Geneva Bible; 2 Thessalonians 2:3

3 Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that the man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition,

Dear John & Fellow Watchers:

The Geneva Bible predates the King James Bible.  For some reason the translations after the Geneva Bible used the word apostasy instead of departure which doesn't make a lot of sense since the Thessalonians were wrongly informed that the tribulation started and they were left behind. Paul is reassuring them that the rapture precedes not only the day of Christ but also the revealing of the son of perdition. So the sequence is 1) rapture, 2) Day of Christ & the disclosure of the AC. I think that the disclosure of the AC is dependent on WW3. It is not entirely clear that the rapture precedes WW3. A Spring rapture would probably precede WW3 but an Autumn rapture would indicate the rapture after the war.

WW3 will also accelerate the final formation of the 10 nations. The AC subdues three of them and then signs off on the confirmation of the Covenant. A number of Bible believers think the covenant is in reference to the Abrahamic Covenant. A subgroup of mid-trib watchers have replaced that understanding with an infomercial aired in 2008!  

In conclusion then there is no reassurance if we accept the word apostasy instead of the word departure because then the mistranslators would have Paul saying absolutely nothing about the rapture. Here's the long explanation. It's a good read if you don't want to be deceived.

Pineman

PS: On an emotional level all these things that are about to break into this world's reality are truly heartbreaking. Unfortunately it will take this kind of trauma to get the recalcitrants into the kingdom.