John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Do you see the irony here? Jesus was not revealed to be the Son of Glory until after a falling away of disciples. The son of perdition will not be revealed without there first being another falling away. I also see a great irony in the use of 666. For me it seems to be a great piece of irony.

Hidden within these two texts is another irony, not so compelling perhaps but probably even more important than what I have point out thus far. It is hidden behind “let no man deceive you by any means”. I will be the first to tell you that irony can hide important issues. It will keep you focused on the glitter like fireworks on the fourth of July, but like that celebration, there is a deeper truth behind it all.

In both cases we are talking about who and what we call disciples and discipleship. I cannot deny that these were called disciples for the word called them disciples. So a disciple is a disciple even if after a short time or a life time they should stop following Jesus? We are called to make disciples. We are called to exhort and encourage, to teach and love one another for this is discipleship. But if after all that, whether it be for a short time or for a long time, they stop following Jesus, were they ever disciples?

2 Timothy 2:13 If we believe not, yet he (Jesus) abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

To paraphrase what Jesus told Peter about John, “Don’t worry about what I tell him, I say to you, follow me.”

I am only answerable for my own actions.

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

OS1 also known as the first generation Operating System. For all you computer savvy readers no further explanation is required. For those who have lived years comfortably without dealing with the rudimentary elements of how computers operate, allow me to explain.

Computers are made up of two basic elements, firmware and software. Firnware is a firm fixed and demanding medium. It can only function as designed. It has limitations and functions which cannot be altered. Its size, speed and volume can be altered but the governing laws remain the same.

Now software is written in a wide variety of languages and formats. Ever expanding and developing, software limits have not been reached. We have no idea of its boundaries. Software in and of itself is useless without the firmware. It does not exist without it.

OS1 is the language upon which the firmware receives and processes instructions from the software and is the very first thing loaded at startup. This allows the software to function within the world of the firmware. They are two realms that appear to work as one but only because of the operating system.

The firmware was created in Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

OS1 was loaded in Genesis 1:2b And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh (software) lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

In computer terms, the software cannot make OS1 violate the demands of the firmware.

In spiritual terms, the Holy Spirit only serves the will of God the Father and not ours.