Concerning the term " falling away" used in 1 Thess 2:3, I think this has been mistranslated from the Greek.
Most commentators seem to assume that before the "...man of sin is revealed..." there must be a falling away from the faith (or from the Church). My problem is that nowhere else in Scripture is there a reference to a falling away at the end of days (now). People talk about the Laodicean church in Revelation, but if you read it carefully, God is angry with the members of this church because they are neither hot nor cold NOT because they have fallen away (i.e religious, but with no operational faith, not unlike - unfortunately - many mainstream denominational churches today, e.g. the United Church of Canada, that denies the need to be Born Again, the Resurrection and the Virgin Birth).
All Scripture MUST be consistent and must confirm itself - if a verse or passage does not seem to agree with other passages in the whole canon of scripture, then assume that you have incorrectly understood the passage in question that appears to contradict or not agree with the rest of the Bible.
The Greek word translated "falling away" is apostasia. I think we have all been mislead in our anglicized use of this word apostasia.
This has been transliterated (not translated) to apostasy, and given a different meaning to that of the original Greek (just like the word baptismo has been transliterated to Baptism, which usually associated only with water immersion - again not a correct translation from the Greek)
Strictly, the word apostasia would be most correctly translated as meaning "to go away from", or "depart", or "change state or standing from one state to another"
The biblical context that you are quoting from is specifically about the Rapture - or as Paul puts in 1Thess 4:17, the being "caught up" event (we get the English word Rapture from the Latin translation of this verse - can't remember the exact Latin right now).
So, using the above definition, we should more correctly read I Thessalonians 2:1-3:
"Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come* unless the Departure, Going Away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed...."
(* Note: the phrase that Day will not come * is not in the original Greek).
I found that the following article is very helpful in explaining this.
Apostasia
I have not yet found any other reference in Scripture that there needs to be a falling away before the Lord comes for His Bride. In saying this I am opening the door to lots of, hopefully, useful discussions....
John
3 comments:
Hi John,
Mt. 24:10 speaks of a falling away. Those who hold to the prewrath timing of the rapture see this as paralleling the falling away spoken of in 2 Th. 2. Both passages speak of the gathering occuring sometime after the abomination of desolation. I see the Matt. 24 passage as applying to the church as well as the Jews. There are Matthew passages on either side of Matthew 24 which obviously include the church. Mt. 18 references the church regarding discipline. It is obvious you can include the church in Mt. 28 as well in regards to the Great Commission. Why would the Lord leave the church out of Mt. 24 and not tell us? In Mt. 18 Jesus uses the words "you" alot, just as He does in Mt. 24. It is obvious He had the church in view in Mt. 18. These are just some of the reasons why I see the prewrath timing of the rapture.
Blessings!
John,
Being the "infant" tongue speaker that I am - I wanted to ask you about this:
Today I started praying in tongues. Things were rolling along then I started saying a particular phrase.
Which in it's self is not unusual but this time it won't stop.
I prayed to know what it means but I have never translated any of my speaking.
It sounds like Ke jhe jhe jhe ba.
It's not a Ja sound with a J but I cannot even think of a letter in our alphabet that would be a good representation of the sound.
I wondering if I'm suppose to know what that means since it won't stop?
I don't know anyone who speaks w/tongues so you immediately came to mind.
Thanks John,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you...
First of all - just keep going witht he tongues.
It might help you to understand Jude 20 better, if you consider that you are building/constructing an imposing edifice, mansion or a tall building (house, skyscraper, whatever you have faith for) in yourself when you pray in tongues (that's what the original Greek means).
Look upon it as doing construction work. Sometimes you are building/rebuilding the foundations, sometimes adding a room or another floor to your building, or replacing the porch...
I asked the Lord about the repeating tongues and I immediately got a picture of a foundation being poured - you need to keep praying in the the new "concrete" - I think that';s why you are repeating the same thing.
Anyway, the important thing to remember is that you are praying mysteries to God - He understands even if you do not, and as you pray out aloud, it releases/enables Him to do a work in your life or in a situation you find yourself in.
Hope this helps,
John
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