The Rapture Question Answered, Part 2

I received an email newsletter on April 28, 2014 which contained an excellent article by John Little about the Rapture. As I understand his article, he does not believe in the Pre-tribulation Rapture position.

In Part 1 of this series on The Rapture Question Answered, I began a consideration of what Mr. Little has written at the very beginning of his article by examining 2 Thessalonians 2:1. I asserted that Paul is discussing the Rapture itself in verse 1.

Paul wrote:

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

He is writing about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Just what “coming” is Paul speaking of? He tells us directly, the coming that pertains to “our gathering unto him.” This “gathering unto him” is a direct reference to what Paul had written to the Thessalonians in his first letter to them in 1 Thessalonians 4:17,

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Our “gathering together unto him” takes place at the Pre-tribulation Rapture Paul is discussing in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where he spoke of those which “are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” That, surely, is the event to which Paul refers in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, “and by our gathering together unto him.”

It is very necessary in understanding this subject of the Rapture that we not leave out or skip over information God has placed in His Word, the Bible, that directly pertains to the subject. Therefore, we must consider and examine most carefully 2 Thessalonians 2:2 before we consider the first Scripture Mr. John Little introduces into his exposition of the Rapture, which is 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

2Th 2:2 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 is at hand.

Paul found himself in a most interesting situation. The Thessalonians posed a question to Paul about the Rapture and its relation to other prophetic events Paul taught them about when he was with them. But some other teachers came along after Paul, claiming to teach according to or by the Spirit of God, or by a spirit-communication through a spiritual gift claiming to be additional divine revelation. Further teaching had been presented to the Thessalonians by teachers claiming to have further word from Paul. The false teachers even resorted to the use of a counterfeit letter purporting to be from Paul. The false teaching claimed that the Day of the Lord was then at that very time present. Paul firmly denies that they were already in “the Day of the Lord.” He denied that the Day of the Lord was now present.

Now just how could someone convince the Thessalonians of these false doctrines? They clearly pretended to supernatural revelation; they claimed to teach new word from Paul more up-to-date than what they had learned when Paul was last present with them, and even more up-to-date than the letter Paul had last sent them. The false teachers even buttressed their teachings by forging a letter, “as from Paul,” to lend support to their doctrine.

Now think closely about what the Thessalonians HAD to believe in order to have raised a question about these (new, false) teachings presented to them. The false teachers taught that the Day of the Lord was now present.

If this were the case, the Thessalonians would have to believe that the Rapture had already taken place, as well as the resurrection that was to accompany it of the righteous dead in Christ, WITHOUT THEM KNOWING OR NOTICING IT HAD HAPPENED.

That plainly indicates that Paul had taught the Thessalonian Church that the Rapture would take place in a manner that was secret and unobserved by the world.

If Paul had taught them otherwise, they surely could not have believed the false teachers who said these events had already taken place, for surely the Thessalonians knew they would not be left behind when the Rapture took place.

Now consider what Paul next teaches as a corrective to the false teaching they had received. Paul by divine revelation tells us more about the order of future prophetic events in the next verse, 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

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

Notice Paul’s stern caution: “Let no man deceive you by any means.” Paul uses a stronger word for “deceive” here, according to the best evidence in modern critical Greek texts. The word is the same word used in 1 Timothy 2:4, where Eve was greatly deceived, while Adam was not deceived (using a weaker term for Adam’s deception). It would be as though Paul warns us not to be super-deceived in this matter by being convinced that the Day of the Lord, and the Great Tribulation, must come before the Rapture. NO! Paul tells us that before the Day of the Lord takes place, three events he is speaking of must happen first: (1) the Rapture, 2 Thessalonians 2:1; (2) the great apostasy or falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3); and (3) the appearance of the man of sin, the son of perdition, generally known as the Antichrist.

These three things must all take place in that order BEFORE the Day of the Lord comes upon the earth. That is what Paul argues here. Paul considers the view of the false teachers, who argued the Day of the Lord was then present–before the Antichrist and the falling away and the Rapture–was outright heresy, and serious heresy at that. Understanding that Paul considered this view heresy is necessitated by his stern warning, “Let no man deceive you by any means,” using the stronger Greek word for “deceive.”

Those who today teach that the Rapture takes place after the Great Tribulation are guilty of teaching the very heresy Paul wrote to correct in this book of 2 Thessalonians.

For those who wish to study this subject further, consult the cross references for 2 Thessalonians 2:2, 3 as I have assembled them below:

2 Thessalonians 2:2. soon. or, quickly. Gr. tacheōs (S#5030g, Lk 14:21). **Ga 1:6. shaken. Gr. saleuō (S#4531g, Mt 11:7). Is 7:2. 8:12, 13. 26:3. Mt 24:6. Mk 13:7. Lk 21:9, 19. Jn 14:1, 27. Ac 2:25g. 17:13g. 20:23, 24. Ep 5:6. 1 Th 3:3. troubled. Gr. throeomai (S#2360g). Mt 24:6g. Mk 13:7g. +*Ep 4:14. *He 13:9. neither. FS129, +Ezk 34:4. by spirit. or, spirit-communication. Gr. pneuma, +Mt 8:16. FS121A4, +Ezk 37:1. By Metonymy for those who claimed to be depositories of spiritual gifts. All such claims were to be closely scrutinized (Hogg & Vine, p. 244). Supposed messages and revelations that were untrue. Dt 13:1-5. +**Je 23:25-28n. Mic 2:11. *Mt 24:4, 5, 24. Ac 11:12. +*1 Cor 14:29. 1 Th 5:19, 21. *2 P 2:1-3. **1 J 4:1, 2. Re 19:20. by word. A pretended verbal message from the missionaries (see Hogg & Vine, p. 244). ver. 2 Th 2:15. 1 Cor 12:8. 14:26, 29. 1 Th 5:2. nor by letter. This counterfeit letter was not from Paul, but claimed to be. +2 S 11:15. +*Ga 1:7, 8n. 1 Th 4:15. 2 P 3:4-8. as from us. Thus counterfeit, containing false and deceptive teaching that they were already in the Day of the Lord. Perhaps after this Paul authenticated his letters with his own signature (2 Th 3:17. 1 Cor 16:21. Col 4:18). Jn 5:31. 8:17. Ro 16:26. **Ga 1:6-9. Ep 3:8. day of Christ. or, day of the Lord. “Of Christ” has very little support from MSS., and none from ancient versions (F. W. Grant). Virtually all modern editors of the Greek text read “day of the Lord” here (Is 13:6. +*Am 5:18. Zp 1:14. +**1 Th 5:2. +*2 P 3:10). Paul firmly denies that the Thessalonians were in “the Day of the Lord.” +*Is 2:12. +Ezk 30:3. Lk 17:24. Ac 3:20. +*Ac 17:31. Ro 2:5. *+1 Cor 1:8. +*1 Cor 3:13. 5:5. 2 Cor 1:14. +*Ep 4:30. Phil 1:6, 10. 2:16. +*1 Th 5:2. is at hand. or, is now present. Gr. enistēmi (S#1764g, Ro 8:38). Ro 8:38. %+*Ro 13:12. 1 Cor 3:22g. 7:26g. Ga 1:4g. Phil 4:5. 2 Tim 2:18. 3:1g. He 9:9g. %+*1 P 4:7. Such a belief on the part of the Thessalonians necessarily implies that they correctly understood the Rapture and its associated resurrection of the righteous dead in Christ to be an event which will be secret and unobserved by the world (Peters, Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 2, pp. 316, 317), otherwise they could not have thought these events already took place, the error Paul is correcting. Mt 24:3-6, 14. +**Mt 25:19, 31-34, 41. +*Lk 19:11. Ac 17:31. 1 Cor 11:26. 15:24. He 2:8. 2 P 3:13. *Re 11:15-18. 22:10.

2 Th 2:3. Let no man. +Je 29:8. See on +*Mt 24:4-6. +*Mk 4:24. +*1 Cor 6:9. +1 Cor 11:16. 2 Cor 11:3. +*Ep 4:14. +Ep 5:6. Phil 2:5, 8. +*Col 1:23. +*Col 2:7, 18. *2 P 2:1. deceive. Gr. ἐξαπατήσῃ, (S#1818g, Ro 7:11), exapataō, +1 Tim 2:14. Paul uses the stronger of two similar terms [used together at +1 Tim 2:14, where Adam was not deceived (Gr. ηπατηθη, S#538g, apataō), but Eve was greatly deceived, ἐξαπατηθεῖσα, exapataō, S#1818g]. Thus, Paul considers this error a full or “super deception,” a heresy. To be mistaken on this point is no minor matter, for Paul uses the stronger term. Paul denies that that believers of this age will enter the period we know as The Day of the Lord, a period which includes the Great Tribulation. Paul’s repeated and emphatic statement that his message is one of comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:18. 5:11) would certainly mark the view that they were in, or that we will ever be in the Day of the Lord as mistaken. Paul’s message of comfort corresponds exactly with the teaching of Christ on this subject (+1 Thessalonians 4:15n, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord”), a statement Paul uses to mark what Jesus taught specifically during His earthly ministry, a reference to John 11:25, 26; 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words,” corresponds with the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” and John 14:3, “…I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also,” recorded in what is perhaps the most comforting chapter in the Bible! +*Je 29:8. 37:9. Mk 13:5. Lk 21:8. Ro 7:11g. 16:18g. 1 Cor 3:18g. 2 Cor 11:3g. Ga 6:7. +1 Tim 2:14. Re 12:9. by any means. or, in any wise. Literally, according to no (Gr. mēdeis) way. A double negative for emphasis (CB). Ro 3:2. Phil 1:18. 3:11. for. or, because. 2 Th 1:3. that day. FS63D1, +Mt 16:7. The day Paul is specifying is NOT the Rapture, but the Day of the Lord. Paul was answering the misunderstanding that the Thessalonians had because of false teaching. +Je 30:7. not come. Paul instructs on the basis of his teaching regarding the Rapture, “our gathering together unto him,” that they must not be deceived into believing that they must enter the Day of the Lord. They could not be in the Day of the Lord in any case because that Day is preceded by “a falling away first” and the revealing of “that man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), events which had not yet transpired. except. or, if…not. FS184C, Mt 4:9. *1 Tim 4:1-3. *2 Tim 3:1-3. 4:3, 4. a. or, the. falling away. or, apostasy. Gr. apostasia, *S#646g, only here and Ac 21:21. The notion that the word “apostasy” (Greek), rendered “falling away” here, is a reference to the Rapture is a gross misunderstanding of the flow of Paul’s argument in this passage, and is absolutely not well supported linguistically. Paul echoes in his instruction what is stated in Daniel 12:4. Gesenius in his Hebrew lexicon (page 1001b and 1002a) points out that “to and fro” (Strong Number 7751 in the Hebrew lexicon) differs from another related Hebrew word only by the difference of “s” being read “sh.” If read “sh,” the word would be Strong Number 7750 in the Hebrew lexicon, defined by Gesenius as “swerve, fall away, apostatize.” Thus this alternative reading would suggest that in the last days apostasy would be rampant. Also at Daniel 12:4, “knowledge” may instead be read as “wickedness.” This reading is supported by the Septuagint, and with reference to the Hebrew text, is a matter of the difference between the Hebrew letters for “d” and “r,” daleth and resh, which are often confused. If the alternative readings “apostatize” and “wickedness” are correct, the passage in Daniel 12:4 becomes strikingly similar to the New Testament prophecies of Paul found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5. For the confused believers Paul was instructing, the Rapture could NOT be one of the signs which must appear first before the Day of the Lord appears. No Christian believer of this age would be here to witness it as one of the two signs Paul argues must take place first before the Day of the Lord is at hand, or already present (2 Thessalonians 2:2), as those believers were misled by false teachers to believe. Recall that the false teachers were teaching that the Thessalonians were already in the Day of the Lord and that the resurrection and Rapture were already past, the cause of their concern, and the reason Paul wrote to correct this heresy. Paul argues the Rapture had not taken place yet and they could not be in the Day of the Lord for two things must first transpire before the onset of the Day of the Lord: (1) the falling away or apostasy; (2) the revelation of the man of sin, 2 Thessalonians 2:3.Therefore, in this passage, the Rapture is mentioned before (2 Thessalonians 2:1) the time of great tribulation that constitutes the Day of the Lord (a better reading from the Greek text than “day of Christ” in the King James Version, 2 Thessalonians 2:2), consistent with the chronology of events supporting the Pre-tribulation Rapture. Jsh 22:22g (rebellion), *Jsh 22:23g. 2 Ch 29:19g (trespassed). Je 2:19g (forsaken). ver. 2 Th 2:5. +*Da 11:35. **Da 12:4n. Ac 7:39-41. 21:21g. **1 Th 1:10n. He 3:12. 10:39. Re 9:1. first. FS96E5, +Jn 1:15. Before the Day of the Lord (Hogg & Vine, p. 247). man of sin. ver. **2 Th 2:8-10. +*Ps 89:22. %Pr 24:5. %Is 53:3. +*Da 7:24, 25. 8:24, 25. +*Da 11:36, 40n, 41n. **Mic 5:5, 6. Zc 9:13. 11:15. Mt 18:7. Ro 6:16. **+1 J 2:18. 3:4. Re 13:5, 6, 11, etc. Re 19:20. be revealed. Gr. apokaluptō (S#601g, Mt 10:26). ver. 2 Th 2:6. 2 Th 1:7. the son. FS108B44, 1 S 20:21. Titles of the Antichrist (**Mic 5:5n). +*Ps 89:22. +Jn 17:12. Re 17:8, 11. of perdition. Gr. apōleia (S#684g, Mt 7:13). Spoken in reference to his destiny. Like olethros (2 Th 1:9), apōleia is a general term for disaster, material and spiritual, temporal and eternal. In no one of its NT occurrences is the idea of cessation of being necessarily involved (see Hogg and Vine, pp. 248, 249). Ac 1:25. Phil 3:19. +2 P 3:7. Re 17:8, 11.