Apostasy and Restoration

In his first epistle to church members in Thessalonica, Paul paints a beautifully reassuring picture of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: He will descend in glory from heaven, and not only will we be caught up to meet Him, but our deceased loved ones will as well. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.)

In his second epistle, he adds a caution: Don’t assume that this will happen any time soon. Jesus foretold many catastrophic events which would precede His return, including widespread evil, heartlessness, and deception. (See Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Joseph Smith—Matthew.) Paul adds another one, which he calls “the apostasy” (not just “an apostasy”):

Now we beseech you, brethren [and sisters], [concerning] the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and [concerning] our gathering together unto him,

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.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

The word “apostasy” doesn’t appear in the King James translation of that passage (nor anywhere else in the King James Version of the Bible), but the Greek word translated “falling away,” apostasia (ἀποστασία), means literally “apostasy,” which is an abandonment or rejection of religious belief. Most other English translations of the Bible either use the word “apostasy” or “rebellion” in this verse. (See parallel translations of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 on biblehub.com.) The word also appears in Acts 21:21, where Paul is accused of persuading Jews to “forsake Moses.” And Paul uses a different form of the word in his first epistle to Timothy, when he prophesies that, “in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1, italics added).

The Book of Mormon provides more information about the apostasy which followed the Savior’s mortal ministry. About 600 years before the Savior’s birth, Nephi saw in a vision that people with worldly motivations would gain power, would persecute and subjugate true believers, and would remove critical truths from the scriptures, in order to “blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men” (1 Nephi 13:27). As a result, he foresaw, “an exceedingly many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Nephi 13:29).

The good news is that the Lord promised to be merciful to them, and to reveal His gospel to them again, in part by giving them the Book of Mormon. (See 1 Nephi 13:34-35.) In the scriptures, apostasy is followed by restoration. When we turn away from God, He sends help.

This aligns with Isaiah’s prophecy that the Lord would do “a marvellous work and a wonder” in response to pervasive hypocrisy and unbelief (Isaiah 29:13-14, 2 Nephi 27:25-26, 2 Nephi 25:17-18).

This pattern of apostasy and restoration is an example of God’s grace. Left to ourselves, we tend to drift. Collectively, we tend over time to abandon or even reject the truths God has taught us. We rebel against the laws He has given us, or we water them down until they become meaningless. Just as gravity pulls us to the earth and the universe tends toward randomness, our spirituality suffers when we are not tethered to God. But God responds to that drifting not by condemning His children, but by revealing Himself anew and giving them more opportunities to return to Him. We don’t earn those chances. They are His gift to us and evidence of His ongoing love for us. Like the Lord of the vineyard in the Allegory of the Olive Tree, He doesn’t want to lose us, so He tries again. (See Jacob 5.)

Global patterns of apostasy and restoration have their parallels in our individual lives. We all go through periods of time where our faith is challenged and may even weaken in the face of severe adversity. Or we may feel less close to God because we have been less consistent in personal religious activities like prayer and scripture study. In His own way and in His own time, God will do “a marvelous work” in each of our lives. Through various sources, He will provide understanding and invitations to help us regain our footing and stand strong again. We don’t have to earn these “mini-restorations.” We receive them because He loves us. We only have to receive them and act upon them.

Today, I will be grateful for God’s love for His children, as manifest in patterns of apostasy and restoration. I will be mindful of our tendency to drift away from Him and His willingness to bring us back if we are willing to heed His voice.