Page 57 - Eschatology - Student Ebook
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Since the Holy Spirit indwells the church, the body of Christ, the removal of the Holy Spirit's restraining
work would necessitate the removal of the church. The Holy Spirit will still be present to convict
unbelievers of their need to believe in Christ. But His restraint of evil will be removed.
11. Paul had written in his previous letter about the Rapture in 1 Thess. 4. According to 2 Thessalonians
2:1-4, it seems a second letter was necessary to clear up confusion because someone had forged a letter
in Paul’s name telling them that the Day of the Lord had begun. The phrase “the day of the Lord”
generally refers to the end times beginning with the Tribulation period and including the Second Coming
of Christ and the Millennial kingdom.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 (NIV84)1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being
gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some
prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has
already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will
oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets
himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
According to verse 2, Paul understands that they were troubled by this false information as they should
have been, had it been true. It is obvious that the Thessalonian church was alarmed that the “day of the
Lord” signifying the Tribulation period had arrived when they had expected the Rapture to occur first.
This alone tells us that the early church was taught, by the Apostle Paul, that they would NOT be going
through the “Day of the Lord”, referring to the Tribulation period. Paul taught that the Rapture would
take them off the earth before the Tribulation period began.
12. The original meaning of the Greek word “apostasia” in 2 Thess. 2:1-4 is evidence for the Rapture
occurring before the Tribulation period. The Rapture must come before the antichrist is revealed.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 (NIV84)1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being
gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some
prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has
already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will
oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets
himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
What does “the rebellion” in NIV84 and ESV (translated “the falling away” in NKJV, and “apostasy” in
NASV) really mean. The first seven English Bible translations of “apostasia” all most appropriately
rendered the noun as either “the departure” or “the departing”. Extensive studies in the Scriptures
confirm that this word in almost every case means “departure from” meaning a physical departure from
a certain place. Just the root word alone denotes movement (“apo”) away from the surface of an object
(“stasis”). It cannot mean an abstract departure from faith in this context. The facts give a staggering
amount of weight that this “departure” is the very physical rapture itself, the departure of the church
from the earth. Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that this “departure” must occur BEFORE the
Man of Sin is revealed.
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