1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will ^[a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,  ² by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, ³ who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; ⁵ for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

Notice these verses begin with “But” which ties them back to 3:15-17 where he gave the fundamental creed of the church in vs 16. “But” some will not be the “pillar and ground of that core truth”. Some will fall away from “the faith”. What is meant by “the faith”? The adding of “the” indicates that this phrase is more than just the usual word for faith. 2 Corinthians 13:⁵ Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! ⁶ I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.” 1 Corinthians 16:¹³ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” “The faith” in these verses seems to be the whole system of salvation by grace through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (as stated in the creed in 1 Timothy 3:16). This next verse in Jude makes that even clearer: Jude ³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.” The core gospel truth was revealed by the Holy Spirit to the apostles “once for all tiime”. John 16:¹³ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

When would this “”falling away from the faith” be? When are the “later times“? Most think this is the “end times”. I believe that refers, like the phrase “the last days”, to the end times of the Jewish Age and of the Jewish nation in 70 AD. Paul spoke of these “last days” in 2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” Jesus predicted such a falling away in Matthew 24:¹⁰ And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold.” Jesus added 24:³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” So this falling away had to occur before the temple fell in 70 AD. Apparently a lot of Jewish Christians fell away in the days of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in the years before 70 AD. The Hebrew letter is all about Jewish Christians being tempted to return to trusting in the Law. Hebrews 6:⁴ For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”  Notice those who had “fallen away” already at the time of writing in about 60 AD. Notice the imminent threat of them being “burned”, which could be 70 AD. All this is why the phrase “he who endures to the end (i.e. the end of the age in 70 AD)” is used. Matthew 24:¹³ But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” “The end” had to occur within that generation (24:34) so it must refer to the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. Hebrews 3 warns: ¹² Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away (aphistémi: To depart, withdraw, remove, desert, fall away) from the living God.” (AI) “ In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of departure or withdrawal could apply to various contexts, including military, political, and religious settings. The term carries significant weight in the New Testament, where it often describes a turning away from God or the truth of the Gospel. This reflects the early Christian community’s concern with maintaining doctrinal purity and faithfulness amidst external pressures and internal challenges.” Hebrews 10:³² But remember the former days, ^[j]when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, ³³ partly by being made a public spectacle through insults and distress, and partly by becoming ^[k]companions with those who were so treated. ³⁴ For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession. ³⁵ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷ For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. ³⁸ But My righteous one will live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. ³⁹ But we are not among those who shrink (hupostelló: To draw back, to withdraw, to shrink from declaring.) back to destruction, but of those who have faith for the safekeeping of the soul.” Jesus’ 2nd coming was in “a very little while” (that has to be 70 AD) and thus the admonition to endure and not “shrink back to destruction”. The phrase “shrink” back” In the early Christian context, this term takes on a significant meaning as it relates to the boldness required to proclaim the Gospel amidst persecution and opposition.” Paul spoke of an apostasy in 2 Thessalonians 2:Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” Here the Greek word for apostasy is apostasia: Apostasy, rebellion, defection, falling away; not the aphistemi word in Hebrews 3:12. It is the word we get “apostasy” from. This AI comment is interesting: “In the Greco-Roman world, “apostasia” could refer to political rebellion or a military defection. Within the Jewish context, it was often associated with a turning away from the covenant with God. In the early Christian church, apostasy was a significant concern as believers faced persecution and the temptation to revert to pagan practices or Jewish legalism. The term underscores the gravity of abandoning one’s faith in Christ, which was seen as a serious breach of loyalty to God.” That sounds exactly what many Jewish Christians did in the last days before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, just as Jesus predicted and the book of Hebrews talks about. BTW in Paul went on in 2 Thessalonians 2 to say that this falling away was already at work:⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed.” The “man of lawlessness” would sit in the temple, the “son of destruction” (of the temple). It had to be someone living at the time Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians. That could only be Titus who entered the temple when he burned it down in 70 AD. This apostasy, a different word apostasia that can refer to a political revolt, could actually refer to the rebellion of the non-believing Jews in the years prior to 70 AD. Not a falling away of Jewish believers as in Hebrews 6:6 and Matthew 24:8.

Back to 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” This falling away was due to Christians paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons”. Jesus predicted this to happen within that generation: Matthew 24:²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Notice that many of the elect, i.e. Jewish Christians, might be mislead by these demonic false prophets, which did happen. Paul spoke of those false Satanic signs and wonders the deluded many Jewish Christians: 2 Thessalonians 2:⁸ Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; ⁹ that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, ¹² in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

The specific doctrines that the demonic false prophets were teaching is given: 2 Timothy 4:³ who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; ⁵ for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” Who was teaching this? “Gnostics believe that all physical matter is evil; therefore, the human body, all forms of sexuality, and pleasant food were labelled as evil. As a result, the Gnostics rejected marriage and taught people not to eat certain foods. A heresy that flourished in the first three centuries AD, Gnostics believed that physical matter was evil, including the human body, sexuality, and pleasant food.” I don’t think that gnosticism had developed by 70 AD as a movement, but Colossians 2 indicates that the gnostic principles were already at work in the church before 70 AD. 2:⁸ See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ. ¹⁶ Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day— ¹⁷ things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.²⁰ If you have died with Christ ^[y]to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ²¹ “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” ²² (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of man? ²³ These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” The Jews were not allowed to eat unclean meats (Leviticus 11) under the old covenant, but Christians (Jew or Gentile) could eat anything they want as long as they give thanks for it. The Jewish Christians probably still followed the unclean meat laws till 70 AD. Acts 10:¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat (i.e. eat the unclean meats in the sheet)!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.” That proves that Peter, a Jewish Christian continued to follow the unclean meats prohibition. After the temple was destroyed, it was impossible even for Jewish Christians to continue keeping the Law and the old covenant was officially done away with. Hebrews 8:¹³ When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.” So Gentile Christians can eat anything, but I would think Jewish Christians could eat anything also after 70 AD. They probably still don’t eat unclean meats to keep from offending their non believing Jewish brethren. I am told that many Messianic Jews do eat unclean meats. It is amazing how many Christian denominations fobid even Gentile Christians from the eating of unclean meats like pork: the Seventh Day Adventists being perhaps the main one.

Wow, this long for 5 verses but I hope it is hellpful.