Many people I talk to are really worried about how things are going in the world. Lots of changes in our lives have taken place over the past year, changes in government, people trying to take our freedom from us, with fear mongers spreading lies and fear. With Covid making people sick with some dying, our children being forced to stay home from school, people losing jobs, businesses closing, things have looked pretty dismal. And we are just now a year and a half later starting to come out of it, but things are no where near back to “normal”. Many tell us things will never be back as they were before.


And then there are those who, even before all of this, have fully put their trust in God, and having read in God’s Word about things that have been, and things that are coming, have determined in their hearts not to be moved by what they see, what they feel, or what they hear, but remain steadfast in their hearts unto the second coming of Christ Jesus.

His coming may well be within our present generation, for things are starting to line up with what the Bible has told us beforehand. And this is only the beginning, we’re not fully there yet, but we can read and see how it’s all taking shape, and as we know, once things start happening, they can happen quite quickly, even in a matter of hours or days.
It is written in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12,
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Back in 1996 when we began to pastor our first church, we all studied the above passage, wondering when these things should come to pass. Some thought it might be soon, others thought it might be perhaps hundreds of years out in the future. Well, we’re starting to see things coming in line with those scriptures.

One of the first things we are seeing is a definite decrease in people claiming to be Christians that are going to churches. People are becoming more worldly minded and less spiritually minded. Verse 3 tells us these things shall not be until there be a “falling away first”. That is the Greek word “APOSTASIA”, from where we get the word “apostasy”, which means in Strong’s Definition: Feminine of the same as G647; defection from truth (properly the state), (” apostasy” ): – falling away, forsake.

All we have to do is look around, and we can see how people are turning away from truth, both Biblical truth, and all truth in general. Another definition of the word APOSTASIA is “standing apart from”, which sheds a whole different light on the word, meaning that in regards to a relationship with God, “standing apart from” is different than “falling away”. People who refuse a relationship with God for whatever reason are standing apart from Him, saying, “stay away from me, I want nothing to do with you”. That includes atheists and agnostics. And you can readily see the difference between that, and the person who once had a relationship with God, but backslid, or fell away from Him. But APOSTASIA covers both of those scenarios.

Already, we are seeing a big move toward “apostasy”. And it is vastly changing our society for the worse. Now, we’re not yet seeing the “man of sin”, the “son of perdition” mentioned in verses 3 and 4, but it’s on the horizon. I could continue to teach about the following verses down to verse 12, but the point of this that I wish to make is for us not to be deceived, and NOT TO BE SHAKEN as these things come to pass. You see, the devil wants to sell us fear, and he charges a very high price for all his products. Fear is NOT of God.

It is written in 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. When we keep this verse first and foremost in our mind, then all this other stuff coming upon the world becomes less and less a threat to us. We know it’s coming, the Bible tells us so, and we can prepare ourselves by seeking God more and more.
There’s a passage in the 23rd Psalm that I like, it says in verse 4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Yes, we will at times walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we’re not supposed to forward our mail there. We’re going THROUGH, not taking up residence there. And let me ask you this; have you ever been bitten by the shadow of a dog? Neither have I. The shadow can’t hurt you! God is with you. And it says “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Think about that: a shepherd carries a rod and staff, it has a hook on one end to pull his sheep out of trouble (that’s you), and the other end is used to whack the attacker soundly to make him leave his sheep alone (that’s the devil).

There’s a saying, “DON’T WORRY; BE HAPPY!” It’s not exactly quoted like that in the Bible, but the idea comes through loud and clear. Don’t let yourself be shaken by what’s going on in the world around you. Remember, you’re only “passing through”, this world is not your home. Your citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, and He isn’t going to drop you on your little pumpkin head! Neither let yourself “backslide”, for that’s a dangerous thing. And if you find you HAVE backslidden, the LORD is telling you SLIDE BACK!! COME BACK HOME TO HIM!
It is written in 1 John 1:4-9,
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is no excuse for standing apart from Christ Jesus, or backsliding, that is, falling away from Him. He is not there to accuse you, He is there to SAVE you and keep you safe from the evil one. He shed His precious blood as full payment for your sins. So right now, don’t be shaken by what is going on in the world. Be safe in Christ Jesus. It is written in Romans 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.

Don’t be shaken. Be saved! You’ll be glad you did!