Conference: Miscellaneous
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Let noone in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comesfirst, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, -2Thessalonians 2:3
Ibelieve that there is a strong possibility that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is speakingof the rapture. What do Imean? Some pretribulationists,like myself, think that the Greek noun apostasia,usually translated "apostasy," is a reference to the rapture and should betranslated "departure." Thus, thispassage would be saying that the day of the Lord will not come until therapture comes before it. If apostasia is a reference to a physical departure, then 2Thessalonians 2:3 is strong evidence for pretribulationism.
TheMeaning of Apostasia TheGreek noun apostasia is onlyused twice in the New Testament. In addition to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, it occurs in Acts 21:21 where,speaking of Paul, it is said, "that you are teachingall the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake (apostasia)Moses." The word is a Greek compound of apo " from" and istemi "stand." Thus, it has the core meaning of "away from" or "departure." The Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicondefines apostasia first as "defection, revolt;" thensecondly as "departure, disappearance."[1] Gordon Lewis explains how the verb fromwhich the noun apostasia is derived supports the basicmeaning of departure in the following:
The verb may mean toremove spatially. There is littlereason then to deny that the noun can mean such a spatial removal ordeparture. Since the noun is usedonly one other time in the New Testament of apostasy from Moses (Acts 21:21),we can hardly conclude that its Biblical meaning is necessarilydetermined. The verb is usedfifteen times in the New Testament. Of these fifteen, only three have anything to do with a departure fromthe faith (Luke 8;13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb 3:12). The word is used for departing from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19),from ungodly men(1 Tim. 6:5), from the temple (Luke 2:27), from the body (2Cor. 12:8), and from persons (Acts 12:10; Luke 4:13).[2]
"It is with full assurance of properexegetical study and with complete confidence in the original languages,"concludes Daniel Davey, "that the word meaning of apostasia is defined as departure."[3] Paul Lee Tan adds the following:
What preciselydoes Paul mean when he says that "the falling away" (2:3) must come before thetribulation? The definite article"the" denotes that this will be a definite event, an event distinct from theappearance of the Man of Sin. TheGreek word for "falling away", taken by itself, does not mean religiousapostasy or defection. Neitherdoes the word mean "to fall," as the Greeks have another word for that. [pipto, I fall; TDI] The best translation of the word is "to depart." The apostle Paul refers here to adefinite event which he calls "the departure," and which will occur just beforethe start of the tribulation. Thisis the rapture of the church.[4]
So the word has the core meaning ofdeparture and it depends upon the context to determine whether it is used tomean physical departure or an abstract departure such as departure from thefaith. Translation History Thefirst seven English translations of apostasia all rendered the noun as either"departure" or "departing." Theyare as follows: Wycliffe Bible(1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539);Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608). TheodoreBeza, the Swiss reformer was the first to transliterate apostasia and create a new word, rather than translate it asothers had done. The translatorsof the King James Version were the first to introduce the new rendering of apostasia as "falling away." Most English translators have followed the KJV and Beza indeparting from translating apostasia as "departure." No good reason was ever given. The Use ofthe Article Itis important to note that Paul uses a definite article with the noun apostasia. What does this mean? Daveynotes the following:
Since the Greeklanguage does not need an article to make the noun definite, it becomes clearthat with the usage of the article reference is being made to something inparticular. In II Thessalonians2:3 the word apostasia isprefaced by the definite article which means that Paul is pointing to aparticular type of departure clearly known to the Thessalonian church.
Dr.Lewis provides a likely answer when he notes that the definite article servesto make a word distinct and draw attention to it. In this instance he believes that its purpose is "to denotea previous reference." "The departurePaul previously referred to was 'our being gathered to him' (v. 1) and ourbeing 'caught up' with the Lord and the raptured dead in the clouds (1 Thess.4:17)," notes Dr. Lewis.[8] The "departure" was something that Pauland his readers clearly had a mutual understanding about. Paul says in verse 5, "Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I wastelling you these things?" Theuse of the definite article would also support the notion that Paul spoke of aclear, discernable event. Aphysical departure, like the rapture would fit just such a notion. However, the New Testament teaches thatapostasy had already arrived in the first century (cf. Acts 20:27-32; 1 Tim.4:1-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Jude 3-4, 17-21) and thus, such a processwould not denote a clear event as demanded by the language of this passage. Understanding departure as the rapturewould satisfy the nuance of this text. E. Schuyler English explains as follows:
Again, how would theThessalonians, or Christians in any century since, be qualified to recognizethe apostasy when it should come, assuming, simply for the sake of thisinquiry, that the Church might be on earth when it does come? There has been apostasy from God,rebellion against Him, since time began.[9]
WhateverPaul is referring to in his reference to "the departure," was something that boththe Thessalonian believers and he had discussed in-depth previously. When we examine Paul's first letter tothe Thessalonians, he never mentions the doctrine of apostasy, however,virtually every chapter in that epistle speaks of the rapture (cf. 1:9-10;2:19; probably 3:13; 4:13-17; 5:1-11). In these passages, Paul has used a variety of Greek terms to describethe rapture. It should not besurprising that he uses another term to reference the rapture in 2Thessalonians 2:3. Dr. House tellsus:
Remember, theThessalonians had been led astray by the false teaching (2:2-3) that the Day ofthe Lord had already come. Thiswas confusing because Paul offered great hope, in the first letter, of adeparture to be with Christ and a rescue from god's wrath. Now a letter purporting to be from Paulseems to say that they would first have to go through the Day of the Lord. Paul then clarified his prior teachingby emphasizing that they had no need to worry. They could again be comforted because the departure he haddiscussed in his first letter, and in his teaching while with them, was stillthe truth. The departure ofChristians to be with Christ, and the subsequent revelation of the lawless one,Paul argues, is proof that the Day of the Lord had not begun as they hadthought. This understanding of apostasia makes much more sense than the view that theyare to be comforted (v. 2) because a defection from the faith must precede theDay of the Lord. The entire secondchapter (as well as 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11) serves to comfort (see vv. 2,3, 17), supplied by a reassurance of Christ's coming as taught in his firstletter.[10] Departureand The Restrainer Sincepretribulationists believe that the restrainer mentioned in verses 6 and 7 isthe Holy Spirit and teaches a pre-trib rapture, then it should not besurprising to see that there is a similar progression of thought in theprogression of verse 3. AllanMacRae, president of Faith Theological Seminary in a letter to Schuyler Englishhas said the following concerning this matter:
I wonder if youhave noticed the striking parallel between this verse and verses 7-8, a littlefurther down. According to yoursuggestion verse 3 mentions the departure of the church as coming first, andthen tells of the revealing of the man of sin. In verses 7 and 8 we find the identical sequence. Verse 7 tells of the removal of theChurch; verse 8 says: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed." Thus close examination of the passageshows an inner unity and coherence, if we take the word apostasia in its general sense of "departure," while asuperficial examination would easily lead to an erroneous interpretation as"falling away" because of the proximity of the mention of the man of sin.
KennethWuest, a Greek scholar from Moody Bible Institute added the followingcontextual support to taking apostasia as a physical departure:
But then hee apostasia of which Paul is speaking, precedes the revelation of Antichrist inhis true identity, and is to katechon that which holds back his revelation (2:6). The hee apostasia, therefore, cannot be either a general apostasy in Christendomwhich does precede the coming of Antichrist, nor can it be the particularapostasy which is the result of his activities in making himself the alone objectof worship. Furthermore, thatwhich holds back his revelation (vs. 3) is vitally connected with hookatechoon (vs. 7), He who holdsback the same event. The latteris, in my opinion, the Holy Spirit and His activities in the Church. All of which means that I am driven tothe inescapable conclusion that the hee apostasia (vs. 3)refers to the Rapture of the Church which precedes the Day of the Lord, andholds back the revelation of the Man of Sin who ushers in the world-aspect ofthat period.[12] Conclusion Thefact that apostasia mostlikely has the meaning of physical departure is a clear support forpretribulationism. If this istrue, (Dr. Tim LaHaye and I believe that it is), then it means that a clearprophetic sequence is laid out by Paul early in his Apostolic ministry. Paul teaches in 2 Thessalonians 2 thatthe rapture will occur first, before the Day of the Lord commences. It is not until after the beginning ofthe Day of the Lord that the Antichrist is released, resulting in the eventsdescribed by him in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. This is the only interpretation that provides hope for adiscomforted people. Maranatha! Endnotes
[1] Henry George Liddell and Henry Scott, AGreek-English Lexicon, Revisedwith a Supplement [1968] by Sir Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie(Oxford, Eng.: Oxford UniversityPress, 1940), p. 218. [2] Gordon R. Lewis, "Biblical Evidence forPretribulationism," Bibliotheca Sacra (vol. 125, no. 499; July 1968), p. 218. [3] Daniel K. Davey, "The 'Apostesia' of IIThessalonians 2:3," Th.M. thesis, Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, May1982, p. 27. [4] Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974), p. 341. [5] H. Wayne House, "Apostasia in 2 Thessalonians2:3: Apostasy or Rapture?" inThomas Ice and Timothy Demy, eds., When the Trumpet Sounds: Today's Foremost Authorities Speak Outon End-Time Controversies (Eugene,OR: Harvest House, 1995), p. 270. [6] House, "Apostesia", p. 270. [7] Davey, "Apostesia", p. 47. [8] Gordon R. Lewis & Bruce A. Demarest, IntegrativeTheology 3 vols in 1 (GrandRapids: Zondervan, 1996), vol. 3,p. 420. [9] E. Schuyler English, Re-Thinking the Rapture (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1954), p. 70. [10] House, "Apostesia", pp. 275-76. [11] Allan A. MacRae, Letter to E. Schuyler English,published in "Let the Prophets Speak," Our Hope, (vol. LVI, num. 12; June 1950), p. 725. [12] Kenneth S. Wuest, Letter to E. Schuyler English,published in "Let the Prophets Speak," Our Hope, (vol. LVI, num. 12; June 1950), p. 731. |
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