I apologize, I'm just now seeing this post of yours.
Here's some of the points, in brief, that I've put forward:
--"
OUR episynagoges UNTO HIM" (2Th2:1) I equate with what is being said here: "
TO the meeting OF THE LORD
in the air" (1Th4:17)... in both of these verses, I understand that some type of "movement / re-location"
of us is taking place.
"
harpagēsometha [G726 -
harpazo]" is simply the VERB-ACTION (one could call it the "SNATCH-action") that "moves" us
from the one place
TO the other place;
--I've made the point that Paul speaks concerning that particular subject, more than merely just in verse 1Th4:17, but something like
8-10 times in these two Thessalonian epistles, using a variety of terms and phrases (granted,
only here in 1Th4:17 is the
verb SNATCH-action term being used, which is simply describing "
how it's gonna go down" [so to speak]); not all of his references to it are in "verb" form... some of them, like in 2Th2:1 and the latter part of 1Th4:17 (which two verses I mentioned above) use
NOUNS to tell of it;
--I find it somewhat cumbersome and also CONFUSING to some readers if I were to continually (or ONLY) refer to "OUR
episynagoges UNTO HIM" [as being] when
we (the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY,
ONLY) will GO "TO
the meeting of the Lord IN THE AIR," and have the readers (sometimes new believers) grasp what it is I'm actually referring to, in a drive-by-reading or readings
... so when I use the term "
OUR Rapture," I'm simply referring to the point in time when the verb-action "
harpagēsometha [G726 -
harpazo]" (
pertaining solely to the Church which is His body / US) will change
our location. I find it easier for ppl to grasp, since the modern reader is at least familiar with the term "rapture," and not so much when it comes to the term "
episynagoges [UNTO HIM]" which they might find confusing;
--another example: ppl a continually conflating the terms "resurrect/resurrected" and "rapture/raptured" (they are not the same, of course)... or the phrase "the dead in Christ
SHALL RISE first" [
incorrectly]
as "
shall GO UP TO the meeting of the Lord in the air [
PRIOR TO when the "we which are ALIVE and remain" will do so--but it does not mean that]"... I simply try my best to convey what I'm speaking about in terms people are familiar with, and then endeavor to provide explanation where required or requested
Hope that helps you see where I am coming from when I type out the words "OUR Rapture". = )
Thank you for replying, I was quite confused as to what you were saying with: "our rapture." Or where you found it.
If I understand you correctly, you have taken the words, ἡμῶν ἐπισυναγωγῆς in 2 Thess. 2:1, and translated them as "our rapture."
I hope this is what you were saying. I do see why you might have done this, but disagree with you! And I disagree because the theology -dispensationalism is wrong! But also because what you have come up with us not scholarly or correct in any eschatological viewpoint!
Certainly, the ἡμῶν (hemon) means "our," being the Genitive Plural feminine, to agree with the noun. However, ἐπισυναγωγῆς, or episynagoges, occurring only 2 times in the Bible, means, "our being gathered together," preferable to inserting a word like "rapture," which appears no where in the Bible. In fact "syn" always has the implication of "coming/gatherings together" as a prefix in Greek. And of course, synagogue, was the meeting or gathering together of a minimum of 10 Jewish, adult men. IOW, 10 or more men "gathering" together to celebrate the Torah and the other readings & literature & worship God.
In practically every version I looked at, "our being gathered" or "our gathering" was the default translation for 2 Thess 2b, including KJV, which you use, with the feminine noun ἐπισυναγωγῆς "episynagoges" some combination of "our gathering" is found.
Now, I understand you are committed to the Rapture, so in your mind ἐπισυναγωγῆς = rapture. However, as I have noted much earlier in this thread, the word for "meet" ἀπάντησιν "apantesin" in 1 Thess 4:17, does not mean meet and go away with Jesus, but meet & return with him. Unfortunate that the "return" is left off, when in fact, that word would have made a huge difference and stopped this 2 returns of Jesus & rapture doctrine in its tracks. I do believe it is a major error on the part of the KJV translators, perpetuated in modern translations. It is clear from Acts 28:15, the people went out from Rome, to meet & return to Rome with Paul. In that verse, the meaning is very obvious to us, as well as the early Christians. In 1 Thess 4:17, the "meet & return" was very obvious to the Christians of the earliest church, but is obscure at the present time.
Further, any low frequency word like ἐπισυναγωγῆς episynagoges, with only 2 occurrences in the NT, is used for a specific purpose. Paul was a master of words, to say nothing of being inspired. The translators do not takes liberties with this word, and neither should you!
We know the Thessalonians were convinced they had missed meeting Jesus in the air, which is really why Paul wrote 1 & 2 Thess. was to counter this lie, that they had missed the return of Jesus, along with their dead loved ones. Paul is writing to dispel this myth, not perpetuate it.
Moreover, I find it very arrogant that while every translation, including KJV uses "our gathering together with/to him" (unto is an obsolete word in English, and replaced with a different preposition, prepositions being slippery parts of speech in Koine Greek!) and never rapture, seeing as it is important to translate accurately, and not replace words in the Bible with a word which wasn't even invented till 3 or 4 centuries later.
As David Tree has reminded us many times, and I completely agree with him, not to add or subtract words from the Word of God. In this case, you have both deleted a word, and added a different word which appears nowhere else in the Bible.
My suggestion is to use a modern translation, and learn Greek. Pulling words out of Biblegateway or Blue Letter Bible is no substitute for actually knowing not just definitions of words, but the grammar, syntax and context. Most of your errors are based on thinking you are using Greek, when in fact, you are mouthing words without an understanding of the Koine Greek Language. Bill Mounce is just starting Greek classes online. While he doesn't teach the course, anymore, it does use his materials, with a highly competent professor teaching. When I took 2nd year Greek, we also met on Zoom weekly, to discuss the translations. It was so much more than what was written in the text. Bill Mounce has been on every modern translation committee, written commentaries, morphologies, and his father was also a Greek scholar, doing the same things. So amazing insights from his father's knee.
I'm glad we could look at this together. I know you are very sincere in your beliefs. Maybe after a year of Greek, you will not change your mind about eschatology, which is fine. You would be much better able to express your opinions, having access to the original language, not just random words you do not understand in context, plus the importance of using the right translations for these words.