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NASB | 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], [Dan 7:25; 8:25; 1 Tim 4:1] |
Bible Question: So does this Scripture reveal that the anti-christ must come first before the rapture occurs, our gathering together unto him 2thess2:1??? |
Bible Answer: Greetings A friend of Messiah! This is a question that I have pondered for awhile.. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 seems to state that the antichrist comes first and is revealed, and then the day of the Lord (the rapture, return of Christ [1 Thess. 4:16-17]) happens sometime afterward. But first, before the 'man of lawlessness' is revealed, the 'restrainer' (2 Thess. 2:7 - in my opinion this is the Holy Spirit) must be 'taken out of the way', so that the antichrist can be revealed. And when the day of the Lord occurs, which is when Jesus Christ returns, He will immediately slay the lawless one with the breath of His mouth. (2 Thess. 2:8) 1 Thess. 4:16-17 seems to indicate that the day of the Lord and the rapture are events that happen together at the same time. If this is so, then I could have been wrong in saying in an earlier post that the 'mark of the beast' happened after the rapture. If the rapture takes place on the day of the Lord, and antichrist is destroyed on the day of the Lord, then we can only assume that everyone goes through this 'tribulation' period, where the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way and antichrist comes to the fore to rule and oppress the Christians. If this is so, then the 'mark of the beast' (Rev. 13:16-18) would take place before the rapture. This will obviously be an intense time of persecution for all Christians, but (if this presupposition is true) there will be a remnant of at least a few Christians, since 1 Thess. 4:16-18 tells us that there will be 'some' Christians that are left that have not already been martyred or killed because of their convictions. So to 'condense' what I've said so far, here's the supposed chronology.. 1) Holy Spirit must 'step aside' for antichrist to be revealed (2 Thess. 2:6-7). 2) Antichrist rules and persecution intensifies (Rev. 13:16-18). 3) The rapture and the day of the Lord occur (1 Thess. 4:16-18). 4) The Lord slays antichrist on the day of the Lord (2 Thess 2:8). These are just my thoughts, though, and I am open to any suggests or 'correction' here. If you have something to add here that is based upon the Bible, then by all means, let me know. I have not used any other source other than the Bible to come up with the above 'chronology', but I realize that our focus is not on what is going to happen- our focus is on 'being ready' for the Groom's return for His bride, since the Groom will come just like a 'thief in the night'! (1 Thess. 5:2) Nolan |