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Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,778
113
#41
I cannot agree that they're false christians.
How would you classify those clergymen and theologians (and even ordinary laymen) who attack the Bible, attack the Gospel, deny the deity of Christ, and approve same-sex marriages and abortion? Also those who elevate Mary to the same level as God and Christ? Those who claim that Christians and Muslims are "brothers" and worship the same God?
 

Edify

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2021
1,568
661
113
#42
How would you classify those clergymen and theologians (and even ordinary laymen) who attack the Bible, attack the Gospel, deny the deity of Christ, and approve same-sex marriages and abortion? Also those who elevate Mary to the same level as God and Christ? Those who claim that Christians and Muslims are "brothers" and worship the same God?
It's very simple: S I N N E R S . There's sinners, & there's saints. Nothing in between.:)
 

Amanuensis

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2021
1,457
460
83
#43
I cannot agree that they're false christians. More like deceived, backslidden christians.
After all, a false christian is a sinner, & has nothing to fall away from.
This is why the epistles give all kinds of warnings about the church being deceived.
I haven't spent a lot of time with this yet, but my guess is that it has something to do with prophesies in Daniel.

I think the whole passage is talking about revelations he had previously taught them from the book of Daniel.

And most likely this great rebellion is linked to the revelation of that Wicked. They will follow him as their messiah. One who demands to be worshipped as God. This is a probably about the Jews as a nation following someone like that. And sure when he is running things he will make people worship the image or be killed so everyone is at risk of choosing to save their life and "fall away" but I think it is a probably a reference to a prophesy.

Like when Jesus said another comes in his own name and him you will follow. That is the great rebellion.
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,778
113
#44
It's very simple: S I N N E R S . There's sinners, & there's saints. Nothing in between.:)
That may be so. But there are huge numbers who are saying they are "Christians" but are not really so. And that is what the apostasy is all about.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,227
2,206
113
#45
^ @Mem , thank you for your comment.

Consider: The text does not convey this ("the gathering of the saints won't happen until...")--that is not how the text itself reads (v.3).


Instead, v.3 is starting off [after the introductory "cautioning / warning" part] with the words "...BECAUSE that day..." (referring back to the distinct subject OF VERSE 2--"the DOTL" time-period--the EARTHLY-located TIME-PERIOD which consists [in part] of JUDGMENTs unfolding upon the earth OVER SOME TIME--which is DISTINCT from the instantaneous noun-EVENT [located "IN THE AIR"] being referenced in v.1, which Subject PAUL is bringing forward to address the PROBLEM of the "false claim" Subject of v.2)...

TWO completely DISTINCT things, but Paul is telling how the ONE THING relates "time-wise / SEQUENCE-wise" to the OTHER THING....

... which means he is NOT saying:

--"rapture/SNATCH [IN THE AIR] / our episynagoges unto Him / THE departure' won't happen until 'rapture/SNATCH [IN THE AIR] / our episynagoges unto Him / THE departure' happens first..."




INSTEAD ^ , ONLY ONE of these can be the words in BLUE (because "he apostasia" [THE departure] is only stated ONCE in this verse)

...and the OTHER phrase / part ("3 ...that day"--re: the "false claim" Paul is telling about FROM VERSE 2) is what should be in RED (coz it is NOT THE SAME SUBJECT as that which is is worded "in BLUE")







--"rapture/SNATCH [IN THE AIR] / OUR episynagoges UNTO HIM / THE departure"

...IS NOT (not the same as)...

--"the day of the Lord" earthly-located TIME-PERIOD which will unfold upon the earth with its numerous JUDGMENTs, over SOME TIME, which v.2 is Paul informing them about the "false claimants" saying "that [it--the DOTL] "IS PRESENT / IS ALREADY HERE [perfect indicative]"... that is, unfolding upon the earth in their present-day experience / existence (entirely "believable" b/c of the very NEGATIVE "persecutions and tribulations YE ENDURE"-2Th1:4)



Verse 2 is not telling us / the readers that the "false claimants" were purporting "that THE RAPTURE is present / is already here".
No.


Therefore, what starts out in v.3a is reaching back to address VERSE 2's Subject (the false claim "that THE DAY OF THE LORD IS PRESENT"... not that the Rapture is present [v.1's Subject that PAUL IS BRINGING to address the problem of the "false claim" he's telling of in v.2])



Conflating these two distinct things (as most tend to do) sets one off on the wrong footing, in interpreting this passage, leading one far afield of what Paul is actually conveying here.






[he's providing the SEQUENCE between these TWO distinct things... and he repeats this SEQUENCE 3x in this passage... which agrees also with all other passages covering this same Subject, elsewhere in Scripture (showing this SAME SEQUENCE)]
2 Thessalonians 2 begins with an introduction of the subject, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him," intimately connecting these two events and, since God is One of perfect order, would have been worded in the reverse order, i.e. "Concerning our being gather to Him and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," if that is the exact order of events as you are proposing. However, as it is, it shows that "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him" is "that day" in verse 3 which refers back to 'the Day of the LORD' in verse 2 which immediately follows verse 1 'concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our. being gathered to Him." There is no transition in subjects from verse 1 to 2 or 3.

In proper order, the revealing of the lawless one precedes the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him and by order of scripture, that revealing follows the 'falling away'.
"Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed." (v.3)
So, the sequence according to vv. 1-3 then, is:
the falling away (the days of tribulation as described in vv. 4-7 and 9-11)
the revealing (the day of the Lord as described in v. 8 and 12)
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the day of the LORD's arrival, as described in v. 8) and
our being gathered to Him. (rapture)
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,923
2,118
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#46
2 Thessalonians 2 begins with an introduction of the subject, "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him," intimately connecting these two events and, since God is One of perfect order, would have been worded in the reverse order, i.e. "Concerning our being gather to Him and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," if that is the exact order of events as you are proposing.
I'm saying that ALL OF VERSE 1 relates to "our Rapture" (and its timing--its location will be "IN THE AIR"--and is known here as "OUR episynagoges UNTO HIM" [it involves ONLY US, and NO ONE ELSE!]).


Verse 2's "false claim" (that the false claimants were purporting) has/had NOTHING TO DO with the Subject of [v.1's] "our Rapture" (PAUL is BRINGING *that* Subject TO BEAR on the problem of the "false claim [in v.2]" he's cautioning them NOT to fall for or believe and be troubled / disturbed by).




IOW, v.1 (its TWO CLAUSES) is not what I'm speaking about when referring to "the SEQUENCE" ("order") I've been pointing out.



The "SEQUENCE [/order]" I am pointing out that Paul is repeating 3x in this text is NOT between the two clauses IN VERSE 1 (to be clear)...

... but between Verse 1's Subject (our Rapture IN THE AIR noun-event, PAUL is bringing to the fore) and Verse 2's Subject (the EARTHLY-located time-period known as "the day of the Lord" [which includes JUDGMENTs unfolding upon the earth OVER SOME TIME, leading UP TO Christ's RETURN to the earth at Rev19])--IOW, how these two items "fit" in relation to each other SEQUENCE-wise / time-wise / order-wise (NOT how Clause A of verse 1 fits in relation sequence-wise / order-wise to Clause B of verse 1. NO! NOT what I am saying.)



Make sense? = )
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,923
2,118
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#47
Verse 2's "FALSE CLAIM" does not start out with, "our episynagoges unto Him WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL..."


Instead, consider...


[3 No one should deceive you in any way... (regarding the "false claim" just referred to in the previous verse, which false claim is saying, "that the day of the Lord [earthly time-period] IS PRESENT" v.2--[not what's in v.1])]

3754 [e]
hoti
ὅτι
because [it is]
Conj

1437 [e]
ean
ἐὰν
if
Conj

3361 [e]

μὴ
not [until] [connecting back to verse 2's content re: the earthly-located TIME-PERIOD (the DOTL)--so will be "NOT [/until]"]
Adv

2064 [e]
elthē
ἔλθῃ
shall have come
V-ASA-3S

3588 [e]


the
Art-NFS

... [(shall have come) the departure first [<--HERE now v.1's Subject-connection] and (distinctly) the man of sin be revealed..."
(THAT's when "the DOTL" WILL INDEED "[be] present" [until such point, such a statement--as is seen in v.2--is a FALSE CLAIM])...

...but when the man of sin's "whose COMING [advent / arrival]" occurs--THAT point in time and time-period following (which is WELL-BEFORE Christ's Second Coming to the earth Rev19 point in the chronology)--THAT is when the claim will be a TRUE claim "that the day of the Lord IS PRESENT" (i.e. present and unfolding upon the earth [ITS location] over some time LEADING UP TO Christ's Second Coming to the earth in Rev19);

IOW, when the man of sin arrives and is present on the earth (in his specific role--Matt24:4/Mk13:5 "G5100-tis-"A CERTAIN ONE ['a certain one' BRINGING DECEPTION, aka SEAL#1]"), AT THAT TIME ALSO will be the arrival of [to "[be] present"] "the day of the Lord" time-period (of the "JUDGMENTs"-unfolding-upon-the-earth [over some time] aspect OF it) and thus a then-true statement "that the day of the Lord IS PRESENT"...
So, not until 1) "THE departure FIRST" and [distinctly] 2) "the man of sin be revealed" can the statement be a TRUE statement "that the day of the Lord IS PRESENT" (aka the TRIB YRS aspect OF it, per 1Th5:1-3 its "ARRIVAL" [at the INITIAL "birth PANG [SINGULAR]"] to thereafter unfold upon the earth: i.e. "birth pang" after "birth pang" after "birth pang" [not "one-and-DONE"])






The "whose COMING" of the man of sin, IS the INITIAL "birth PANG [1Th5:1-3 & Matt24:4/Mk13:5]" aka SEAL #1 at the START of the "in quickness [noun; Rv1:1/4:1/1:19c]" time-period, commonly called the Tribulation Period ("the day of the Lord" time-period's ARRIVAL--"IN THE NIGHT"--where the "in the twinkling of an eye" thing ['twilight' / sundown] will have just immediately preceded it and will lead into it [the "IN THE NIGHT" time-period commonly known as the [7-yr] TRIB Period or the 70th Week of Daniel--which WE/the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY do not step one foot into (our "change" & "caught up/SNATCH" thing immediately precedes the ARRIVAL of that "IN THE NIGHT" aspect of "the day of the Lord" time-period which unfolds upon the earth... with JUDGMENTS unfolding OVER SOME TIME, including the 2Th2:10-12 "God SHALL SEND TO THEM strong delusion THAT they should BELIEVE THE LIE / the FALSE / the PSEUDEI" (for much longer time-period than merely the "singular 24-hr day" of Christ's RETURN to the earth at Rev19)])
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,923
2,118
113
#49
^ @Mem ,

Verse 2's "FALSE CLAIM" does not start out with, "our episynagoges unto Him WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL..."
Verse 2 is about the false claim "that the day of the Lord is present / is already here"... NOT that "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our episynagoges unto Him" [i.e. our Rapture] is present / is already here.


Conflating these two distinct things leads one to misapprehend what it is that Paul is actually conveying in this text.



He is not conveying "our episynagoges unto Him [our gathering-together unto Him] WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL"...

To think so, is to completely chop out what it is that v.3a's "that day" is specifically pointing back to (the contents of the false claim of verse 2); and to replace it with what Paul is bringing (as correction to that false claim he doesn't want them disturbed by), but the text itself doesn't say this;...

... and to also MIS-define what it is that "the day of the Lord" entails.




It (the DOTL) does not ARRIVE at the point in time of Christ's Second Coming (Rev19), as so many suggest;

1Th5:1-3 makes this clear

(esp when coupled with what Jesus had ALREADY stated about "the BEGINNING of birth pangs"--they BEGIN well-prior to His Second Coming to the earth in Matt24:29-31 / Rev19--indeed 7 years prior to that point, being EQUIVALENT to the SEALS of Rev6--which SEALS are included within the "in quickness [noun] time-period per Rev1:1/4:1/1:19c (aka the 7-yr Tribulation Period... not merely the 3.5-yr "GREAT" tribulation, which is only the SECOND HALF of it).

Paul is covering ALL SEVEN [of those] YEARS in this 2Th2 chpt
[plus is covering what must immediately happen "FIRST" before it can truthfully be stated that it "IS PRESENT" like the false claim in v.2 was purporting was already the case--or at least that Paul is pointing out about such a false claim, which had to do with "the day of the Lord" earthly-located time-period (NOT "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our episynagoges UNTO HIM"--NOWHERE does the text state that THIS is the content OF THE FALSE CLAIM, that *this* is what they were claiming "is present / is already here." NO. The text does not tell us that's what they were claiming-falsely)]







___________


[Paul is covering ALL SEVEN YEARS in 2Th2... just as Jesus is, in Matthew 24:4-thru-both-chpts (24-25); just as Revelation 4-19 is; just as Daniel 9:27a, b, c is; just as Dan11:36-chpt12-end is... etc etc...; Paul is NOT just covering the "singular 24-hr 'day'" of Christ's RETURN to the earth, in Rev19, in this chpt2 of 2Thess (tho that is indeed what v.8b's "the MANIFESTATION of His presence / parousia" is referring to, when "EVERY EYE" shall SEE Him [whereas v.1 is NOT speaking of that point in time, in the chronology--which pertains ONLY to "OUR" episynagoges "UNTO HIM"--and NO ONE ELSE being involved in that "SNATCH" to the "MEETING OF THE LORD... IN THE AIR"!])]
 

TheDivineWatermark

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2018
10,923
2,118
113
#50
1) "the coming of OUR Lord Jesus Christ and OUR episynagoges UNTO HIM" (our Rapture [IN THE AIR])

is NOT defined the same as

2) "the day of the Lord" (an EARTHLY-located TIME-PERIOD of JUDGMENTs unfolding upon the earth, that the "false claimants" were purporting "IS PRESENT / IS ALREADY HERE"--It wasn't. And Paul explains WHY that cannot be so. ONE THING must happen "FIRST"...)






[again, "the day of the Lord" ARRIVES "exactly as" the INITIAL "birth PANG [SINGULAR]" that COMES UPON a woman... not the END-POINT of all the numerous "birth pangs" that Jesus spoke of in His Olivet Discourse--the START at the same POINT however!]
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,227
2,206
113
#51
Ok, the coming of the Lord is "that day" that the birth pangs are indicative of imminent arrival, also referred to as 'the footsteps of Messiah (the birth pangs, that is).' 'That Day' begins at His arrival, and it is "that day' that we are gathered to Him.
 
Oct 31, 2015
2,290
588
113
#52
I continually hear of the falling away of believers before Christ’s return….Hopefully this will clarify that misconception….It is not a falling away …but a departure……We be gone, baby.

A look at the word hē apostasia …translated in verse 2:3 as a falling away which has been wrongly understood as a falling away of the faithful…(turning unfaithful) believers….but that is not how this reads..

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away” and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;



First understand that…. The English version prior to King James version.. translated apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as departing. The King James or authorized version was the first to translate apostasia as falling away.

Jerome's Latin translation of the vulgate around 400 AD, translate the Greek apostasia as Latin discessio ….meaning departure. The Tyndale Bible 1534, the Geneva Bible, and the Cramer Bible first published in 1537, all translated apostasia as departed ….these versions all preceded the King James version printed in 1611.

What happened with KJV …we don’t really know….. but one of the fatal mistakes the translators made was in failing to take into consideration the definite article (the) before the word apostasia which appears in the Greek text. The article may be used to point out an object, the identity of which is defined by some previous reference made to it in the context…. The translators of the Authorized KJ Version looked for the definition of the word in the subsequent context…. whereas the Greek article points here to a previous context…. namely to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air and the gathering together of the Saints to Him.

We need to look at this from the Greek point of view, not the English, if we are to discover the reason that the article is used….

the usage of the article draws our attention to the identity and special significance of this particular departure. The Greeks do not need the article to make the noun definite as used in English. In the Greek a substantive is definite without the article……The article originally came from the demonstrative pronoun such as “this” or “that” …. which calls attention with special emphasis to a designated object. Its function is to point out an object or draw attention to it….. It is used with a word that makes the word stand out distinctly. Whenever the Greeks used “the” article, it points out individual identity…. and it marks a specific object of thought.

The Greeks used the article with infinitives, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and clauses …..or even with whole sentences….. We do not have a corresponding English usage or anything even remotely similar. When the article (= the) appears in Greek ….it always signals some special significance. And we need to look at the matter from the Greek point of view, not the English, if we are to discover the reason that the article is used.

Apostasia = departure. The cognitive neuter noun apostasia occurs three times Mat 5:31, Mat 19:7 & Mar 10:4…. of divorce, the departure of a husband and wife from each other. The word used here is a feminine noun with only one other occurrence in the New Testament… Act 21:21 regarding a departure from Moses… that is, a departure from the mosaic law. The departure referred to here in 2Thes 2 is explained in verses 2:6-8 of 2Thesas the removal of a restraint.

2Th 2:1 begins this discussion with regard to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering up together with him. This verse in chapter 2 …taken together with the previous verses in the first chapter suggest that the departure refers to the gathering together of holy ones… which precedes both the appearance of the lawless one and the day of the Lord. Therefore, we can conclude that the Bible definition of the word, apostasia is departure.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<



II Thes 2:1-8

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

Brethren indicates Paul is talking to those in the body of Christ…. born again believers.

By the “coming” of our lord Jesus Christ AND “gathering together” unto Him (2 things) coming and gathering ….addressed to born again believers of the church of God.


2Th2:2 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] Lord is at hand.

Just as today, there were those spreading false information including → that the day of the Lord is taking place right now.

The word Christ should be translated Lord. All critical Greek text read Lord.

KJV/NKJV is the only common version that has Christ. Any reference to the Lords Day or Day of the Lord is referencing the tribulation period.



2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come the departure (hē apostasia) and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

In order to not be deceived,…..we need to be aware that there is a departure first.

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.


2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Remember (dudes) brethren…. I went over this stuff with you…Paul had previously told them in 1Th 1:9&10, 1Th 2:19, 1Th 4:13-18, 1Th 5:1-11



2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

withholdeth …holds back …detains

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth= witholdeth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Letteth is the same word as withholdeth.. (katechō)

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

And then ….when? ….When that which detains is gone….taken out of the way …departed. ….Once light is gone …darkness takes free reign.
It's a departure from the faith.

To fall away, apostasy, means to depart from Christ, to serve other gods.

Paul plainly stated the resurrection and rapture happens at His coming.
 
Oct 31, 2015
2,290
588
113
#53
I continually hear of the falling away of believers before Christ’s return….Hopefully this will clarify that misconception….It is not a falling away …but a departure……We be gone, baby.

A look at the word hē apostasia …translated in verse 2:3 as a falling away which has been wrongly understood as a falling away of the faithful…(turning unfaithful) believers….but that is not how this reads..




2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come the departure (hē apostasia) and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

In order to not be deceived,…..we need to be aware that there is a departure first.

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.


2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Remember (dudes) brethren…. I went over this stuff with you…Paul had previously told them in 1Th 1:9&10, 1Th 2:19, 1Th 4:13-18, 1Th 5:1-11



2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

withholdeth …holds back …detains

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth= witholdeth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Letteth is the same word as withholdeth.. (katechō)

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

And then ….when? ….When that which detains is gone….taken out of the way …departed. ….Once light is gone …darkness takes free reign.

The resurrection and rapture occur at His coming.




For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:15


  • that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep


As we all plainly see, Paul made it abundantly clear that the resurrection and rapture, occur at His coming, in which those who are alive and remain (Rapture) are gathered together with the the dead in Christ (Resurrection).



So when we look at 2 Thessalonians 2, it doesn’t change.


Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. 2 Thessalonians 2:1


  • the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him


Our gathering together to Him is the resurrection and rapture, that plainly occurs at His coming.


Why are you trying to change the order of things from 1 Thessalonians4 and 2 Thessalonians 2 ?



The coming of the Lord is when the resurrection and rapture take place.





JPT
 

Edify

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2021
1,568
661
113
#54
That may be so. But there are huge numbers who are saying they are "Christians" but are not really so. And that is what the apostasy is all about.
No, it isn't. EVERY epistle is written to the church mostly about the church. No sinner can fall away, because they're already in sin.
 

Ted01

Well-known member
May 14, 2022
1,055
448
83
#55
No, it isn't. EVERY epistle is written to the church mostly about the church. No sinner can fall away, because they're already in sin.
Forgive the intrusion to your convo... but are you suggesting that real, born-again Christians don't sin, ever?
 

Edify

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2021
1,568
661
113
#56
Forgive the intrusion to your convo... but are you suggesting that real, born-again Christians don't sin, ever?
NO. We are born in sin & our flesh will sin till we die.
 
Aug 2, 2021
7,317
2,048
113
#57
I continually hear of the falling away of believers before Christ’s return….Hopefully this will clarify that misconception….It is not a falling away …but a departure……We be gone, baby.

A look at the word hē apostasia …translated in verse 2:3 as a falling away which has been wrongly understood as a falling away of the faithful…(turning unfaithful) believers….but that is not how this reads..

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away” and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;



First understand that…. The English version prior to King James version.. translated apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as departing. The King James or authorized version was the first to translate apostasia as falling away.

Jerome's Latin translation of the vulgate around 400 AD, translate the Greek apostasia as Latin discessio ….meaning departure. The Tyndale Bible 1534, the Geneva Bible, and the Cramer Bible first published in 1537, all translated apostasia as departed ….these versions all preceded the King James version printed in 1611.

What happened with KJV …we don’t really know….. but one of the fatal mistakes the translators made was in failing to take into consideration the definite article (the) before the word apostasia which appears in the Greek text. The article may be used to point out an object, the identity of which is defined by some previous reference made to it in the context…. The translators of the Authorized KJ Version looked for the definition of the word in the subsequent context…. whereas the Greek article points here to a previous context…. namely to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air and the gathering together of the Saints to Him.

We need to look at this from the Greek point of view, not the English, if we are to discover the reason that the article is used….

the usage of the article draws our attention to the identity and special significance of this particular departure. The Greeks do not need the article to make the noun definite as used in English. In the Greek a substantive is definite without the article……The article originally came from the demonstrative pronoun such as “this” or “that” …. which calls attention with special emphasis to a designated object. Its function is to point out an object or draw attention to it….. It is used with a word that makes the word stand out distinctly. Whenever the Greeks used “the” article, it points out individual identity…. and it marks a specific object of thought.

The Greeks used the article with infinitives, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and clauses …..or even with whole sentences….. We do not have a corresponding English usage or anything even remotely similar. When the article (= the) appears in Greek ….it always signals some special significance. And we need to look at the matter from the Greek point of view, not the English, if we are to discover the reason that the article is used.

Apostasia = departure. The cognitive neuter noun apostasia occurs three times Mat 5:31, Mat 19:7 & Mar 10:4…. of divorce, the departure of a husband and wife from each other. The word used here is a feminine noun with only one other occurrence in the New Testament… Act 21:21 regarding a departure from Moses… that is, a departure from the mosaic law. The departure referred to here in 2Thes 2 is explained in verses 2:6-8 of 2Thesas the removal of a restraint.

2Th 2:1 begins this discussion with regard to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering up together with him. This verse in chapter 2 …taken together with the previous verses in the first chapter suggest that the departure refers to the gathering together of holy ones… which precedes both the appearance of the lawless one and the day of the Lord. Therefore, we can conclude that the Bible definition of the word, apostasia is departure.

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II Thes 2:1-8

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

Brethren indicates Paul is talking to those in the body of Christ…. born again believers.

By the “coming” of our lord Jesus Christ AND “gathering together” unto Him (2 things) coming and gathering ….addressed to born again believers of the church of God.


2Th2:2 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] Lord is at hand.

Just as today, there were those spreading false information including → that the day of the Lord is taking place right now.

The word Christ should be translated Lord. All critical Greek text read Lord.

KJV/NKJV is the only common version that has Christ. Any reference to the Lords Day or Day of the Lord is referencing the tribulation period.



2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come the departure (hē apostasia) and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

In order to not be deceived,…..we need to be aware that there is a departure first.

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.


2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

Remember (dudes) brethren…. I went over this stuff with you…Paul had previously told them in 1Th 1:9&10, 1Th 2:19, 1Th 4:13-18, 1Th 5:1-11



2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

withholdeth …holds back …detains

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth= witholdeth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

Letteth is the same word as withholdeth.. (katechō)

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

And then ….when? ….When that which detains is gone….taken out of the way …departed. ….Once light is gone …darkness takes free reign.
Dear Friend,

NEVER adulterate the Scripture.

Sanctification only in Truth = John ch17
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
26,074
13,778
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#58
No, it isn't. EVERY epistle is written to the church mostly about the church. No sinner can fall away, because they're already in sin.
You are just not getting it.
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
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#59
It's a departure from the faith.

To fall away, apostasy, means to depart from Christ, to serve other gods.

Paul plainly stated the resurrection and rapture happens at His coming.
Yes very true, but as you can see, evidenced by this thread, they are attempting to literally deceive people into believing the word apostasia means something other than its universally-accepted definition. In effect, that’s enough to change the Bible.

Don’t drink the pre-trib kool-aid, whatever you do.
 
Oct 31, 2015
2,290
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#60
Yes very true, but as you can see, evidenced by this thread, they are attempting to literally deceive people into believing the word apostasia means something other than its universally-accepted definition. In effect, that’s enough to change the Bible.

Don’t drink the pre-trib kool-aid, whatever you do.

Pre-trib rapture doctrine is not from God.


The resurrection and rapture happen at His coming.


For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:15



The antichrist is also destroyed at His coming.


And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:8




JPT