Apostacy Was Foretold...

One of the things Christ did while he walked among us was to establish His church. His church was organized with prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The Lord organized His church to perfect the saints, to carry on the work of the ministry, and to edify the body of Christ, the body of Christ being those who had joined His church. Its purposes included bringing men and women to a unity of the faith and to a knowledge of the Son of God, that we would no longer be deceived by false doctrines or the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:11-15).

Christ personally led the church while He was on the earth calling apostles and missionaries to go among the people of the earth preaching the gospel and healing and blessing the people they served. He did this when He sent the seventy out into the world without purse or scrip (Luke 10:1-9, Luke 10:17). They went before the Lord into the cities He would personally go to herald His coming and to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Lord when He came among them.

It was a time of light and power and knowledge. A time when the Lord Himself stood among men ministering personally to the needs of all those who were fortunate enough to stand in His presence. The sick were healed when He placed His hands upon them. He cast out evil from among the people and taught them His gospel with the power and authority of the Son of God.

When He ascended into heaven after His crucifixion and resurrection, He directed His church through those He left behind for that very purpose, that His church might continue. Peter, James and John were with Him on the mount of transfiguration when the Lord was transfigured before them assuming His full stature and power and glory (Matthew 7:1-8). Here Moses and Elias, ancient prophets of past dispensations, visited and spoke with them.

Peter, James and John were invited to this sacred meeting because they would be called to preside over the church when the Lord left this world, with Peter being chief among them. They, along with the other apostles were to become the Lord's special witnesses having learned at His hands the gospel He preached as they followed Him throughout His three year ministry. They were witnesses to the power He exercised among men as he healed them. They like no other men could testify of the Lord because of all they had witnessed. His victory and power over even death was made plain to them as they witnessed Him raise the dead and through their personal knowlege that He had, in reality risen from the dead himself.

Christ had selected and taught these men to preside over His church when he was gone. After Christ ascended into heaven, they called another apostle to replace Judas, who had betrayed the Lord that there might be twelve apostles (Acts 1:23-26). The apostles taught the gospel and testified tirelessly of the Lord for decades. Branches of the church of Christ were organized among the Corinthians, the Ephesians, the Thessalonians, the Colossians, the Galatians, in Rome, and throughout Asia, and in fine, throughout all of the known world (Colossians 1:23).

But ultimately, the Church of Christ ceased to exist. It was embattled from without by the Pharisees in Jerusalem and the Romans who were brutal in their persecution of the church and Christianity. But what really caused Christ's church to fail were the attacks of false doctrines from within the church by those who either didn't understand the gospel or were seeking power unjustly without being ordained by the presiding authorities.

The apostles spent much of their time communicating with members of the church trying to undo the damage that false doctrines had done after being introduced. Much of the preaching of the apostles was directed to the church in an attempt to reclaim its members from the false doctrines they were being taught and which were actively being promoted.

One by one, all the apostles were killed until only John the revelator remained. When they were taken from the earth, there was no one to keep those who were promoting these false doctrines in check, and the church fell into a state of apostacy. With no prophets or apostles left to receive the revelation from God that would keep the church anchored in His gospel, the church fell into the hands of men seeking power, but men without God's sanctioning priesthood authority. Uninspired men acting outside God's authority tried to chart a course for the church, but ultimately failed in what has become aptly known as the dark ages. When the Lord could no longer direct the church through a prophet, the church ceased to be His church.

Centuries passed in darkness and it wasn't until the reformation that men began to feel the light of God's spirit guiding them again. Why other apostles were not called to perpetuate God's authority in the earth, I don't know. But it was undoubtedly connected to the fact that most of the church had rejected the sound doctrine preached by the apostles, and had fallen into apostacy.

It seems like such an incredible waste to lose the church after all of the effort which was spent to establish it in the earth. But the fault does not lie with God. He jealously guards our right to choose with His mighty power. That right to choose was purchased with the blood of His son Jesus Christ. And so, if we choose, we too can throw away all of God's gifts and He will allow it. He forces no man or woman to choose Him, but when they do, what joy it must bring Him.

None of these things was hidden from the Lord, or His apostles. It had all been fotetold and prophesied. What follows is a list of scriptural references to the predicted apostacy.

Isaiah 29:10,13 Prophets covered...men approach God with their lips, but their hearts are removed from Him.

Isaiah 60:2-3 Apostacy and restoration in the days of the gentiles, our days, is foretold.

Amos 8:11-12 A famine of the word of God was predicted. Since God's word comes through His prophets, this scripture prophesies of a time when prophets would be taken from the earth.

Matthew 13:24-30 In the parable of the wheat and the tares Christ prophesies that false doctrines and false teachers would be planted among the true. A tare is a plant which looks so much like wheat that it is hard to detect until it grows and begins to mature, but is bitter and unpleasant to eat and therefore, would spoil the harvest unless removed. For more information see Matthew 13:36-40 and Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual.

Acts 20:28-31  Grievous wolves would enter in among the church of God speaking perverse things, not sparing the flock. The apostles are commanded to watch over and protect the flock of God.

1 Corinthians 11:16-19 Contentions, divisions and heresies found within the church.

Galations 1:6-12 The Galatians are removed from the true gospel of Christ and begin to believe another gospel, but one of men and not of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 A falling away from truth prior to the Lord's return prophesied.

2 Timothy 1:15 Paul states that all of Asia had turned away from him and the true gospel of Christ.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 Paul predicts that the time was at hand when the people would not endure the sound doctrine of the gospel, but would turn instead to the fables of men receiving instruction from men rather than God.

Revelations 3:14-19 The church in Laodicea has fallen into sin and is called upon to repent.

Revelations 13:7 The fall of the church of Christ is foretold.

Revelations 14:16 A restoration of the gospel and church of Christ foretold.