Is 2 Thessalonians 2 Referring To the Rapture
It is a common argument among believers today that 2 Thes 2:3 is saying that in order for the rapture to happen the falling away and the man of sin must first be revealed. Those who hold this view tend to believe that the rapture will not occur until the middle or the end of the 7 year tribulation(70th week of Daniel, the time of Jacobs trouble, the day of His wrath etc...). What I would like to show here is that this is not the case but in fact proves that the rapture will happen prior to the 7 year tribulation.
When reading this you will notice verses 7 and 8 are basically repeating what verses 1-3 already said.
1) "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you" - NKJV
Verse one shows 2 events...
a) the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ... this is the Second Coming
b) our gathering together to Him... this is the Rapture
2) "not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come." - NKJV
In verse two you see the phrase "the day of Christ" NKJV or "the day of the Lord" NIV. I believe this day starts at the Rapture and then includes the Tribulation and Second Coming of Christ.
The saints at this time where going through persecution. It appears that the saints were troubled because they thought that the Rapture had occurred and they where in the Tribulation period.
3) "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition" - NKJV
In verse three the phrase "falling away" the original greek is apostasia. Some contend that the original Greek was apo which can mean a departure.... which then would be referring to the rapture. So if the latter is true the verse would be saying that the Second Coming will not come unless the Rapture comes first and then the Antichrist is revealed. This seems to be exactly what verse 7 and 8 are also saying...
or it is saying that the Rapture will not come unless the apostacy comes first, and then the man of sin is revelaed... Notice we have "then" instead of "the". We did this because in verse 8 this is what it uses.
7) "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way." - NKJV
8) "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" - NKJV
In verse seven we see something really interesting. It says "until he is taken". The key word here is "taken". The greek word for this is ginomai (G1096). Possible meanings are:
a) arise be assembled
b) be married (Romans 7:3; 7:4)
So what is verse seven and eight saying. It is saying that He, the Holy Spirit, will restrain the Antichrist from being revealed until He, the Holy Spirit, is taken (assembed or married) out of the way AND THEN the Antichrist will be revealed.
Assembled and be married sure sounds like the rapture to me. The Antichrist will not be revealed until the Church/Holy Spirit is raptured(married/assembed).
So do you see the parellel between the first three verses and verses seven and eight? Here what I see the links are:
| Event | 1-3 | 7-8 |
|---|---|---|
| Rapture | Falling Away (apostasia or apo) | Taken (ginomai) |
| AntiChrist Revealed | the man of sin is revealed | and then the lawless one will be revealed |
| Second Coming | whom the Lord will consume with the breadth of His mouth and detstroy will the brightness of his coming |
After studying the scriptures more closely you will see that the rapture appears to happen before the 7 year tribulation/70th week of Daniel.
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