Does the Apostle Paul write about a “departure?”

Years ago, while doing some necessary renovations to their home, a couple discovered a secret room behind a room that contained a historic find for the previous owners-two old steamer trunks.  Her parents were immigrants. Upon delivery the previous owner found old photographs, a tuxedo, and an old military uniform belonging to her grandfather, confirming the stories she had once heard that he had fought the Germans in World War II. Sometimes, a surviving relic from the past illumines or confirms a truth once held.

Over the last several years there has been a particular verse in the Bible that has been carefully re-examined and scrutinized.  It is 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3.

From the 1599 Geneva Bible:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sin be disclosed, even the son of perdition.”

From the current ESV:

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction

The 1611 King James Version translates this word as “a falling away” and the NASB version of 1963 says “the apostasy” comes first before the revealing of Antichrist.  The question becomes, do all these translations communicate the same meaning?

There are many Bible scholars and Greek linguists (some cited below as sources) that believe within this verse Paul was referring to the Rapture coming first, not having anything to do with an apostasy in this epistle.  And this is not to argue against an apostasy occurring in the last days, for in other letters Paul, Peter, and Jude clearly state an apostasy will come to pass in the last days.

How could anyone draw that conclusion?  It is clear these translations are speaking of a doctrinal or spiritual apostasy.  In fact, we are even bearing witness to apostasy today!

Well, the key question becomes, does the word “apostasia” in verse 3 mean a spiritual departure or a physical departure?  For if it is a physical departure, it would change the meaning of the verse dramatically.  Understanding possible skepticism, prayerfully consider their evidence, presented in an ascending and orderly manner:

THE BACKGROUND OF THESSALONIKA

In 50 A.D. Paul only spent three weeks in Thessalonika (Acts 17:2-4) but in sharing the Gospel he also taught them deep understanding of prophecy and the end of days.  Afterwards he wrote First Thessalonians to the church with heavy emphasis on the Rapture and the coming Day of the Lord.

“Remember, the Thessalonians had been led astray by the false teaching (2:2- 3) that the Day of the Lord had already come. This was confusing because Paul offered great hope, in the first letter, of a departure to be with Christ and a rescue from God’ s wrath. Now a letter purporting to be from Paul seems to say that they would first have to go through the Day of the Lord. Paul then clarified his prior teaching by emphasizing that they had no need to worry. They could again be comforted because the departure he had discussed in his first letter, and in his teaching while with them, was still the truth. The departure of Christians to be with Christ, and the subsequent revelation of the lawless one, Paul argues, is proof that the Day of the Lord had not begun as they had thought.”-Dr. H. Wayne House

THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SPIRITUAL OR DOCTRINAL DEPARTURES

Keep in mind that spiritual departures are not abnormal having appeared in the Bible going all the way back to Genesis 3.  In the Old Testament we find warnings against apostasy of the Israelites in Deuteronomy 13, prophesied in Jeremiah 2:1-3; 3:6-9; 5:6; and Ezekiel 16.  The Apostle Paul was the victim of wide-spread spiritual defection in his day.  Even though “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10) a short while later in one of his last letters he wrote “all who are in Asia turned away from me” (2^nd Timothy 1:15). In Acts 20:28-31 he warned the Ephesian elders that after the apostolic generation passed there would be wide-scale spiritual departure in their church, “savage wolves will come in among you” (verse 29).  Jude even wrote that apostasy had begun in his day (verses 3-4).

SECOND THESSALONIANS WAS ONE OF PAUL’S EARLY LETTERS.  WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?

Paul’s first letter was to the church at Galatia in A.D. 49.  A little while later he wrote the two letters to the Thessalonians in 50-51 A.D.  Later came the two Corinthian letters and Romans (A.D. 56-57).  These were followed by the “prison letters” (Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians) written from A.D. 60-62.  Finally, late in his ministry, Paul wrote letters to pastors, such as First Timothy and Titus (A.D. 62) and Second Timothy (A.D. 67).  The two letters to the Thessalonians were written during his second missionary journey in just a very short period of time after Paul’s planting of the church there.

Why is this important? Although Paul deals with immediate apostasy (Acts 20:28-31; Galatians 1:6-9) he does not start predicting and warning about spiritual end time apostasy until very late in his ministry career.  End-time apostasy is not on his mind early on.  He mentions it briefly in 1^st Timothy 4:1 before it becomes a massive subject in 2^nd Timothy 3:14-4:8).  The Apostle Peter picks up on this theme in 2^nd Peter, but this book was also not written until 64 A.D.  Jude focuses intently on apostasy in his one-chapter book written between 68-70 A.D.  End-time spiritual departure is simply not on Paul’s mind early in his ministry.

In fact, apart from the verse 3 that is questioned, there is not one single verse in either First or Second Thessalonians devoted to the subject of spiritual apostasy. Not one.  Thus, it would be somewhat odd for Paul to focus on an end-time spiritual departure in the early Thessalonian epistles when this is not a subject he emphasizes until much later in his ministry.

NOW THE SPECIFICS: THE DEFINITE ARTICLE BEFORE THE NOUN APOSTASIA

In both the original Greek and Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, there is a definite article in front of the noun “apostasy” or “apostasia.”  Why is this important? This definite article denotes a specific, time-bound event, not a process.  For example, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” (NKJV) In the Greek it is “hee apostasia” and this strongly suggests this cannot be a process or form of general apostasy in Christendom, by context, it is a singular event.

In other words, an instantaneous manifestation or singular event does not fit well with the notion of a spiritual deterioration, which typically requires more time to transpire.  It points instead to a physical departure.

“Furthermore, that which holds back his revelation (vs. 3) is vitally connected with “hoo katechoon” (vs. 7), He who holds back the same event. The latter is, in my opinion, the Holy Spirit and His activities in the Church. All of which means that I am driven to the inescapable conclusion that the “hee apostasia” (vs. 3) refers to the Rapture of the Church which precedes the Day of the Lord, and holds back the revelation of the Man of Sin who ushers in the world-aspect of that period.” –Kenneth Wuest, Greek scholar, Moody Bible Institute

THE NOUN APOSTASIA CAN REFER TO A PHYSICAL DEPARTURE

The noun, apostasia, can very definitely refer to a physical departure.  Those who argue for doctrinal departure interpretation of 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3 argue that the only other use of apostasia in the New Testament is Acts 21:21 where Paul is accused “and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake the law Moses.” But here, the word apostasia is used totally differently, as a spiritual apostasy from the Law of Moses.  Why differently?  The noun is used differently because it is used in the context of doctrinal departure from the Mosaic Law.  The context and use of the word requires understanding of what you are departing from.

The Greek noun apostasia is a compound word, meaning it is derived by combining two previously existing words.  The first word is the Greek preposition apo which means “away from” and histēmi which means “to stand.”  Thus, apostasia means “to stand away from” or “to depart.”

In 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3 we read “the apostasia” as a singular event.  There is nothing named that you are departing from.  Thus, context relegates its usage to a spatial event and not a doctrinal departure.  It denotes a physical departure or a disappearance.

IN ITS VERB FORM “APHISTĒMI” CAN ALSO REFER TO A PHYSICAL DEPARTURE.

The noun apostasia is only used twice in the Greek New Testament in Acts 21:21 and 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3. However, the verb form aphistēmi is found 15 times in the New Testament.  Of these, only three refer to a spiritual defection (Luke 8:13; 1^st Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:12).  The other 12 times it refers to a physical departure.   (Luke 2:37; 4:13; 13:27; Acts 5:37; 5:38; 12:10; 15:38; 19:9; 22:29; 2^nd Corinthians 12:8; 1^st Timothy 2:19; 6:5).

THE EXTENDED CONTEXT FAVORS A PHYSICAL DEPARTURE

Context is king in determining the meaning of words, and this is especially true when words have multiple meanings.  As an example, the word “apple” can denote 1) a piece of fruit, 2) a computer, 3) the pupil of one’s eye, and 4) even New York City.  So how do you determine the word’s meaning in a paragraph?  The context answers that question.

The extended context favors the meaning physical departure. “Extended context” means referring to both books, First and Second Thessalonians since they were written in such close proximity to one another (6-9 months).  It is interesting that in First Thessalonians every single chapter ends with a reference to the return of Jesus (1^st Thessalonians 1:10; 2:19-20; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23-38).  In fact, the most detailed treatment of the rapture we have in the Bible is in chapter 4:13-18.

Since “context is king” in determining the meaning of apostasia, the larger context of the Thessalonian letters pertain to the approaching Day of the Lord and the return of Jesus Christ for His Church, that is the physical departure of the Church.

SECOND THESSALONIANS IS PART OF A REVIEW COURSE

If the physical departure view is the correct meaning of the word apostasia then why didn’t Paul use the word harpazō for “rapture” or “caught up?”  The answer bears reminder that Paul uses numerous terms to describe the rapture in his writings. The word harpazō is not used consistently.  What are other examples?  They would include ryhomai (1^st Thessalonians 1:10), episynagōgē (2^nd Thessalonians 2:1), apokalypsis (1^st Corinthians 1:7) and epiphaneia (Titus 2:13).  There are even other passages referring to the rapture that do not use harpazō including John 14:1-3 and 2^nd Corinthians 15:50-58. Thus, apostasia is just another example.

Even when the Two Witnesses are taken or caught up to heaven in Revelation 11:12 the word harpazō is not used.

This second letter to the Thessalonians is a type of review for what he had taught and written in his first letter.  He is reviewing ground that he has already covered.  When you review prior ground, one does not typically lay the fundamentals down precisely all over again.  Instead, different words are used to reinforce and amplify the prior teaching.  This is why Paul does not use identical language as he used in his first letter to the Thessalonians.

EARLY BIBLE TRANSLATIONS FAVOR THE PHYSICAL DEPARTURE VIEW

The earliest Bible translators all recognized the noun “apostasia” as communicating a physical departure as referencing the Rapture.  In fact, going back to the 4^th century Jerome translated the New Testament from Greek into Latin in what is known as the Latin Vulgate (“vulgate” in Latin means “common).  When Jerome translated 2^nd Thessalonians 2:3 he used the Latin word discessio which means “departure.”

All of the earliest English Bibles translated apostasia prōton in verse 3 as “departure or departing first.”

Date	Bible	Translation of “apostasia”
4th Century	Latin Vulgate	departure
1384	Wycliffe Bible	departynge first
1388	Wycliffe-Purvey Bible	departynge first
1526	Tyndale Bible	departynge first
1535	Coverdale Bible	departynge first
1539	Cranmer Bible	departynge first
1540	Great Bible	departynge first
1560	Geneva Bible	departing first
1576	Breeches Bible	departing first
1582	Rheims Bible	the Revolt
1583	Beza Bible	departing first
1608	Geneva Bible	departing first
1611	King James Bible	a falling away first

WHEN DID THE BIBLE TRANSLATION CHANGE?

The first change in translating apostasia came with the first Catholic Bible translation in 1576-1582 known as the Rheims Bible. The translation is altered and appears to reflect on the Protestant Revolt during the Reformation.

“It appears that the Catholic translation into English from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate known as the Rheims Bible (1576) was the first to break the translation trend.  “Apostasia” was revised from “the departure” to “the Protestant Revolt,” explains Butalla.  Revolution is the terminology still in use today when Catholicism teaches the history of the Protestant Reformation.  Under this guise, apostasia would refer to a departure of Protestants from the Catholic Church.” –Martin Butalla, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1998

Thus, in the Rheims Bible it appears Catholic translators were engaged in polemics against the Protestants by performing a theological translation rather than a lexical translation to render verse 3.

Why then did the King James Version translate apostasia as “a falling away?”  The answer most likely lies in the fact that the KJV translation was created in the tumultuous wake of the Protestant Reformation and as a “volley” against the Rheims Bible, used “a falling away” to reflect on what was perceived to be doctrinal error observed in the Catholic Church.

It is interesting to note that the Puritans in the 1600s used the 1599 Geneva Bible and detested the King James Version simply because one third of the KJV translators were Anglican.

As a result, most modern translations today follow the pattern established by the King James Version (NKJV, NIV, RSV, ASV, Jerusalem Bible, NASB, etc.) rendering “apostasia” as a spiritual departure rather than a physical departure.

THE WORD “APOSTASY” DID NOT EXIST IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNTIL THE EARLY 1600S

The English word “apostasy” was created in the early 1600s only after the publishing of the King James Version in 1611.

“I have come to the conclusion that the weight of evidence favors ‘departing’ as the proper translation of apostasia in the original text, not ‘apostasy’ or ‘falling away’ or ‘rebellion.”-Dr. Tim LaHaye

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy [the departure (Rapture)] comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, —2 Thessalonians 2:3

In sharing this summation with you there is no effort to subvert or undermine the validity and veracity of Holy Scripture.  Instead, it is shared for your consideration as a higher and better interpretation of this particular verse based on historical and linguistic evidence.  Most scholars today cannot offer explanation for the translation shift 400 years ago.

If confirmed, it would be a “game-changer” for the Church.  For when we are fearful, by instinct we prep and fortify, our focus turns inward.  For example, this is common for those who anticipate the arrival of a bad storm.  On the other hand, when we are not fearful and at peace our normal external focus returns, we reach out and interact with others freely.  Likewise, and despite the troubles of our day, that the Church would focus again on its mission: reaching the unsaved.

^“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.  For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.  Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” (1^st Thessalonians 5:8-11)

A debt of gratitude is offered to multiple sources: Dr. Andy Woods, Dr. Thomas Ice, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Paul Lee Tan, Daniel Davey, Dr. Tim LaHaye, Martin Butalla, Dr. H. Wayne House, Gordon Lewis, Allan MacRae, Kenneth Wuest, E. Schuyler English, Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost, Denis Bowden, J.S. Mabie