Please notice from the above Scripture that those departing from the faith would forbid marriage and command abstinence from foods. I pose a simple but important question, "Which religious group among us today has in the past forbidden, and at the present time forbids marriage to certain of its clergy?" Similarly, "Which group among us today has in the past commanded (e.g., no meat on Friday), and presently commands its people on various occasions (e.g., the Lenten fast, confessional penitence) to abstain from certain foods?"
Acts 20:28-31 says, "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."
Please notice from the above passage that the departure from the faith would arise from the bishops of the church. Paul said to the bishops, "...From among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves." Thus, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul revealed that the early departure from the faith would have its beginning among the bishops of the church.
God ordained that several bishops were to oversee one local congregation. (See Acts 14:23; 20:17,28; Phil. 1:1). The bishops (or elders) were commanded, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind..." (1 Pet. 5:2). Thus, the extent of the oversight of the bishops was "the flock of God which is among you." Anyone who has knowledge of early church history knows that the simple arrangement ordained by God was soon corrupted when evil bishops began their struggle for power.
The bishops of Rome were very aggressive, but it took them several hundred years to reach the zenith of their power. First, there was a departure from a plurality of co-equal elders or bishops in every congregation, to one bishop for each congregation. Then came the diocesan bishop, and later, the five Patriarchs, who were located at Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. Rome, the old capital, and Constantinople, the new capital, had the advantage over the other Patriarchs, and toward the close of the fourth century, they gained supremacy. About sixty years after "Christianity" was made the state religion by Constantine (then Emperor of Rome), the capital of the Roman Empire was moved from Rome to Constantinople. The bishop of Rome then had opportunity to exercise self-reliance because the Emperor was no longer near, and since the bishop of Constantinople was still being made subservient to the political rulers, it was only natural that Rome would finally triumph.
Please consider these quotes from Catholic sources.
The Council of Chalcedon (415, A.D.) made the following declaration in Canon 28: "The Bishop of New Rome (Constantinople) shall enjoy the same honor as the Bishop of Old Rome, for the former possesses the same privileges." (Disciplinary Decrees of the General Councils, Schroeder, p. 125). "During the same century (fourth DJR) Roman supremacy began to be emphasized as a factor of unity." (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, p. 531). Damacus (bishop of Rome, 366-384, A.D.) was the "first to call himself pope." (Lives and Time of the Roman Pontiffs, Vol. I, p. 89-90). Damacus was the first to call himself "pope," and was also the first to appeal to Matthew 16:18 to bolster his claim of ascendency over all churches. (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, p. 614). Gregory I, the Great (bishop of Rome 590-604) rejected the title "universal bishop." (Question Box, 1913 Edition, p. 292). Boniface III (bishop of Rome, 607-608) advocated what Gregory I rejected. He said, "The See of Blessed Peter, the Apostle, should be the head of all the churches, and that the title of Universal Bishop belonged exclusive to the Bishop of Rome." (Emperor Phocas for Boniface III, Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 606). "He (Theodore I, bishop of Rome, 642-649 DJR) was the first Pope officially styled 'Sovereign Pontiff,' and the last whom the bishops called 'brother.' The pre-eminence of the first See and the extension of the Pontifical authority were becoming more necessary in proportion as the Church spread further her conquests." (Darras, Vol. II, p. 232).
The second chapter of the book of 2 Thessalonians gives another great prediction regarding the "falling away." 2 Thess. 2:3-12 says, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The Papacy has already fulfilled the prophecy, for it agrees in all the following points:
1. It has one official man as its head, and the arrogance of its claims are centered in him.
2. That man came with and out of an apostasy, the very kind the apostles describe elsewhere (1 Tim. 4:1-3; Acts 20:28-31; 2 Pet. 2:1-3).
3. He exalts himself against all that is called God; e.g., he is addressed by terms (Pope, Supreme Pontiff, Holy Father, etc.) which belong only to God.
4. He sits in the temple of God, e.g., his sphere of dominion is in the church or temple of God.
5. His appearance was hindered by some force in Paul's time (2 Thess. 2:6-7); e.g., when the bishops of Rome began to assert power, they were in conflict with the Roman civil government; however, when the Roman empire collapsed, they quickly gained supremacy.
6. The mystery of iniquity was already working in Paul's day (2 Thess. 2:7) and would continue until the Lord's coming (2 Thess. 2:8).
7. The Lord shall destroy him with the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8). Only by a continual succession of the men of sin could this be possible.
8. The apostasy would produce fraudulent miracles, signs and wonders; e.g., supposed cures brought about by relics and shrines.
9. The whole system is perfected through people's lack of love for truth (2 Thess. 2:10); e.g., Catholics do not love and respect the Holy Scriptures as the only authority in religion, but along with the Scriptures rely on the Pope and human traditions.
Have we not answered the question, "Which group is the great apostasy predicted in the Bible?" All of the identifying characteristics of the great apostasy perfectly fit the Roman Catholic Church. There is no other group existing today which conforms to all the identifying marks as does the Catholic Church. As shown from 2 Thess. 2:7-9, the falling away would have its beginning in Paul's day and would last until the Lord's second coming. The old Catholic Rheims translation in its footnote on 2 Thess. 2 suggests that Martin Luther is the "man of sin." To the contrary, it cannot be Martin Luther because Luther's teaching did not begin in Paul's day.
In closing, I beg of you, Catholic friends, to please ask yourself, "Am I a member of the great falling away predicted in the Bible; or am I a member of the New Testament church revealed therein?" Also, please ask, "Am I following the man of sin of the great apostasy; or am I following Christ?" We hope and pray that all people everywhere will turn from the apostasy and become simple New Testament Christians, followers of Christ and none other, members of Christ's church, and nothing else.