The Gradual Departure

The gradual departure from the word, way, and will of God. Matthew 16:18-19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The first church started off right. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost and power, witnessing to all to the ends of the earth. They that received the word gladly were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of their sins. Acts 2:37-42. The coverts continued in the word of God as they were taught and shown by the Apostles themselves. The Eunuch and Samaria were both baptized by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus, after receiving the word. Cornelius prayed down an angel who had him send to hear the words of Peter, and be converted by faith through baptism in the name of Jesus, he was the first Gentile to have done so. The Jailer who had faith was saved after his baptism in Jesus name along with Lydia, the seller of purple. Paul baptized these both, also the Corinthians and John's former disciples in the name of Jesus, to wash away their sins by faith in the only name given among men, whereby we must be saved. Shortly thereafter the disciples were executed by the Romans or otherwise, one by one until there remained none except John. He was exiled and later died after receiving his vision from Christ, on the things to come. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. The letters were written by the Apostles (Mainly by Paul though, 13 of them by his hand.) to encourage all to remain faithful no matter what, to the end. 2 Timoty 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. But upon the deaths of these men, strangers to Christ crept in trying to lead as many as possible back to bondage. Jude foresaw this event and day. Jude 3-4 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it was not a rapid departure but a little here and there, until the word became of none effect by the time of Justin Martyr. He changed the baptismal formula from Jesus to a extended trinity form. And though it had Jesus still at it's center, Terullian who brought in trinty via the Godhead, changed it to solely the trinity. And so it is until this date and time in almost all churches. The falling away brought many changes. The invention of the trinity in 325 AD at Nice. Mass in Latin in 394 AD. Purgatory (Purifying souls in a state somewhere between Heaven and Hell.) in 593 AD. Transsubstantiation ( The wafer becomes Christ. Defined as the actual body and blood when drinking the wine and eating the bread) in 1000 AD. Celibacy (Abstain from all sexual relationships to include marriage.) of priests 1015 AD. The sprinkling of infants called baptism (Which contradicts the term itself.) in 1311 AD at Rivenne. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 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. 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; 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. Everyone is getting

shaken up by words of men. The word of God will give us peace of heart and comfort even in times of trouble or affliction. But we must it and cleave and hold onto it alone. Peter sank when he looked at the world and not Jesus. whenever we are discouraged or distracted, the enemy has gained a small but temporary victory. And he would not attack you if you were not in the fight. We must do all we can do by standing upon the word alone in the final times. We are not at the end and until the appearance and reign of the Anti-Christ, (Who will be given seven years until his destruction and that of the world as we know it.) unless one dies, there is plenty of time to get right with God. Yet we are only given today. Nothing says God will not take you away at anytime frame. Satan wants all to put off salvation until their hearts are deceived or have forgotten. There are many now who wish that they would of heeded the call of Christ. Don't be on that ship of misfortune and lost opportunity. It is a sinking one. There is a story that illustrates this point. There were two men being interviewed for a driving job by the company's boss. When asked the how close could he get next to the edge of a cliff if it was needed, the first man replied, razor close. The second man upon hearing the question, got up and began to leave. The boss then asked him, "Why are you leaving"? His reply was that safety came first. And no matter the pay he would not risk his life. He would stay as far as he could from that drop off or edge of the road. And with that response, he was immediately hired on the spot! How close does anyone want to be to a eternity apart from Christ?