My Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew have grown rusty, though I do periodically refresh my Greek studies, and I still remember quite a bit of it. (I don't attempt my own translations anymore because I know which translations I trust - primarily the NET Bible but others as well.) I also have all of my resources from my studies and use them frequently. The lexical form of the word translated "falling away" in 2Thessalonians 2:3 is ἀποστασία. If you do not have access to a Greek/English lexicon, I have included the entry from Walter Bauer's 2nd Edition Greek/English lexicon below. You can read how the word was understood at the time of Jesus and before. (I recommend BDAG for a more in-depth look, but I do not currently have access to it.)
The word "ἀποστασία" does not refer to the rapture of the church. Andy Woods is one of the teachers who teaches that. He also appears to teach that the "dead in Christ" are unfaithful Christians who have stopped believing. They are raptured before the faithful Christians. If he truly believes that, I consider him to be completely unreliable.
I need to add this before I continue. Those who claim that the apostasy is the rapture, such as Andy Woods, point out that the word apostasía (Strong's G 646) is derived from Strong's G 868 - aphístēmi, to leave, to depart, and that aphístēmi is derived from G 575 /apó, "away from" and G 2476 /histémi, "stand") – properly, departure (implying desertion); apostasy – literally, "a leaving, from a previous standing." The Greek word ἀφίστημι (aphistémi) is a verb meaning a physical departure, but word meanings are determined by their semantic range and how they are used in context. Pointing to the verb aphistémi and applying it to the noun apostasía, is a fallacy known as the cognate/root fallacy. For example, the derivative noun, ἀποστάσιον (apostasion) is a bill of divorce. It does not contain the meaning of a physical departure and neither does the noun apostasía. In context, scripture always uses apostasía as a religious abandonment, a rebellion, a defection, disobedience, a revolt.
Here is the entry from Walter Bauer's Greek/English lexicon, 2nd Edition. It lists how this word was used at the time of Christ and earlier.
ἀποστασία, -ας, ἡ
Rebellion, abandonment in religious sense, apostasy.
Joshua 22:22 (From Greek Septuagint) “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion (ἀποστασία) or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day."
2 Chronicles 29:19 "We have prepared and consecrated all the articles that King Ahaz removed in his unfaithfulness (ἀποστασία) while he was king. They are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
1 Maccabees 2:15 (an outside source, non-canonical) "In the meanwhile the king's officers, such as compelled the people to revolt, (ἀποστασία) came into the city Modin, to make them sacrifice."
Acts 21:21, ἀποστασίαν (the noun apostasion - used as a divorce, a bill of divorce.)
"And they are informed of you, that you teach all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake (ἀποστασίαν) Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs."
None of the ancient sources use the noun "ἀποστασία" as "taking away" or a physical departure. It is always a falling away from faith, a rebellion, a revolt, unfaithfulness, disobedience, but it is not a physical departure (a rapture) as Andy Woods teaches. Rebellion, unfaithfulness, and disobedience are not rewarded in scripture. The rapture is a reward. Jesus said in Luke 21:36 to, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." It appears that Andy Woods teaches that the unfaithful and backslidden are the "dead in Christ," and they shall be rescued from Tribulation even before the faithful. That completely contradicts what Jesus taught in Luke 21:36. It is also a complete mishandling of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 in context.
As for 2 Thessalonians 2, we see that Paul was writing to assure the Thessalonians that they had not missed the rapture and were not in the Tribulation. It becomes clear as we read that the “Day of Christ” and the Tribulation are the same things here. We know this is the case because everything Paul says about the “Day of Christ” in this chapter happens during the Tribulation—such as the antichrist demanding worship and declaring himself to be god. We see Tribulation events in several places in the Bible, especially in the book of Revelation and parts of the Olivet Discourse. (Matthew 24 and parallel passages that took place on the Mount of Olives.)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 we read, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (the rapture), 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 (the Tribulation) is at hand, (has come). Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, (apostasy), and that man of sin be revealed, (the antichrist), the son of perdition; 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.
“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth (restrains) that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity (lawlessness) doth already work: only he who now letteth (hinders) will let, until he be taken out of the way. (He is frequently called the restrainer.) And then shall that Wicked (the antichrist) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, (the Word of God), but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
It is obvious in the passage that the Thessalonians were troubled by a letter purportedly from Paul that claimed the Day of Christ had come. (In other translations, such as the ESV or NET, it is translated as Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is spoken of throughout scripture and called by many names. In Revelation 6:16 it is called the Wrath of the Lamb.) The Thessalonians were “shaken in mind and troubled” by this report. Paul wrote to assure them that the letter was not from him and the claim was false. They were not to be shaken. Paul goes on to explain that the Day of Christ (the Tribulation) had not come. It is obvious that the letter they received contradicted what Paul had previously taught them. So what does this tell us? Why were they so shaken by a report that the Day of Christ, the Tribulation, had come, and how did that relate to the “gathering together?” To some extent, we have to put two and two together.
The interpretation that makes the most sense to me is that the Thessalonian believers thought they had missed the “gathering together” (the rapture). They believed the Tribulation (the Day of Christ or the Day of the Lord) had come, and that obviously contradicted what Paul had previously taught them. Paul wrote to assure them that the letter was untrue and not from him. They had not missed the “gathering together” because they were not witnessing the events of the Tribulation or the “Day of Christ.” Then he goes on to remind them what the “Day of Christ” would look like. Since they weren’t seeing any of those things, they could be assured that they were not in the Tribulation and had not missed the rapture.
But what about verse three? “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (the Tribulation) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, (apostasy), and that man of sin be revealed, (the antichrist), the son of perdition.”
If Paul had taught, and was teaching, that the church would not be raptured until after the antichrist was revealed, then why were these Thessalonian believers concerned that the Tribulation had started and the rapture had not occurred? They should have expected it if that was what Paul had previously taught. And if Paul were teaching in verse three that the church would not be raptured until after the antichrist was revealed, and the Tribulation was underway, then not only should the Thessalonians not have been upset, but they must have questioned why Paul contradicted himself in verse seven when he wrote that the antichrist would not be revealed until after the restrainer was removed. Wasn’t the Church, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the restrainer? If not for those problems, this would be a very straight forward passage. If not for those issues, I could confidently claim that the church will be here when the antichrist is revealed. That is an event that happens at the midpoint of the Tribulation.
However, the Thessalonians were upset, and the passage does talk about a restrainer and says the restrainer will be removed before the antichrist is revealed. Those two facts cover this passage in a question mark. But as Peter said, some parts of Paul’s letters are hard to understand, 2Peter 3:16.
So, who or what is the restrainer? Is it the Holy Spirit? Is it the Church indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Is it something else?
Angels are powerful, and some argue the restrainer is an angel, but I don’t believe it will be an angel. Michael, the most powerful angel in scripture, disputed Satan for the body of Moses, but would not even rebuke him. (Jude 1:9). At the end of this age, Michael will rise up to defend Israel. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Daniel 12:1.) Clearly, the restrainer is not Michael since he is not removed.
Gabriel is a powerful angel, but he could not withstand the Prince of Persia; only Michael was powerful enough to overcome that principality, Daniel 10:13, but we’ve already seen that Michael will not be removed. The activities of angels are stepped up at the end according to scripture. Not removed. An angel will preach the gospel during the Tribulation. (Revelation 14:6.) They will execute many of the judgments during the Tribulation, and we see numerous angels involved in world affairs throughout the book of Revelation. So angels do not appear to be candidates for the restrainer. They appear to be more active in human affairs than ever at the end. Not removed from them.
I believe the restrainer is either the Holy Spirit or the Church empowered by the Holy Spirit. Nothing else makes sense. Only God is powerful enough to restrain the ultimate supernatural evil. Fallen man can’t do it. Man is manipulated by evil—not in control of it. In addition, this “mystery of lawlessness” has been restrained since Paul’s day. That also rules out a mortal man or the shifting seats of government. Those things are temporary. The restrainer is something that has been in existence since the Church Age. Again, that only leaves the Holy Spirit or the Church itself. If the restrainer is the Church, then the Church will be taken away before the antichrist is revealed. If the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, then the Church will still be taken away before the antichrist is revealed because we are assured He will never leave us. Jesus promised in John 14:16 that, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” Wherever we go, He goes. And vice-versa. Doesn’t that contradict what Paul said in verse three? What is going on here?
I find this problematic, and this post is my effort to think through this problem. I’m not saying I have all of the answers to every question in scripture. I don’t. No one else does either. (Though some claim they do.) As I always say, read the Bible for yourselves and pray that the Holy Spirit gives you wisdom, guidance, and understanding; but keep 2 Peter 1:19-21 in mind, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
So, with that said, this passage means something specific. What is it?
First, I believe it’s important to realize that the rapture, the events which precede the rapture, and the events that occur during the Day of the Lord—from beginning to end—are being merged in these opening verses. That’s at least a seven-year time span, but they are all rolled up together like a ball of yarn in one short passage. Can the events, and the time between them, be unraveled? The Bible rarely sees time the same way men do. A thousand years are as a day or like a watch in the night to God. (Psalm 90:4.)
In verse one of this second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote about our “gathering together” to Christ. I believe that is a clear reference to the rapture spoken of in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians.
1Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together (gathered together) with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
However, when we return to chapter two of second Thessalonians, and read past verse one, we see that events begin to merge. Paul is moving between subjects. In verse one, he is addressing the return of Jesus to gather the Church to Himself. This is the same event that we read about in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. It is when Jesus catches up believers into the clouds to meet Him in the air.
(Remember, the controversial word “rapture” comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible where the verb “rapiemur” is used in the fourth chapter of first Thessalonians. It means to seize and carry off, snatch, tear, pluck, drag, hurry away to safety. The Latin word “rapiemur” is where we get our English word “rapture.” Harpazō, rapiemur, caught up, gathering together, and rapture are all synonymous.)
In verse two, Paul blends that with The Day of Christ or The Day of the Lord. (The Day of the Lord is revealed to be the Tribulation elsewhere, especially in the book of Revelation.) The rapture and The Day of the Lord are not the same things, but they are closely related. These verses move between these two events without any clear boundaries. Paul has to address both because the Thessalonians believed they had missed the rapture and were in the Tribulation. In verse three, we see that an apostasy has to come first. Then, at some point after that, the antichrist will be revealed. I say “at some point after that” because the restrainer must be removed before the antichrist can be revealed.
So, and this is an important point, we know that there is a time gap between the apostasy and the revealing of the antichrist in verse three because the restrainer has to be removed first. In terms of chronology, the first events are: Apostasy, removal of the restrainer, (which I believe is synonymous with the rapture), and the revealing of the antichrist at some point after that. Verse three makes it sound as if the apostasy and the revelation of the antichrist are back-to-back events, but we know from verse seven that they can’t be. The restrainer has to be removed first. We also see elsewhere in scripture that the antichrist is revealed three and a half years into the Tribulation, but the apostasy precedes that by years. It begins before the Tribulation. So we already see that verse three is not strictly chronological and covers a period of years. The same can be said for the passage in general.
Regarding the apostasy, 1 Timothy 4:1 warns us that in the latter times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teaching of demons. In 2 Peter 2:1-3, we are warned about false teachers and those who follow them. It says destruction has been hanging over them for a long time. Jude 1:18 also warns about scoffers following their own desires and causing divisions. In 2 Timothy 4:3, Paul said the time would come when people would not tolerate sound doctrine but would gather teachers to themselves to suit their own desires. These things would continually grow worse at the end, to the point where Jesus asked if He would even find faith when He returned, Luke 18:8. The point is that the apostasy gets worse at the end, and it does not happen overnight. It is something that is going on for a long period of time.
So I see a considerable time gap in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
There is a lot happening in the 2nd Thessalonians passage. In scripture, as we know, we often see events mentioned together that are actually separated by time—sometimes significant periods of time. We see that in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24-25 and parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21. Another example is found in Isaiah 61:1-2.
In Luke 4:17-21, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1-2a. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Jesus stopped there and announced that He was fulfilling that verse. He did not quote the rest of the verse because He was not fulfilling that yet. The rest of the verse says, “And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” He does not quote verse two in its entirety because He was only fulfilling part of it. The second part of Isaiah 61:2 would not be fulfilled by Jesus for at least two thousand years. The first half of the verse was fulfilled in Jesus’s first coming. The second half of the verse will be fulfilled at Jesus’s second coming.
I think this passage from Paul may be similar to that. Just because the events are all mentioned at one time does not mean that they all occur at the same time, or that they are even in order or strictly chronological. There are many precedents in scripture that support this statement, including the ones I have already mentioned. My point is: there is a period of time between the apostasy and the antichrist being revealed. Just as there was a significant period of time between the first half of Isaiah 61:2 and the second half.
Even if I were to deny that Paul was writing about two different topics in verses one and two—the “gathering together” in verse one and the “Day of Christ” in verse two—or that there is a time gap in verse three, I still have to admit that the Thessalonians were confused and concerned about these things. This passage wouldn’t exist if they weren’t.
In 2nd Thessalonians, the apostasy, the “gathering together,” and the removal of the restrainer, all blend together. As well as all of the other events that prove the world is in the Tribulation. (i.e. the “Day of the Christ” or “the Wrath of the Lamb.”) We learn that the antichrist will be revealed; he will desecrate the temple, deceive the world, declare that he is God, and eventually be destroyed by Jesus Himself. However, as we have already seen, before the antichrist is even revealed, there is an apostasy and the restrainer is removed.
Those who believe the Seals are part of the Tribulation, and that the rapture happens before the wrath of the Lamb, Revelation 6:16-17, hold to a “pre-wrath” rapture position. Those who believe the rapture happens at some point after the antichrist is revealed hold to a “mid-trib” rapture position. Those who believe the rapture happens after the Tribulation, hold to a “post-tribulation” rapture position. All three of these groups frequently point to second Thessalonians, chapter two. They teach that believers will see the revealing of the antichrist and will experience the Day of the Lord. I understand some of their points. However, it leaves us with an uninspired Paul who contradicted himself in this passage. The reason being that Paul said the restrainer must be removed before the antichrist is revealed, and he was assuring the Thessalonians that they were not in the Tribulation because they weren’t seeing any Tribulation events. The Holy Spirit is not going to contradict Himself, but people contradict themselves quite frequently and often misunderstand each other. Even Jesus's disciples misunderstood things frequently and did not always understand what Jesus was teaching them.
In second Thessalonians, Paul begins with the “gathering together;” and, as we continue reading, we see that that event is preceded by an apostasy. We see that the “man of sin” is revealed, but that is preceded by the restrainer being removed. Then the believers are reminded of what the “man of sin” will do: he will exalt himself above God, desecrate the temple of God, and seek to prove that he is God. No matter how I try to deny it, I come back to this point: Paul was writing to assure the Thessalonian believers that since they were not seeing these things, they could not be in the Day of Christ. They could not be in the Tribulation. They had not missed the “gathering together.” They had not missed the rapture. Once again, the second Thessalonian verses are transitioning between several events.
Here is the unraveled order of those events: 1) The apostasy; 2) the “gathering together” and the removal of the restrainer; 3) the “Day of Christ;” 4) the revealing of the “man of sin;” 5) the Satanic rise of the antichrist, his deception of the whole world, his rule, his reign, and 6) his eventual destruction by Jesus.
Those events, even though they are covered in rapid-fire succession, span at least a seven-year period of time. More when the apostasy is taken into consideration.
Perhaps the most important key to unraveling second Thessalonians is that the “man of sin” will not be revealed until the restrainer is taken out of the way. If the restrainer is the church, then the church will be taken away before the “man of sin” is revealed. If the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, then the church will still be taken away before the “man of sin” is revealed because we are promised the Holy Spirit will never leave us. The key point is that the church will be taken away before the antichrist is revealed.
It certainly appears to me that the Thessalonian believers were being assured that they had not missed the rapture because they were not seeing the events of the Day of the Lord. They were not in the Tribulation. I believe that assurance is for us also. Believers will not see all of these things because, 1) either we are the restrainer, or 2) the restrainer is the One who dwells in us. Either way, I contend that we will be taken away—raptured—before the antichrist is revealed and before the Day of the Lord begins.
As I said, there is a lot going on in this passage. It covers at least a seven-year time span; it is not in strict chronological order; and it does require some unraveling. However, I believe it not only teaches a pre-tribulation rapture, I believe it demonstrates that the teaching was there from the beginning and not added centuries later.
I know there are a lot of non-Christians (and a growing number of Christians) who mock Bible prophecy and would disagree with everything I have written. Many Christians take Bible prophecy seriously, like I do, and they see this passage through a different lens. There might be two or three basic interpretations of this passage online, and I have just added mine, but these prophecies have specific meanings. We can’t all be right, and pride can easily convince someone that they are not the one who is wrong. So, I once again remind my readers, study the Bible for yourselves, (which I suspect many of you do), and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom, guidance, and understanding.
Of course, it is to be expected that people mock these things and deny them altogether. We are warned about that too. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’” (2 Peter 3:3-4.) So don’t let the scoffers bother you, and if they scoff, remember that Jesus commanded us to love—not sarcastically tear each other into shreds.
I will end with this: I do believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church. I just don't believe the Seals are part of the Tribulation. The blood of the saints calls out to God in the 5th Seal, pleading to know when He is going to judge the world and avenge their blood. So, from their question, we see that judgment has not started yet. At the Sixth Seal, we are told that the Wrath of the Lamb has come. So it hasn't come before then. After that, we see the multitude in heaven who came out of a great tribulation - the tribulation of the saints in the 5th seal - and not to be confused with the great tribulation the world will face. John is asked by the angel where the large multitude in white came from, and it is obvious there is something astounding about their sudden appearance. John doesn't know. My own view is that it was the rapture. We also see that the 144,000 are prepared at this time. That would not be necessary if the church was still present on earth; but now that the church is gone, the mission to preach Christ lies with the 144,000. At the 7th Seal, there is silence in heaven for half an hour as all of Heaven holds its breath. I believe that's because the 7-year tribulation, the worst time in mankind's history, and the judgment of God on an unbelieving world, is about to start. And it starts with the First Trumpet of Revelation eight. The ministry of the two witnesses and the 144,000 begin at this time.
And so does seven years of hell on earth.
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