Matthew 24:9-16 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. (10) And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. (11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. (12) And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (15) "Therefore, when you see the 'Abomination of Desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), (16) "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
As I have already mentioned at the start of this section, since the church began there have always been those who have fallen away from following the Lord. And that will continue as we draw closer to the end of the age. But we also read earlier about an event the Holy Spirit called, “the falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3). In other words, there is coming a time when a significant number of believers will fall away from following the Lord Jesus. In the above quoted passage of scripture, our Lord Jesus spoke about this same event, for notice that He states that there is coming a time when many will be “offended”. When our Lord states that many will be offended, He is referring to those who will fall away from the faith, for in the parable of the sower He used the same word to describe those who fell away (Matthew 13:21).
Michael E.B. Maher
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