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.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and today's podcast addresses the question.

What does the New Testament teach about the great apostasy?

In 1820, as Joseph Smith prayed in the sacred grove, he saw God the Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

Joseph, who had been struggling to know where he might find the true church,

asked the divine personages, which of all the sects was right, for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong, and which I should join. The answer Joseph received

came as a shock to him and would begin his preparation as a prophet.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage

who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight.

Because of this, Joseph Smith would be called of God to restore his church on the earth.

The belief in the great apostasy is central to Latter-day Saint teachings,

that is, that there was an actual falling away from the gospel as originally taught by

Jesus Christ and his apostles, therefore necessitating a restoration.

While this may appear to be a bold claim, closer review of the New Testament shows that the

apostles knew of the forthcoming apostasy and warned the Church extensively against the false

teachers that would come in its wake.

The word apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia, which literally means rebellion, and in the New Testament

connotates a people rebelling from God. However, the meaning of this word is unfortunately often

masked in translations into English. For example, the King James Version of 2 Thessalonians

chapter 2 verse 3 translates apostasia as falling away. 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. While not always clear in translations of the Bible, the connotation

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