The weak argument is your argument that the passage is about faith. Point out where faith is spoken of in the whole passage, you can't. And never will be able to. You want my original exegesis on this ?
I have evolved with much study on this. I used to argue to all that there had to be this great Falling Away also. All because of this one passage. 2 Thessalonians 2:3. I do agree that the world gets far more evil towards the (now) end, as foretold in Romans chapter 1, and as Peter said, there will be scoffers in the last days etc. etc. But I do not think the True Church can "Fall Away", either you are of Christ/God or you are not, and will get left behind by the Bridegroom. Anyway, here is my understanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…” – 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NASB) This verse is used by many and they say it implies a "Falling Away" from the faith. But a guy named Tommy Ice has shed some exceptional light on this passage.
Mr. Ice has pointed out that the Greek noun, apostasia, is used only twice in the New Testament. The other occurrence is in Acts 21:21 where it states that an accusation was made against Paul that he was “teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake [apostasia] Moses.”
The word is used in verb form a total of 15 times in the New Testament, and only three of these have anything to do with a departure from the faith (Luke 8:13, 1 Timothy 4:1, and Hebrews 3:12). In other settings, the word is used for departing from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19), departing from ungodly men (1 Timothy 6:5), departing from the temple (Luke 2:27), departing from the body (2 Corinthians 12:8), and departing from persons (Acts 12:10 and Luke 4:13).
This insight about the use and meaning of the word was certainly compelling, but the argument Mr. Ice presented that was most convicting was his revelation that the first seven English translations of the Bible rendered the noun, apostasia, as either “departure” or “departing.”
They were as follows:
1.The Wycliffe Bible (1384)
2.The Tyndale Bible (1526)
3. The Coverdale Bible (1535)
4. The Cranmer Bible (1539)
5. The Great Bible (1540)
6. The Beeches Bible (1576)
7. The Geneva Bible (1608)
Mr. Ice also noted that the Bible used by the Western world from 400 AD to the 1500s — Jerome’s Latin translation known as “The Vulgate” — rendered apostasia with the Latin word, discessio, which means “departure.” The first translation of the word to mean apostasy in an English Bible did not occur until 1611 when the King James Version was issued. So, why did the King James translators introduce a completely new rendering of the word as “falling away”? The best guess is that they were taking a stab at the false teachings of Catholicism.
One other point Mr. Ice made that I think is significant is that Paul used a definite article with the word apostasia. The significance of this is emphasized by Daniel Davey in a thesis he wrote for the Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary:
Since the Greek language does not need an article to make the noun definite, it becomes clear that with the usage of the article, reference is being made to something in particular. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the word apostasia is prefaced by the definite article which means that Paul is pointing to a particular type of departure clearly known to the Thessalonian church.
In light of this grammatical point, Tommy observed that “the use of the definite article would support the notion that Paul spoke of a clear, discernible notion.” And that notion he had already identified in verse 1 when he stated that he was writing about “our gathering together to Him [Jesus].” This interpretation also corresponds to the point that Paul makes in verses 6 and 7 where he states that the man of lawlessness will not come until what “restrains” him “is taken out of the way.”
And what it is that restrains evil in the world today? The Holy Spirit working through the Church. I think when the Church Departs, the Anti-Christ will be free to come to power.
I do not think this has anything to do with a Falling Away. It is the Church Departing before the Anti-Christ is brought forth. The King James Bible changed the known understanding that has been around for 1500 years.
So your belief in the Pre Trib position rests at least partly on the opinions of a Tommy Ice whom I have never heard of and the fact that the word Apostia as used by Paul appears in Acts with regard to Jews departing from the Laws of Moses. It also appears to rely on having a very good knowledge of Greek which I don't have along with countless thousands of others who seem to manage without it. I will return to that presently.
Firstly you find the use of this word in Thessolonians and Acts 'Compelling' Why? 2 Thessolonians has no mention of
this charge against Paul you can read the whole letter and not one mention of it can be found.
You refer to the Parable of the wise and foolish Virgins to support your view that either saved or not. In the story they are all virgins they all had oil to start with but the foolish ones were obviously not saved when the Bridegroom arrived
In short they were Apostates who thought they could still be accepted in the end.
You also claim that there are three places where departure from faith in Christ is mentioned as part of your argument
One in particular is well worth quoting ....
I Tim 4:1 RSV
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits
and doctrines of demons through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared.
I find this to be very true!
You list the various translations pre dating the KJV where Departure or Departing is used as proof that the KJV changed the wording and imply that this is further proof that the Pre Trib belief is correct and that the 2 Thessalonian passage is being wrongly understood. I believe that this actually enforces the opposite idea. To believe this to be true would mean that every translator or reader of these Bibles deliberately ignored this and carried on believing that there was only one further coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation for several hundred years. This is what most of the Church believed and still do.
The whole Pre Trib idea was first promoted by John Nelson Darby around 1830 and made popular mainly in the US by Cyrus Scofield who produced his own edited edition of the KJV along with his notes in 1911. John Darby was a leading member of the Plymouth Brethren movement in the UK. He and his supporters broke away over doctrinal differences and Darby headed a cult known as the exclusive Brethren who make the JWs and Mormons look liberal by comparison.
Knowing the real origins of the Pre Trib teachings make me more distrustful than average.
A leading 19th Century Greek Scholar named Samuel Tregelles who was also a contemporary member of the Brethren movement opposed the Pre Trib doctrine and wrote a book titled The Hope of Christs Second Coming which is still in print. I would rather trust him than Tommy Ice thanks all the same.