The Great Falling Away is a thief that comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and nowhere is its hand more active than in the violation of the Eighth Commandment: “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). While the world focuses on the physical taking of goods, the spiritual audit reveals a much deeper larceny. We live in an era where the concept of ownership—both physical and spiritual—is being liquidated. From the white-collar deception of global markets to the quiet theft of a neighbor’s reputation, the spirit of this age is one of entitlement rather than stewardship. We have forgotten that “a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked” (Psalm 37:16), choosing instead to bypass the divine decree of honest labor in favor of the quick gain and the dishonest scale.
The apostasy within the modern church manifests as a bold theft of the Holy. We see “shepherds” who steal the Word of God from the people, replacing the meat of the Gospel with the husks of psychology and self-help. They “steal my words every one from his neighbour” (Jeremiah 23:30), offering a counterfeit faith that costs nothing and saves no one. Furthermore, there is the widespread theft of the Lord’s Tithe—not merely in money, but in the honor and time due to the Creator. When a people claim the name of Christ but live entirely for their own luxury, they are robbing God of the glory that is rightfully His. The Great Falling Away is characterized by this brazen spirit of plunder, where men seek to seize the blessings of the Kingdom without submitting to the King.
To stand upright in these times, the remnant must be a people of radical integrity. We must heed the apostolic exhortation: “provide things honest in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17). In a world that encourages us to take whatever we can get away with, the believer must be marked by a contentment that defies the consumerist rush. We recognize that everything we possess is a trust from the Almighty, and to misappropriate it is to commit treason against the Crown of Heaven. As the Day of the Lord approaches, let us be found as faithful stewards, not as those who have enriched themselves at the expense of their souls, for “treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death” (Proverbs 10:2).