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Apostasy means:

•the rejection of Christ by a former Christian
•Apostasy, defection, revolt or rebellion
•the antonym of conversion
•The theological category describing those who willingly and knowingly abandon Faith in the Covenant God who is fully manifested in Jesus

The New Testament describes at least three dangers of Apostasy:

•Temptations: Christians were tempted to engage in various vices that were part of their lives before they became Christians, such as idolatry and sexual immorality.
•Deceptions: Christians encountered various heresies and false teachings spread by false teachers and prophets that threatened to divert them from their pure devotion to Christ.
•Persecutions: Christians were persecuted by the rulers of the time because of their loyalty to Christ. Certain death threatened many Christians if they did not deny Christ.

God rejects Apostasy and false teachings.

“Let no one deceive you in any way, for it [the return of Jesus] will not come unless first the apostasy comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Apostate believed the truth and then rejected it. Apostasy is a rebellion against God because it is a rebellion against the truth and is associated with The Antichrist. His coming can only come when there is enough apostasy in the world. The Bible says that the Apostasy will come first and then The Antichrist will be revealed.

Christians must hold fast to the truth, because apostates do not go to heaven. A Christian becomes an apostate by embracing a non-Christian religion such as Judaism, Buddhism, or Islam, or by succumbing to unbelief, atheism, materialism, agnosticism, rationalism, indifferentism, secularism, or “freethinking.”

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