depart from the faith
1 Timothy 4:1
4:1 depart from the faith. The “latter times” are evidently not exactly the same as “the last days” (e.g., II Timothy 3:1), although both referred to a time yet future from when Paul was writing. Possibly it suggests a longer period than the last days, and many Protestant expositors have applied the prophecy to the church of the Middle Ages, when the clergy were forbidden to marry and all members were commanded to abstain from meats on certain days (I Timothy 4:3). It seems, however, that the terms as prophesied apply more generally than these specific restrictions suggest. See note on I Timothy 4:3.