2 Thessalonians 2:13, A Rapture Passage?

Mr. George Gunn

2 Thessalonians 2:13, ARapture Passage?

George Gunn (Shasta Bible College, Redding, CA)

Ἡμεῖς δὲ ὀφείλομεν εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ θεῷ άντοτε ερὶ ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαημένοι ὑὸ κυρίου, ὅτι εἵλατο ὑμᾶςὁ θεὸς ἀαρχὴν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἐν ἁγιασμῷ νεύματος καὶ ίστει ἀληθείας,

"Butwe ought to thank God always for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because Godchose you, a firstfruit, for deliverance by the sanctification of the Spiritand belief of the truth."

Synopsis:

2Thessalonians 2:13, though frequently cited in theological works as a prooftext for the soteriological doctrine of election, is probably best understoodeschatologically as descriptive of God's promise to deliver the church from thepersecution and worldwide judgments of the Day of the Lord by means of apretribulational rapture.

Introduction

Years ago as a college student, I,like many Christian college students, wrestled with the issue of God'ssovereign election vs. man's free will. A study of the relevant Bible verseseventually led me to a strong conviction that God sovereignly andunconditionally elects to salvation. One of the verses that was very influentialfor me was 2 Thessalonians 2:13. Not only did this verse teach that God "chose"(aorist indicative), but that the object of this choosing was to "salvation"(contrary to the position of some Arminians that God's election is of thebeliever either to sanctification or to glorification). Then, a few years ago,as I was preparing to teach a class in the exegesis of the Thessalonianepistles, I was stricken by the fact that this verse occurs in a context thatis dealing with the Day of the Lord. The Apostle Paul had just referred to thefollowers of the man of lawlessness who will be subject to the judgment of Godassociated with that time of tribulation. In such a context, might it not bethat Paul was actually expressing his thanks that, in contrast to the followersof the man of lawlessness, God had chosen to deliver the church from thejudgments of the Day of the Lord? If such were the case, then 2 Thessalonians2:13 was actually another verse supportive of a Pretribulational Raptureposition.

Semantics and TheologicalUnderstanding

As 21^st century Christians,what goes through our minds when we read the words, "God has chosen you forsalvation"? The term "salvation" is a fairly heavily loaded term in the semanticsof modern conservative theology. At least from the time of the Reformation, theterm has carried with it the connotation of quite a few distinct, thoughrelated, theological concepts, including: justification, forgiveness,regeneration, redemption, propitiation, reconciliation, etc. For example, theterm "salvation" occurs over 400 times in Calvin's Institutes of theChristian Religion and is usedquite broadly to refer to all that Christ has accomplished through His deathand resurrection on behalf of the believer.[1]Similarly, in most Reformation and Post-Reformation conservative Christianwritings, the term "salvation" carries with it this broad semantic weight. Butare we safe in assuming that in the early days of the Christian church, whenthe Apostle Paul penned his two epistles to the Thessalonian believers, theterm σωτηρία (soteria)carried the same semanticweight? A consideration of semantics, discourse structure and immediate contextwill show that Paul's use of the term σωτηρία (soteria)was indeed a reference to thepretribulational rapture of the church.

Semantics

We have alluded to the semantic weightcarried by the English term "salvation" in modern times, but what of thesemantic weight borne by the Greek term σωτηρία thatPaul employed in 2 Thessalonians 2:13? Can we in the 21^st centurycome to an understanding of what this term meant to Paul and his Thessaloniandisciples? In the following paragraphs diachronic considerations, conceptualconsiderations and synchronic considerations will be brought to bear on theanswer to this question.

1. DiachronicConsiderations. An overview ofhow the word σωτηρία wasused throughout the history of literary Greek may be of some help. The termappears in Classical Greek as early as Herodotus (V BC), and means consistentlythroughout the Classical era either, (1) deliverance from some peril, (2)preservation in a state of safety or security, (3) a way or means of safety,(4) a safe return from a voyage, (5) safe keeping or preservation of a thing,(6) a guarantee or security for the safe keeping of a thing (7) securityagainst anxiety, or (8) bodily health or well-being.[2]TDNT summarizes some of the kinds of peril from which deliverance is wrought byuse of the word σωτηρία in the classical era:

[In Classical Greek] σῴζω and σωτηρία mean first "to save" and"salvation" in the sense of an acutely dynamic act in which gods or men snatchothers by force from serious peril. In this use, found from Hom. to the latest period, σῴζω corresponds to Hbr. ישׁע . Amongthe dangers war and sea-voyages always play a special part. Things are similar with σωτηρία σῴζω also denotes "deliverance" fromjudicial condemnation, . The sense "to save from anillness," hence"to cure," occurs In relation to the gen. perils of battle and sailing σῴζω may have more of the sense "tokeep" or "to protect."^[3]

More relevant to New Testament studiesmay be the use of σωτηρία in the Septuagint. Here we find that the vastmajority of uses refer to deliverance from some sort of temporal peril, not toodifferent from its use in Classical Greek. The Hebrew word יְשׁוּעָה(yeshu'ah) most frequently lies behind the Septuagint's useof σωτηρία. Of the 78 occurrences of יְשׁוּעָהin the Old Testament, the followingkinds of deliverance are typical:

• Deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian armyby crossing the Red Sea (Ex. 14:13; 15:12; Ps. 78:22)
• Deliverance of Hannah from her enemies (1Sa. 2:1)
• Deliverance of Israel from various Gentileenemies
• the Philistines (1 Sa. 14:45; Is. 12:2)
• the Syrians (2 Sa. 10:11)
• the Ammonites (2 Sa. 10:11; 2 Chr. 20:17;Is 12:2)
• the Moabites (2 Chr. 20:17; Ps. 80:2, 6;Is. 12:2; 25:9, 10)
• the Edomites (2 Chr. 20:17; Ps. 80:2, 6;Is. 12:2)
• the Assyrians (Is. 33:2, 6)
• unspecified Gentile enemies (1 Chr. 16:23;Ps. 44:2-3; 53:6; 98:2-3; 118:14, 15, 21; 149:4, 8; Is 26:1, 18)
• Deliverance of Israel from poverty (Ps.106:4-5)
• Deliverance of David from the hand of Saul(2 Sa. 22:51)
• Deliverance of the Psalmist (frequentlyDavid) from various enemies, such as the evil man, the ungodly man, thefool, the one who digs a pit, etc. (Ps. 3:2, 7-8; 9:13-14; 13:4-5; 14:1,4, 7; 18:48-50; 21:1, 5, 8-12; 28:3, 8; 35:3, 7-9; 42:3-5, 10-11; 43:1-5;62:1-6; 68:19-21; 69:29; 70:2-4; 74:12; 89:26; 91:16; 119:123, 161-166;140:1, 7)
• Deliverance of the Psalmist from physicalillness or death (Ps. 88:1; 116:13; 119:155, 174-175)
• Deliverance of Christ from the cross (Ps.22:1)
• Deliverance of Jonah from the fish (Jonah2:9)

InJob, יְשׁוּעָהoccurs two times. Deliverance ismore personal and perhaps spiritual (13:16), but it cannot be separated fromthe idea of deliverance from his physical maladies, financial and familial ruinand personal enemies (30:15 "My welfare [יְשׁוּעָהi.e. prosperity] is passed away as acloud.").

TDNTsums up the Septuagint's use of σωτηρία as follows:

Deliverance, help and salvation come in favour ofpersons in situations which are often brought about by the hostile intent ofother persons. Human acts of deliverance areexpected from military heroes, judges, and Nazirites (Ju 13:5) Deliverance isalso sought from the protecting power; this is for vassals the positive aspectof suzerainty, cf. 2 K. 16:7, Hos. 14:4. Above all, giving help and dispensingjustice is one of the tasks of the king (cf. 2 S. 14:4; 2 K. 6:26) which isregarded as laid on him by God and whose discharge secures a happy andprosperous life for the people (Ps. 72:2 f.,12).^[4]

Inthe prophets, especially Isaiah, salvation is frequently seen in the context ofthe eschatological reign of the Messiah. This salvation is often presentedsimply in terms of Israel's experiencing deliverance from her enemies (Ps.89:26; Is 12:2-3; 25:9; 52:7, 10; 60:18). But at times, this eschatologicalsalvation involves redemptive elements related to the righteousness andregeneration associated with the new covenant (Is. 49:6, 8; 51:6, 8; 56:1;59:11; 62:1). In several of the references to spiritual salvation, there isstill reference to deliverance from physical enemies (Is. 59:11, 17).

Theintertestamental period sees a usage very similar to that of the Old Testamentprophets. For example, in 1 Enoch, " the idea of being saved occurs inreference to the flood. But the idea occurs most frequently in statements tothe effect that the ungodly have no salvation or hope of salvation."[5]And in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, "salvation is applied to theindividual in both temporal deliverance and eternal salvation."[6]When salvation is seen as eschatological in the intertestamental literature, itis typically a salvation that involves the deliverance of God's people fromthreat of warfare and hatred on the earth. However, on occasion, salvation isviewed as "the eternal salvation" which stands opposed to "eternal punishment,in which the wicked are cast into the fire. The godly individual attainssalvation by his prayers and piety and by God's help."[7]

In the literatureof Qumran, personal salvation is frequently seen in terms of God's deliveranceof the godly man either from ungodly men or from the perils and distresses ofthis life:

The Hymns testifyto the experiences enjoyed by the one who trusts in the help of God: "Thouhast saved me from the zeal of lying interpreters, and from the congregation ofthose who seek smooth things" (1QH 2:32). "I will praise Him whendistress is unleashed and will magnify Him also because of His salvation"(1QS 10:17; cf.; 1QH 5:11 f.; 11:23 f.).[8]

When salvation is spokenof eschatologically in the Qumranic literature, it is in terms of nationalsalvation for Israel and is coupled with the destruction of the nations ofwickedness.[9]

Coming a bit closer to the NewTestament era, Moulton and Milligan's review of the papyri reveals that "σωτηρία is common in the general sense of 'bodilyhealth,' 'well-being,' 'safety.'"[10]This usage in the papyri is seen to be reflected in only a limited number ofNew Testament verses (e.g., Ac. 27:34; Heb. 11:7). Moulton and Milligan notethat the sense of σωτηρία inthe papyri forms a marked contrast with its normal use in the New Testament:"As a rule, however, σωτηρία in the NT, following its OT application cameto denote Messianic and spiritual salvation, either as a present possession (Lk1:77 al.), or as to berealized fully hereafter (Rom 13:11 al.)."[11]

In the New Testament itself σωτηρία is used in two ways: ^[12] (1)deliverance from danger or impending death (Ac. 7: 25; 27:34; Heb. 11:7; Lk.1:71), or (2) spiritual salvation of the soul by virtue of the atonement ofChrist (Phil. 1:28, 2 Cor. 7:10; 1 Pe. 1:9; 2:2; Eph. 1:13; Ac. 13:26; 16:17)."σωτηρία is plainly expected to be fully culminated w.the second coming of the Lord Ro 13:11; Hb 9:28; 1 Pt 1:5."[13]

2. ConceptualConsiderations. As has beenshown from the preceding survey of the historical usage, σωτηρία canbear the meaning of "deliverance" in two distinct senses: (1) deliverance fromtemporal danger (enemies, sickness, poverty, physical danger, war, etc.) and(2) deliverance from spiritual danger (deliverance of one's soul from hell,deliverance from the present dark age into the eschatological age of Messiah'srule, deliverance into the new covenant and a state involving God'srighteousness, etc.). Though it may run the risk of being overly simplistic,let us refer to these two senses as: temporal salvation and spiritual salvation. In the Old Testament, clearly the vast majorityof occurrences of σωτηρία arein reference to temporal salvation, with relatively few references to spiritualsalvation. In the New Testament we find just the opposite - the majority ofreferences are to spiritual salvation, with relatively few references totemporal salvation.[14]In both Testaments there are some references that combine both concepts; i.e.,the spiritual salvation involves some form of deliverance from either enemiesor some form of physical/temporal danger. An example of this combination can beseen in descriptions of Israel's salvation in the Millennium where sheexperiences both God's righteousness and a state of peace and freedom from herenemies. A pretribulational rapture, likewise, would involve such a combination"salvation" in which the culmination of our salvation at the rapture would alsoresult in our being delivered from the persecution and worldwide judgments ofthe Day of the Lord. As such, there would be nothing inconsistent about σωτηρία in2 Thessalonian 2:13 referring to a pretribulational rapture, neither would thisrule out a partial reference to spiritual salvation.[15]

3.Synchronic Considerations. TheNew Testament was written over a period of almost 60 years and at the hands ofat least eight different human authors. The precise sense of a given word canvary significantly over the span of such a time and from author to author.[16]Those who are over 60 years of age can doubtless think of a good many Englishwords that bear a different sense today than they did 50 or 60 years ago. Alllanguages undergo such changes, and there is no reason to believe that ancientGreek was any different. Thus it is incumbent upon us to focus our attention onthe use of σωτηρία duringthe time in which Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians. Furthermore, one author may tendto use a word with a certain emphasis or shade of meaning that another authorwill not use. Thus, our focus needs to be not only on the time of the writingof 2 Thessalonians, but on the usage of this term by Paul. The apostle Paulwrote his New Testament epistles over a period of roughly 20 years. Even 20years is long enough a period of time not only for the meaning of a word tochange (Think of how some English words were used 20 years ago as contrastedwith today!) but for that meaning to change even as used by the same author.Not all words will undergo such a change in meaning or emphasis, but some will.I believe that the word σωτηρία underwentjust such a change in emphasis within the vocabulary of Paul over the 20 yearspan of his New Testament writings.

2Thessalonians falls into a group of epistles sometimes referred to as the"early Pauline epistles": Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Galatians waslikely written shortly after Paul's first missionary journey (ca. AD 48), 1& 2 Thessalonians were written from Corinth during his second missionaryjourney (ca. AD 51). In his early epistles Paul does not appear to use the nounσωτηρία toexpress the concept of spiritual "salvation" -- i.e. the positional work of Godthat takes place in a believer at the point of belief in Jesus. He probablyuses the cognate verb σώζω oncein this sense (1 Thess. 2:16), and once likely in reference to deliverance fromthe wrath of the Day of the Lord (2 Thess. 2:10). [N.B. There are also nooccurrences of σωτηρία inthe book of James, the only other New Testament book likely written in the sameera as the early Pauline epistles.] Rather, to express the concept of spiritualsalvation in his early epistles, Paul uses the following 24 terms andexpressions:

1. καλέω (kaleo)call, Gal. 1:6, 15; 1 Thess.2:12; 4:7; 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14

2. δικαιόω (dikaio-oe)justify, Gal. 2:16, 17; 3:8, 11,24; 5:4

3. δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosune)righteousness, Gal. 2:21; 3:21;5:5

4. ἐξαγοράζω (exagorazo) redeem, Gal. 3:13; 4:5

5. γνῶναι θεόν (gnonaitheon) to know God, Gal. 4:9; 2Thess. 1:8

6. γνωσθῆναι ὑὸ θεοῦ (gnosthenaihupo Theou) to be known by God,Gal. 4:9

7. ἐξαιρέω (exaire-oe)rescue, Gal. 1:4

8. λαβεῖν τὸ Πνεῦμα (labeinto Pneuma) to receive theSpirit, Gal. 3:2

9. λογίσασθαι εἰς δικαιοσύνην (logisasthaieis dikaiosune) to be reckonedunto righteousness, Gal. 3:6

10. εἶναι υἱὸς Ἀβραάμ (einaihuios Abra-am) to be a son ofAbraham, Gal. 3:7

11. [ἔχειν τὸ] κληρονομίαν (echeinto kleronomian) [to have the]inheritance, Gal. 3:18

12. ζῳοοιῆσαι (zoe-opoiesai)to give life, Gal. 3:21

13. εἶναι υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ(einai huion tou Theou) to be a son of God, Gal. 3:26

14. βατισθήναι εἰς Χριστὸν (baptisthenaieis Christon) to be baptizedinto Christ, Gal. 3:27

15. ἀολαβεῖν τὴν υἱοθεσίαν (apolabeinten huithesian) to receive theadoption, Gal. 4:5

16. εἶναι τέκνον ἐαγγελίας (einaiteknon epangelias) to be a childof promise, Gal. 4:28

17. ἐλευθερόω (eleuthero-oe)to set free, Gal. 5:1

18. κληρονομήσαι βασιλείαν θεοῦ (kleronomesaibasileian Theou) to inherit[the] kingdom of God, Gal. 5:21

19. ζῆν (zen)to live, Gal. 5:25

20. ἐκλογή (ekloge)election, 1 Thess. 1:4

21. ἐξεστρέψας ρὸς τὸν θεόν(exestrepsas pros ton Theon) to turn to God, 1 Thess. 1:9

22. σωθῆναι (sothenai)to be saved, 1 Thess. 2:16

23. δέξασθαι λόγον θεοῦ (dexasthailogon Theou) to receive the Wordof God, 1 Thess. 2:13

24. ιστεύσαι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ (pisteusaite aletheia) to believe thetruth, 2 Thess. 2:12

σωτηρία doesnot occur even once in the book of Galatians, and occurs only twice in 1Thessalonians. Both occurrences in 1 Thessalonians (5:8, 9) probably refer tothe temporal salvation that results from a pretribulational rapture, i.e.,deliverance from the wrath of the Day of the Lord. The only occurrence of σωτηρία in 2 Thessalonians is in the verse we areexamining. The similarity of language between 1 Thessalonians 5:9 and 2Thessalonians 2:13 is somewhat striking:

1 Thessalonians 5:9

ἔθετο ἡμᾶςὁ θεὸς εἰς εριοίησιν σωτηρίας
God appointed us unto an obtaining of deliverance [from the Day of the Lord]

2 Thessalonians 2:13

εἵλατο ὑμᾶςὁ θεὸς εἰς σωτηρίαν
God chose you unto deliverance [from the Day of the Lord]

Thus,in view of the history of Paul's usage of σωτηρία up to this point in his extant letters, it wouldnot seem likely that he is referring to the soteriological ideas ofjustification, forgiveness, etc.

Ofthe three early Pauline epistles (Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians), the onethat has a distinctive soteriological theme is the very one that does not usethe term σωτηρία! The Thessalonian epistles, on the other hand, clearly have adifferent theme. Almost all expositors agree that the primary theme of theThessalonian epistles is eschatological.[17]Every chapter in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians has at least one reference to thereturn of Christ, and both books have extended discourses on eschatologicalthemes (the Rapture in 1 Thess. 4:13-18, the Day of the Lord in 1 Thess. 5 and2 Thess. 2). So, when we encounter the term σωτηρία in 2 Thessalonians, we would expect tounderstand it in a way that corresponds with the prevailing eschatologicaltheme of the epistle, rather than presuming a soteriological theme.

Thenext extant letter of Paul's written after 2 Thessalonians was probably 1Corinthians, written 3-4 years later. During this intervening period Paul hadstopped briefly in Ephesus, gone to Jerusalem, then begun his 3^rdmissionary journey and was making an extended stay in Ephesus while he wrotehis first epistle to Corinth. The term σωτηρία doesnot occur at all in 1 Corinthians.

2Corinthians, written shortly after 1 Corinthians, uses the term σωτηρία three times (1:6; 6:2; 7:10). It is here that weprobably find Paul's first use of the noun σωτηρία inthe sense of spiritual salvation. It is possible that it was during Paul'sextended teaching ministry at Ephesus that the term σωτηρία beganto take on added semantic weight in the vocabulary of Paul. In Romans, writtenin about AD 57-58, σωτηρία isused five times (1:16; 10:1, 10; 11:11; 13:11), each time as a reference tospiritual salvation.

Thusit appears that in the early Pauline epistles, we should expect σωτηρία toreflect the kind of "salvation" that is more akin to the Old Testament sense ofdeliverance from some temporal peril than to a later Christian understanding ofbroader redemptive themes.

Discourse Structureof 2 Thessalonians 2

Up to this point, we have beenconsidering the meaning of a single term, σωτηρία. We have seen that it is both possible andlikely that when Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians, he would have used the term with agreater emphasis on temporal salvation than on spiritual salvation. However,this is by no means a necessary conclusion based on semantics alone. Words havegenuine meaning only in a context. Crucial to the question of whether σωτηρία in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is a reference to therapture is the related question of whether verses 13-17 are a continuation ofverses 1-12 or the beginning of a new topic.

Somecommentators have taken the words: Ἡμεῖς δὲ ὀφείλομεν εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ θεῷ άντοτε ερὶ ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαημένοι ὑὸ κυρίου, ὅτι ("But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brothers beloved by theLord, because ") in 2:13 to introduce a new discourse, i.e., a significantchange in topic. Two discourse features could suggest a shift in topic: (1) theconjunction δὲ ("now" or "but"),and (2) the insertion of the vocative ἀδελφοὶ ("brothers"). There are two compelling reasons,however, to see verses 1-17 as one entire discourse without a major division:(1) Paul's use of an inclusioin verses 2 and 15, and (2) the chiastic structure of the discourse.

1. Paul's Inclusio, verses 2 & 15

Wefind in verse 15 what appears to be the second half of an inclusio that ties the last verses of chapter 2 with theearlier portion of the chapter.

2:2μήτε διὰ νεύματος μήτε διὰ λόγουμήτε δι᾽ ἐιστολῆς ὡς δι᾽ ἡμῶν
"whetherby spirit or by word or by letter as from us"

2:15εἴτε διὰ λόγου εἴτε δι᾽ ἐιστολῆς ἡμῶν
"whetherby word or by our letter"

Thus, 2:15 is still apart of the discourse that was begun in 2:1. The δέ andἀδελφοὶ of2:13 do not indicate that Paul has moved on to a new subject. 2:15-17,introduced by ἄρα οὖν ("therefore,"the only occurrence of οὖνin 2 Thess), makes a fitting conclusion to this discussion of the troublingtimes of the Day of the Lord.

Notealso, if we see the passage as extending all the way through verse 17, thesimilarity between how Paul ends his rapture passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18with how he ends this eschatological passage: