In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, the Bible says the following: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 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. 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, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. In this text, Paul begins by, first of all, directly stating what He is addressing: the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him (2 Thessalonians 2:1). This directly refers to Jesus’ appearing, the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the rapture or catching away of faithful believers, which Paul had already mentioned to the Thessalonian church in his first letter to them (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Therefore we cannot ignore nor reject what what Paul himself said he is addressing in the text above and replace that with something else. That will be an error.
Additionally, it will make no sense for Paul to directly state what He is going to talk about in his opening statement then immediately refrain from addressing the very subject He said He was going to address in the text above or in the rest of the chapter or entire book. If Paul indeed did that, then Paul and the Scriptures would have lied and we will have no basis to absolutely trust the Bible. However, the Bible says, “let God be true and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4) and “God cannot lie” (Titus 1:2 ). Thus, if the Bible said it was going to address the subject of Jesus’ coming and our being gathered together to Him in the text above (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4), then that is exactly what the Scriptures addressed. Therefore we contradict the Scriptures when we read what Paul said he is addressing in the opening verse in the text above, and then move on to the next and subsequent verses and conclude that Paul was addressing something else other than what he said he was going to address.
Let’s look a bit more closely at the subject Paul was addressing. In the words of Paul, this is what he said he was addressing in his opening statement: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed…. that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)”. Here Paul directly noted that he was going to talk to them about a certain day, of which the Bible says no one can know (Matthew 24:36): i.e. the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (2 Thessalonians 2:1). In the very next sentence or verse, Paul refers to this day as “the day of Christ” (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 2:2, NKJV, YLT, KJV, WEB), also translated as “the day of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 2:2, NASB, ESV). The Greek word translated “Lord” in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 is Kurious, which is a title given to Jesus, the Messiah. It is the same word translated as “Lord” in the phrase “the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ” in Paul’s opening statement ( 2 Thessalonians 2:1). So then the day of the Lord used in 2 Thessalonian 2:2 also rightly translate as the day of Christ. What day of Christ was Paul wanting to address? He mentioned it right at the beginning of his opening statement: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him” (2 Thessalonians 2:1). Therefore, we err when we neglect the day of Christ or the day of the Lord Paul directly states He is addressing in this text and replace it with some other day. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, it will make no sense for Paul to say that He was going to address Jesus’ coming and the rapture in the first verse of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, and then never talks about it when he starts making his address (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4) or for the rest of the entire chapter or entire book.
Paul continued his message by saying that the appearing of Jesus and the rapture of the church will not happen unless there is first the apostasy (i.e. Greek word translated “apostasy” is apostasia, meaning a falling away or apostasy; defection or renunciation of faith – not a departure or catching away from the earth) and the man of lawlessness or the anti-Christ is first revealed. He also added that to think otherwise is to be deceived (2 Thessalonian 2:1-4). In other words, without the anti-Christ being revealed first, the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture will not happen (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). Yet this chapter of the Bible is read and used to teach that the church must be raptured before the anti-Christ can be revealed. But the Bible actually says the direct opposite! Moreover, we are told not to let any one deceive us into thinking that the coming of the Lord and the rapture can happen without the anti-Christ first being revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Thus, any teaching or eschatological view, which teaches that the church has to be raptured before the anti-Christ can be revealed is a specific deception the Bible warns us against. This definitely includes the pre-tribulation rapture, which has become prevalent in our day although it is the direct opposite of what the Bible teaches. Moreover, there is not a single Scripture in the entire Bible, which says that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture will happen before the anti-Christ can come on the scene and before the great tribulation can start. If there was indeed a Scripture which said the church must leave the earth before the anti-Christ can come on the scene, then the Bible would have contradicted itself. But the Bible never contradicts itself (cf. Proverbs 30:5, Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18).
In 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, the Bible continues to say that “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). Here, the Scripture says that there is someone preventing the anti-Christ from being revealed but when he is removed, the anti-Christ will be revealed. This text, and entire chapter, does not expressly tell us who the hindrance is. But even before we can attempt to find out who the hindrance is, the Bible specifically tells us early on in this same chapter what the hindrance is not. In the first four verses, the Bible, specifically states that the appearing of Jesus and the rapture cannot and will not happen until the anti-Christ is first revealed and to think otherwise is to be deceived. In this way, the Bible emphatically says that it is not the presence of the church on the earth that is hindering the anti-Christ from being revealed. Not only will the church be on earth to see the anti-Christ revealed, but the Bible adds that the church will go through the great tribulation, after which the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture can happen (see this link or my book entitled “What to Expect and How to Prepare to Triumph in the days Ahead. A Biblical Perspective on the Last Days).
The danger of falsely raising the hopes of many that they will be taken away from the earth before the great tribulation starts is that it can produce Christians who are largely unprepared, untrained, and ignorant of what to expect in this last days as well as what to do in order to triumph in the perilous times and in the great tribulation. This lack of knowledge can lead many to needlessly perish just as we read “My people are destroyed (perish) for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6). The biggest threat of the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine may be its emphasis that the man of lawlessness or the anti-Christ and his mark cannot be ushered in as long as the church is present on the earth. If one should hold on to this religiously without ascertaining what the Scriptures actually say, then it would not seem too grievous to receive the “mark of the beast” to avoid persecution, starvation, and death since to them, their earthly presence should prevent the actual mark from being introduced. Meanwhile, the Scriptures sternly warn that receiving the mark of the beast is to forever cut yourself from God and spend eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 13:16-18, Revelation 14:9-12).
It behooves us therefore to know what the Scriptures exactly teach about the times we are living in, and how we are to prepare to triumph in these last days so that we are not deceived by a false hope of escaping what we have been forewarned to adequately prepare for.
K. Omari, PhD
August 3, 2021
A Very Important Message
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, for the Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be discipled to grow in the ways of God. You can also email me ([email protected]) and I will be happy to grow together with you in Christ.
God bless you and grant you more grace to boldly declare His truth
Amen! God bless you too.