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Saturday, September 12 2009
The result of someone rejecting their established religious beliefs in favor of opposing beliefs is sometimes described as apostasy, a word which means walking away from. Ironically, the word apostle is somewhat related in its root form, although apostle means someone who is sent. The meanings are quite different. Apostasy is walking away from the Way, by means of walking in a way from the way (see I Did It My Way).
Jesus Christ warned His apostles of apostasy:
"8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." (Luke 8:11-14 KJV)"24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:10-13 KJV)
"A deceiver and an antichrist"
The apostle John was the only one of the twelve apostles to live to old age (see the Fact Finder question below). By the end of his long life, John witnessed, more than any of them, the apostasy that happened to much of the early church - that produced the Church of Rome, and her many "protestant" daughters thereafter.
"1:1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 1:2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
1:4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist [see The Spirit of Antichrist]. 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
1:12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
1:13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen." (2 John 1:1-13 KJV)
Fact Finder: What were the circumstances that caused John to be the only apostle of the twelve to survive to old age?
See The Old Man's Letter
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This Day In History, September 12
490 BC: The Athenians defeated the second Persian invasion of Greece at Marathon.
1609: English explorer Henry Hudson, while employed by the Netherlands, discovered a famous river in eastern North America that would later be named after him - the Hudson River. New York City was originally named New Amsterdam.
1683: Austrian and Polish forces took Vienna, Austria, back from the Ottomans after the Battle of Kahlenberg.
1683: Vienna was retaken from the Ottomans.
1722: The Treaty of St. Petersburg ended the Russo-Persian War.
1758: French astronomer Charles Messier began his Messier Catalog of deep-sky objects with the Crab Nebula - the remnants of a supernova explosion that was first observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054.
1848: Switzerland adopted a new constitution under which it became a federal republic.
1878: The obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle, originally cut from the quarries of Aswan in about 1475 B.C., was erected in London.
1953: John F. Kennedy, 36, married Jacqueline Bouvier, 24.
1972: Idi Amin, dictator of Uganda, sent a cable to the United Nations Secretary General to announce that since no statue of Hitler had been erected in Germany, he proposed to set one up in Uganda.
1990: Agreements were signed by the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and East and West Germany which permitted the re-unification of Germany - a key event in European history, and Bible prophecy.
