A RESPONSE TO
OPPOSERS OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE
Text:
2 Thessalonians 2: 1 – 12 (all text reading taken from the KJV)
The
Context
First,
we must understand the issue which Paul seeks to address in this context.
During Paul's day, some had forged a letter in Paul's name, claiming that the
"day of the Lord had already taken place (See 2 Thess. 2: 2, 3), referring
to the destruction of the temple and the burning down of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Such false teaching unsettled many in the Church, bringing discomfort to them.
Therefore, Paul had to clarify those lies, to clear the air and correct the
misleading information or misconception that had been spread by those claiming
that the "day of the Lord" had already occurred. He had to refute
those false teachings, so as to put a stop to the trouble it was creating
within the Churches at Thessalonica. To make his message very clear, the
apostle had to separate two very distinct events; "the gathering away of
the Church unto the Lord," and "the day of Christ," also
referred to as "the day of the Lord" in some other Biblical passages
(Joel 1: 15; 2: 1, 11, 31; 3: 14; Zech. 14: 1 – 5).
The
Church Would've Been Gone Before The Tribulation and The "Day of The
Lord"
From
what we find Paul explaining, first, he makes it very clear that the second
coming of the Lord will occur in two phases. The first phase will be His coming
to rapture His Church away or out of the world. In this first phase of the
Lord's second coming, He will not touch the earth, but will simply appear in
the Heavenlies to call up the Church. This Paul refers to as "our
gathering together unto the Lord" (vs. 1, emphasis mine). On the
other hand, the second phase which is what he refers to as "the day of
Christ" (vs. 2), which he says will not take place unless there is a
"falling away" first (vs. 3). In this second phase the Lord will
completely descend upon the earth and stand upon the mount of Olives, as
revealed in the prophecy of Zechariah (Zech. 14: 1 – 5). By this distinction,
Paul points it clearly that "our gathering together unto the Lord"
and "the day of Christ," are two separate or distinct events, that
will not take place at the same time. The former is to precede the latter.
Notice
that Paul goes on to reveal that "the day of the Lord" will not come
unless there is a "falling away" first. This is very indicative. It
speaks of the events that will precede the "day of the Lord" after we
(the present Church Believers) have been "gathered together unto the
Lord," ahead of the "falling away" that will precede "the
day of Christ." Notice that Paul specifies that the second phase of the
second coming of Jesus Christ which he refers to as "the day of
Christ" will not happen until the "falling away" occurs.
There's
something worth knowing here. The Greek word translated as "falling
away" is "apostasia" from which we get the English word
apostasy. This word apostasia occurs only here and in Acts 21: 21, where
it is also translated as "to forsake." The "falling away"
or apostasy, referred to in 2 Thess. 2: 3, does not in any way refer to
Believers in Christ who depart from the faith, otherwise it would mean that the
assurance Jesus gave that none of His own will perish, would be made null and
void (John 10: 28, 29). To understand what is here meant by the apostasy (i.e.
falling away), the Greek text has the definite article "the
apostasia" (Bagster), referring to that particular "falling
away" or apostasy that will precede the tribulation days that will
occur between the rapture of the Church and "the day of Christ"
speaking of the second phase of His second coming (Matt. 24: 4 – 31; Rev. 6: 1
– 19: 21).
The word apostasia as we know means; to depart, departure, rebellion, to rise
against, to turn away from, revolt, and so forth. But what many do not realize
is that this apostasy as I have mentioned above does not refer to the falling
away of Believers in Christ, but by the use of that word in that context, Paul
speaking of a rebellion, or turning against GOD, and all that is about Him.
This rebellion will be a total and intense global revolt against GOD, resulting
from people's hatred for anything that has to do with Christ, and it will take
place under the instigation of the man whom Paul refers to as "the man of
sin," "the son of perdition" (2 Thess. 2: 3, 4), "that
wicked one" (2 Thess. 2: 8). Only those who will be forever lost will
follow in that revolt against GOD and against His Christ (2 Thess. 2: 10 – 12).
No Believer of the present Church age will be around on earth to witness or be
involved in such tribulation, and that's why the apostle already reassured the
Believers to not be shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter, etc. because before the "falling away" which he
speaks of shall occur, the Church of today shall have been raptured (See also 1
Thess. 4: 13 – 18; 1 Cor. 15: 51 – 58).
It is
not unlikely that immediately after the rapture of the Church takes place,
prior the "falling away," there will be an awakening among the Jews
and few people of other nations, who will begin, or if you permit me to say,
attempt to begin proclaiming the second phase of the return of Christ, and
there will be miraculous signs confirming their proclamation as prophesied by
Joel the prophet (Joel 2: 28, 29; Acts 2: 16 – 21). This will be the completion
of Joel's prophecy, which began at the commencement of the Church age in Acts
of the Apostles, but which later part will find its completion just before
"the day of Christ" commences, during which there will be a revival
of the Jewish nation, triggered by the rapture of the present Church age Believers.
But the rest of the world will become terribly hardened and begin destroying
those Jews and a few of the people of other nations proclaiming the second
phase of the return of Christ. The death of these tribulation saints, if we may
call them that is what's spoken of in the following passages of the Book of
Revelations (Rev. 6: 9 – 11; 7: 1 – 17; 12: 17). The great whore spoken of in
Rev. 17, which is mystery Babylon revived, will destroy multitudes of the
tribulation revivalists or saints during the second three and a half years of
Daniel's seventieth week (Dan. 9: 26, 27). During this time the antichrist will
impose a ban on the worship of GOD, referred to in Daniel as sacrifice and
oblation (Dan. 9: 27), the "he" in that verse speaks of the antichrist.
Those who fail to heed the proscription of GOD worship will begin to be killed
commencing from that second half of the seventieth week spoken of by Daniel.
Remember, like I earlier mentioned, these so-called tribulation saints that
will be affected by this saga, are not Believers (Born Again folks) of this
present Church age who missed the rapture as some foolishly speculate. They are
primarily Jews and a few people of other nations who would have taken a stand
for Christ, after having been awakened to the truth following the rapture of
the Church. They are the ones here spoken of, not us in the Church today. No
Believer today will miss the rapture, whether dead or alive. The message of the
rapture should never scare you as a Believer but bring you comfort, as Paul
says "wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:
18).
He
Who Now Letteth Will Let, Until He Be Taken Out of The Way
This
statement was made by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2: 7. Some have speculated that
the "he" of this verse is referring to the Holy Spirit, that it
cannot be a reference to the Church as the "he," because the Church
has been widely believed to be the "bride of Christ" owing to the
misreading of what Paul says in Ephesians 5: 33, and that the Church is spoken
of as a virgin, a woman, and that it is referred to by feminine pronoun. But
contrary to all of such assumptions, the Church is never referred to by feminine
pronouns. never symbolized as a woman and never called the bride of Christ.
This is because since the Church is referred to as the Body of Christ (1 Cor.
12: 12, 13, 27; Eph. 1: 22, 23), and Jesus is the Head of the Church (Col. 1:
18, 24), and being that it takes both head and body coming together to make a
complete person, then it implies that both Jesus and the Church (His Body)
combined make up a complete man. Paul says the Church together with Christ
makes up one New Man (Eph. 2: 14, 15). More also, the Church is called a man
(Eph. 4: 13). Secondly, the Bible tells us that as Christ is so are we (the
Church) in this world (1 Jhn. 4: 17), also because Jesus Christ is masculine,
it would be absurd to represent the Church, which is His Body as feminine, for
as He is in spirit, so are we, says John the apostle. Comparing the Church i.e.
the Body of Christ to a woman, a lady, a virgin, or a bride, would be
unscriptural.
Furthermore,
the "he" in that verse of 2 Thess. 2: 7 could not be referring to the
Holy Spirit, because nowhere in the entire New Testament are we told or
suggested that the Holy Spirit will leave the earth during the rapture of the
Church, or by any other divine event. Also, the "he" cannot be a
reference to Satan, because verse of 2 Thess. 2: 7 informs us that the
"he" spoken of is the one restraining or holding back the power of
lawlessness. I mean it is unthinkable that Satan who is the prince of lawlessness
would be the one holding back the same lawlessness he seeks to bring upon
people. Such a thought is absurd. Jesus says a kingdom cannot stand against
itself, lest it will self-destruct (Mk. 3: 24). Therefore, the only option this
leaves us is the Church.
The
Church through the preaching and teaching of the Grace Gospel of Christ, in the
power of the Holy Spirit is the hinderer of lawlessness and is therefore, the
"he" referred to in 2 Thess, 2: 7, and will continue to hinder
lawlessness until "he" (the Church) is taken out of the way i.e. out
of the world supernaturally, and then the lawless or wicked one shall be
disclosed, who himself shall be vanquished seven years later, by Jesus Christ
(vs. 7, 8).
This is
the irrefutable proof that the rapture of the present Church will take place
just before Daniel's seventieth week and the tribulation of Rev. 6: 1 – 19, 21.
Therefore, anyone claiming to have received a different message contrary to
what Paul has clearly outlined in 2 Thessalonians 2: 1 – 12, is False.
Case
concluded!
If this
teaching article has blessed you, why not send a gift?
.png)
