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Since my earliest memories of Church we have been told that before Jesus can return, there must be a great, worldwide backsliding that takes place. It seems that multitudes of Christians will have to deny their faith in Christ. This view propounds that Believers from every continent on earth will renounce their salvation and opt to return to Satan’s kingdom. Then, and ONLY then, can Jesus come back for His Church, the Bride of Christ. This teaching has been commonly referred to as “The Great Falling Away” as derived from II Thessalonians 2:3 of the KJV Bible.
To counteract this major loss, we were told that the Lord is going to send a great revival that will sweep around the world and bring multitudes into the family of God. This global ingathering has been referred to as “The Great End-time Harvest”. Then, and ONLY then, can Jesus come back for His Church, the Bride of Christ. Putting it plainly, the two statements would read something like this: “Jesus is going to lose some, and then He is going to gain some, and then, the Father will say, Son, it’s time to go get your Church.” These two perspectives have been blended together and have become commonly accepted as Orthodox Eschatological Theology in many churches.
Could there possibly be something in the Greek that might shed additional light on this rather disturbing and confusing viewpoint? Does the Father really plan to wait for a mass exodus of old Christians so He can replace them with new Christians before He will allow Jesus to return for His saints? If there is any help to be found, it will be derived from the Greek Gold Mine. So, let’s get busy digging this nugget out of the vein.
The first area that we need to establish is the difference between “translation” and “interpretation.” Translation conveys into a new language exactly what was said by the speaker in the original language. Interpretation moves beyond this conveyance and ADDS what the translators think the speaker meant to say. This latter aspect leans heavily upon the subjective and personal perspectives and beliefs of the translator/ interpreter.
In modern public relations, this process of interpreting the words of a speaker to make it more palatable with the audience is often referred to as “spin.” It is extremely difficult for a translator to avoid this temptation to cross the line between pure translation and adding HIS PERCEPTION of what the speaker was attempting to communicate. The Bible is by no means lacking other examples where interpretations were substituted for translations or where human manipulation is evident.
One such amazing example of scriptural manipulation in the KJV is found in Psalms 46. It seems the men delegated with the responsibility of satisfying King James’ mandate to give a readable version of the Bible to his English speaking audience also wanted to honor their native son, William Shakespeare. Since the year 1611 also marked his 46th birthday, they chose to INSERT his name in the 46th Psalm as they created the King James Bible.
If you count down 46 words from the beginning of Psalm 46, you will find the word “shake”. If you count 46 words up from the end of the Psalm you will find the word “spear”. There you have it: in his 46th year (1611), Shakespeare is honored by having his name injected 46 down and 46 up in the KJV text of Psalm 46. Do you really believe this is a coincidence?
In II Thessalonians 2:1-3, Paul deals with several cornerstones of Eschatology (the Doctrine of the Last Days). He begins in Verse 1 by stating that (1) the Lord Jesus is coming and (2) the Church will be “gathered together unto Him.” This opening statement sets the theme for what will follow. Remember, the CONTEXT is critical to proper textual scrutiny. When you do not keep the text within the proper context, you will create a pretext. Pre-texts, Eisegesis and personal interpretations are all womb mates gestating toward the eventual birthing of doctrinal error or heresy.
In verse 2, Paul comforts these Thessalonian Christians by telling them he had not written a letter stating that “The Day of Christ (Greek text, “Lord”) is at hand (Lit. ‘Is come’)”. This familiar expression is used throughout the Scriptures to speak of the Tribulation Period that God will send to the world; a world which has rejected His Son as Savior. Paul was writing to alleviate their fears that (1) they had missed the coming of Christ for His Church or (2) that they were going to have to endure this terrible time that was coming upon the earth after He gathers His Church unto Himself. This is the context from which flow Paul’s remarks in this passage.
To ease their alarm, Paul tells them in verse 3 that the “Day of Christ” (“Lord”) shall not occur, “Except there be a (Greek Text, “The”) falling away (apostasia, SC 646) FIRST and that man of sin be revealed.” How can this statement by Paul comfort these distressed Christians if they are being told there is to be “THE Great Falling Away” that must occur before The Rapture of the Church? Then, the Tribulation Period will begin. Furthermore, if this backsliding is of such monumental proportions that it starts God’s time-clock ticking on the countdown of the Last Days, how can these fearful Christians be sure they will not be a part of this universal backsliding predicted here, miss the Rapture and have to suffer the wrath of God?
It is critical to understand how the use of the Definite Article in Greek distinguishes the word it modifies as to its “individuality, exclusiveness, uniqueness and singularity.” Paul uses the Definite Article to establish that the event he is speaking of in verse 3 is “One of a kind”. Therefore, the translators of the authorized King James Version Bible have implied that this single event is “The falling away” or literally, “THE GREAT BACKSLIDING.”
Paul states in I Timothy 4:1, “In the latter times some (tis, SC 5100) shall depart (aphistemi,
SC 868) from the faith…” The purpose of examining this Scripture is to show that there will be “some” (Greek Indefinite Pronoun meaning “a certain one, different ones, anyone, any person”) who will turn away from serving the Lord. Paul clearly establishes the object for the word “depart”. HE SAYS THIS DEPARTURE IS FROM “THE FAITH”.
Backsliding has always been a possibility in the Kingdom of God. However, the contrast between these two passages hinges on the use of the Definite Article in one and the omission of the Article in the other. It is a matter of magnitude: certain ones will depart from the faith in I Timothy while masses will depart from the earth in II Thessalonians.
Scholars tell us apostasia in Greek is used in the “absolute sense” and is, therefore, an EVENT; it is not a process. Consequently, this falling away would, of necessity, have to reach epidemic or even pandemic proportions to qualify as an endtime event. It must have such universal impact that the world will see it as the precursor of the terrifying horrors that loom on the horizon. The context requires this apostasia (Gr.) to serve as “A SIGN” that the Antichrist’s release from the Bottomless Pit is imminent. Unless people are impacted by this apostasia, they will not regard it as the beginning of God’s Judgment Period on the earth.
A study of the key word, apostasia, in the Greek Text will render some rather remarkable conclusions. It has been transliterated as “Apostasy” in our English language. It is a derivative of the word aphistemi (SC 868), which is the combining of two words: apo (“from”) and histemi (“to depart, withdraw”) and is translated “To depart either spatially or, depending on the context, a state or relationship”. The grammatical nature of this word requires that it be accompanied by an object of origin.
If the object of this word is not in juxtaposition to (Gr.) aphistemi, then the context must provide the object for aphistemi. In other words, if you refer to a withdrawal or departure, you must show from what the withdrawal or departure occurs. The collective view of many of the greatest Greek scholars has defined this word not as “a falling away” but as “The Departure”. This is confirmed by the fact that in 11 out of 15 times it is found in the New Testament, it is translated as “departure”, NOT “falling away”. In the Scriptural context of II Thessalonians 2:1-3, this departure will be “The Disappearance” of the Church.
Since verse 3 does not identify the “object” from which the withdrawal occurs, we look to the previous verses to give us the context for the word. Without this context, one can only assume what Paul meant by his statement. Remember, the Apostle has clearly identified the context in verse 1 as being the “Gathering together unto Christ” of the Church. If Paul states that “The Disappearance” or “The Departure” must take place FIRST in order to initiate the subsequent events of the Last Days, then his context confirms that the “The Disappearance” or “The Departure of the Saints” occurs when the Church is “gathered together unto Him” (Raptured).
When the Church disappears, the world will realize it is the beginning of sorrows, anguish and judgment such has not been seen since the Plagues of Egypt. There, the only ones spared were the ones who departed with the Emancipator. When God’s judgment came to Sodom and Gomorra the only ones spared were the ones who departed or disappeared from the cities prior to the wrath of God. History shows us that when the righteous depart, judgment is about to start!
The preceding “translation” of the II Thessalonian text is consistent with another portion of Paul’s revelation as recorded in I Thessalonians 4:17 where he states the Church will be “caught up” [literally, “carried off or snatched away” ( Gr. harpazo, SC 726)]. This is called “The Rapture of the Church” and it will be an event of such nature and magnitude that it will capture the attention of the unsuspecting world. When the Bride leaves for the Wedding, the world will discover that multiplied millions of men, women and children from around the world have vanished in less than an instant.
Many years ago the General Electric computer in Cincinnati, Ohio determined that the “twinkling of an eye” referred to in I Corinthians 15:52 is approximately “11/100 of a second.” The word moment (Gr. atomos, SC 823) comes from the root word temno (“to cut or divide”) plus the Alpha Privative (“a”) which serves to negate the word it precedes. The word “asymmetrical” is an example of the construction and means “a shape that is NOT symmetrical”. Literally, “atomos” means “that which cannot be divided or cut.”
In Paul’s day, no one had the capacity to isolate an atom, much less split or divide one. Therefore, this term represented a segment of time so brief that it could not be comprehended or measured. Paul tells us in these passages that when Christ comes for His Church, the disappearance or departure will be A SINGULAR EVENT of such nature that it will occur in a rapidity of time that is considered incalculable.
He calms the concerns of these early Christians by telling them that the first event that God has planned for the last days is the disappearing of His Church as it is gathered together in the air with Christ. Everything that follows on the earth is of NO CONSEQUENCE to the Raptured Bride. When Christ appears, the Church will disappear!
What a glorious day this will be when the Church is suddenly taken out of this world and joins Christ for the Wedding as His Bride! As the song has so wonderfully stated, “I’m gonna get carried away when I get carried away”. It will be a glorious day for the Bride when she gets “carried away” by her Groom and disappears with Him in the clouds.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
May your digging be successful as you excavate more Gospel Gold on this subject.
****A Personal Word to Our Readers from Dr. Frazier****
There are great insights to be derived from the study of the Greek New Testament. Each month I will endeavor to share a nugget of truth from the Book of Truth, God’s Eternal Word.
These will be concise and should not intrude into your time or opportunity to explore the richness of the vein from which they were extracted. That is for you and the Holy Spirit to excavate together. These nuggets are just to let you know where to begin the digging, if you so desire. They are NOT designed to be an exhaustive commentary providing all the answers on the subject. The Spirit will guide you in how deep to dig. The Greek will be presented in a way that is easy to understand (transliterated) and easy to verify (“SC” refers to Strong’s Concordance). With a little help you can check the assayers report for yourself. So, pull out this shiny, new nugget and see where it leads you. Please feel free to share your questions, observations or insights with me and our readers.
Website: http://www.donfrazier.com
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Written: 12/01/2006 
Author: Donald Frazier
Category:
Golden Nuggets
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