makes intercession for us, for our prayers (Heb.7:25; 1Jn.2:1; cf. Jn.14:13-14), and it is this blessed reality which is being portrayed symbolically in the image of the heavenly incense. The incense, a memorial to His sacrificial death and the Father's acceptance of it, here is seen to blend indistinguishably with the prayers of those He has bought, rendering them valid and acceptable as they rise up before the Father.

4. The Saints and their Prayers: As we have seen many times in the past, the true biblical meaning of the word "saint" is much different from the general notion abroad in our popular culture.⁽⁸⁾ In Bible terms, a saint is a believer in Jesus Christ, the term itself calling attention to the fact that God has separated that person from the profane world through grace as a result of saving faith. None of the many words used to describe believers is more appropriate in our present context of the incipient Tribulation, because during that terrible time to come as at no other time before or since the believer in Jesus Christ will be clearly seen and see himself/herself to be spiritually divorced from this world even as he/she is yet physically in it. For while it has been all too possible in (relatively) good times for believers to appear and function as if they were just another part of the world, during that time to come the immense intensity of suffering, of demonic attack, of spiritual polarization, and of pressure to apostatize will render partial complicity with the world a virtual impossibility – except at extreme risk to one's faith (cf. Lk.18:7-8; 21:36). During the Tribulation, as we have repeatedly said, there will be almost no middle ground, so that believers who hold fast to their faith will be clearly visible as saints indeed, not perfect in this world, but unmistakably separated from it in their reliance upon Him whose Kingdom is not of this world (Dan.11:32-35; cf. Dan.7:18-27).

While this passage teaches the principle of the rendering of our prayers acceptable to the Father through the Son's sacrifice, a pleasing aroma before our God, the specific prayers in question here have to do with judgment upon evil and the bringing of justice through divine rule to the earth. To put things in terms of "the Lord's prayer", these prayers are those which respond to the first half of that model prayer (Matt.6:9-10), rather than to the second half (Matt.6:11-13). For while the second half of our Lord's model prayer for us deals with the three essential spiritual aspects of our own personal situations (i.e., provision ["bread"], forgiveness ["debts"], and protection ["deliver us"]), the first half deals with our anticipation of and petitioning for the establishment of God's rule on earth, whereby evil will be judged and justice established in the millennial Kingdom of our Savior:

Our Father, the One in heaven,
Let your Name be regarded as holy,
Let your Kingdom come,
Let your will be done as it is in heaven so also on earth.
Matthew 6:9-10

A worldwide fear and respect for God, the establishment of His Son's Kingdom on the earth, and the implementation of divine rule on earth, His "will", is an appropriate desire and longing for all believers at all times in history, given the ubiquitous evil of the this world now in the grip of the evil one.⁽⁹⁾ And inasmuch as all growing believers will experience first hand the opposition of the evil one and his minions in this evil world, we all have reason to offer such prayers on occasion (cf. Ps.94; 2Thes.1:4-10).⁽¹⁰⁾ But during the Tribulation, this longing for God to put things right throughout the world, to put the "fear of God" into all His creatures, to establish His direct rule over the earth, and to render divine justice worldwide, will be a particularly acute and universal desire among those who continue to call upon His holy Name. These are the prayers we see rising up before Him in our context, prayers offered since the world of man began, but growing in number and intensity throughout the Tribulation. God has always answered these prayers in His own way, and now, commencing with the beginning of the Tribulation, is answering them literally and word for word. For the Tribulation is, as we have said many times before, the time of "birth pangs" which must proceed the Messiah's return and the glorious day of His reign. Judgment must come before blessing, and it is through His divine judgments of the Tribulation which precede the blessings of the coming Kingdom that all of these prayers find their ultimate fulfillment.

And when He (i.e., the Lamb) opened the fifth seal, I saw below the altar the living persons who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying "How long, O Master, holy and true, will you [wait and] not render judgment and vindication for our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?"
Revelation 6:9-10

Our Lord's return, including all the events which precede and follow it, will answer these prayers in full, and our anticipation of this truth is a solace that will help sustain our faith, should it be our lot to patiently endure those most difficult seven years in prayerful yearning for the One who will set all things right.

Hear what the unrighteous judge [in this parable] says! And [if he is compelled to do right] will not God perform vindication for His elect who call out to Him day and night? Indeed, He is patient with them (i.e., in their perseverant praying). And I tell you that He will perform their vindication swiftly. But when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?
Luke 18:7-8

In light of our Lord's extremely direct words above, we need to steel ourselves in advance for whatever may come, and make a pledge to ourselves to commit all our grievances against this evil world and its evil administrators into God's hands, trusting with rock-solid faith in the eventual and timely resolution of all our concerns at the hands of our Lord Himself. This is, of course, the proper attitude and the proper approach for Christians at all times. How much more will that be true of those upon whom the intense pressures and persecutions of the Tribulation fall! For no matter how oppressive and grinding those pressures may be, we know with certainty in our hearts that our prayers for relief and for justice are rising like the sweet aroma of burning incense before the heavenly throne, made valid and acceptable by what Jesus did for us (Ps.141:2).

5. The Thunderous Voices, Lightning, and Earthquake: The casting down from heaven of fire from the altar (a clear symbol of divine judgment) which occasions these results is the first definite indication that the Tribulation has now begun. All other potential prior indications of the Tribulation's exact beginning are merely that, trends and possible events which should put us on alert, but which will not provide us with indisputable information about the specific time of the Tribulation's commencement.⁽¹¹⁾ These terrifying portents will be the first indisputable warning to the world of impending judgment to come, and, for those few who will take warning, a clear and unmistakable call to repent and turn to God. For the coming Kingdom will now be very near at hand, and it's righteous Judge standing directly before the door (Rev.3:20; cf. Matt.24:33; Mk.13:29).

But what exactly do these heavenly signs that the Tribulation has begun actually entail? First, the voices, flashes of lightning, and earthquake all occur on the earth as a result of the angel's action in throwing the heavenly fire of judgment earthward. Secondly, taken together they form a panorama of warning, which is audible (the voices), visible (the flashes of lightning), and palpable (the earthquake). It will be impossible for any inhabitant of earth to ignore them, for, thirdly, these signs will be perceptible worldwide (that is, throughout the earth taken as a whole, the only meaning which "earth" may bear here [just as in all of the other 70 plus occurrences of the Greek word ge [gh] in Revelation]). Fourthly, it must be understood that the "voices, flashes of lightning, and earthquake" are all literal. When the Tribulation does commence, these unprecedented worldwide phenomena will be an unmistakable sign to everyone upon the earth that the Tribulation has begun (whether or not they choose to appreciate that fact).

The "thunderous voices" are loud, roaring noises, resembling yet distinct from thunderclaps. These are in fact the very words of God (cf. the voices which proceed from the throne of God: Rev.4:5). They will not, however, be verbally comprehensible to most of the inhabitants of the earth (cf. Jn.12:28-30; 2Cor.12:4; Rev.10:3-4; 11:15; 11:19; 14:2).⁽¹²⁾ The flashes of lightning will likewise be spectacular to a degree unequaled in human experience, not in the least because they will be perceived simultaneously around the globe. And it is this feature of the earthquake as well which will be unmistakably remarkable, for it will be the first truly worldwide earthquake in the history of mankind – but not the last. In company with the other two elements in this trio of monitory phenomena, worldwide earthquakes will also occur in the middle of the Tribulation as a sign that the Great Tribulation has begun, and just prior to Armageddon to presage our Lord's return at the Second Advent. In both the second and third occurrence of this triple warning we see an accelerating trend, with the Great Tribulation warnings being accompanied additionally by a worldwide plague of hail (Rev.11:19; cf. Rev.8:7), and with the Second Advent warnings being proportionally even more astonishing and devastating both in terms of its earthquake (Rev.16:18-20; cf. Is.29:6; Ezek.38:19; Hag.2:6-7; Zech.14:3-5; Heb.12:26; Rev.6:12-17) and its own plague of hail (Rev.16:21).

No doubt, at that future time of the Tribulation's commencement the unbelieving world will attempt to explain away these amazing events as some combination of meteorological peculiarities. But we may see in these clear warning signs a blessing from God in that they will leave those who truly are disciples of His Son in no doubt about the fact that the Tribulation has definitively begun. There will certainly be other indications in the days and months that follow which will affirm the validity of this fact (i.e., all of the other prophesied tribulational events which it is the purpose of this series to explicate). But it may well be asked in the case of those whose hearts are so hardened that they refuse to heed this first three-fold miraculous warning whether any proof will ever be enough? For those who can deny the significance of unprecedented lighting which illuminates the entire world (cf. our Lord Jesus Christ who is the true Light of the world: Jn.1:4; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46), for those who can deny the significance of the reverberating voices heard round the world (cf. God the Father whose words have gone out into the entire world: Ps.19:1-6; Is.55:10-11), and for those who can deny the significance of such a unique earthquake which is simultaneously felt everywhere in the world (cf. the Spirit's invisible yet universally felt power: Gen.1:2; Zech.4:6; Jn.3:8), no warning, no matter how seemingly undeniable, is likely to be sufficient. But for us who do heed the words of our God, this triple sign will be a very clear message about what it means to be on the wrong side of His mercy. For us who fear and respect Him, there is truly nothing to fear from this world, but for those who do not reverence or fear Him so as to heed these warnings, there is every reason to be afraid. For it is indeed "a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.10:31).

See to it that you do not ignore the One who is speaking [to you]. For if those [of the Exodus generation] did not escape when they ignored the one who was giving them warning from the earth (i.e., Moses), how much more shall we [not escape, if we] turn away from the One [giving us warning] from heaven? His voice shook the earth at that time [at Mount Sinai], but now He has made [us] this promise, saying, "Yet once more shall I shake not only the earth, but also heaven". And this "once more" clearly indicates the [coming] transformation of things which may be shaken as things which have been made [by Him], so that the [coming] things which cannot be shaken may abide forever. Since, therefore, we have received a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude so that through it we may serve God in a pleasing way with reverence and fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:25-29

II. The Great Apostasy

1. Definition, Etymology, Process and Prophecies of the Great Apostasy

a. Definition: The Great Apostasy is a massive falling away from the faith by a third of Christians predicted to begin during the Tribulation's first half and destined to reach its culmination during the Great Persecution of the Tribulation's second half. The Great Apostasy is prophesied both by our Lord and by His apostles, and is to be found in certain Old Testament passages as well (see below). Although often subsumed in descriptions of the Great Persecution (which is responsible for producing the intensive final phase of apostasy), the Great Apostasy is a crucial event of immense significance in its own right. This is evident from Paul's use of it as one of the two most identifiable features of the Tribulation. In 2^nd Thessalonians, Paul cites the fact that the Great Apostasy had not yet happened (along with the fact that antichrist had not yet been revealed) to disprove false claims that the resurrection had already occurred. It would be impossible, Paul argued, for the resurrection, an event coterminous with our Lord's return at the end of the Tribulation, to precede events which must occur during the Tribulation. Clearly then from Paul's reasoning the Great Apostasy (again, along with the unmistakable appearance of antichrist on the world stage) will be an event of such shocking magnitude that no Christian will be able to live through it and still be in any doubt about whether or not it has happened (cf. the similar analysis used by our Lord in Matt.24:3-14, and by Peter in 2Pet.3:1-13).

Rather than an event which will occur on a specific day, the Great Apostasy is a progression which reaches its climax during the Great Persecution, and which is inextricably linked with that persecution, for it is the intensified pressure of persecution that brings apostasy to its peak (Matt.24:4-14). As the book of Revelation is first and foremost "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev.1:1) whose return in glory has the relief of the persecuted and the judgment of the persecutors as one of its main immediate results (cf. 2Thes.1:4-10), it is understandable that Revelation should emphasize persecution over apostasy. This is undoubtedly why most of the passages in Revelation dealing with this dual phenomenon concentrate on its persecution aspect (cf. Rev.6:9-11; 7:9-17; 12:12-17; 13:10; 13:11-18; 14:13; 14:14-16; 15:1-4; 16:5-6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:1-2; 20:4).

That said, there is one passage in Revelation which does give us specific information about the Great Apostasy, and while we shall not neglect Revelation 12:4 in its proper place in part 4 of this series, it is appropriate for that verse to constitute the starting point for our discussion of this great "falling away" from the faith.

And [the dragon's] (i.e., the devil's) tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven (i.e., both fallen angels and fallen believers) and threw them to the earth (i.e., their rebellion or apostasy and consequent association with him in their fall).
Revelation 12:4a

This description in Revelation 12:4 of the great dragon (the devil) sweeping away a third of the stars of heaven and casting them to the earth has a dual application. The "stars" refer both to fallen angels and to apostate believers (for the former, see Judg.5:20; Job 25:5; 38:7; Is.14:12-13; 40:26 [c. Lk.2:13]; Lk.10:18; Jude 1:13; Rev.1:16; 1:20; 2:1; 3:1; 8:10-11; 9:1; 12:1-4; for the latter, see Dan.8:10; 12:3; 1Cor.15:40-42; Phil.2:15; Heb.11:12; Rev.12:1). Just as Satan seduced one third of angelic kind into joining him in his rebellion against God before human history began and thus caused them to "fall", so during the crucible of the Tribulation he will seduce one third of believers away from Christ and likewise "sweep them down to the earth" (i.e., cause them to fall from their holy, heavenly status). We have had occasion in the past to explain this passage's meaning for the Satanic Rebellion (and the reader is encouraged to review that discussion).⁽¹³⁾ But that Revelation 12:4 also applies to believers caught up in the Great Apostasy is evident from the very close parallel provided by Daniel, where the "little horn" (i.e., antichrist, a type of the devil and his agent on earth) is given the leading role in this process.⁽¹⁴⁾

And [the little horn] (i.e., antichrist as a type and representative of the devil) magnified himself against the host of heaven (i.e., the family of God, men and angels both), and he cast down to the earth some of the host (i.e., antichrist seducing believers into apostasy) and some of the stars (i.e., Satan having seduced angels into rebellion) and he trampled them underfoot (i.e., their rebellion or apostasy in association with him leading to their subsequent destruction; cf. Dan.7:7; 7:19; Rev.11:2).
Daniel 8:10

By thus sub-categorizing the fallen "host" into both apostate believers and fallen angels, Daniel 8:10 makes it clear that we are to make use of a similar dual application in the case of our parallel passage, Revelation 12:4 (exactly as suggested above). Like Revelation 12:4, Daniel 8:10 may seem to conflate the timing of events (i.e., pre-history for the fall of one third of the angels, future history for the fall of one third of tribulational believers), but, in fact, Revelation 12:4 explicitly states that the final fulfillment of this prophecy, that is, the actual, literal casting of Satan and his angels from heaven down to the earth is contemporaneous with the beginning of the Great Apostasy's period of culmination, namely, the Great Tribulation, precisely the time when the pressures of the Great Persecution which characterizes that three and a half year period will bring the process of apostasy to a fever pitch (cf. Rev.12:7). In so far as they apply to the believers who are going to "fall away" during the Tribulation, therefore, Daniel 8:10 and Revelation 12:4 between them provide us with two particularly crucial details about the course of the Great Apostasy:

   1) The Great Apostasy will come about as a direct result of intensified satanic activity administered by antichrist and directed against believers.

   2) Fully one third of the believers on earth at that time will "fall away" from the faith.

In regard to the first point, it should be noted that such intensified diabolical activity was previously restrained to a very large degree (as indeed antichrist himself, Satan's "man of lawlessness" has been kept from appearing before his time: 2Thes.2:3-12), but will be possible during the Tribulation on account of the suspension of the Holy Spirit's worldwide ministry of restraint (2Thes.2:6-7).⁽¹⁵⁾ Secondly, the "one third" figure is also something that should give us pause (compare Dan.11:33-35 and Zech.13:8-9). Understand that this represents one third of the number of actual Christians, not of the total population of those worldwide who may at that time identify themselves as Christians. The difference between these two figures (of actual versus putative Christians) is likely to be immense. No one can know the hearts of men except God, but if past history and experience provide any guide at all, it is very likely that only a small percentage of those who classify themselves as Christians when asked about their religious affiliation will genuinely be followers and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham, after all, gave a deliberately minimal "worst case" assessment of the number of the "righteous" in Sodom, yet still managed to overestimate their true number (Gen.18:32).⁽¹⁶⁾ The massive number of merely nominal Christians who will quickly put aside all pretense to Christianity during that future time of testing (and then join whole-heartedly in the beast's religious movement) are not a part of this "one third" number. The apostates in question here are, on the contrary, genuine believers in our Lord who will exchange their precious faith for worthless and temporary worldly concerns under the pressures of that terrible time to come (cf. Dan.11:30-35).

Since men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen.4:26), and since the early days of the Church era (Phil.3:18; 2Tim.4:10), there have always been those who started well, but stumbled in their faith for one reason or another and so fell away from Christ (Matt.13:20-21; Mk.4:17; Lk.8:13; cf. Gal.5:4-7; 1Tim.4:1). But that fully one third of the true Church (which is itself only a fraction of the "church-visible") should turn away from Jesus Christ is a terrifying and sobering prospect which should leave those of us who have been commanded to prepare spiritually for the cataclysmic events to come in no doubt about the importance of the task before us (Matt.24:13; Lk.18:8; 21:36). The import of the message of the "one third" who turn away from the Lord into apostasy is clear: there will be tremendous spiritual peril during the Tribulation for any and all whose faith is not solidly grounded on the Rock (Matt.7:24-27; Lk.6:46-49). Time and space do not permit us here to revisit the refutation of the false doctrine of "eternal security" (which denies even the possibility of believer apostasy), but an objective reading of any of the numerous New Testament passages which conflict with it should be sufficient to make clear the principle that our salvation requires us to faithfully maintain our faith in Jesus Christ steadfast until the end (e.g., Matt.7:24-27; 10:33; Lk.6:46-49; 14:34-35; Jn.15:5-6; Rom.11:17-23; 1Cor.6:9-11; 10:6-12; 15:2; 2Cor.13:5; Gal.5:19-21; Eph.5:3-7; Col.1:21-23; 1Tim.6:9; 6:20-21; 2Tim.2:12-13; Heb.2:1-3; 3:6-19; 10:35-39; 2Jn.1:8-9).⁽¹⁷⁾ It will only be those who do endure in faith until the end that will be saved (Matt.24:13), and the Tribulation will present a greater challenge to the continuation of faithfulness and faithful discipleship than any other period in human memory.

And those [whose seed of faith fell] on the rock do receive the Word with joy when they hear it. However these [types] have no root [to their faith]. They believe for a while, but in time of testing they apostatize (aphistantai).
Luke 8:13

Apostasy is thus, at its root, the death of faith, the rejection by a onetime believer of his Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. As the gospel passages above from the parable of the sower make clear, it is most often "tribulation" and "persecution", the costs of discipleship, which are the decisive factors in causing a quondam believer to abandon his or her faith in preference for what seems at the time an easier road.

c. The Process of Apostasy: Although the essential mechanics of apostasy should be obvious enough from the above discussion, it is important for us to clarify here just how it is that a person may lose faith in Jesus Christ. Turning away from God and away from the Person of His Son is, in general, not an immediately obvious thing, and, rather than an event, is more often a process wherein the believer progressively violates his conscience, giving himself over to sin to such a degree that he is eventually forced to make a final choice between God and repentance on the one hand, or sin and reprobation on the other. For, at some point, continuing on the wrong road far enough and willfully enough will eventually and inevitably lead to the complete breakdown of the conscience and result in the "shipwreck" of faith:

As this passage tells us, it is impossible to continually ignore the Spirit's conversation with the conscience without suffering damage to one's faith (1Tim.4:1-2; Tit.1:15; cf. Eph.4:30; 1Thes.5:19; Heb.10:29). It is impossible to continually oppose God and His will without likewise doing harm to one's faith (1Pet.2:11). And it is impossible to continually choose what is displeasing to God without becoming more and more reluctant to "look Him in the face" (Jn.3:20; Eph.5:11-14). Inevitably, the path of ignoring God and rejecting His will damages, diminishes, and desensitizes the conscience, and thus (in the absence of repentance) leads eventually to the obliteration of one's faith. And when the believer stops believing altogether, then he/she is no longer a believer (Matt.24:10-13). The specific, biblical process involved here is the "hardening of the heart", that is, in the case of believers, a gradual loss of response and sensitivity to one's conscience, to the known will of God, and to one's commitment to following Jesus Christ as a true and faithful disciple (all of which are really one and the same thing).⁽¹⁹⁾

Make sure, brothers, that none of you develop an evil heart of unbelief (i.e., lack of faith) by turning away (lit. "apostatizing") from the living God. Rather keep encouraging each other every day as long as we still call it "today" (i.e. still remain in this world), lest any of you be hardened [in heart] by the deception of sin. For we all have a share in Christ, as long as we hang on to that original confidence [of our faith] firmly to the end, as it says:
            Today if you hear His voice,
           Don't harden your hearts as they did at the provocation [at Meribah].
For who provoked Him, though they had heard? Did not all of them who came out of Egypt under Moses' leadership do so? And with whom was He enraged for forty years? Wasn't it the very people who had sinned, then dropped dead in the desert? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter into the [place of] rest [He had promised], but to those who had been disobedient to Him? Now we see that they were unable to enter into this [place of rest] because of their unbelief (i.e., their loss of faith).
Hebrews 3:12-19     

These verses are a veritable primer on the process of apostasy. Here we see that having an "evil (i.e., hardened) heart of unbelief" is essentially synonymous with entering into apostasy (etymologically "turning away" from God, as we have seen). These two phenomena go hand in hand and both proceed from an identical source, namely, the poor choices of the person in question. For, as in the case of the Exodus generation in the passage above, it is by our own will that we harden our hearts, and it is by our own will that we turn away from God. Turning toward Him, following Him, advancing on the right path – all these are good and proper decisions which bring us nearer to our Lord. Turning away from Him, following our own desires, leaving the right path – all these are poor and dangerous decisions which alienate us from our Lord. We have said in the past that our essential purpose here on this earth is to make our choice for or against God in the Person of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – but this is not a once and for all decision.⁽²⁰⁾ Discipleship, being a believer in Jesus Christ and a faithful follower who lives to please Him, that is a day by day picking up of our cross (and every day presents its own challenges: Lk.9:23; cf. Matt.6:34; Eph.5:16; Col.4:5). Jesus told us to "count the cost" of discipleship before committing ourselves to following Him (Lk.14:26-34). For the life of a true disciple in Jesus Christ is definitely not without its costs, and it would be better never to embark on that road in the first place than to begin to follow Him only to turn away later (2Pet.2:20-22). As the passage quoted above makes clear, it is "sin's deception" which causes our hearts to lose sensitivity to what Jesus would have us do.

This does not mean that all apostates are engaged in a pattern of sinning which is obvious and overt (outrageous sexual or criminal behavior, for example). Sin comes in many forms, and, in the author's observation, the types of sin which are more often associated with apostasy are largely sins of the heart like jealousy, envy, bitterness and anger, just the sort of attitudes that are wont to dominate the heart when a person blames God for personal tribulations and disasters (as Jesus tells us in the passages from the parable of the sower quoted in the previous section: Matt.13:20-21; Mk.4:16-17; Lk.8:13). But whatever the type of sin to which a believer gives his whole-hearted allegiance (as opposed to a temporary failure later repented of and confessed), it is just this sustained and determined pattern of choosing against God and for what displeases Him that hardens the heart, deadens the conscience, alienates us from God and God from us, and eventually puts faith to death, for we cannot simultaneously serve both Christ and sin (cf. Prov.28:13-14).

We all sin (1Kng.8:46; Ps.130:3-4; Prov.20:9; Eccl.7:20; Rom.3:23), but in our continuing relationship of faith with our Lord we are instructed to confess our sins, and are promised forgiveness when we do (1Jn.1:9; cf. Ps.32; 51). In addition to giving us comfort about the forgiveness of our sins, the apostle John, in his first epistle, tells us in no uncertain terms that we are indeed all sinners so that this need to confess our sins whenever we commit them is very real (1Jn.1:5-10). But John also says that his purpose in writing is "that you may not sin" (1Jn.2:1), and then, throughout the course of the letter, goes on describe the believer as someone for whom sin does not even seem possible (cf. 1Jn.3:6; 3:9-10; 5:18). This is not a contradiction. Rather it is a confirmation that the Christian way of life is one of obediently following Jesus Christ (where sin is an anomaly), and not a life where one can choose one's own way in all things without serious and even eternal consequences. We have to own up to our mistakes, and we have to understand that sin, even when forgiven, has consequences both natural and divine, as in the case where our sinful actions may hurt someone and damage our relationship with them while at the same time occasioning discipline from the Lord (Heb.12:4-13). But for the true Christian, sin is a deviation from our journey of pilgrimage in the service of Jesus Christ. Through repentance and confession we get back on that straight and narrow road, and in doing so make it clear to ourselves and to all who observes us, angels and men alike, that we are truly committed to our faith in Jesus Christ, and that our lapse was but a momentary departure from our true purpose rather than some new purpose we have now embraced.⁽²¹⁾ However, should that "temporary deviation" continue to develop into a new and firmly fixed orientation, we risk the defiling of our consciences and the hardening of our hearts against God – we risk our faith:

If anyone sees his brother engaged in a pattern of sinfulness which does not lead to death (i.e., is a deviation rather than a complete turning away), let him ask [forgiveness on his brother’s behalf], and life will be given to him (i.e., forgiveness and deliverance will result), that is, in those cases where those sinning are not [sinning] unto death. There is sin which leads to death – I am not telling you to pray in that case. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin which does not lead to death (i.e., temporary deviation, confessed and repented does not result in death).
1^st John 5:16-17

Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them (i.e., the Exodus generation) did and were killed by serpents. And let us not be complaining, as some of them complained, and were killed by the Destroyer. These things happened to them as an example to us and were written to warn us (i.e., to avoid similar apostasy) – we who live at the culmination of the ages (i.e., at the doorstep of the Tribulation). So let him who thinks he stands firm beware lest he fall (i.e., from faith; cf. Rom.11:22).
1st Corinthians 10:11-12

The best way to avoid apostasy, really the only sure way, is to commit and dedicate oneself to the task of marching forward on the road to Zion, faithfully following our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Way to eternal life (Jn.14:6).

d. Prophecies of the Great Apostasy:

1) In 1^st Timothy 4:1, the apostle Paul tells us that the Great Apostasy is an explicit teaching of the Holy Spirit. He also informs us of what this means in strategic terms, namely, that those who abandon the Christian faith during the Tribulation will not merely become largely neutral unbelievers (as is sometimes the case today), but instead will become willing and active participants in the new, syncretic satanic system (religious, political, social, etc.) which will be offered up by the devil and his antichrist as a hostile alternative to faith in Jesus Christ. Given that this system will have as one of its main objectives the eradication of true faith from the earth (through accelerating pressures that lead eventually to the violence of the Great Persecution in the Tribulation's second half), we can see that in the case of such individuals the pattern of becoming active "enemies of the cross of Christ" will be completely fulfilled (Phil.3:18).

2) In 2^nd Thessalonians 2:1-4, as mentioned at the outset of this section, Paul sees the Great Apostasy as an event proportional in its significance to the revelation of antichrist. In order to prove his point that the resurrection had not yet occurred, the apostle focuses the Thessalonian believers on two unmistakable events that must precede the resurrection whose occurrence or lack thereof could not be subject to misinterpretation. Along with the revelation of antichrist, such also will be the Great Apostasy. The Thessalonians could easily look within their own ranks and see that there had in fact been no massive defection into apostasy, and certainly not one in which a large number of their former fellow believers had now given their complete allegiance to the advancement of the cause of Satan and the elimination of the Church. As in the passage above, these verses show a clear connection between those who will turn away from Christ and the rise of antichrist and his system, making it likely that fallen former believers will play a decisive role in the advancement of the beast.

3) In Matthew 24:3-13, Jesus is responding to a question from His disciples about the timing of these eschatological events. In this respect, our Lord's response puts the Great Apostasy (as well as other events) to similar use as in the passage above. That is to say, the disciples had wanted to know when He would return, and Jesus tells them that before His return all the "birth pangs" of the Tribulation must precede (including the Great Apostasy). In verses four through six, Jesus tells His disciples of trends which will be "in play" throughout the time preceding His return. And, indeed, throughout the Church Age there have been and continue to be deceivers who represent themselves as Him (cf. 1Jn.2:18), and there have been and continue to be conflicts and threats of conflicts which seem (at the time) to be of such moment as to have apocalyptic significance. Our Lord's message in the opening part of this passage is a threefold one, telling us first that we should not be deceived by any false Christ or thrown from our proper Christian walk by fearful anticipation of world events. Secondly, we are told that such deceivers and such potentially deceptive circumstances will be a characteristic of the days to come (i.e., of the entire Church Age). Thirdly, and most germane to our present study, is the message which these words imply, that is, that the actual Tribulation will be so indisputably characterized by one particular false Christ, namely antichrist, and its events so obviously dominated by the series of world conflicts predicted to precede our Lord's return, that there will be no possibility of failing to recognize these things for what they are by those who have given proper attention to scripture. For both of these two Church-Age-long trends will find their exemplars and their ultimate fulfillment during the Tribulation in the person of the arch-antichrist, and in the playing out of his campaign of world domination respectively.

With verse seven, our Lord sums up the Tribulation's first half which He then explains in verse eight to be the beginning of the "birth pangs", namely, the first half of the seven year period which directly precedes His return. In His synopsis of these events, the division of the world into two power blocks and the "world war" which ensues (ultimately leaving antichrist in essential control of most of the earth) is the event sequence He offers us as a conspicuous, signature sign of the Tribulation's first half, noting as well that both conspicuous man-made disasters caused by intensified evil (detailed by the seven seals: Rev.6:1-17) and unprecedented divine judgments upon this intensified evil (detailed by the seven trumpets: Rev.8:6-11:19) will likewise characterize this period. We reach the Great Tribulation itself in verses nine through thirteen, where our Lord describes the Great Persecution and the culminating phase of the Great Apostasy as a single, composite phenomenon. Believers (who have turned apostate by the time of the Great Tribulation's commencement) betray other believers, resulting in tribulation, that is, in all manner of persecution including imprisonment, execution, and worldwide antipathy to all true followers of Jesus Christ (verse 9). This intense persecution causes many more to "fall away", a further round of betrayal, and increased hostility by these new apostates toward their former brethren (verse 10). In this environment of ever intensifying pressure and persecution, Satan will then launch a deceptive assault directed primarily at those who still remain faithful to Christ (verse 11: explained in verses 23-24 as a new round of false prophets who, with the help of satanically empowered "signs", will falsely proclaim that Christ has already returned). The combination of these horrific events will finally cause the love even of some of those who have endured to this point to be quenched (verse 12; see below under "Causes of the Great Apostasy"), and it is only those who hold out until the final trumpet when our Lord returns who will be saved (verse 13). Thus apostasy will reach its peak and its culmination under the pressures brought to bear by the Great Persecution in the Tribulation's second half. However, as is the case with the rise of antichrist, the Great Apostasy will begin and grow from the moment the Tribulation commences.

4) There are also a series of passages in the book of Daniel which connect the Great Apostasy's opening up into a full flood with the Tribulation's mid-point.⁽²²⁾ As one might expect, these passages all focus upon the land of Israel, but, in terms of apostasy, betrayal and persecution, the events described here have a worldwide applicability. Daniel 8:10-12 demonstrates the connection between apostate believers and the beast's Great Persecution of those who remain faithful. Daniel 8:23 shows that the period of completion of the Great Apostasy is contemporaneous with the career of antichrist (i.e., the Great Tribulation; cf. Dan.8:24-25). Daniel 11:30-35 deals mostly with the Great Persecution and its specific course in Israel, but here as well we see the pattern of increased polarization with apostates and unbelievers actively in the devil's camp on the one side, and those who remain fully committed to the Lord flatly opposed to them on the other.

And [the little horn] (i.e., antichrist as a type and representative of the devil) magnified himself against the host of heaven (i.e., the family of God, men and angels both), and he cast down to the earth some of the host (i.e., antichrist seducing believers into apostasy) and some of the stars (i.e., Satan having seduced angels into rebellion) and he trampled them underfoot (i.e., their rebellion or apostasy in association with him leading to their subsequent destruction; cf. Dan.7:7; 7:19; Rev.11:2). He even magnified himself against the Prince of the host (i.e., Christ). The daily sacrifice was abolished by him, and the holy place (i.e., the inner court) was desecrated. And along with the daily sacrifice, the host (i.e., believers) fell into his power on account of [the] rebellion (i.e., the Great Apostasy, with persecution advanced through the help of apostates; cf. v.13). And he threw truth to the ground, and was successful in whatever he did.
Daniel 8:10-12

(25) Then he (i.e., the king of the north, antichrist) will rouse up his power and desire against the king of the south with a great force, but the king of the south will mobilize for war with an equally great force which will also be very powerful. Nevertheless, he (i.e., the king of the south) will not be able to stand [against the king of the north], for they shall devise plots against [the king of the south]. (26) For those who eat his choice food (i.e., his inner circle) will break him, and his force will flood away, and many will fall slain. (27) And though these two kings set their hearts on evil and speak lies at the same table (i.e., a peace conference), it will not prosper, for there will yet be an end to the period [of the Great Tribulation]. (28) Now as he (i.e., antichrist) returns to his own land with great booty, his heart will be set against the holy covenant, so that he will take action [against it] and [then] return to his own land. (29) During this period he will return and attack the south [again], but the circumstances of this campaign will not be like those of the first one. (30) For ships of Kittim (i.e., the western "Babylon") will attack with him [so that he will be victorious]. Then he will be stricken [as if dead], but will revive. And he will be enraged at the holy covenant, so that on his return [to Israel from the far south] he will take action [against it] (i.e., ending the sacrifices, setting up the abomination, taking his seat in the temple). And he will give his support to those who abandon the holy covenant. (31) For it is from him that the military forces will issue forth which will pollute the sanctuary (i.e., ending the ministry of Moses and Elijah), remove the daily sacrifice, and set up the abomination of desolation. (32) And with enticements he will seduce [people] to violate the [holy] covenant, but the people who know their God will continue to hold fast to it. (33) And those among the people who have insight will teach the people who will be persecuted by sword (i.e., martyrdom), and flame (i.e., torture), and captivity (i.e., imprisonment), and plunder (i.e., confiscation of property), for some time. (34) And when they are persecuted, they will receive a little help, yet many will ally themselves to them under false pretenses. (35) For even from among [the ranks of] those who have insight, some will be persecuted, in order to refine, purify, and cleanse them until the final end. For [it is] yet to come at its appointed time.
Daniel 11:25-35

2. The Situation of the Church and "church-visible" on the Eve of the Tribulation: To fully understand the phenomenon of the Great Apostasy, it is necessary to understand the difference between the church-visible and the true Church of Jesus Christ. Simply put, just as "not all Israel is Israel" (Rom.9:6), so not all who represent themselves as Christians really are believers in and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we are not talking here about the fact that many Christians are not particularly interested in the Word of God or that many Christians are not carrying on their Christian lives in a particularly sanctified way (sadly, many are not). It is possible, though dangerous in the extreme, to be a marginal Christian, to be "lukewarm", yet still be a member of Christ's fold. Clearly, those who fall into this category (and in this most complacent of Church periods, that of Laodicea,⁽²³⁾ the percentage is appallingly high) will be in the gravest danger of losing faith and salvation under the spiritual pressures of the Tribulation. But, marginal as they may be, they are still Christians as long as they maintain their faith in Jesus Christ (even if that faith is on "life support"). The distinction we are making here is between true Christians (of whatever stripe) and those who, while in reality not Christians at all, represent themselves as believers in Jesus Christ. Those who genuinely believe in and follow our Lord are Christians. Those who do not, are not, even though they may identify themselves as Christians and may belong to "Christian" organizations. In the author's estimation, the size of this "church-visible" greatly exceeds the size of the true Church militant (i.e., true believers currently alive on earth), and this unfavorable proportion is likely to increase the nearer we draw to the Tribulation, trending even higher and picking up momentum once the Tribulation begins. The twin dangers of complacency and pseudo-Christianity will contribute in no small measure to making the true Church particularly vulnerable when the Tribulation does hit, especially inasmuch as prophecy suggests an exceptional period of calm and prosperity just prior to its inception:⁽²⁴⁾

This dual phenomena of complacency within the Church in our final era of Laodicea and an ever growing proportion of unbelievers within the church-visible is creating serious impediments to spiritual growth in our own time, and will be the cause of increasing spiritual danger for all Christians in that future time. Consider the negatives today of an environment where entertainment and socializing are given priority and where the search for truth and the teaching of truth is stifled. Within "Christian" churches where these circumstances obtain (at present more the rule than the exception), spiritual growth, drawing near to Christ and learning how to better serve Him, is a nigh on impossible task – when it happens, it happens in spite of rather than because of such groups. Now consider that during the Tribulation, when the proportion of unbelievers has increased and false teaching has spread, what dampening of enthusiasm for the truth must then occur in Christian groups that are marginal even now! Indeed, we may expect that during the Tribulation by far the majority of main-line Christian groups and organizations will be or will shortly become anything but truly Christian, and this shift of organized Christianity from mere ineffectiveness to outright hostility to truth and true spirituality will serve to have a very chilling effect on all those who are striving to serve their Lord in a good and proper way. For when nearly all of the identifiable "Christian" churches and organizations have melted into one single matrix not merely of complacency about the inclusion of unbelievers and of tolerance of false doctrines (the case today), but actually of aggressive hostility towards any attitude of true dedication to Christ and of any correct understanding of the truth, then all true believers and genuine followers of Jesus will stand out as misfits as never before. This will be a test of faith unlike any in history, and, alarmingly, a test which many will fail, swelling the ranks of the Great Apostasy.

a. The Hardness of Unbelieving Pseudo-Christianity (The Seven Woes): Organized Judaism of our Lord's time presents a close parallel to the situation described above. Controlled largely by the scribes and Pharisees, the religious establishment of that time had become every bit as divorced from the true grace and power of God as will be the case for organized "Christianity" in the Tribulation (cf. Matt.23:5). Jesus' characterization of the spiritually dead "church-visible" of His own day gives us a very clear picture of what true believers will be up against once the church-visible of that future day makes a similarly clean break from the truth.

1) The Pseudo-Christian establishment hinders salvation for its members:

It is understandable if regrettable that those who have rejected the one way of salvation, faith in Jesus Christ, should attempt to prevent the salvation of their fellow members and so "close up heaven" to them. For to allow true discipleship on the part of others in their midst would be, in a way, to repudiate everything they themselves stand for. That is why even today those who do not follow the true way of salvation do all in their power to deny it to others as well (as is evident in the case of all so-called "Christian" groups who teach salvation by works, thus denigrating faith in Christ alone). For such people, Jesus Christ and His gospel are embarrassments (cf. Lk.12:9). Any real truth, any genuine belief in Christ within their ranks is a source of trouble, of complications, and, to put it bluntly, just "uncomfortable". As children of him who is the father of the lie, they are naturally hostile to the truth (Jn.8:44).

2) The Pseudo-Christian establishment reaches out to hinder salvation for others seeking God:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you scour land and sea to make a single convert, and when he becomes [one], you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Matthew 23:15

Propagating their false teachings is at once the best way to gain adherents and strength on the one hand, while reducing as far as possible the ranks of those who are truly seeking God. By coopting those who are searching for God and keeping them from true salvation, they avoid potential adversaries and suborn instead the zeal of these unfortunate converts for their own purposes. Furthermore, such conversions give them confidence in the rightness of their twisted approach (a point evident in all cults today).

3) The Pseudo-Christian establishment adds forms and rituals which obscure truth:

This is more than being more impressed with material things which appeal to earthly greed than with the underlying spiritual realities (i.e., the gold and the sacrifices instead of the temple and the altar which give them spiritual meaning). Beyond this failure to appreciate the spiritual truths which underlie the legitimate rituals described here, the pseudo-Christian establishment actually adds its own false strictures to the truth and thereby obscures that truth. This tendency to create and emphasize false precepts over the genuine Word of God is a trend which will dominate the whole woof and warp of the secularized pseudo-Christianity of the Tribulation (as it is indeed becoming more and prominent in our own day, even in evangelical circles).

4) The Pseudo-Christian establishment uses minor, partial obedience to obscure major truths:

Equally incompatible with the truth of the Word of God is the tendency described above to over-emphasize minor applications of the truth out of context (even otherwise correct ones), while ignoring the actual teachings of the Bible which give them meaning. Like saying "grace" over a stolen meal, divorcing even legitimate Christian practices from their true spirituality not only results in a pointless exercise of pseudo-devotion to God, but, worse to tell, also has the effect of obscuring those important underlying truths upon which all such applications were originally based. In company with the third "woe", this practice will help to rob organized pseudo-Christianity of any true relationship to Jesus Christ whatsoever (a trend on the rise in our own day as well, present wherever "the teachings of men" are put forth as if they were the words of God: Is.29:13; Matt.15:9; Mk.7:7; Col.2:22b).

5) The Pseudo-Christian establishment gives the appearance of holiness, but is not holy:

It is true that the tradition of "baptizing" eating utensils (among many other things) was a well-established extra-biblical tradition that attained a force beyond its true importance (an application divorced from its true spiritual significance as in the case of the fourth "woe" above), and one which had previously been criticized by our Lord (cf. Matt.15:1-11). However, as becomes apparent only after the comparison is completed (and so hits home with even more force), the "cup and dish" refer to the scribes and Pharisees themselves – they are the utensils which are clean only on the outside, but inside their true nature is seen to be greedy and licentious. It will thus be another characteristic of the organized pseudo-Christianity of the Tribulation to be "holy" in appearance, to present a sanctified exterior in terms of all behavior which may be readily observed, but to be devoted to sin and evil in the secret inside. Thus the "superficiality" which the leaders as well as the rank and file of the church-visible of that future day will exhibit will not only be a question of no depth of true spirituality, but actually of the reverse of what appears on the surface, with evil lurking below (cf. 2Tim.3:5).

6) The Pseudo-Christian establishment gives the appearance of spiritual life, but is dead:

In addition to appearing to be holy while being profane in reality, pseudo-Christianity of the Tribulation will appear to be spiritually alive but will in reality be entirely dead to God. They may have impressive buildings, fascinating rituals, beautiful music, electrifying sermonizing, etc., but inside these attractive tombs only spiritual death will be found.

7) The Pseudo-Christian establishment appears to be for God, but is really hostile to Him and His:

Finally, and of extreme importance for us who stand on the threshold of these things, tribulational pseudo-Christianity will give the appearance of being on God's side while in reality being enemies of God and eager destroyers of all those who truly believe in and follow His Son. In this last case, our Lord's interlocutors are tripped up by their all too eager desire to associate themselves with the establishment of the past (i.e., they call the murderers "our fathers"), whereas if they had truly regretted what had been done, they would have been quick to disassociate themselves entirely from such evil deeds. But, as it is, they are more interested in laying claim to the power and prestige of the establishment of the past than to clear themselves of blame for the slaughter of God's people. It is exactly this willingness to choose privilege over true holiness that led the religious establishment of Jesus' day to kill their own Sovereign Lord, and will lead their spiritual successors into hearty complicity with the slaughter of the Great Persecution.

Behold, for this very reason (i.e., to prove your true nature) I am going to send to you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that there will come upon you all the righteous blood [ever] spilled upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation (i.e., unbelievers of this type).
Matthew 23:34-36
 

So while we may see in a large part of established "Christianity" at the Tribulation's inception a well-organized, well-financed system, with beautiful churches, beautiful music, and beautiful superficial sentiments, beneath the whitewashed surface there will be no truth, no faith, no love of Jesus Christ, only dead men's bones. And the hostility which will usher forth from our erstwhile brothers and sisters at that time, while it may begin with mere ostracism and calumny, will end with open persecution of the most severe sort in the cause and service of the beast.⁽²⁵⁾ The above example of the "seven woes" should give us pause, for if nothing else it illustrates that where there is smoke, there is fire. Dead pseudo-Christian organizations (of which there are plenty in our own day) may seem to pose no threat under present circumstances. However, just as soon as circumstances change (and change they will in the Tribulation, much for the worse), such organizations will be ready-made and willing co-conspirators both for the advancement of the process of the Great Apostasy and also for the implementation of the Great Persecution. The reason for the nature of such groups is not a matter of accident: these spiritually dead organizations reflect the hardened hearts of the individuals who make them up.

b. The Vulnerability of Lukewarm Believers (The Problem of Complacency): In addition to the problem of unbelievers and organizations which are Christian in name only, the second major factor which will contribute mightily to the Great Apostasy is the endemic problem of lukewarmness among the majority of genuine Christians as the Tribulation begins. We have already seen that this final era of the Church before the inception of the Tribulation, the era of Laodicea, is characterized by lukewarmness, that is, a lackadaisical attitude towards Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the separate roles we have each been called to play in God's plan.⁽²⁶⁾ The overwhelming characteristic of believers in this period (and we can expect the trend to intensify as the Tribulation approaches) is one of apathy when it comes to building faith, growing through the Word of God, drawing closer to Jesus Christ, and preparing for and putting into practice the gifts, ministries and effects that God has ordained for us (cf. 1Cor.12:4-7; Eph.2:10).⁽²⁷⁾

One could go on at great length as to the causes of such indifference toward the Lord Jesus who bought us, but it is sufficient here to point out that in its essence this appalling attitude stems primarily from loving the world more than Jesus. Because of Jesus, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been delivered from the fiery death that awaits those who have rejected Him (Rom.5:9-10). Because of Jesus, we look forward to being resurrected in a body whose glory will render insignificant all of the suffering, pain, and trials we are enduring in this present flesh (Phil.3:20-21; cf. 2Cor.4:17-18). Because of Jesus, we are looking forward to a new earth and new heavens where righteousness dwells, where all the rot and evil of this present world will never again be called to mind (Is.65:17). Because of Jesus, we are not of this world – we may be in it for a time, but He is in us, and we live through Him and for Him (Jn.17:16-23). Through Jesus, we have been crucified to this world and it to us (Gal.6:4). Jesus is our life, and for us living is Jesus, pure and simple, so that death is all gain, because it will unite us face to face with the One we love so much forever more (2Cor.5:8; Phil.1:21).

These things are all true. We believe these things. So why do we not live them? In the era of Laodicea, in a time when materialism is king, when the world provides so many distractions, so many opportunities to partake of them, and so many fears lest all these "wonders" we depend upon both for survival and for entertainment be taken from us, turning our hearts away from the world is no simple task. Therefore the worldly attitude of Laodicea, trending farther and farther away from the Lord with every passing day, is, in some respects, understandable. But that does not make it any less regrettable. In an era when such pressures exist, and when the "normal" thing for Christians is to pay not much more than lip-service to their faith, true devotion to Jesus must be all the more jealously guarded. For complacency about God and His grace to us in the gift of His Son is not only a despicable thing for a Christian, it is also a highly dangerous thing, and at no time will that be more true than during the Tribulation's Great Apostasy. The Lord is not pleased with complacent disciples. The Lord is pleased with passionate disciples. Therefore when it comes to the choice between fervor for Jesus Christ or apathy concerning our relationship with Him, it is clear from scripture what a good Christian should be, one who loves our Master fervently from the heart, faithfully following Him and His example throughout this earthly life, prizing Jesus and our relationship with Him above all earthly treasures and considerations, making His good pleasure our first and foremost priority:

1) A good Christian should be zealous for Christ:

NOT lukewarm about our relationship with Him:

"I know your works, that they are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! As it is, because you are neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of My mouth."
Revelation 3:15-16

2) A good Christian should be a dedicated lover of God:

NOT a lover of this world:

Don't be a lover of this world, nor of what is in this world. If anyone is a lover of this world, a [genuine] love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world and its lust are passing away, but whoever does God's will is [going] to stay [alive with God] forever.
1st John 2:15-17
 

3) A good Christian should be a friend of Jesus Christ:

You are My friends, if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you [my] friends, because everything which I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:14-15

NOT a friend of this world:

You adulterously unfaithful people (i.e., unfaithful to God through dalliance with the world)! Don't you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of the world establishes himself as an enemy of God.
James 4:4

4) A good Christian should be on fire with the Holy Spirit:

NOT working against the Spirit's kindling of our zeal:

Do not put out the Spirit's fire.
1st Thessalonians 5:19

5) A good Christian should be making the most of every opportunity for Christ:

Walk wisely in regard to those outside [the Church], redeeming the time (i.e., making the most of every opportunity; cf. Eph.5:16).
Colossians 4:5

NOT making full use of this world:

6) A good Christian should be single-minded toward God:

And I will give them a single heart and a single way so that they may fear Me all their days for their good and that of their children after them (cf. Ezek.11:19; 1Cor.7:35).
Jeremiah 32:29

NOT double minded toward God (i.e., vacillating in heart between God and the world):

7) A good Christian should be passionate for Christ and His Church:

If [you have] any comfort in Christ, if [you have] any encouragement from [God's] love, if [you have] any fellowship with the Spirit, if [you have] any sympathy and compassion [for fellow believers], then make my joy full by being of one mind, of one love, of one heart, thinking the same thing, doing nothing out of selfish competitiveness or self-importance, but in humility, considering each other as more important than yourselves, with each of you looking out not for himself but for each other. Have the [very same] attitude which also Christ Jesus did.
Philippians 2:1-5

NOT complacent about God and His people:

8) A good Christian should be following God with an "undivided heart":

Teach me, O Lord, Your way [that] I may walk in Your truth. Make my heart one (i.e., undivided), that [I may] fear Your Name.
Psalm 86:11

NOT wavering between following God and the world:

9) A good Christian should be one who remembers at all times what the Lord has done for us:

NOT one who forgets the Lord in good times:

When you eat and are satisfied and bless the Lord your God on account of the good land which He has given you, take care for yourselves lest you forget the Lord your God so as not to keep His commandments, judgments, and statutes which I am commanding you [to keep] this day. Lest, when you eat and are satisfied and build fine homes and dwell [in them] and your cattle and sheep multiply and your gold and silver increase and everything you have increases, your heart become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, He who led you through the great and awesome wilderness with its deadly snakes and scorpions, a thirsty place without water, He who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock, He who in [this] desert gave you manna to eat (of which your fathers had no knowledge), in order to afflict you so as to test you that it might go well with you in the future. Lest you say in your heart, "My strength and my own hand has produced this wealth for me". [Rather] that you may remember the Lord your God, that it is He who gives you the strength to produce wealth, [and] that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 8:10-18  (cf. Hos.13:6)

10) A good Christian should be one who delights in the Word of God:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of mockers. But the teaching (torah) of the Lord is his delight, and in His teaching (torah) He meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2

NOT one who is complacent about learning the Word of God:

11) A good Christian should be one who truly worships God:

But the hour is coming, and in fact has already arrived, when the true worshipers [of God] will worship the Father in spirit (i.e., spiritually: our spirit responding to His Spirit) and in truth (i.e., truthfully: our heart responding to His truth). Indeed, it is just such worshipers that the Father is seeking. For God is spirit, and those who worship Him must do so spiritually (lit., in spirit) and truthfully (lit., in truth).
John 4:23-24

NOT one who offers mere lip-service to Him:

And the Lord said, "Because this people approaches [Me only] with their mouths, and honors Me [only] with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and because their fear of Me [consists only in] the commandment[s] of men taught [by tradition], therefore, behold, I am about to deal awesomely with this people in a most awesome way, so that the wisdom of the wise will perish, and the discernment of the discerning will be hidden [from them]".
Isaiah 29:13-14

12) A good Christian should be one who sincerely loves Jesus Christ:

The grace [of God] be with all of you who love our Lord Jesus Christ with complete sincerity (lit., "with incorruptibility").
Ephesians 6:24

NOT a hypocrite (i.e., literally meaning "actors", one who only pretends to love God for show):

So when you give to charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may receive glory from men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full [by doing this].
Matthew 6:2

13) A good Christian should be exclusively devoted to the one true God:

NOT an idolater who vacillates between God and some other object or priority:

And I will stretch out My hand over Judah and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal along with the name of his ministers and along with his priests, [all] those who on their roofs worship the host of the heavens, all his worshipers who swear by the Lord, but also swear by Malcom (i.e., "Molech").
Zephaniah 1:4-5

14) A good Christian should be one who holds God in the highest esteem:

Therefore, says the Lord God of Israel, I had certainly said that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever, but now, says the Lord, far be [that] from Me! For those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be held in low esteem.
1st Samuel 2:30

NOT one who shows little regard for God:

"A son honors his father, and a slave his master, but if I am their Lord, where is the reverence due Me?" The Lord of hosts is speaking to you priests who despise His Name.
Malachi 1:6a

15) A good Christian's heart should always look to where Christ is above:

Therefore since you have been resurrected [positionally] with Christ, be seeking after the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your hearts (lit., minds) on the things above, not the things on earth.
Colossians 3:1-2

NOT be set on earthly things:

16) A good Christian should be one who strives always to please Jesus:

Our ambition [as Christians], therefore, whether in this body or out of it, is be pleasing to our Lord.
2nd Corinthians 5:9

NOT someone who only seeks to please himself:

We who are mature (lit., able) should bear the weaknesses of those who are immature (lit., not able) – [and] not [only seek to] please ourselves. Let each one of us strive to please his neighbor for [what is truly] good in order to bring about [that person's] edification (i.e., spiritual growth). For certainly Christ did not [seek to] please Himself, but [instead fulfilled the principle] just as it is written, "the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon Me" (i.e., He accepted the world's reproaches in witnessing to God rather than having concern for Himself).
Romans 15:2-3
 

Throughout this sampling of passages (and, indeed, throughout the Bible), whether explicitly or implicitly passion for God is strongly commended while complacency toward our Lord (along with the inevitable and concomitant love of the world) is strongly condemned. Complacency is thus a serious problem for the Church at large and for individual Christians in particular precisely because of this "zero sum" opposition between the two alternatives. For either you truly love Jesus Christ more than anything else, or the truth is that you love the world more than Him. And if you do love the world more than the Lord, then at the very least you risk rendering your faith so fragile and vulnerable that it may well not survive serious testing or tribulation, not to mention the Tribulation (Matt.13:20-21; Mk.4:16-17; Lk.8:13).

It is important to point out that the passion for God referred to here is not primarily an emotional issue. Emotion is present in true passion for God, to be sure, and for those who truly do love Jesus Christ with all their heart and soul and mind and might, there is indeed tremendous positive emotion to be experienced. But this genuine emotion follows commitment, dedication, faith and faithfulness. Such genuine emotion and passion are the result of the determined and consistent following of Jesus Christ in true discipleship, not the means to loving God more than the world. What I mean to say is that one cannot come to love Him more than the world by generating emotional displays. One cannot substitute an hour or two a week of weeping and wailing, enthusiastic singing, demonstrative praying (or whatever one's vehicle and preference of emotional expression may be) for reading, studying and being taught the Word of God, treasuring and contemplating it, and diligently putting it into practice in one's life in Christian walk and ministry. Real passion for our Lord is often expressed in a quiet and still manner, coming to know Him through the Bible, communing with Him in private, heart-felt prayer, following Him by leading the life He would have us live, and honoring Him by ministering to His Body, our fellow Christians, according to the gifts and ministries He has assigned (Jn.21:15-17). True zeal is not in the show of zeal (cf. Rom.10:2), but in the power of truth at work in the inner-man (Eph.3:16-19), expressing itself in deeds of faith, hope and love (1Thes.1:3). For us to work up a temporary "blush" of emotion without true substance behind it means nothing to God, for our God is a God who tests the validity of these emotions to show to the world, to the heavenly hosts, and to us as well whether they are indeed genuine and deeply rooted or merely a passing performance (Ps.7:9; Jer.11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rom.8:27; 1Thes.2:4; Rev.2:23). It does no good to be like the younger brother in Jesus' parable who responded with a show of emotion and enthusiasm to His Father's call, but never got around to doing the hard work of His Father's will (Matt.21:28-31). For true disciples of Jesus Christ who are advancing resolutely on the pilgrimage to Zion which is this earthly life (Gen.47:9; Ps.23; 39:12; 84:5-7; Matt.7:14; Jn.14:6; Acts 19:9; 19:23; Heb.11:13-16; 1Pet.1:1), genuine emotion flows naturally from growing closer to God day by day.

These words are from one who truly loved God with all his might in spite of the pressures of life, and are also for us who genuinely aspire to do the same. We who truly follow Jesus Christ with all our hearts and know this world for what it is, a dry and thirsty land, we who have set our hopes on the life to come and not on this passing corruption our eyes behold, we are with David in the desert of Judah, with Moses, Joshua and Caleb in the wilderness of Sinai, with Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, only sojourning on this earth while we faithfully serve and patiently wait for our Lord (1.Cor.1:7; Phil.3:20; 1Thes.1:10; 2Tim.4:8; Tit.2:13; Heb.9:28; Jas.5:7-11; cf. Rom.8:23-25; Gal.5:5; 1Tim.6:14), for His glorious return and His glorious victory, loving Him in the meantime more than our lives (2Cor.5:8; Phil.1:21; cf. Heb.11:24-27; 1Pet.1:8), and keeping ourselves from infatuation with the world (Jas.1:27; 2Tim.2:3-4). But for those who are overly preoccupied with the world, and whose emotions are stimulated only artificially and occasionally, compromise and complacency about commitment to Jesus inevitably make love and faith very fickle. Those who feel that they have somehow already attained the goal of the Christian life are merely deluding themselves (1Cor.4:8; cf. Phil.3:12-14), so that all their protestations of love and loyalty are usually little more than clouds and mist.

The choice is this: do we love, esteem and prize Jesus our Lord above everything in this world (cf. Ps.16:2), or do we put the world first, with all its cares, concerns and delights? The more we appreciate and know the truth, the less lovely the world becomes (Jas.4:4; 1Jn.2:15-17; cf. Matt.10:37-39; 16:24-26; Lk.14:25-33). But the more we neglect our spiritual growth and walk and ministry and the continually deepening relationship with our Lord that flows therefrom, the more complacent, the more lukewarm we become. In truth, it is folly to seek comfort, self-definition, or security in this ephemeral world rather than in the Lord who bought us, with whom we will be forever, and whom we claim to love beyond all else. Conversely and perversely, Christian complacency takes for granted the one thing we ought to be concerned about (i.e., our relationship with Jesus Christ), and instead worries about the things of the world which we ought to take for granted by faith:

And we know that, for those who love God, He works everything together for good – [that is to say,] for those who have been called according to His plan.
Romans 8:28

For this reason I tell you [to] stop worrying about your life, that is, [worrying about] what you will [have to] eat. And stop [worrying] about your body, that is, [worrying about] what you will [have to] wear. Isn't your life more [meaningful] than food? And isn't your body more [meaningful] than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky – they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into granaries. And [yet] your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more important than they are, aren't you? Now which of you can add a foot and a half to his height by worrying? Why then do you worry about clothing? Consider well the wi