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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: Does the "it" in this verse refer to the "day of the Lord" spoken of in the previous verse (2), and if so, does "it" also refer then to the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him" in verse 1? And if all of the above ("it" v3, "day" v2 and "coming" v1) are the same event, how can we say that the rapture,"our gathering together to Him", happens before the tribulation, if according to verse 3 the apostasy and the revelation of the man of lawlessness have to happen first? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Glen! Even though I don't think Christians ought to argue about when the rapture occurs, I do think every Christian needs to examine the biblical evidence and come to a conviction on the issue. With that in mind, allow me to share a few of the reasons why I've decided in favor of the mid-trib view and against the post-trib view. One major problem with the post-trib view is, who will populate the millennial kingdom in mortal bodies? Scripture is very clear that when Christ comes again at the end of the Tribulation period, there will be human beings (Christians) who will enter into the millennial kingdom in their mortal bodies. These people will not be glorified with resurrection bodies at that point. We know this to be true because they will continue to have marriage relationships with their spouses (assuming their spouses are Christians and enter the kingdom), they will continue to bear children during the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 65:20-23; Jeremiah 23:3-6; 30:19,20), and even though longevity will be extended, aging and death will occur among them (Isaiah 65:20-23). The problem is, then, how can mortal Christians enter the millennial kingdom if the rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation, thus glorifying all believers? There would be no mortal believers left. This obviously is not a problem for the pre-trib view, for this view allows for new people to become Christians during the Tribulation period, following the rapture of the church. Another problem for post-tribulationism is, who are the participants in the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-46)? We are told in Scripture that after Christ returns, He will separate the sheep from the goats (who are portrayed as still being on the earth) based on how they treated Christ's "brothers." The problem is, if all believers are raptured at the end of the Tribulation, then who are the sheep and the brothers? No separation of the sheep from the goats could occur on earth, because all of the sheep (and the brothers) would have just been raptured and are up in the air with Christ. They would thus already be separated from unbelievers. Matthew 25:31-46 just can't be made to fit in a post-trib scenario. A third problem for post-tribulationism is John 14:1-3. This passage cannot be worked into a post-trib scenario. The problem is, at a post-trib rapture, all believers are raptured and meet Christ in the air, only to return 'back to earth' with Christ. But this passage says that Christ will take believers from the earth to the place Christ is preparing for them. This passage is not a problem for the pre-trib or mid-trib view, which both hold that Christ will rapture the church before the Tribulation begins and take them to this place He has been preparing. Sorry if I got a little off topic.. Your Brother in Christ, Nolan |