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Originally Posted by Ohio
Researching "the apostasy" led me to conclude that this is not just a deterioration of behavior, neither some political uprising, as some have translated. This will be a departure of our Christian standing, our Christian faith, a falling away from God Himself. It is a capitulation, a surrendering of our standing as Christians, a relinquishing of all that we now hold dear, due to the alternative presented by the Beast - death.
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I believe "the apostasy" in 2 Thess 2:2 could refer to the specific event of self professed Christians taking the mark of the beast in order to live, buy & sell after undergoing extraordinary pressure to do so. Through this act they are placing their faith and allegiance in the antichrist system instead of Christ.
The warning in Revelation 14:9-12 makes it clear that anyone who takes the mark is damned forever:
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"A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb." And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
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The passage above ends with a call for the endurance of the saints and for them to remain faithful to Jesus just like Daniel's friends when they refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image at the threat of death.
It will be a time of testing to reveal who are the true and false Christians.
Matthew 16:25
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.