The Apostasy Is Not the Rapture

There is a growing, erroneous view among pre-trib rapture believers that the Apostasy mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 is actually the Rapture of the Church! On the one hand, it is entirely understandable that this should be happening, because it really is the ONLY way to show that 2 Thessalonians 2 teaches pre-trib, when it so obviously teaches otherwise. Most, traditional pre-trib expositors never took this approach, they just mangled the text in other ways. The primary reason the teaching that the Apostasy was the Rapture is a new thing among pre-tribbers is because it is so easily disproven by looking at the Greek use of the words in question. Let us explore: 

2 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 falling away [apostasia]comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…

This passage, taken at face value, is so obviously teaching a Rapture event (our gathering together to Him) that occurs AFTER the revelation of the Antichrist that the efforts to explain it away in pre-trib camps have been multitudinous and torturous. However, until recent times, none of them denied the Apostasy was indeed a great falling away from the true faith in Christ. Why? The Greek terms used demand it so. 

Apostasia: a falling away, departing, especially defection from, an apostasy.

This feminine noun appears only one other place in Scripture:

Acts 21:21 – but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake [apostasia] Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

As with 2 Thessalonians 2, Acts 21 uses this Greek noun to describe a departure from faith. In both cases, it is NOT a physical departure being described with the use of this noun. However, there is a neuter noun that it is related to, and we will explore if that one is used in a manner describing a physical departure or not.

Apostasion: a divorce, a repudiation; a bill of divorce.

Matthew 5:31 – “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce [apostasion].’ 

Matthew 19:7 – They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce [apostasion], and to put her away?” This exact usage is found also in Mark 10:4.

These three occasions are the only time that this neuter noun is used in Scripture. As can clearly be seen, in none of these uses is a physical departure being referenced. It is always pointing to a mental, or physiological thing that manifests in a physical act, in this case a divorce. Likewise in the case of “apostasia”, a spiritual and mental thing is being referenced: a departure from sound doctrine. In fact, many scholars have pointed out that nowhere in any secular, Greek text can you find either of these nouns being applied in a physical sense, as in will be the physical departure of our bodies at the Rapture/Resurrection event.

So, where does this ridiculous idea come from? Well, there are old, English translation of the Scripture that use the word “departure” to describe the falling away. From this English word, the new pre-trib teaching is to look at the Greek root word associated with “apostasia” and “apostasion” and then redefine these Greek nouns, using the verb root’s usage!!

Aphistēmi: to make standoff, cause to withdraw, to remove; to excite to revolt; to stand off, to stand aloof; to go away, to depart from anyone; to desert, withdraw from one; to fall away, become faithless; to shun, flee from; to cease to vex one; to withdraw one’s self from, to fall away; to keep one’s self from, absent one’s self from.

If you search the New Testament, you will find that this verb is used to describe all sorts of departing, whether physical or non-physical. Here are a few examples of the former:

Luke 2:37 – …and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart [aphistēmi] from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Acts 22:29 – Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew [aphistēmi] from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

Just because a root of a word can mean multiple things does not mean that a noun derived from that root can be twisted to mean something other than what it means!!! Not in Greek, not in English, not in any language. However, if we look at contexts in which this verb is being used that are related to the subject matter of 2 Thessalonians 2, i.e. the time of the end and following the Antichrist, we see that this verb is used to describe exactly what Paul is warning about in 2 Thessalonians: a falling away from faith.

1 Timothy 4:1 – Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart [aphistēmi] from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 

Hebrews 3:12 – Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing [aphistēmi] from the living God…

Especially with 1 Timothy 4, it is obvious that the Apostle Paul was teaching that there is coming a great departure, not physically, but spiritually, in the last days! He warns about it. This fits perfectly with what he says in 2 Thessalonians 2, and no bastardization of the text needs to occur. However, if you accept what is taught in 2 Thessalonians 2 at face value, there is simply no way to maintain a pre-trib viewpoint, since the Antichrist’s coming literally kicks things off! But that doesn’t stop pre-trib people from twisting this text in other ways.