The first followers of Christ forewarned those of us who were to come that in the latter days false prophets and teachers would rise to prominence and deceive many. These men, posing as ministers of God, corrupt the faith, given to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Even in their time, the apostles declared wolves had infiltrated the church, feigning to be brothers.

These are depraved men who exhibit a form of godliness, having an outward appearance of righteousness and exalting themselves as men of God while gathering followers for personal ambitions.

Peter exposed them as false teachers, who were redeemed by Christ and washed in his blood, but afterward turned from the holy vocation given them to pursue personal interests by exploiting those who are seeking to follow God.

In his second letter, Peter compares these men to the false prophets of Israel who would subtly introduce falsehoods, seeking to exalt themselves and draw others after them.

Of them, Peter writes, it had been better for them to have never known the truth than to return to their old ways after being cleansed from their sins.

For, “After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome; the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it happened unto them according to the true proverb: “The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22).

Likewise, Jude devoted his epistle to addressing the same type of men who turned back from the LORD in their hearts yet remained in the congregation to find advantage for themselves. Using similar language as Peter, Jude describes them as ungodly men who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, preaching doctrines of grace while walking after their lusts and enticing others to take part with them in their sins.

“These are they who separate themselves.” God did not forsake them, but rather, they separated themselves from God, hardening their hearts to indulge in their fleshly desires.

For after providing them with a period of grace for repentance, the Lord abandoned those who rejected His word, and He gave them over to a reprobate mind to serve the lust of their flesh.

Jude cites examples of those who were once chosen and separated from the world and called to follow the LORD, who were later destroyed after refusing to obey.

“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. Likewise, the angels who left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude).

Jude calls them “twice dead, plucked up by the roots”—reprobate men who could not be restored.

To this day, for centuries, false doctrines and heresies have been adopted and passed down through church doctrines. The result is the perpetual splintering of congregants into countless denominations, offshoots, and even cults that identify as Christians but reject or twist many teachings of the scriptures.

Each group naturally imagines its beliefs are the correct renderings. Thus, the great falling away foretold does not consist only of those who reject Christ or abandon a Christian identity, but also of the apostate condition of individuals who accept damnable corruptions present in their specific version of pseudo-Christianity.

Elisha followed Elijah, desiring to inherit his mantle and a double portion of the Spirit. When given the opportunity, he refused to abide in a place of contentment among the sons of the prophets and pressed on with Elijah, who, unlike the sons of the prophets, was a prophet. As Elijah had done before him, Elisha desired more than a casual relationship with God handed down through the teachings and traditions of men. Elisha desired a relationship with God directly—a personal friendship that was more than a social bond of traditions passed around among others. Therefore, he persevered to the end and obtained the prize that he sought after.