Issue
6 - 8/21/2005
Apostasy or Departure?
Living at NTLI is a different experience. We live in a community of 350 believers. Some mornings, I walk to work early. Every so often I'll look around and notice that no one is about. I wonder, “where is everyone at? Did someone call a meeting and forget to tell me? Why am I the only one around? Did I miss the boat?!”
The Thessalonian believers may have had that same feeling. Somehow they felt like they missed the boat. At least, someone was trying to convince them of that. They received news that the day of Christ had already begun and somehow they had missed out. Therefore, Paul needed to straighten them out.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 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 falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Paul reminded them of the basic truths he taught them previously about the Second Coming of Christ. He said:
(v. 5) Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Paul was saying that before Christ returns to establish His millennial kingdom certain things must take place. First the “falling away” or “apostasy” had to occur. Then the man of sin (Antichrist) would be revealed.
(NKJV) for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…
(NASB) for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first…
(HCSB) For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first…
(WNT) for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first…
( ALT ) because [that Day will not come] unless the apostasy comes first…
(Darby) because it will not be unless the apostasy have first come…
What is meant the by “the apostasy” or “the falling away?” For years Bible scholars assumed that “the apostasy” that Paul wrote about meant “a falling away from the faith.” But is that what the Greek word really means?
Some noted Biblical scholars have proposed that the Greek word for apostasy (apostasia) actually means “departure.” These scholars include Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost, Dr. Kenneth Wuest, Dr. Tim LaHaye, Dr. Thomas Ice, Dr. H. Wayne House, John R. Rice, and E. Schuyler English.
Note: E. Schuyler English was one of the first to suggest this interpreation. Although John Walvoord initially supported the view, he was later persuaded to the contrary by the arguments of Robert Gundry (post-trib rapture advocate) and abandoned the view.
Among dispensationalists, this is by far the minority opinion. However, I believe that there is some strong evidence supporting this view.
Dr. Thomas Ice: I believe that there is a strong possibility that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is speaking of the rapture. What do I mean? Some pretribulationists, like myself, think that the Greek noun apostasia, usually translated “apostasy,” is a reference to the rapture and should be translated “departure.” Thus, this passage would be saying that the day of the Lord will not come until the rapture comes before it.
The Meaning of Apostasia
The Greek noun apostasia is only used twice in the New Testament. Besides 2 Thessalonians 2:3, it also occurs in:
Acts 21:21 “… you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake ( apostasia ) Moses.”
The English word “apostasy” is a transliteration of the Greek word apostasia .
The Greek word is a compound of apo meaning “from” and stasis meaning “stand.”
It literally means “standing away from”; “separation” or “departure.”
In a physical sense, it could mean to depart from a place or person.
In a figurative sense it could mean to depart from the faith or to depart from political loyalty.
The Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon defines apostasia as “defection, revolt, departure, or disappearance.”
The verb ( aphistemi ) from which the noun ( apostasia ) is derived supports the basic meaning of “departure.”
Gordon Lewis: The verb may mean to remove spatially. There is little reason then to deny that the noun can mean such a spatial removal or departure. Since the noun is used only one other time in the New Testament … we can hardly conclude that its Biblical meaning is necessarily determined.
The verb is used fifteen times in the New Testament.
Of these fifteen, only three have anything to do with a departure from the faith.
The word is used for departing from:
In the OT Septuagint the verb form ( aphistemi ) is used in the sense of a physical departure.
It's used in Genesis 12:8 of Abram's departure from Shechem. It's used in 1 Samuel 18:13 of David's departure from Saul. It's used in Psalm 6:8 of the physical separation of the wicked from God's presence.
A classical Greek myth by Aristophanes (5th/4th Century B.C.) is quite revealing. In this story the verb form of apostasia was used of a group of people departing from their homeland to establish a new “trouble-free” colony in the sky. That almost sounds like the rapture to me!
The plays of Aristophanes were widely performed for several hundred years in the Grecian world. By the time the Apostle Paul reached Thessalonica this play was probably well known in that area. Therefore, the idea of a departure of a group of citizens to a colony in the sky must have been a widely known concept in the Greek world.
Daniel Davey: It is with full assurance of proper exegetical study and with complete confidence in the original languages that the word meaning of apostasia is defined as departure.
Paul Lee Tan: The Greek word for “falling away”, taken by itself, does not mean religious apostasy or defection. Neither does the word mean “to fall,” as the Greeks have another word for that. [pipto, fall; TDI ] The best translation of the word is “to depart.”
Summary:
The Greek word apostasia means “departure” in either a physical sense or an abstract sense. It could mean departing from a place or a person. It can also mean departure from the faith.
Therefore, the context must be used to determine whether it means a physical departure or an abstract departure such as “departure from the faith.”
Translation History
Modern English versions of the Bible imply apostasia, as used in this verse, means “falling away from the truth of God” or a “falling away from God Himself.”
However, for the first 1600 years of church history apostasia had been translated as “departure” and not as “falling away.”
Jerome's Latin Vulgate (A.D. 400) translates apostasia with the Latin word “discessio”, which means “departure.”
The first seven English translations rendered apostasia in this verse as either “departure” or “departing.” They are as follows: Wycliffe Bible (1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539); Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608).
The King James translators were the first to introduce the new rendering of apostasia as “falling away.” Since then most English translators have followed either the King James translators. Had modern translators followed the first 7 English translations of the Bible then 2 Thessalonians 2:3 would read:
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the departure comes first…
Dr. Kenneth S. Wuest: The A.V. offers an interpretation of the Greek word, "apostasia" instead of translating it and allowing the Spirit taught believer to interpret the context. The words are "a falling away," the thought being of "a falling away from the true doctrine," which is a case of eisegesis (reading into the text that which is not there).
The word considered in its historical background and context should be translated, "departure,"...the definite article occurring before the word makes it apply to a particular departure, one known to the writer and the recipients of the letter. It is the departure of the church spoken of in 2:1, "our gathering together unto Him," and previously described in detail to the Thessalonians in Paul's first letter to them (4:13-18).
In other words, these translators were simply reading their own theological bias back into their translation. No valid reason has ever been given for abandoning the original rendering “departure.”
Dr. Wuest translates 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as: … that day shall not come except the aforementioned departure [of the church to heaven] comes first …
In a footnote on 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Amplified Bible quite aptly says: “A possible rendering of apostasia is ‘departure [of the church]'.”
The Use of the Definite Article
It is important to note that Paul uses a definite article with the noun apostasia .
The Greek word in this verse translated “apostasy” or “falling away” has the definite article before it. Paul is speaking about “the apostasy” or “the departure.” It's a specific event, that would be recognizable to the Thessalonians. It's not a “general” departure from the faith. It's not a gradual falling away from the faith. It's a specific, recognizable event that would be obvious to the Thessalonian believers.
Daniel Davey: In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the word apostasia is prefaced by the definite article which means that Paul is pointing to a particular type of departure clearly known to the Thessalonian church.
Paul Lee Tan: What precisely does Paul mean when he says that “the falling away” (2:3) must come before the tribulation? The apostle Paul refers here to a definite event which he calls “the departure,” and which will occur just before the start of the tribulation. This is the rapture of the church.
Dr. Gordon R. Lewis: the definite article serves to make a word distinct and draw attention to it. In this instance its purpose is “to denote a previous reference.” “The departure Paul previously referred to was ‘our being gathered to him' (v. 1).”
Dr. Ice: The “departure” was something that Paul and his readers clearly had a mutual understanding about. Paul says:
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
Paul spoke of a clear, discernable event. A physical departure, like the rapture would fit just such a scenario.
Is Apostasy—A Clear, Discernable Event?
The New Testament teaches that apostasy had already arrived in the first century (cf. Acts 20:27-32; 1 Tim. 4:1-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Jude 3-4, 17-21).
Departure from the faith does not happen over night. It takes time. Such a process as departure from the faith would not denote a clear event as demanded by the language of this passage.
E. Schuyler English: How would the Thessalonians, or Christians in any century since, be qualified to recognize “the apostasy” when it should come? There has been apostasy from God, rebellion against Him, since time began.
Paul's reference to “the departure,” was obviously something that both he and the Thessalonian believers had discussed in-depth previously. When we examine Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, he never mentions the doctrine of apostasy. However, virtually every chapter in that epistle speaks of the rapture (cf. 1:9-10; 2:19 ; probably 3:13 ; 4:13 -17; 5:1-11). It seems very likely that “the departure” is a reference to the rapture.
Dr. H. Wayne House: 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. This understanding of apostasia makes much more sense than the view that they are to be comforted (v. 2) because a defection from the faith must precede the Day of the Lord.
Kenneth Wuest: I am driven to the inescapable conclusion that the 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.
There will be an apostasy or departure from the faith in the latter days. Paul wrote in:
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.
But how much apostasy will be sufficient to say without a doubt this is clearly the “ apostasia ” that Paul referred to in 2 Thessalonians? Remember that the Thessalonians did not have radio, TV or the internet by which they could get their news. They didn't have “The Barna Group” or “The Gallup Organization” taking polls about the doctrinal integrity of local churches. Local churches across the country could have abandoned sound doctrine and they would nev er have known it. A general departure from the faith would not have been a recognizable event in that day and age.
Opponents of the pretrib rapture often present an argument like this: If Paul had really taught the Thessalonians about a pretrib rapture then he could have easily cleared up this confusion they had. All he needed to do was to tell the Thessalonians that there was one sure fire way that they could tell this rumor about the Day of the Lord was false. They could know without a doubt that they were not in the tribulation because the Rapture had not taken place! Since Paul did not present this line of reasoning then we know that he never taught them a pretrib rapture!
I have to admit, that argument makes sense. But if apostasia does mean the departure of the church in rapture then that would settle the argument once and for all!
Conclusion
When I'm walking to work and I notice that no one else is around, the first thing I do is get on the internet to find out how much apostasy is in Christianity today. When I see that there isn't too much apostasy then I know that I'm not in the tribulation!
Yeah right! I don't think so!
As soon as I see another Christian brother or sister, then I feel a whole lot better. If he or she is still here then I'm pretty sure that I haven't missed the boat. That's much more comforting to me than to try and figure out how much the church as departed from the faith!
Certainly, the concept of a pretribulational rapture does not stand or fall with the interpretation of this one verse. There is far more evidence available supporting a pretrib rapture.
But this interpretation is the only one that logically provides hope for a group of believers who thought they had missed the boat.
HISTORY OF THE RAPTURE VIEW
As was noted earlier, the Rapture view of apostasia is thought to have originated with work of E. Schuyler English. His series of articles, “Re-Thinking the Rapture,” was later assembled in a book by the same name. English cites no prior sources for his view, and so we are led to believe that it originated with him. However, this is not the case. English may have come to this view independently, but he was not the first to suggest it. Reiter has pointed out that, as early as 1895, J. S. Mabie argued for the Rapture view. Apparently, this view was not unknown among pretribulationists before English. This would also explain why John R. Rice could suggest his support for the view in 1945, five years before English's work appeared. However old the Rapture view is, it is clearly English who has popularized the view in recent times. English has been followed by Wuest, Walvoord, Lewis, Tan, Ellisen, Wood, Davey, and House.
Although Walvoord initially supported the view, he was later persuaded to the contrary by the arguments of Robert Gundry (post-trib rapture advocate) and abandoned the view. The Rapture view of apostasia has received little attention in recent years until House's article. He has produced the most thorough and well-reasoned defense of the Rapture view.