The Rapture of the Church

Rapture Views

Pretribulationalism
This view was first known as "the secret" or "any moment rapture." It is a relatively new position which was first taught by the founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church , Edward Irving in the late 1820's. It was then picked up by Plymouth Brethren pastor John Nelson Darby, and he first preached on it in 1843. It came to America in the late 1800's and was popularized by C.I. Schofield when he revised his Bible notes in 1917. Pretribulationists teach that the return of Christ has been imminent since the days of the early church and that the church will be raptured sometime before the seventieth week of Daniel begins. Although they have no Scripture that in so many words teaches it, they teach that there are no signs that precede the rapture, so could take place at any moment. The seventieth week of Daniel is therefore considered to be a seven-year period of God's judgmental "tribulation" (hence the term pretribulation). This position generally views the seventieth week as the day of the Lord's wrath from which the church is excluded.  It is important to live in a state of readyness - for no one is promised tomorrow.  It is because we could die at any time that we should live in a state of being ready to meet our Lord.

Midtribulationalism
This view emerged in 1941 with the publication of the book, "The End: Rethinking the Revelation" by Norman B. Harrison. They believe that the Rapture of the Church will occur at the mid-point of the seventieth week of Daniel. They see the second half of the seventieth week as the wrath of God and as a result the church will not be here when God pours out His wrath on the earth.

Posttribulationalism
There are a number of views in the posttribulation camp. Some posttribulationalists see the church in tribulation since its beginnings and do not view the seven year period as futuristic. The most prevalent view today is that the seven year period is yet in the future, and that although the Church will experience this time of tribulation, it will be sheltered by God's protection before the second coming. George Ladd in his book "The Blessed Hope" and Robert Gundry in his book "The Church and The Tribulation" both teach that the church will experience the seven year period which will conclude with the rapture of the church.  There are some early writings that hold to this view as well as infer the next view, ‘pre-wrath’.

Prewrath or Pre-wrath
The Prewrath position teaches that the true church will be raptured when the great tribulation by Antichrist, inspired by Satan, is cut short by God's day-of-the-Lord - that begins with the rapture and goes into a time of wrath.  The rapture would occur between the sixth and seventh seals of Revelation, sometime during the second half of the seventieth week. This view holds that the wrath of God does not begin until the breaking of the seventh seal.  There is more scriptural backing for this view than any other view. There is another term that is sometimes expressed, "historical premillennialism," which refers back to the teaching of the early church fathers before 325 A.D. who believed that the church would face the persecution of Antichrist and Christ would then reign for 1000 years upon the earth. With the exception of two, Origen and Clement of Alexandria, who were allegorist, they all taught this view. Prewrath is plainly and simply an expansion of this view which was biblical then and biblical now.

 

Early Church Views

Irenaeus (2nd century)

Chapter XXVI.-John and Daniel Have Predicted the Dissolution and Desolation of the Roman Empire , Which Shall Precede the End of the World and the Eternal Kingdom of Christ. The Gnostics are Refuted, Those Tools of Satan, Who Invent Another Father Different from the Creator.

1. In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord's disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel, telling us that thus it had been said to him: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but shall receive power as if kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and give their strength and power to the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings." It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord.

 

Chapter XXX.-Although Certain as to the Number of the Name of Antichrist, Yet We Should Come to No Rash Conclusions as to the Name Itself, Because This Number is Capable of Being Fitted to Many Names.

Reasons for This Point Being Reserved by the Holy Spirit. Antichrist's Reign and Death.

4. But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been declared by Him, he (Antichrist) might perhaps continue for a long period. But now as "he was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and goes into perdition," as one who has no existence; so neither has his name been declared, for the name of that which does not exist is not proclaimed. But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

 

 

Chapter XXXV.-He Contends that These Testimonies Already Alleged Cannot Be Understood Allegorically of Celestial Blessings, But that They Shall Have Their Fulfilment After the Coming of Antichrist, and the Resurrection, in the Terrestrial Jerusalem . To the Former Prophecies He Subjoins Others Drawn from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apocalypse of John.

Comment: Iranaeus makes no reference to a resurrection or rapture prior to the arrival of antichrist and since he has already clarified that he believes that the church will see the persecution of the antichrist, as seen in the quoted chapters, it is suggested that in this chapter as well, he views the church as part of the "resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist."

 

Tertullian (late 2nd century AD)

Quoting Paul

For when they shall say, `Peace, 'and `All things are safe, 'then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Again, in the second epistle he addresses them with even greater earnestness: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, nor be troubled, either by spirit, or by word," that is, the word of false prophets, "or by letter," that is, the letter of false apostles, "as if from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come, unless indeed there first come a falling away," he means indeed of this present empire, "and that man of sin be revealed," that is to say, Antichrist, "the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or religion; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, affirming that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things? And now ye know what detaineth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hinders must hinder, until he be taken out of the way." What obstacle is there but the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own ruins)? "And then shall be revealed the wicked one, 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."

 

Chapter XXV.-St. John, in the Apocalypse, Equally Explicit in Asserting the Same Great Doctrine.

In the Revelation of John, again, the order of these times is spread out to view, which "the souls of the martyrs" are taught to wait for beneath the altar, whilst they earnestly pray to be avenged and judged: (taught, I say, to wait), in order that the world may first drink to the dregs the plagues that await it out of the vials of the angels, and that the city of fornication may receive from the ten kings its deserved doom, and that the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God; and that, after the casting of the devil into the bottomless pit for a while, the blessed prerogative of the first resurrection may be ordained from the thrones; and then again, after the consignment of him to the fire, that the judgment of the final and universal resurrection may be determined out of the books.

 

Chapter XLI.-The Dissolution of Our Tabernacle Consistent with the Resurrection of Our Bodies.

Now the privilege of this favour awaits those who shall at the coming of the Lord be found in the flesh, and who shall, owing to the oppressions of the time of Antichrist, deserve by an instantaneous death, which is accomplished by a sudden change, to become qualified to join the rising saints; as he writes to the Thessalonians: "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 too shall ourselves 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."

 

Cyprian (2nd century AD)

Treatise VII. On the Mortality.

For he who wars for God, dearest brethren, ought to acknowledge himself as one who, placed in the heavenly camp, already hopes for divine things, so that we may have no trembling at the storms and whirlwinds of the world, and no disturbance, since the Lord had foretold that these would come. With the exhortation of His fore-seeing word, instructing, and teaching, and preparing, and strengthening the people of His Church for all endurance of things to come, He predicted and said that wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and pestilences would arise in each place; and lest an unexpected and new dread of mischiefs should shake us, He previously warned us that adversity would increase more and more in the last times. Behold, the very things occur which were spoken; and since those occur which were foretold before, whatever things were promised will also follow; as the Lord Himself promises, saying, "But when ye see all these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is at hand."

Comment: He applies the teaching of Matthew 24 ("But when ye see all these things come to pass. . .") to the church.

The Early Church father; Victorinus wrote the following commentary in A.D. 270: "Seven angels having the last seven plaques, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the Last Times, when the Church shall have gone out of the midst" Victorinus was talking about the "Catching Up" the Rapture of the Church.

 

http://www.theshepherdstrumpet.com/Studies/Topical%20Studies/RaptureStudies/rapt-c5.html

 

There are certain names, looking back through the centuries, that stand out in Messianic history such as John Wyclif, John Huss, Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, Hulreich Zwingli, William Tyndale, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, John Foxe, Edwin Sandys, John Calvin, John Knox, King James, Isaac Newton, Thomas Newton, John Wesley. It is of clear knowledge, that none of these men believed that Messiah would return in two phases -the rapture and then later the revelation. None of these men believed the church would be taken out before the appearance of Antichrist. In fact, to the contrary, they understood that the church would suffer at the hands of Antichrist and the career of the man of sin, the Son of Perdition, would be ended by the coming of Messiah at the end of the age.

Jeffery says in his book, "Final Warning, pgs. 306, 307, 309, 310, that in the On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, a writing of Ephraem, the Syrian, A.D. 373, "...all saints and the elect of the Ruler are gathered together before the tribulation which is to about to come and are taken to the Ruler in order that they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins." Jeffery states this is "a very clear statement about the pre-tribulation return of Messiah to take His elect saints home to heaven to escape the coming tribulation."

We mention the Jeffery's quote above of Ephraem's only because it is an isolated teaching by one obscure man and is NOW being used to try and prove that the Secret Rapture doctrine was generally and always taught as truth before 1827. However, all the rest of the Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post- Nicene fathers never, never, taught such a secret rapture doctrine. There are several reasons why these writings of Ephraem, the Syrian, should not be accepted. First, he taught the worship of Mary as divine and as the Mother of Elohim, which was "foreign to the original spirit of Messianicism." Second, he prayed to departed saints [this is worship of familiar spirits -demons, shades of the witch of Endor]. Third, he wrote only in the Syriac language, clearly having no knowledge of the Greek or Hebrew languages. Further, he did not interpret text from the original Hebrew or the Greek, but from the old Syriac translation, the Peshito. Fourth, he is quoted as being unlearned, uneducated and lived as a hermit in a cave outside the city of Edessa , now in Turkey . Fifth, it was reported that he was out of his mind (probably due to demonic influences, author). History of the Christian Church, pgs. 422, 423, Schaff.

Last of all, regarding Ephraem's commentary statement "...all saints and the elect of the Lord are gathered together before the tribulation which is to about to come" is not what our Savior taught as recorded in the Book of Matthew chapter 24. Messiah said in verses 29, 30, 31, we quote: "Immediately after (after, after AFTER) the tribulation of those days...And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: ...and they shall see the Son of man COMING in the clouds of heaven...And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect..." This establishes Ephraem's teaching as false. Therefore Ephraem's writings can not be taken as true to the scriptures and must be disregarded.

George Ladd, seminary professor, after making a survey of Church history says: "Every church father who deals with this subject expects the CHURCH to suffer at the hands of Antichrist: ...we can find no trace of pre-tribulationism in the early church: and no modern pre-tribulationist has successfully proved that this particular doctrine was held by any of the church fathers or students of the Word before the nineteenth century." The Blessed Hope, pg. 31, George Ladd. This is a very comprehensive statement, but one which we believe will stand up under our investigation. We shall look at some of the statements of other Messianic writers in the early centuries.

"The Didache", written after the New Testament, is considered to be one of the earliest pieces of Messianic literature, stated that the Antichrist would come, that many would be offended and be lost, and that this time of woe would be followed by the resurrection of the just. The Blessed Hope, Pgs. 20,21, Ladd.

The Epistle of Barnabas, written about the same time as "The Didache", says: "When the Son comes, he will destroy the time of the wicked one and will judge the godless." This writer of this epistle did not believe in a coming of Messiah before the time of the "wicked one", nor did he believe in the any-moment theory, for he expected the Roman Empire to fall first. Ante-Nicene Fathers -Barnabas, Vol. 1, pgs. 146, 138.

Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.) spoke of "the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist." "But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world ...then the Ruler shall come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom." He spoke of kings who "shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Ruler." "In the end the church shall be suddenly caught up" and having overcome, will be "crowned with incorruption." It is evident that Irenaeus did not believe in a pre-tribulation. Against Heresies, Chap. 35:1; 30:4, 26:1; 29:1, Irenaeus.

Tertullian (160-240 A.D.) believed that Antichrist would rise to power and persecute the church. He affirmed it was customary for Christians to pray for a part in the resurrection to meet Messiah at the end of the world. On The Resurrection of the Flesh, Chap.22, Tertullian.  

Tertullian wrote:

 

"That the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God. . . . Since, then, the Scriptures both indicate the stages of the last times, and concentrate the harvest of the Christian hope in the very end of the world" (On Resurrrection of the Flesh, xxv; cf. Scorpiace, xii).

Hippolytus (170-236 A.D.) spoke of the dreaded Antichrist who would persecute the church. He believed the Second Advent would be the time that the dead would be raised, Antichrist destroyed, and the saints glorified. Treatise on Messiah and Antichrist, Chapters 66,67, Hippolytus.  

Bob Gundry, in his book, "First The Antichrist" (pp 148-149), states,

 

"Early in the third century Hippolytus wrote,

 

"'Now concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall on the church from the enemy [he has been speaking about the Antichrist and about the Antichrist's persecution of the saints and continues in the same vein]. . . . That refers to the 1,260 days (the half of the week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the church (Treatise on Christ and the Antichrist 60-61).'

"Then in chapters 62-67 Hippolytus quoted biblical passages extensively that describe the tribulation and Jesus' subsequent return (Daniel 11-12; Matthew 24; Luke 21; 2 Thessalonians 2; Revelation 20), tied these passages to the future experiences of the church, and equated the return with Paul's description of the church's rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4."

Cyprian (200-258 A.D.), a Messianic bishop and martyr, believed that Antichrist would reign, after which Messiah would come at the end of the world. Epistle 55, Cyprian.

Lactantius (260-330 A.D.) believed that the Antichrist would reign over the world and afflict the righteous, but Elohim would send a Great King to rescue them, to destroy the wicked with fire and sword, to raise the dead and renew the world. The Divine Institutes, Vol.7, Lactantius.

Cyril (315-386 A.D.), bishop of Jerusalem , wrote: "We believe in Him, who also ascended into the heavens, and sat down on the right hand of the Father, and shall come in glory to judge the quick and dead ...at the end, and this created world is to be re-made anew." He wrote in such a way that we know he believed the Antichrist would come to power before the Second Coming and would persecute the church. The Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril, Lecture 15.

Rapture – What Scripture Teaches us…

Walvoord, in The Rapture Question, pg. 148 says that neither pre-tribulation nor post-tribulation rapture is taught in scripture.  I agree, and that leaves us with the pre-wrath rapture view!

 

Dr. Richard Mayhue, who teaches at Masters Seminary and believes in a pre-trib rapture states this in his The Prophets Watchword, the Day of the Lord, pg. 181-182, “perhaps the position of pre-tribulationism is correct although its proof at times has been logically invalid”

 

Again, I agree.  So what is the logical teaching of scripture?– It looks to be the pre-wrath view.

 

(Tit 2:13)  looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory (the Glorious appearing) of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

 

(Act 2:20 )  'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

 

What is the ‘Day of the Lord’ – will we see it?

 

(1 Thessalonians 5:2)  For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

 

(1 Thessalonians 5:4)  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;

 

The day of the Lord begins with the Rapture and ends with the white throne judgment.

 

Acts 2:20 tells us the sun will be darkened before the day of the Lord comes!

 

(1Co 1:8)  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

(Mal 4:5)  "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.

 

(Act 2:20 )  'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

 

(1Co 1:8)  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

(1Co 5:5)  I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

 

(2Co 1:14 )  just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

 

 

(1Th 5:2)  For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

 

(2Th 2:2)  that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

 

(Jam 5:7)  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.

 

(Jam 5:8)  You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

 

 

(2Pe 3:12 )  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God!

 

(1 Thessalonians 5:4)  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;

 

 

(Mat 24:29)  "But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 

This precedes the day of the Lord!

 

(Acts 2:17 )  'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

 

(Acts 2:18 )  EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.

 

(Acts 2:19 )  'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

 

(Acts 2:20 )  'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

 

(Acts 2:21 )  'AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.'

 

 

 

 

 

70^th week of Daniel – (7 year ‘tribulation’)

 

(Dan 9:27)  "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

 

(Revelation 13:7)  It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.

 

 

 

–         Antichrist comes to power and makes war with the saints – this is not the Jews – he makes peace with the Jews.  He makes war with the church!

 

However, we will endure – to the end – the rapture!

 

Matthew 10:16-23  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.  (17)  "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;  (18)  and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  (19)  "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.  (20)  "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.  (21)  "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  (22)  "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.  (23)  "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

 

Mat 24:8-22  "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.  (9)  "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. [this has not happened yet]

(10)   "At that time many will fall away [this is the apostacy II Thes. 2:1-3] and will betray one another and hate one another.  (11)  "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.  (12)  "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love [Agape] will grow cold.  (13)  "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 

 

Enduring to the end – this is talking to the church!

 

 

(Mar 13:13 )  "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

 

 

(Rev 2:7)  'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'

 

( Rev 2:11 )  'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'

 

( Rev 2:17 )  'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

 

( Rev 2:26 )  'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;

 

(Rev 3:5)  'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

 

( Rev 3:12 )  'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

 

( Rev 3:21 )  'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

 

(Rev 21:7)  "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

 

 

 

(14)  "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.  (15)  "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),  (16)  then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.  (17)  "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.  (18)  "Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.  (19)  "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  (20)  "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.  (21)  "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.  (22)  "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

 

 

2Th 2:1-3  Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,  (2)  that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  (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,

 

Rev 14:9-12  Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,  (10)  he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  (11)  "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."  (12)  Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

 

The saints here (using expositional consistency in the NT, must be the church).

 

 

The Jews will think the antichrist is the messiah and have a peace with him.  When he breaks the treaty at the abomination, they will be sealed (144,000) or taken to the wilderness and protected!

 

 

 

Dan 12:1-3  "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.  (the sealing and protecting in the wilderness)

(then we have two resurrections):

(2)  "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.  (3)  "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

 

 

Revelation 20:4-6  Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  (5)  The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.  (6)  Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

 

John 5:28-29  "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,  (29)  and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

 

 

 

Day of the Lord – Wrath – Time of the end

1Th 1:9-10  For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,  (10)  and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

 

1Th 5:8-10  But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.  (9)  For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,  (10)  who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

 

Rev 3:10   'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

 

 

When does the fullness of the Gentiles come in?

 

(Acts 1:8)  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria , and even to the remotest part of the earth."

 

Mat 24:14  "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

After we complete the great commission – which we have not done yet!  Then the fullness of the gentiles come in:

 

Rom 11:25-26  For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;  (26)  and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."

 

 

When does Israel acknowledge Jesus Christ as Messiah?  After the Abomination of Desolation!  That is when Israel is saved, not before.  Meaning God is still looking to His church to complete the great commission.

 

(Act 13:47 )  "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'"

 

(Mat 10:22 )  "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

 

(Mat 24:13)  "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Mat 24:14  "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

(Mat 28:20)  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

 

(Mar 13:13 )  "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Rapture Views

Pretribulationalism
This view was first known as "the secret" or "any moment rapture." It is a relatively new position which was first taught by the founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church , Edward Irving in the late 1820's. It was then picked up by Plymouth Brethren pastor John Nelson Darby, and he first preached on it in 1843. It came to America in the late 1800's and was popularized by C.I. Schofield when he revised his Bible notes in 1917. Pretribulationists teach that the return of Christ has been imminent since the days of the early church and that the church will be raptured sometime before the seventieth week begins. Although they have no Scripture that in so many words teaches it, they teach that there are no signs and the rapture could take place at any moment. The seventieth week of Daniel is therefore considered to be a seven-year period of God's judgmental "tribulation" (hence the term pretribulation). This position generally views the seventieth week as the day of the Lord's wrath from which the church is excluded.

Midtribulationalism
This view emerged in 1941 with the publication of the book, "The End: Rethinking the Revelation" by Norman B. Harrison. They believe that the Rapture of the Church will occur at the mid-point of the seventieth week of Daniel. They see the second half of the seventieth week as the wrath of God and as a result the church will not be here when God pours out His wrath on the earth.

Posttribulationalism
There are a number of views in the posttribulation camp. Some posttribulationalists see the church in tribulation since its beginnings and do not view the seven year period as futuristic. The most prevalent view today is that the seven year period is yet in the future, and that although the Church will experience this time of tribulation, it will be sheltered by God's protection before the second coming. George Ladd in his book "The Blessed Hope" and Robert Gundry in his book "The Church and The Tribulation" both teach that the church will experience the seven year period which will conclude with the rapture of the church.  There are some early writings that hold to this view as well as infere the next view, ‘pre-wrath’.

Prewrath
The Prewrath position teaches that the true church will be raptured when the great tribulation by Antichrist, inspired by Satan, is cut short by God's day-of-the-Lord wrath, which will occur between the sixth and seventh seals of Revelation, sometime during the second half of the seventieth week. The persecution associated with the great tribulation of Antichrist is viewed as the wrath of Satan, whereas the events that follow, beginning with the seventh seal, are considered the wrath of God. There is another term that is sometimes expressed, "historical premillennialism," which refers back to the teaching of the early church fathers before 325 A.D. who believed that the church would face the persecution of Antichrist and Christ would then reign for 1000 years upon the earth. With the exception of two, Origen and Clement of Alexandria , who were allegorist, they all taught this view. Prewrath is plainly and simply an expansion of this view which was biblical then and biblical now.

 

 

Early Church Views

Irenaeus (2nd century)

Chapter XXVI.-John and Daniel Have Predicted the Dissolution and Desolation of the Roman Empire , Which Shall Precede the End of the World and the Eternal Kingdom of Christ. The Gnostics are Refuted, Those Tools of Satan, Who Invent Another Father Different from the Creator.

1. In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord's disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel, telling us that thus it had been said to him: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but shall receive power as if kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and give their strength and power to the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings." It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord.

 

Chapter XXX.-Although Certain as to the Number of the Name of Antichrist, Yet We Should Come to No Rash Conclusions as to the Name Itself, Because This Number is Capable of Being Fitted to Many Names.

Reasons for This Point Being Reserved by the Holy Spirit. Antichrist's Reign and Death.

4. But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been declared by Him, he (Antichrist) might perhaps continue for a long period. But now as "he was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and goes into perdition," as one who has no existence; so neither has his name been declared, for the name of that which does not exist is not proclaimed. But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

 

 

Chapter XXXV.-He Contends that These Testimonies Already Alleged Cannot Be Understood Allegorically of Celestial Blessings, But that They Shall Have Their Fulfilment After the Coming of Antichrist, and the Resurrection, in the Terrestrial Jerusalem . To the Former Prophecies He Subjoins Others Drawn from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apocalypse of John.

Comment: Iranaeus makes no reference to a resurrection or rapture prior to the arrival of antichrist and since he has already clarified that he believes that the church will see the persecution of the antichrist, as seen in the quoted chapters, it is suggested that in this chapter as well, he views the church as part of the "resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of Antichrist."

 

Tertullian (late 2nd century AD)

Quoting Paul

For when they shall say, `Peace, 'and `All things are safe, 'then sudden destruction shall come upon them." Again, in the second epistle he addresses them with even greater earnestness: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, nor be troubled, either by spirit, or by word," that is, the word of false prophets, "or by letter," that is, the letter of false apostles, "as if from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come, unless indeed there first come a falling away," he means indeed of this present empire, "and that man of sin be revealed," that is to say, Antichrist, "the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or religion; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, affirming that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things? And now ye know what detaineth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hinders must hinder, until he be taken out of the way." What obstacle is there but the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own ruins)? "And then shall be revealed the wicked one, 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."

 

Chapter XXV.-St. John, in the Apocalypse, Equally Explicit in Asserting the Same Great Doctrine.

In the Revelation of John, again, the order of these times is spread out to view, which "the souls of the martyrs" are taught to wait for beneath the altar, whilst they earnestly pray to be avenged and judged: (taught, I say, to wait), in order that the world may first drink to the dregs the plagues that await it out of the vials of the angels, and that the city of fornication may receive from the ten kings its deserved doom, and that the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God; and that, after the casting of the devil into the bottomless pit for a while, the blessed prerogative of the first resurrection may be ordained from the thrones; and then again, after the consignment of him to the fire, that the judgment of the final and universal resurrection may be determined out of the books.

 

Chapter XLI.-The Dissolution of Our Tabernacle Consistent with the Resurrection of Our Bodies.

Now the privilege of this favour awaits those who shall at the coming of the Lord be found in the flesh, and who shall, owing to the oppressions of the time of Antichrist, deserve by an instantaneous death, which is accomplished by a sudden change, to become qualified to join the rising saints; as he writes to the Thessalonians: "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 too shall ourselves 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."

 Cyprian (2nd century AD)

Treatise VII. On the Mortality.

For he who wars for God, dearest brethren, ought to acknowledge himself as one who, placed in the heavenly camp, already hopes for divine things, so that we may have no trembling at the storms and whirlwinds of the world, and no disturbance, since the Lord had foretold that these would come. With the exhortation of His fore-seeing word, instructing, and teaching, and preparing, and strengthening the people of His Church for all endurance of things to come, He predicted and said that wars, and famines, and earthquakes, and pestilences would arise in each place; and lest an unexpected and new dread of mischiefs should shake us, He previously warned us that adversity would increase more and more in the last times. Behold, the very things occur which were spoken; and since those occur which were foretold before, whatever things were promised will also follow; as the Lord Himself promises, saying, "But when ye see all these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is at hand."

Comment: He applies the teaching of Matthew 24 ("But when ye see all these things come to pass. . .") to the church.

 

Book of Revelation A Breakdown of the book:

Intro – Rev. 1

Chronological – 4-9, 11:14-19, 15-16, 19:11-20:3, 20:7-22:5 

Snapshots -  2-3,10- 11:13, 12-14,17-18, 19:1-10, 20:4-6

Epilogue – 22:6-21

 

II Thess. 2  Paul is talking about ‘our gathering together’ with the Lord, and refers to that day as the day of the Lord.

 

Expositers Bible Commentary:

II Thess. 2

 

1,2 The hortatory words "we ask you, brothers" are identical in the Greek with "now we ask you, brothers" of 1 Thessalonians 5:12. This formula provides a transition from what Paul has been saying about the day of the Lord to an acute problem related to it.

    The problem has to do with the events he has just described. It is "concerning" or "on behalf of" the Lord's coming and the saints' gathering to him that Paul now writes. In the interest of truth about this vital hope, we must set down accurately certain features of "the day of the Lord" as a corrective to what some were falsely claiming.

    He must explain what he means by "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him" or else the solution to the problem cannot be grasped. Episynagoges ("being gathered") defines what part of the parousias ("coming") Paul has in mind. This is the great event he has described more fully in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17--i.e., the gathering of those in Christ to meet him in the air en route to the Father in heaven. This begins the day of the Lord. What relationship this happening bears to the tribulation phase of the day of the Lord so frequently mentioned in these Epistles is important. Some limit the parousia to a single event and insist that it comes after the tribulation (Morris, pp. 151, 152; Gundry, pp. 113, 114). It is hardly possible, though, to explain the variety of relationships belonging to parousia in these Epistles if it is understood only as a single event. Even the meaning of the word suggests a longer duration.

    Another problem is encountered if the parousia that initiates the day of the Lord is considered only the single event of Christ's return to earth following the tribulation. If Paul had given oral or written instruction to this effect, the false claim that the day of the Lord was already present could hardly have alarmed these Christians. According to this scheme, the day of the Lord could not begin without Christ's personal reappearance. His continued absence was obvious to all.

    Yet the claim was made and accepted to the extent that the church was troubled. This implies Paul had not taught that a one-phase parousia after the period of wrath will begin the day of the Lord.

 

The day of the Lord begins with the Rapture, which Paul is speaking of here.

 

I Thess. 5  Paul states the church will be here at the start of the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

¹Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. ²For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. ³While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. ⁴But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; ⁶so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and ^£sober. ⁷For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. ⁸But since we are of the day, let us be ^£sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

 

The Day of the Lord begins with the Rapture of the Church and the sealing of the 144,000.

Joel 2

The Day of the Lord

³⁰   “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,

     Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

³¹   “The sun will be turned into darkness

     And the moon into blood

     Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

³²   “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD

     Will be delivered;

     For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

     There will be those who escape,

     As the LORD has said,

     Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

Daniel 12  (Directly after the Abomination of Desolation)

¹“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. ²“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. ³“Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

 

The sixth seal – sun into darkness +

The church will escape the wrath that begins with the 7^th seal.

 

II Peter 3 – this is written to the church also – looking for the Day of the Lord, which begins with the rapture. 

The Coming Day of the Lord

³Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” ⁵For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be ^£burned up.

¹¹Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

 

 

The Rapture begins the Day of the Lord.  Paul In II Thess. 2:1-4 is talking about the Rapture.

 

II Thess. 2:3

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed (2:3). In 1 Th. 4, Paul wrote of Jesus’ return for those “in Christ.” The dead were to be resurrected, and the living transformed, before together launching up to meet the Lord in the air. In 2 Th. 2, Paul writes to remind the members of this church that the “Day of the Lord” could not be already present because two conditions are unfulfilled. The Day of the Lord is characterized by (a) “the rebellion,” and (b) the revelation of the “man of lawlessness.”

“Rebellion” is apostasio, which was used in contemporary literature of either political rebellion or rebellion against divine authority. The latter sense is primarily intended here: mankind will become openly hostile to God and to God’s own.

Many Bible Teachers who claim the Rapture will happen prior to the 70^th week of Daniel state that the word apostacy here means ‘rapture’ or departure.  This is truly a case of mis-interpreting God’s Word!  Listen to what the greatest greek scholars say about this passage:

 

 

Strongs:

G646

Pðïóôáóßá

apostasia; from G868; defection, revolt:—apostasy (1), forsake (1).

 

 

apostasia

Thayer Definition:

1) a falling away, defection, apostasy

Part of Speech: noun feminine

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: feminine of the same
as G647

Citing in TDNT: 1:513, 88

forsake, 1

Acts 21:21

 

New International Dictionary of NT Theology

Apostasy

(Gk. apostasia, rebellion, abandonment, apostasy; from apo, away, and histe4mi, stand). The deliberate repudiation of belief once formerly held. An apostate is one who thus abandons Christianity. In the post-NT church apostasy, murder and adultery were regarded for a time as unpardonable sins. Later it become pardonable only after great (in some cases, lifelong) public penance.

 

Barns Notes:

The word rendered “falling away” (Pðïóôáóßá  apostasia, apostasy), is of
so general a character, that it may be applied to any departure from the faith as it
was received in the time of the apostles. It occurs in the New Testament only
here and in Acts 21:21, where it is rendered “to forsake”— “thou teachest all the
Jews which are among us to forsake Moses”—apostasy from Moses—
Pðïóôáóßáí Pð’ Ìù™óÝùò  apostasian apo Moôuseoôs. The word means
a departing from, or a defection; see the verb used in 1 Tim. 4:1, “Some shall
depart from the faith”— PðïóôÞóïíôáé  aposteôsontai; compare the notes
on that passage; see also Heb. 3:12; Luke 8:13; Acts 5:37. The reference here is
evidently to some general falling away, or to some great religious apostasy that
was to occur, and which would be under one head, leader, or dynasty, and which
would involve many in the same departure from the faith, and in the same
destruction. The use of the article here, “the apostasy” (Greek), Erasmus remarks,
“signifies that great and before-predicted apostasy.” It is evidently emphatic,
showing that there had been a reference to this before, or that they understood
well that there was to be such an apostasy. Paul says 2 Thes 2:5, that when he
was with them, he had told them of these things. The writers in the New
Testament often speak of such a defection under the name of Antichrist; see Rev.
13:14; 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7.

 

New Commentary on the Whole Bible:

falling away—The Greek is “the falling away,” or “apostasy.” “The word ‘apostasy’, as used in the Septuagint and NT, points to a deliberate abandonment of a former professed position” (Thomas).

 

Word Pictures in the New Test., Vol. 4

For it will not be (hoti). There is an ellipse here of ouk estai (or
geneôsetai) to be supplied after hoti. Westcott and Hort make an
anacoluthon at the end of verse 4. The meaning is clear. Hoti is causal, because,
but the verb is understood. The second coming not only is not “imminent,” but
will not take place before certain important things take place, a definite rebuff to
the false enthusiasts of verse 2. 

Except the falling away come first (ean meô eltheôi heô apostasia
proôton). Negative condition of the third class, undetermined with prospect of
determination and the aorist subjunctive. Apostasia is the late form of
apostasis and is our word apostasy. Plutarch uses it of political revolt and it
occurs in 1 Maccabees 2:15 about Antiochus Epiphanes who was enforcing the
apostasy from Judaism to Hellenism. In Joshua 22:22 it occurs for rebellion
against the Lord. It seems clear that the word here means a religious revolt and
the use of the definite article (heô) seems to mean that Paul had spoken to the
Thessalonians about it. The only other New Testament use of the word is in Acts
21:21 where it means apostasy from Moses. It is not clear whether Paul means
revolt of the Jews from God, of Gentiles from God, of Christians from God, or of
the apostasy that includes all classes within and without the body of Christians.
But it is to be first (proôton) before Christ comes again. Note this adverb when
only two events are compared (cf. Acts 1:1). 

 

Adam Clark’s Commentary on the NT

Except there come a falling away first—We have the original word
áðïóôáóéá in our word apostasy; and by this term we understand a dereliction of
the essential principles of religious truth—either a total abandonment of
Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole
system completely inefficient to salvation.

 

IVP Bible Background Commentary

The first prerequisite is either the “rebellion” (niv, nrsv, tev) or the “apostasy” (nasb). If it is a “rebellion” against God, it is the world’s final insult to him (2:4); if “apostasy,” it refers back to Jesus’ sayings later written in Matthew 24:10-13.

 

 

 

“Lawlessness” is anomias. The Zondervan Expository Dictionary of Bible Words says words on this root “are active concepts. They reflect actions that are not outside the governance of law, but are in active violation of either divine or innate moral principles. The apostle John says, ‘Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness’” (1 John 3:4) (p. 399). The “man of lawlessness” is further described here as a man “doomed to destruction” and one who “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God” (2:4). The added note that he even “sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” clearly identifies this event with a prediction about the end times made by Daniel in his prophecy ( 11:31 -32) and confirmed by Jesus Himself (Matt. 24:15).

 

Expositors Bible Commentary

"The rebellion" represents apostasia, from which the English word apostasy comes. Usage in LXX and elsewhere in the NT gives this word a religious connotation (Josh 22:22 ; 2 Chronicles 29:19; 33:19; Jer 2:19 ; Acts 21:21 ). It points to a deliberate abandonment of a former professed position. Attempts to identify the apostasy Paul is speaking of here with some past or present movement are futile because of its contextual association with the Lord Jesus' second advent (v. 1). An illustration of this kind of apostasy was that of faithless Jews just before the Maccabean uprising (Dan 8:23 ff.; 11:36f.) (Hendriksen, p. 169). A similar defection of professing Christians is elsewhere anticipated (Matt 24:11, 12, 24; 1Tim 4:1ff.; 2Tim 3:1-5; 4:3, 4; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 3:3-6; Jude 17, 18). After the catching away of those in Christ (1Thess 4:17 ), all who are truly in him will be gone. Conditions will be ripe for people, especially those who call themselves Christian but are not really such, to turn their backs on God in what they do as well as in what they already have in thought. Then their insincerity will demonstrate itself outwardly. This worldwide anti-God movement will be so universal as to earn for itself a special designation: "the apostasy"--i.e., the climax of the increasing apostate tendencies evident before the rapture of the church.

 

 

Holeman’s Bible Dictionary

New Testament The English word “apostasy” is derived from a Greek word (apostasia) that means, “to stand away from.” The Greek noun occurs twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21 ; 2 Thess. 2:3), though it is not translated as “apostasy” in the King James Version. A related noun is used for a divorce (Matt. 5:31 ; 19:7; Mark 10:4). The corresponding Greek verb occurs nine times.

Acts 21:21 states an accusation made against Paul that he was leading Jews outside Palestine to abandon the law of Moses. Such apostasy was defined as failing to circumcise Jewish children and to observe distinctive Jewish customs.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul addressed those who had been deceived into believing that the day of the Lord had already come. He taught that an apostasy would precede the day of the Lord. The Spirit had explicitly revealed this falling away from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1). Such apostasy in the latter times will involve doctrinal deception, moral insensitivity, and ethical departures from God’s truth.

Associated New Testament concepts include the parable of the soils, in which Jesus spoke of those who believe for a while but “fall away” in time of temptation (Luke 8:13). At the judgment, those who work iniquity will be told to “depart” (Luke 13:27 ). Paul “withdrew” from the synagogue in Ephesus (Acts 19:9) because of the opposition he found there, and he counseled Timothy to “withdraw” from those who advocate a different doctrine (1 Tim. 6:3-5). Hebrews speaks of falling away from the living God because of “an evil heart of unbelief” ( 3:12 ). Those who fall away cannot be renewed again to repentance (Heb. 6:6). Yet God is able to keep the believer from falling (Jude 24).

Implications Apostasy certainly is a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated. The debate has centered on the issue of apostasy and salvation. Based on the concept of God’s sovereign grace, some hold that, though true believers may stray, they will never totally fall away. Others affirm that any who fall away were never really saved. Though they may have “believed” for a while, they never experienced regeneration. Still others argue that the biblical warnings against apostasy are real and that believers maintain the freedom, at least potentially, to reject God’s salvation.

Persons worried about apostasy should recognize that conviction of sin in itself is evidence that one has not fallen away. Desire for salvation shows one does not have “an evil heart of unbelief.”

Michael Fink

 

Bible Knowledge Commentary

One major event is the rebellion (lit., “the falling away,” heô apostasia,
from whence comes the English word “apostasy”). This is a revolt, a departure,
an abandoning of a position once held. This rebellion, which will take place
within the professing church, will be a departure from the truth that God has
revealed in His Word. True, apostasy has characterized the church almost from
its inception, but Paul referred to a specific distinguishable apostasy that will
come in the future (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 4:3-4; James 5:1-8; 2 Peter 2;
3:3-6; Jude). He had already told his readers about it (2 Thes. 2:5).

Some interpreters have taken this “departure” as a reference to the Rapture of
the church (e.g., E. Schuyler English, Rethinking the Rapture, New York :
Loizeaux Brothers, 1954, pp. 67-71), but this is not too probable. D. Edmond
Hiebert refutes this view that apostasia here refers to the Rapture (The
Thessalonian Epistles, p. 306).

 

International Standard Bible Encyclopidia

a-pos´ta-si, a-pos´taôöt (½ áðïóôáóßá, heô apostasŒña, “a
standing away from”): I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in
the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the
Greek original, to express abandonment of the faith. Paul was falsely accused of
teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses (Acts 21:21 ); he predicted the great
apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Mt 24:10-12) which would precede
“the day of the Lord” (2 Thess 2:2). Apostasy, not in name but in fact, meets
scathing rebuke in the Epistle of Jude, e.g. the apostasy of angels (Jude 1:6).
Foretold, with warnings, as sure to abound in the latter days (1 Tim 4:1-3; 2
Thess 2:3; 2 Pet 3:17 ). Causes of: persecution (Mt 24:9, 10); false teachers (Mt
24:11); temptation (Lk 8:13 ); worldliness (2 Tim 4:4); defective knowledge of
Christ (1 Jn 2:19 ); moral lapse (Heb 6:4-6); forsaking worship and spiritual living
(Heb 10:25 -31); unbelief (Heb 3:12 ). Biblical examples: Saul (1 Sam 15:11 );
Amaziah (2 Ch 25:14, 27); many disciples (Jn 6:66); Hymeneus and Alexander
(1 Tim 1:19 , 20); Demas (2 Tim 4:10 ). For further illustration see Dt 13:13; Zeph
1:4-6; Gal 5:4; 2 Pet 2:20 , 21.

“Forsaking Yahweh” was the characteristic and oft-recurring sin of the
chosen people, especially in their contact with idolatrous nations. It constituted
their supreme national peril. The tendency appeared in their earliest history, as
abundantly seen in the warnings and prohibitions of the laws of Moses (Ex 20:3,
4, 23; Dt 6:14 ; 11:16 ). The fearful consequences of religious and moral apostasy
appear in the curses pronounced against this sin, on Mount Ebal, by the
representatives of six of the tribes of Israel, elected by Moses (Dt 27:13-26;
28:15-68). So wayward was the heart of Israel, even in the years immediately
following the national emancipation, in the wilderness, that Joshua found it
necessary to re-pledge the entire nation to a new fidelity to Yahweh and to their
original covenant before they were permitted to enter the Promised Land (Josh
24:1-28). Infidelity to this covenant blighted the nation’s prospects and growth
during the time of the Judges (Jdg 2:11-15; 10:6, 10, 13; 1 Sam 12:10). It was the
cause of prolific and ever-increasing evil, civic and moral, from Solomon’s day
to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. Many of the kings of the divided
kingdom apostatized, leading the people, as in the case of Rehoboam, into the
grossest forms of idolatry and immorality (1 Ki 14:22 -24; 2 Ch 12:1).
Conspicuous examples of such royal apostasy are Jeroboam (1 Ki 12:28 -32);
Ahab (1 Ki 16:30 -33); Ahaziah (1 Ki 22:51 -53); Jehoram (2 Ch 21:6, 10, 12-15);
Ahaz (2 Ch 28:1-4); Manasseh (2 Ch 33:1-9); Amen (2 Ch 33:22). See
IDOLATRY. Prophecy originated as a Divine and imperative protest against this
historic tendency to defection from the religion of Yahweh.

In classical Greek, apostasy signified revolt from a military commander. In
the roman catholic church it denotes abandonment of religious orders;
renunciation of ecclesiastical authority; defection from the faith. The
persecutions of the early Christian centuries forced many to deny Christian
discipleship and to signify their apostasy by offering incense to a heathen deity or
blaspheming the name of Christ. The emperor Julian, who probably never vitally
embraced the Christian faith, is known in history as “the Apostate,” having
renounced Christianity for paganism soon after his accession to the throne.

An apostate’s defection from the faith may be intellectual, as in the case of
Ernst Haeckel, who, because of his materialistic philosophy, publicly and
formally renounced Christianity and the church; or it may be moral and spiritual,
as with Judas, who for filthy lucre’s sake basely betrayed his Lord. See
exhaustive articles on “Apostasy” in the Jewish Encyclopedia.

DWIGHT M. PRATT

 

In order for us to come to a pre-70^th week of Daniel Rapture, scholars look at this passage and explain it like this:

 

Expositers Bible Commentary:

 

“His proof of the day's nonpresence consists of citing two phenomena that had not yet occurred. The text does not explicitly say whether these will come before the day of the Lord or immediately after it begins, because the Greek sentence is not complete, but it presupposes something to be added from the previous verse; i.e., "that day will not come" (NIV) or "that day is not present" (cf. note).”

 

They go on to say that it doesn’t mean the day will not come until these events happen, but the arrival of these events will happen in the midst of the Day of the Lord!

 

They go on to say, “But here in 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul is not discussing the timing of the rapture. He is simply reassuring his readers that "the day of the Lord" had not come. Nor does he at any place in this context (2Thess 2:1-12) tell his readers that they will at some future time "see" the two initial phenomena of "the day of the Lord." Had he said that, there would indeed be a problem.”

 

HE DID SAY THAT !!– and the only problem is for those who hold to a ‘pre-tribulation’ rapture.  (John, in Revelation chapter one states he is a ‘fellow partaker in THE TRIBULATION’, so how could the Rapture be ‘pre-tribulation’!!!!)

 

Let’s examine the Greek here for “that day will not come until…”

 

 

G3361

ìÞ

meô; a prim. particle; not, that...not, lest (used for qualified negation):—all
*(1), cannot (1), cannot *(6), case (1), certainly *(1), devoid *(1), ever *(3),
except (1), fear *(2), inevitable *(1), keep (2), kept (1), lacks *(1), make (1),
never (17), never *(16), no (67), no one (1), no *(11), none (2), none *(2),
nothing (2), nothing *(3), only *(11), or (4), otherwise *(3), refrain (1), so (2), so
that no (1), so *(12), stop (8), surely (4), than *(2), unable *(4), unless *(38),
until *(1), without (6), without *(4).

 

G1437

dÜí

ean; contr. from G1487 and G302; if (a conditional particle used like
G1487, but usually with the Gr. subjunctive mood):—case (1), everyone (1),
except *(1), if (222), if *(2), or *(1), though (2), unless *(34), whatever *(22),
when (2), whenever *(2), wherever *(8), whether *(1), whoever *(17),
whomever *(2).

 

The best rendering of this phrase in context according to every greek scholar and Bible translator is:  “for it will not come unless”

 

Word Pictures in the New Testament states:

Archibald Thomas Robertson

 

For it will not be (hoti). There is an ellipse here of ouk estai (or
geneôsetai) to be supplied after hoti. Westcott and Hort make an
anacoluthon at the end of verse 4. The meaning is clear. Hoti is causal, because,
but the verb is understood. The …coming not only is not “imminent,” but
will not take place before certain important things take place, a definite rebuff to
the false enthusiasts of verse 2. 

 

Vincents Word Studies states:

MARVIN R. VINCENT, D.D.

 

Except there come a falling away. Before except insert in translation the day
shall not come. Such ellipses are common in Paul.

 

 

 

There is simply no other way to translate this!  Thus, the rapture can not take place unless the apostasy comes first, and the antichrist is revealed.

Jewish Weddings Matt. 25

IVP Bible Background Commentary:

On “the kingdom is like” see comment on 13:24 . Weddings were held toward evening and torches were used as part of the celebration, which focused on a procession leading the bride to the groom’s house. It is unlikely that “lamps” refers to the small Herodian oil lamps, which could be carried in the hand; all the evidence points instead to torches, which were also used in Greek and Roman wedding ceremonies. These torches may have been sticks wrapped with oil-soaked rags. In many traditional Palestinian villages in more recent times, the wedding feast occurs at night after a day of dancing; the bridesmaids leave the bride, with whom they have been staying, and go out to meet the bridegroom with torches. They then escort him back to his bride, whom they all in turn escort to the groom’s home.

25:2-7

Torches like these could not burn indefinitely; some evidence suggests that they may have burned for only fifteen minutes before the burnt rags would have to be removed and new oil-soaked rags would need to be wrapped on the sticks of which they were made. Because not all the details of ancient Palestinian weddings are known, it is not clear whether the *parable envisions the lamps as burning while the bridesmaids slept (to avoid the delay of having to rekindle them) or as being lit only after the first announcement of the bridegroom’s coming (as many scholars think). Either way, if the bridegroom delayed longer than they anticipated, their lamps would not last unless they had an extra reserve of oil. Bridegrooms were often late, and their comings were repeatedly announced until they arrived.

Wedding feasts (which this feast probably is; cf. Mt 22:2) were planned far in advance…

 

Victor Bible Background Commentary

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is drawn from everyday life, and every detail is true to life not only in Bible times but also to life in Palestinian villages up to the last century.

Weddings were typically celebrated during the fall or winter months when few agricultural duties enabled the community to participate in the joyous occasion. That weddings were truly times of delight is reflected in Jeremiah’s description, found in 7:34 , of “the sounds of joy and gladness and...the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem .” It was surely appropriate to liken the eschatological coming of the kingdom to a wedding.

But our attention is focused on ten young women waiting to “meet the bridegroom.” A typical wedding saw friends of the bride waiting at her home. They waited for the bridegroom, who must come to get the bride and bring her to his home. The description of a Jerusalem wedding published in 1909 tells how guests met in the bride’s home. As they waited for hours, messengers repeatedly announced the bridegroom was at hand. The guests hurried out to meet him, only to return home. Finally, near midnight , the groom arrived with his friends, all brightly lit by carried lamps and candles. Then the two groups of friends merged and the whole party moved off in a blaze of light to escort the couple to the groom’s home.

In our parable, ten young women among the bride’s friends are singled out. Each has a lamp, but only five have brought oil to fuel their lamps. Since light is a symbol of happiness, candles and oil lamps were essential equipment for the wedding party. Normally visitors from out of town purchased oil or candles in the town where the wedding took place, although some brought such supplies with them. It is likely that the five unprepared virgins expected to obtain oil at the last minute, but fell asleep, and when they awoke it was too late.

By the time they were able to “go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves” (25:9) the wedding procession had moved on through the streets and reached the groom’s home. As was customary after the invited guests had entered the home, the door was locked. The five knocked loudly, but it was too late for the unprepared virgins to join the festivities.

 

Adam Clarks Commentary

The following account of the celebration of a wedding in Persia , taken from the
Zend Avesta, vol. ii. p. 558, etc., may cast some light on this place.

“The day appointed for the marriage, about five o’clock in the
evening, the bridegroom comes to the house of the bride, where
the mobed, or priest, pronounces for the first time the nuptial
benediction. He then brings her to his own house, gives her some
refreshment, and afterwards the assembly of her relatives and
friends reconduct her to her father’s house. When she arrives, the
mobed repeats the nuptial benediction, which is generally done
about MIDNIGHT ; immediately after, the bride, accompanied with
a part of her attending troop, (the rest having returned to their own
homes), is reconducted to the house of her husband, where she
generally arrives about three o’clock in the morning. Nothing can
be more brilliant than these nuptial solemnities in India .
Sometimes the assembly consists of not less than two thousand
persons, all richly dressed in gold and silver tissue; the friends and
relatives of the bride, encompassed with their domestics, are all
mounted on horses richly harnessed. The goods, wardrobe, and
even the bed of the bride, are carried in triumph. The husband,
richly mounted and magnificently dressed, is accompanied by his
friends and relatives, the friends of the bride following him in
covered carriages. At intervals, during the procession, guns and
rockets are fired, and the spectacle is rendered grand beyond
description, by a prodigious number of LIGHTED TORCHES, and by
the SOUND of a multitude of musical instruments.”

There are certain preparations which most persons believe they must make at
the approach of death; but, alas! it is often too late. The lamp is defiled, the light
almost out, and the oil expended; and what adorning is a wretched sinner,
struggling in the agonies of death, capable of preparing for his guilty soul!

Matthew 25:8

Our lamps are gone out—Óâåííõíôáé, are going out. So then it is evident
that they were once lighted. They had once hearts illuminated and warmed by
faith and love; but they had backslidden from the salvation of God, and now they
are excluded from heaven, because, through their carelessness, they have let the
light that was in them become darkness, and have not applied in time for a fresh
supply of the salvation of God.

A Jewish rabbin supposes God addressing man thus:—I give thee my lamp,
give thou me thy lamp; if thou keep my lamp I will keep thy lamp; but if thou
extinguish my lamp I will extinguish thy lamp. That is, I give thee my WORD and
testimonies to be a light unto thy feet and a lanthorn to thy steps, to guide thee
safely through life; give me thy SOUL and all its concerns, that I may defend and
save thee from all evil: keep my WORD, walk in my ways, and I will keep thy
SOUL that nothing shall injure it; but if thou trample under foot my laws, I will
cast thy soul into outer darkness.

Matthew 25:9

Lest there be not enough for us and you—These had all been companions in
the Christian course, and there was a time when they might have been helpful to
each other; but that time is now past for ever—none has a particle of grace to
spare, not even to help the soul of the dearest relative! The grace which every
man receives is just enough to save his own soul; he has no merits to bequeath to
the Church; no work of supererogation which can be placed to the account of
another.

Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy—By leaving out the particle äå, but,
(on the indisputable authority of ABDGHKS, and HV, of Matthai, with sixteen
others, the Armenian, Vulgate, and all the Itala but one), and transposing a very
little the members of the sentence, the sense is more advantageously represented,
and the reading smoother: Rather go to them that sell, and buy for yourselves,
lest there be not enough for us and you. Beza, Mill, Bengel, and Griesbach,
approve of the omission of the particle äå.

 

Barnes Notes

 

Which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom—The “lamps” used on such occasions were rather “torches” or “flambeaux.” They were made by winding rags around pieces of iron or earthenware, sometimes hollowed so as to contain oil, and fastened to handles of wood. These torches were dipped in oil, and gave a large light. Marriage “ceremonies” in the East were conducted with great pomp and solemnity. The ceremony of marriage was performed commonly in the open air, on the banks of a stream. Both the bridegroom and bride were attended by friends. They were escorted in a palanquin. carried by four or more persons. After the ceremony of marriage succeeded a feast of seven days if the bride was a virgin, or three days if she was a widow. This feast was celebrated in her father’s house. At the end of that time the bridegroom conducted the bride with great pomp and splendor to his own home.

This was done in the evening, or at night, Jer. 7:34; 25:10; 33:11. Many friends and relations attended them; and besides those who went with them from the house of the bride, there was another company that came out from the house of the bridegroom to meet them and welcome them. These were probably female friends and relatives of the bridegroom, who went out to welcome him and his new companion to their home. These are the virgins mentioned in this parable. Not knowing precisely the time when the procession would come, they probably went out early, and waited until they should see indications of its approach. In the celebration of marriage in the East at the present day, many of the special customs of ancient times are observed.

 

by

Alfred Edersheim, D. D. , Ph. D.

 

 

The Parable proceeds on the assumption that the Bridegroom is not in the town, but somewhere far away; so that it cannot be known at what precise hour He may arrive. But it is known that He will come that night; and the Virgins who are to meet Him have gathered—presumably in the house where the Marriage is to take place—waiting for the summons to go forth and welcome the Bridegroom.

 

 

 

 

Many of us in the Consortium used to hold to other views concerning the timing of the rapture.  We respect those who still do, and desire Christ's love to be evident even though we disagree on this one point of eschatology.  Our desire is to equip the Body of Christ to complete the great commission, not to divide the Church over man's views of end time events.  May all who teach the uncompromised Word of God unite as brothers and sisters in the Lord, even though we have different views on this point.  Grace and Peace to all!