“The Sequence of Coming Events”
Rev. Bill Hofer

In 2 Thess. 2:1-5 Paul reminds his readers that he had already taught them much of the sequence regarding the coming of the Lord.  He in fact has mentioned Christ’s coming in almost every chapter of his letters to the Thessalonians.  Here he writes,
                “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 opposed 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.  Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?”                                   apostasy = “departure”                                 it  =  Day of the Lord
The key is understanding what Paul means by the word translated as “apostasy.”  The Greek word appears in the New Testament as a noun (apostasia) or a verb (aphistemi) 17 times. As a verb it means: “to make to stand off” “cause to withdraw” “stand aloof” “to desert” “to withdraw from one” It means to leave a person or place – to depart.  Paul’s use above is the noun form.  He is speaking of a particular “departure.”  Some modern translations translate this as “rebellion” or “defection.”  Biblically speaking, however, the word is only a defection when a modifier is added.  For example, the Jews “defected” from Moses (Acts 21:21) or false disciples defected from the faith (I Tim. 4:1) or from God (Heb. 3:12).  Without the modifiers it simply means to “depart from a person or place.” 
It is so translated in Lk. 2:37; 4:13; 8:13; 13:27; Acts 5:37; 5:38; 12:10; 15:38; 19:9; 22:29; II Cor. 12:8; II Thess. 2:3; II Tim. 2:19. The Tyndale (1534), Cloverdale (1535) Geneva (1537) Cramer (1539) and Bezet (1565) Bibles all translated aphistemi in II Thess. 2:3 as “departure.” The KJV was the first English Bible to not translate it as “departure.”  In fact, the KJV did not translate the word at all!  They merely transliterated it as “apostasy.”  They did this as a tip of the hat to Catholic Amillennialism.  Why is this a big deal?  Because the “sequence” text clearly teaches the rapture precedes the Day of the Lord when “apostasy” is correctly understood as “departure.”  Don’t take my word for it.  Check the context of II Thess. 2:1-9.
1.       Is there anything in the immediate context that makes us define “apostasy” as a rebellion or falling away from the faith?          No
2.    Is there anything in the larger context of Thessalonians or the New Testament that would make us define “apostasy” as a rebellion or falling away from the faith?  No
3.    Is there anything in the historical context that would make us to define “apostasy” as rebellion or falling away from the faith?                No
4.     Is there anything in the immediate context that makes us define “apostasy” as a departure from a place?               Yes – see II Thess. 2:1
5.    Is there anything in the larger context of Thessalonians or the New Testament that would make us define “apostasy” as a departure from a place?              Yes – see I Thess. 4:13-18
6.    Is there anything in the historical context that makes us define “apostasy” as a departure from a place?    Yes, again. Paul had taught these same people to expect an any moment rapture. 

“I must point out that there is considerable evidence that the word translated “rebellion” or “apostasy” should more properly be translated “the departure.” Read that way, the apostle is clearly saying that the Day of the Lord cannot come until the departure (of the Church) has first taken place.”  Dr. Ray C. Stedman, pg. 125, Waiting for the Second Coming                                                                                                 Published originally Sept. 1, 2017

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