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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: Rapture? Pre? Mid? Post? |
Bible Answer: There is a large body of scriptural evidence that the rapture will take place at the beginning of the 70th Week, commonly called the Tribulation. Following is just a small portion: The doctrine of Imminence teaches that there are no prophecies remaining to be fulfilled before the rapture. Is this taught in the Bible? What about imminence 100 years ago? Israel had not been re-established. Teachings during this past century declared the rapture imminent, although we know now that it was not. There remained the rebirth of Israel, the blossoming of the land, and the increase of signs. The Bible, for instance, does not specify when Israel would be re-established in relation to the rapture. But imminence aside, there is the teaching of expectation. Pre-wrath and Post-trib proponents tell us that the early church did not teach an “any-moment” rapture. But look again at I Thessalonian 4:17 “Then we who remain alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to a meeting with the Lord in the air” and I Corinthians 15 “and we shall all be changed.” Paul, writing these verses, shows expectation, each time including himself as alive and remaining. “The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” “Then we who are alive and remain…” LITV 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need for it to be written. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord, as a thief in the night, so it comes. For when they say, Peace and safety! Then suddenly destruction comes upon them, like the travail to the one having babe in womb, and not at all shall they escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness. So then, we should not sleep, as the rest also do, but we should watch and be sober.” --- All the pronouns are first and second person, with the exception of the ones upon whom sudden destruction falls. They are third person plural. Paul clearly thought of himself as one who would be raptured. These verses are written with the underlying assumption that the Day of the Lord would come in their lifetimes. “the Day should not overtake you as a thief”. “We should watch”. Matthew 24:42 “Watch, then, for you do not know in what hour your Lord comes.” Matthew 25:13 “Therefore, watch, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man comes.” Mark 13:32-37 “But concerning that day and the hour, no one knows, not the angels, those in Heaven, nor the Son, except the Father. Watch! Be wakeful, and pray. For you do not know when the time is. As a man going away, leaving his house, and giving his slaves authority, and to each his work (and he commanded the doorkeeper, that he watch), then you watch, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or early; so that he may not come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch!” Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief.” We watch for Jesus, not knowing when He comes. “He commanded the doorkeeper, that he should watch,” to watch for the returning master of the house. Jesus says over and over to watch because we don’t know when He is coming, and we are to be found ready. Jesus wants us ready at all times, telling us that He could come back at any time, that we should expect Him at any moment. Are we wrong to expect Him at any moment? The Bible clearly teaches the "any moment rapture"! We know Jesus is coming. We are to watch for Him. Are there prophecies to be fulfilled before He comes? Whether or not you believe the rapture to be imminent depends entirely on where you place it in referrence to other prophecies. If you believe that the rapture will occur following the the abomination of desolation according to the common pre-wrath or post trib views, then the rapture is not imminent. It cannot happen until these other events have taken place. The basic idea of expectancy implies imminence, in that if my understanding of end-times prophecy were that a particular prophecy or group of prophecies had to happen before the rapture, I would not be expecting Jesus ‘at any moment’. I would be looking intead for the fulfullment of that prophecy. There will be no imminency, and neither will there be expectancy. You will not be expecting the rapture, you will be expecting other things first. This is clearly contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. There is far too much evidence to post, if you wish to read more, please email me at markdseyler@yahoo.com. Love in Christ, Mark |