Hi Clay. Just thought I'd pop in here and state that I respectfully disagree. I contend that "apostasy" can either mean a falling away or a departure...from the faith. And here is why. If I correctly follow what you posted, it sounds like you and others (including Thomas Ice) could be saying that the rapture will happen before the rapture? (Is that a double-positive?)Interpreting "apostasy" as the "rapture" could make sense if you look at verse 3...on its own...without referencing back to verses 1 and 2.2 Thessalonians 2 KJV(1) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
- Clay, this would be the rapture, right? (our gathering together unto Him)?
(2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neighbor by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
- Once again, this would be the rapture (identified here as the "day of Christ").
(3) Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day (rapture?) shall not come, except there come a falling away (rapture? doesn't make sense) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
- So are you saying...that the rapture shall not come...except there come a rapture first?
I would appreciate your comments (what am I missing?) and thank you for reading. Have also included Jack Kelley's opinion below.Blessings to you and yours!Here are some comments from Jack Kelley along with web link:
- Ever since the King James was first published in 1611, the Greek word apostasia from 2 Thes. 2:3 has been understood to mean to forsake or defect, and is almost universally translated as a falling away or rebellion. The only other place it's used is in Acts 21:21 where it speaks of Paul teaching the Gentiles to forsake (apostasia) the teaching of Moses. It comes from a root meaning to repudiate or divorce. To think of it as the rapture is inconsistent with its meaning, and not one of the major English translations uses it this way.
The Greek word harpazo, from which we get rapture, implies the catching up of a desired object by someone for himself. It's the opposite of a falling away or rebellion. Therefore the apostasy of 2 Thes. 2:3 is not the rapture.
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/apostasy-or-rapture-follow-up/
There is a sense in which the Greek word apostasia can mean departure. It's a compound of apo (from) and istemi (stand.) Therefore, some scholars believe its core meaning is "away from" or "departure" or even "disappearance."
I'm told that before the original KJV was published, the common understanding of 2 Thes. 2:3 was that it referred to the Rapture of the Church. Today it's more widely seen as a falling away of believers-in-name-only from the true church in the days just before the anti-Christ is revealed.
With the seeker-friendly and emerging church movements, I think the "falling away" may be taking place before our very eyes.
But no matter which way you take it, 2 Thes. 2:3-8 does support a pre-trib rapture. Paul wrote in effect that two things have to happen before the anti-Christ can be revealed. One is the falling away in verse 3 and the other is the removal of the restrainer in verse 7. The prevailing view among evangelicals is that the restrainer refers to the Holy Spirit as resident in the Church.
If so there will be a falling away of believers-in-name-only from the Church, then the remaining true believers will be "taken out of the way" with the Holy Spirit in the Rapture, then the anti-Christ will be revealed.
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/falling-away-or-departure/