The Apostasy Controversy.
2 Thess 2:3
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 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.
2Th 2:3 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;
There is a teaching circulating the churches based on the translation of these verses from the Geneva Bible, that the “falling away”, translated “departure” is the rapture of the church.
Men who promote this interpretation are men such as:
Dr Andy Wood, the writer of the book “The Falling away, Spiritual departure or physical rapture.”
This book has influenced many teachers including:
JD Farag, Pastor of Calvary Chapel, in Hawaii.
Don Stewart.
Thomas Ice.
Jack Hibbs.
Dr Arnold Fructenbaum.
Tim La Hay
The Geneva Bible translates these verses as:
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our assembling unto him,
2 That ye be not suddenly moved from your mind, nor troubled neither by [d]spirit, nor by [e]word, nor by letter, as it were from us, as though the day of Christ were at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.
The word departing here is being interpreted as the rapture.
This is a twisting of scripture to accommodate the belief in a Pre tribulation rapture of the church.
The question is, which day is the Apostle talking about?
Well!, according to V1, Paul is referring to:
V1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is in fact the rapture.
The coming is the Greek word “Parousia” (Arrival, Advent, The future visible return).
Also in V1, Paul says:
and by our gathering together unto him,
Our gathering together unto Him, is indeed the rapture.
The Greek word for gathering together is “Episunagoge” (A gathering in one place, an assembly), It is where the word “Synagogue” comes from.
In V2, the Apostle tells us what he is talking about is the day of Christ.
V2 as though the day of Christ were at hand.
Again there is no doubt that Paul is referring to the day of Christ as the rapture.
Then Paul goes on to say:
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come.
Which day is he referring to?
It is quite clear that he is referring to:
The coming.
The gathering together unto Him, (Christ).
The day of Christ.
2Th 2:3 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;
The Greek word for falling away is “Apostasia” (A departure from the truth – a defection.)
Even if we take the translation “Departure”, it does not refer to the rapture but a departure from the faith, which is an apostasy.
This is the same apostasy that the Apostle Paul refers to in 1 Tim 4.
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
The same word is used here “Apostasy”. Greek - aphistēmi (to remove, that is, (actively) instigate to revolt; usually (reflexively) to desist, desert, etc.: - depart, draw (fall) away, refrain, withdraw self.)
Another question must be asked.
Why when writing to the Thessalonians in 1 Thess 4, when referring to the rapture of the church, does Paul use the term “Caught up”?
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The Greek for “caught up” is “Harpadzo”, translated into Latin as “Raptura”, where we get the word “Rapture”.
If the term Apostasia or Departure means the rapture. Why didn’t Paul use the word “Harpadzo”, it would have made it very clear.
However he did not use that word Harpadzo, because he was referring to a falling away from the truth, a departure from the faith.
So, it is very clear that the falling away precedes the rapture of the church and not the other way round.
Anyone who preaches that the departure/apostasy is the rapture is doing exactly what V3 is talking about, deceiving, by means of taking V3 out of context of the passage.
To read any bible verse out of context of the surrounding verses gives way to the danger of forming a pretext out of the text, that is, bad interpretation or a bad application to your life. A common problem to all bible readers is to not understand what the Bible is saying.
By Dr Andy Wood, claiming that the Apostasy is the rapture, he is trying to argue that if this is the case there is no more argument about the timing of the rapture.
Because it would a Pre Tribulation rapture and not either, Mid Tribulation, Pre Wrath or Post Tribulation.
This to me is the twisting of scripture to support the Pre Tribulation view.
