The definition of apostasy according to the dictionary is

the abandonment or renunciation of a political or religious belief

 

We are looking at the way apostasy has affected God’s will in the world. From before man was ever created, apostasy was found in Lucifer. He was God’s most beautiful, created angel.  God had total faith in him until “iniquity was found in his heart”. You don’t turn your back on an enemy and God allowed Lucifer the privilege of standing behind His throne. What happened to cause Lucifer to leave this precious place of favor, love and fellowship with his creator? We have to look at the word iniquity to understand. Again, the dictionary defines iniquity as “wickedness”. But, what perverted Lucifer and caused him to go from an exalted place in Heaven to a place of anger, hostility, lies, hatred, immorality and every other form of willfulness against God? It is here that we find the reason for apostasy in Lucifer, his fallen angels, and all of mankind.

 

Lucifer was filled with a deep and forever rebellion against God because of God’s plan to create man in God’s own image. Lucifer listened to the “three in one” lay out the plan for man’s creation which included putting angels at man’s command. Angels were to be “ministering spirits to man because man was an “heir” of salvation”. Lucifer went from selflessness to self-centeredness and with that became filled with every kind of wickedness imaginable. He became the first apostate by abandoning the call on his life in favor of wanting to do his own thing.

 

Lucifer knew that by severing the mind of God from the mind of man through causing man to believe a lie, that man would become his, Lucifer’s slave. After the fall of mankind, because of Adams’ sin in the Garden of Eden, man’s character took on the attributes of his new master. Even though man was created in the image of the living God and given the place of being God’s most precious treasure, man was Lucifer’s slave because he had chosen to believe Lucifer’s lies.

 

As we look into the history of the church, we find that as the apostate spirit from Lucifer continued to cause God’s people to believe lies, they broke away from the desire to belong to their Creator and walked in the same self-centeredness that Lucifer lives in. With this apostasy, man became open to every kind of evil and wicked desire that Lucifer continues to tempt him with to this day. And, because man chooses to leave the place of safety and blessing with God, his life is corrupted in deeper and deeper ways.

 

Historically, mankind has followed the “prince of this world” and fallen away from the truth. For the past 2000 years every kind of division Lucifer could come up with has separated man from the place of privilege, safety, and blessing that God has waiting for him. It is Lucifer’s delight and desire to deceive everyone, and he is very good at what he does.

 

In today’s world Lucifer has seemingly won in his battle for mankind to be with him in degradation, immorality, conceitedness, corruption and depravity. I would tremble if I didn’t know what the word says to us through the Apostle Paul

 

2 Timothy 3:

Know this, that in the last days, perilous times shall come. For men will be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God: having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou I the things which thou has learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou has learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 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.

 

And hast made Kings and Priests unto our God and His Father.  Revelations 1:6. I pray that our minds remain fixed on this wonderful truth and we do not exchange this truth about God for a lie.