Doves there was much discussion
over this last week. I hope you find this helpful.
I
would like to take an in-depth look at the second chapter of the second
epistle of Paul to the saints at Thessalonica. This is very important
in assessing the timing of the emergence of the Beast from the Abyss
into the world and when the gathering together of the Church will
happen. I could spend a lot of time presenting definitions of Greek
words and quoting from learned scholars who have done much research on
this section. But too much technical information can overburden the
reader. So I shall distil the research and provide enough evidence to
prove our conclusions are accurate and true. I will dissect this
chapter verse by verse and then tie it all together in a conclusion at
the end, with the help of God. We begin at 2 Thessalonians 2:1
“Now we beseech you brethren, by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto
him.”
Paul
is addressing two issues here in this first sentence. First, ‘the
coming of our Lord,’ and secondly, ‘our gathering together unto Him.’
These are two separate events and must be distinguished as such. The
coming of Jesus Christ back to earth to rule is going to occur at the
end of the Apocalypse, which culminates at Armageddon. After this,
Jesus will establish His millennial Kingdom where He will rule this
earth for one thousand years.
The
gathering together, on the other hand, will occur before the events of
the Great Tribulation begin and this will become clearer as we advance
through this chapter.
Paul
uses the word ‘beseech’ in his opening line. This is a very strong word
in the Greek and means to ‘earnestly beg’ or ‘to implore.’ It is an
extreme use of ‘beg.’ So what is Paul earnestly begging of the
believers in Thessalonica?
“That
ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
Here
Paul explains what he is referring to. He is talking about ‘the Day of
Christ.’ As was explained at the beginning of this opus, the ‘Day of
Christ’ is another phrase meaning the ‘Day of Wrath’ or the ‘Day of
Judgement’ or the ‘Day of the Lord.’ In other words, it is talking
about the Great Tribulation and the incidents, which are to occur
during this awful time.
Paul
says they are not to be shaken in mind or troubled. Again these are
very extreme words, which illustrate that the believers were terrified
and their minds and hearts were under extreme pressure as a result of
something they had heard. What it was that had them in this frightened
state of mind which caused them undue pressure was that, ‘the the day
of Christ is at hand.’ In the Greek, ‘at hand’ means,
‘present.’ That
is, they were terrified because they thought the time of the Apocalypse
was present or had begun, and they were to go through it.
Scholars agree that the NASB has
the most accurate translation of this verse:
“That
you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed
either by a spirit or by a message or a letter as if from us, to the
effect that the Day of the Lord has come.”
Paul
is earnestly beseeching them, begging them, not to be upset or worried
that the Day of Wrath had begun. He said they were not to be troubled
either by a spirit, nor by word, nor by letter from anyone, that this
Day of Christ had begun. He continues:
“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.”
It
is interesting that Paul tells them, ‘let no man deceive you..,’ for
there is so much deception going on in evangelical circles regarding
this topic. But here we will ignore what man says and adhere only to
the Word of truth and allow it speak on its own behalf as we have from
page one of this book. For if we stay on the narrow path of the Word,
then our passage will be sure and true.
We
are not to allow ourselves to be deceived by any man or by a spirit (an
evil spirit of deception), working through man; ‘for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first.’ ‘That day’ is again
referring to the Day of Wrath or the Great Tribulation. And that day
cannot begin ‘except there come a falling away first.’ So after this
falling away, then the Day of Wrath can commence and when it does, then
shall ‘that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.’
Paul
is telling us not to allow ourselves to be tricked by any man into
believing that the Day of Wrath has begun, for it cannot start until
after a falling away. Then when it does start, the man of sin, the son
of perdition or Antichrist, will be revealed. But not until AFTER the
‘falling away.’ So what is this ‘falling away’? For this is the key
phrase which points to the commencement of the Apocalypse and the
revealing of the Beast from the Abyss.
The Greek for
‘falling away’ is apostasia.
This word has been transliterated into the English as ‘apostasy’, which
means an abandonment of one’s religious faith. Thus the vast majority
of Biblical teachers and students believe that in these Last Days,
Christians and believers of all hues will turn away from God and from
the truths of the Bible and fall by the wayside. Almost every
evangelical teacher believes there will be a ‘falling away’ from God in
the End Times, and you can read this in books and periodicals and on
websites everywhere. They point to the hedonistic ways of the world and
to the downward spiral of depravity into which the secular world is
going, and they use this to prove that the apostasy is occurring. But
this is not the original meaning of the word apostasia in early Greek
literature.
Firstly, in the text it reads ‘THE’
falling away and not, ‘a’ falling away as it reads in the KJV. This is
a crucial difference. This marks out ‘the falling away’ as a specific
event.
Apostasia is
made up of two words, apo and stasia.
In appendix 104 of The Companion Bible, EW Bullinger defines the
various Greek prepositions and what they mean, as Greek is a
mathematical language and is very precise. He defines apo thus:
“ Apo
governs only one case, the genitive, and denotes motion from the
surface of an object, as a line drawn from the circumference of an
object…Hence it is used of motion away from a place. Apo may
consequently be used of deliverance or, passing away from a state or
condition.”
In
Greek, apo can be represented as a line drawn starting from the
circumference of a circle and going away in an outward direction.
Stasia literally means a ‘standing away,’ or ‘to draw out,’ or ‘to
separate.’ So the whole word means, ‘a standing away from,’ or ‘a
drawing out from,’ or ‘a separation away from,’ or ‘a going out from
among.’ The original meaning of this word, which is agreed by many
Greek scholars familiar with the ancient texts is, ‘the departure.’ This
agrees with the definition of ‘away’ in Greek which suggests ‘a motion
from the surface’ or ‘a motion away from a place as a line drawn from
the circumference of an object.’
The
Geneva Bible, the Cranmer Bible, first published in 1537, the Tyndale
Bible published in 1539, preceding the King James Version, all
translate this verse, ‘before the Day of the Lord comes, there must
come a departure first.’ That is, before the Day of the
Lord
begins, there must first be a departure of the born-again believers
from this world to be with Christ.
Paul Tan, a scholar, did an
extensive study on the phrase, ‘falling away’, and had this to say:
“What
precisely does Paul mean when he says that the falling away must happen
before the Tribulation? The definite article ‘the’ denotes that this is
a definite event, an event distinct from the appearance of the man of
sin. The Greek word for ‘the falling away’ taken by itself does not
mean apostasy or defection. Neither does it mean ‘to fall’ as the
Greeks have another word for that (pipto: I fall). The best
translation of the word is ‘to depart.’ The
apostle Paul here refers to a definite event, which he calls ‘the
departure’ which will occur just before the start of the Tribulation.
This departure is the gathering together of the Church otherwise called
by some, the Rapture of the Church.”
Remember the
context of this whole chapter:
1 The coming
of the Lord Jesus
2 Our
gathering together unto Him.
So
‘the departure’ is referring to the gathering together of the Church of
God. Paul had elaborated on this in length in his first epistle to the
Thessalonians when he described how Jesus would come briefly and all
Christian believers would be caught up or gathered to meet Him in the
air. So what Paul is doing here is allaying their worst fears. For some
people were teaching that the Day of the Lord, or Tribulation, had
already begun and that they were to suffer through it. This is why
their minds were shaken and they were greatly troubled and terrified.
But Paul reiterates and reminds them that this time of Wrath cannot
begin until first there is ‘the departure.’ And only after that will
the man of sin, the Antichrist, be revealed. This is why Paul says in
verse 5:
“Remember ye not that, when I was
yet with you, I told you these things?”
He
is reminding them that he already spelled out in great detail in his
first letter that the Lord would return briefly to gather them together
and he finished his passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 regarding the
Rapture with the phrase:
“Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.”
For
there is no comfort in telling Christians that they are to suffer the
horrible torture and persecution and death at the hands of the Devil’s
angels in the Great Tribulation. Jesus also stated this truth in John
14:1-4 when He promised His disciples that He was going to His Father’s
house but would return for them:
“Let not your heart be
troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I
am, there ye may be also.”
Can
anything be plainer? These are the words of Jesus Himself. He clearly
states that He is going to prepare a place for us. He says this twice
lest we are in any doubt. For why would He be preparing a place for us
if we are to remain here on earth? By Jesus telling us that he is
preparing a place for us in heaven, the inference is we are going to be
spending some time there. When the time is right, he will
return and
take us to this house of many rooms. But listen to how the Lord begins
this passage:
‘Let
not your heart be troubled.’ This ties in with Paul’s statements in
both 1 Thessalonians 4 and in 2 Thessalonians 2 where he says, when
speaking about the gathering together, ‘Let not your hearts be
troubled,’ and also when he earnestly begged them, ‘That ye be not soon
shaken in mind or be troubled.’ Paul exhorted the Christians in his day
not to be deceived by any man or by any spirit that may be operating
through man. Or by letters or fine words from sincere people, even if
they are Bible believing Christians. We are not going through the day
of Wrath because the departure of the Christians MUST happen first,
then and only then will the Tribulation begin and the man of sin, the
Beast from the Abyss will be manifested.
“Who
opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God, sits in the Temple of God, showing
himself that he is God.”
This
is what the Beast will do in the latter part of the Apocalypse.
Commentators take from this that a new Temple will be built in
Jerusalem and at some time near the end of the Tribulation, the
Antichrist will go into the Temple and proclaim that he indeed is the
one and only true God. The epistle continues:
“And
now ye know what witholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For
the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who letteth will
let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be
revealed…”
‘Witholdeth’
and ‘letteth’ are both the same word in Greek, katecho, which means
‘hold fast; hold back; to restrain from going; keep secure; keep firm;
that which hinders.’ This is speaking of the Antichrist.
And
Paul is literally saying, ‘now you know what is holding him fast.’ Or,
‘there is one who is holding him fast.’ Or ‘he who now
restrains.’ This
agrees with our study so far which has taught us that the Antichrist is
in prison, or is being held fast, in an underground jail. And he will
be held secure in this prison, ‘until he be taken out of the way.’ What
must be taken out of the way before the man of sin can be revealed?
According to this chapter so far, there can be only one answer; The
Church of God or Body of Christ must depart or be taken out of the way
first, before the Antichrist can be released from the place where he is
presently being ‘held fast.’
The New International Version
translates verse 6 so:
“And now you know what is holding
him (Antichrist) back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.”
It is not an
apostasy that is holding the Antichrist back. If anything, an apostasy
should hasten his arrival. It
is the presence of the Age of Grace and the Holy Spirit indwelling the
Church of God on this earth, which is preventing the Beast from
ascending out of the Abyss at this present time. But when the Church
departs, then the man of sin will no longer be held back and will be
revealed.
Imagine
you are in the departure lounge of an airport. Then you get into the
plane and it takes off. The plane goes in a motion away from the
circumference of the earth as it ascends up into the air. This is ‘the
departure.’ This is the meaning of apostasia. It has nothing to do with
people turning away from God. For God promised that in the Last Days,
He would pour out His spirit on His people. This is evidenced by the
fact that thousands are coming to Christ daily around the world and the
Word is spreading rapidly, mostly in poorer countries such as Africa,
South America and China as well as India.
Paul
never mentions a rebellion or a falling away from truth in
Thessalonians. The whole context of the epistle is the gathering
together, the Day of the Lord and the second coming. So there is no
need to worry. Comfort your family and friends with these words. Jesus
has promised us that He will return to take us to the place He has been
preparing for us for the past 2,000 years. We have little to be fearful
of or troubled about for He has spoken; ‘Let not your hearts be
troubled.’ Romans 5:9 (KJV) agrees with the thesis that the Church of
God is not involved in the Tribulation:
“Since we have now been justified
by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through
Him.”
This truth is reiterated in 1
Thessalonians 1:10 (NIV):
“And to wait for His Son from
heaven, whom He raised from the dead-Jesus, who rescues us from the
coming wrath.”
And again in 1 Thessalonians 5:9
(NIV):
“For God did not appoint us to
suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
How
many times must we be told such comforting truths yet still so many
refuse to accept and believe. The deceiving spirits that were operating
to terrify Christians in Thessalonica are working hard in the Church
today. You can believe these spirits if you so choose. But I believe
the words of Jesus and of Paul.