GIANT NEWSFLASH - RAPTURE - PLEASE READ!

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

I want you to read the attached article with an open heart and mind. This is a hard-hitting piece of news that I and many other Christians have been studying for years. I don't post this here as a matter of debate, rather as a matter of NEWS that will blow your socks off.

I've read and studied the portion of Scripture involved countless times, but I never took it apart word for word from the ancient and original languages of the Bible. When I saw this done, I first couldn't believe it, but then I verified this is completely accurate and true. THIS IS an answer that will jump off the page at you and open up another entire area of study for all Christians who study Bible Prophecy.

I can't over-emphasize how dramatic and GIANT this news is. The author is an old and very loved writer and pastor, Cornelius Stam. Most of you will recognize his name almost immediately and associate his name with the Berean Bible Society.

I don't plan to argue or debate with anyone, but I will be glad to discuss how happy this TRUTH makes me and what it means to every living Christian today. This is wonderful, PRECIOUS NEWS!

The RAPTURE WILL take place before the beginning of the Tribulation Period!

Living Christians of today WILL NOT go through the TRIBULATION PERIOD!

JESUS CHRIST WILL RAPTURE (CATCH UP) HIS CHURCH to meet HIM in the clouds BEFORE THE TRIBULATION PERIOD!

The PROOF IS ATTACHED!

Brothers and Sisters, if you doubt this at all, take the Scriptures apart for yourselves. I don't believe in coincidence at all. Brother Stam mentioned a translation of the New Testament done by a man that I've known of all my life, Kenneth Wuest. To label Mr. Wuest a Bible Scholar and Ancient Language Scholar would be an understatement. Here's the part that isn't a coincidence: I was reading Kenneth Wuest's Translation of the New Testament when I came across this article from Cornelius Stam.

Right now, I simply give thanks that I can share this WONDERFUL TRUTH with you. I've made my own verification, and I invite you to make your own. I firmly believe what you are about to read is the absolute TRUTH - no ifs or ands about it. Study this, enjoy this, and ENJOY THE TRUTH.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 John 3:1-2  See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

[nChrist]

Will the Body of Christ Go Through the Tribulation? - Page 1
By Cornelius R. Stam

In recent years, numerous arguments have been advanced to supposedly prove that the Church, the Body of Christ, will go through the "great tribulation" before being "caught up" to be with the Lord.

The present trend of events is, of course, causing many sincere believers to fear that this will be the case, but we place our confidence in the Word of God alone and we are amply confirmed in our belief that the Rapture of the Church will take place before the tribulation period begins, and that the members of the Body of Christ will thus escape the sufferings that the tribulation saints will be called upon to endure.

Our purpose in writing this article is not to defend or to attack anyone, but simply to consider whether arguments for a post-tribulation Rapture are valid.

NOT ONE SCRIPTURE?

Some who hold to the post-trib Rapture position say that there is not one verse of Scripture which explicitly affirms the Rapture of the Church before the tribulation.

But why need there be? There is not one verse of Scripture which explicitly affirms that our Lord was baptized before His temptation by the devil, or that He was crowned with thorns before He was crucified, or that baptism with water is no longer included in God's program for believers, or that God is a Trinity. Yet there is abundant Scriptural proof for all these and they are accepted as the truth of the Word of God.

Years ago we printed an article entitled First the Departure, in which we dealt at length with a passage of Scripture which does explicitly affirm that the Rapture will precede the tribulation. In this article we gave conclusive evidence that the words hee apostasia in II Thessalonians 2:3 should have been rendered "the departure" rather than "a falling away" and that the passage thus reads:

"Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day [the day of the Lord] 1 shall not come except the departure come first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."

The preceding verses and the preceding letter written by Paul to these same people all bear witness that "the departure" referred to is the departure of believers to go and be with Christ.

We are quite taken aback to see how lightly some have disposed of the evidence we advanced for this rendering of II Thessalonians 2:3. We have given Scriptural proof after proof that the word apostasia does not mean departure from the truth, but simply departure, and that the original passage in question certainly does not use the words "a falling away" but rather "the departure".

To all this our post-tribulational brethren reply by simply stating authoritatively and dogmatically that the word apostasia means a departure from the truth.

Lest some of our readers believe that apostasia means a departure from the truth, we offer again what we believe to be conclusive Scriptural proof that the words "a falling away," in II Thessalonians 2:3, should have been rendered "the departure" and that the Greek word apostasia does not contain ideas of revolt or rebellion as does our English word apostasy.

APOSTASIA AND APOSTASY

Actually the Greek noun apostasia occurs in only one other passage in the New Testament, namely Acts 21:21, where Paul is informed of the report that he has taught "all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses."

We suggest that "depart" here would be a closer synonym to the rendering "forsake" than would the word "apostatize." To forsake is not exactly to revolt or rebel against, and this is the meaning of apostasy. Furthermore, in this case we are explicitly informed that these Jews were being urged to forsake or depart from Moses, indicating that the word apostasia by itself does not mean "a departure from the truth" but simply "a departure."

======================See Page 2

[nChrist]

Will the Body of Christ Go Through the Tribulation? - Page 2
By Cornelius R. Stam

But some people have evidently overlooked the root verb from which the noun apostasia is derived. This verb, aphisteemi, occurs 15 times in the New Testament and its meaning is easy to determine from those passages in which it is used. So that there may be no mistake, we present here a list of every New Testament use of this verb:

Luke 2:37?"departed not from the temple."

Luke 4:13?"the devil...departed from Him."

Luke 8:13?"in time of temptation fall away."

Luke 13:27?"depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity."

Acts 5:37?"drew away much people after him."

Acts 5:38?"refrain from these men."

Acts 12:10?"the angel departed from him."

Acts 15:38?"who departed from them from Pamphylia."

Acts 19:9?"he departed from them."

Acts 22:29?"they departed from him."

II Cor. 12:8?"I besought the Lord...that it might depart."

I Tim. 4:1?"some shall depart from the faith."

I Tim. 6:5?"from such withdraw thyself."

II Tim. 2:19?"depart from iniquity."

Heb. 3:12?"in departing from the living God."

The reader should observe carefully that in 11 out of these 15 occurrences the verb in question is rendered depart, departed, or departing

Only three of the 15 are concerned with departure from the truth. In two of these it is clearly stated that the departure is "from the faith" (I Tim. 4:1) and "from the living God" (Heb. 3:12) while the third clearly implies a departure, or "falling away," from that which was "for a while believed," leaving the meaning of the verb aphisteemi in each case simply depart. And these are the only three passages of the above fifteen where departure from the truth is even involved.

In the other twelve the meaning of the word itself is again simply that of departure? Nothing more.

In Luke 4:13 we read that the devil "departed" from Christ. In Acts 12:10 an angel "departs" from Peter. In Acts 15:38 we read how a man had "departed" from Paul and Barnabas. In II Corinthians 12:8 we read of Paul's thrice-repeated prayer that a thorn might "depart," or be removed, from his flesh. And so with all the others.

Indeed, in two of the 15 cases above the very opposite of apostasy or departure from the truth is involved.

In I Timothy 6:5 Timothy is told to depart ("withdraw thyself") from men who are "destitute of the truth," while in II Timothy 2:19 all who "name the name of Christ" are exhorted to "depart from iniquity."

If one carefully considers these fifteen occurrences of the root verb of the noun apostasia, he would surely not declare with finality that the meaning of apostasia is "apostasy" or "a departure from the truth."

=========================See Page 3

[nChrist]

Will the Body of Christ Go Through the Tribulation? - Page 3
By Cornelius R. Stam

THE AUTHORIZED VERSION AND ITS PREDECESSORS


Before leaving this subject we would call attention to Mr. Kenneth S. Wuest's rendering of II Thessalonians 2:3 in his Expanded Translation of the Greek New Testament. It reads as follows:

"Do not begin to allow anyone to lead you astray in any way, because that day shall not come except the aforementioned departure [of the Church to heaven] comes first and the man of lawlessness is disclosed [in his true identity], the son of perdition."

Now however Mr. Wuest's translation of the New Testament may be appraised, we doubt that in thus rendering the verse he was trying to establish some private theory as to the timing of the Rapture. He was just trying to produce a good English translation of what the Greek actually says, and he proves this in his preface to II Thessalonians, parts of which we quote below.

"If apostasia and aphisteemi meant what our word `apostasy' and `apostatize' mean, why did Paul when using aphisteemi in I Timothy 4:1 feel the need of adding the qualifying phrase, `from the faith' to complete the meaning of aphisteemi in that instance of its use?...The word apostasia

In explaining why the Authorized Version failed to retain the rendering "a departure," which they found in the five versions which preceded A. V., Mr. Wuest points out a mistake contained in all six versions. Says Mr. Wuest:

"The fatal mistake the translators made was in failing to take into consideration the definite article before the word apostasia which appears in the Greek text of Eberhard Nestle, in that of his son, Erwin Nestle, and in that of Westcott and Hort. A. T. Robertson in his monumental work, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, asserts that the translators of the A. V., under the influence of the Vulgate, dealt with the Greek article in a loose and inaccurate way (p. 756). He goes on to say that the vital thing is to look at the matter in hand from the Greek angle and find a reason for the use of the article in any given instance. The use of the article here is classified by Dana and Mantey in their Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament as that of denoting previous reference. In this usage the article is used to point out an object the identity of which is defined by some previous reference made to it in the context (p. 141). The word `previous' is all-important here. The translators of the A. V. looked for the definition of the word in the subsequent context, whereas the Greek article points here to a previous context, namely, to the coming of the Lord Jesus into the air and the gathering together of the saints to Him and their consequent ascent to heaven. Thus, instead of speaking of a departure of men from the true Faith, Paul is referring to the departure of the saints to heaven. It is this departure of the Church which is preventing the coming of the day of the Lord and the disclosure of the man of lawlessness in his true identity."

Dr. E. Schuyler English, too, has made a comprehensive study of the Rapture in relation to the tribulation and has written a book on the subject entitled Re-thinking the Rapture. In it he deals at length with the meaning of apostasia and its verb root, aphisteemi and goes on to say:

"The day of the Lord will not come, then, until the man of sin be revealed. And before he is revealed, there must be `the departure.' Departure from what or to what? It must have been something concerning which the Thessalonian believers were informed, else the definite article would hardly have been employed, and without any qualifying description with the noun.2 Why do we assume that this departure must be from the faith?

"Again, how would the Thessalonians, or Christians in any century since, be qualified to recognize the apostasy when it should come, assuming, simply for the sake of this inquiry, that the Church might be on earth when it does come? There has been apostasy from God, rebellion against Him, since time began. And if it be proposed that the man of sin, sitting in the temple of God and showing Himself to be God, is the apostasy, we must ask ourselves a question: Is this act, on the part of the man of sin, apostasy, a falling away, or is it blasphemous denial by one who never at any time acknowledged God?

============================See Page 4

[nChrist]

Will the Body of Christ Go Through the Tribulation? - Page 4
By Cornelius R. Stam

"There is a departure concerning which the Thessalonians had been instructed by letter. This is not conjecture but fact: it is the Rapture of the Church, described in I Thessalonians 4:13-17. It was on account of the confusion in the minds of these young Christians, in the matter of events associated with the coming of the Lord, that this epistle was written?for some had sought to deceive them, as by spirit (claiming, perhaps, some new revelation from God), or by word (possibly a misinterpretation of something Paul said), or by letter as from Paul, telling the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord was already present. And how could the apostle set their minds at rest? He could assure them, `by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,' that the day of the Lord will not come `except there come the departure, the Rapture, first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.' The day of the Lord was not present; for they themselves, members of Christ's mystical Body, were still on earth. The Rapture had not already taken place, they being left behind; for the man of sin was not revealed.

"This interpretation corresponds perfectly in sequence, with that in verses 7 and 8, if the restraining power is, as we believe to be the case, the Holy Spirit. The Church departs, and the man of sin is revealed (vs. 3); the Holy Spirit, the restrainer, is taken out of the way, `and then shall that wicked one be revealed' (vss. 7,8)."

CONCLUSION

1. The word apostasia and its root verb, aphisteemi, do not, used by themselves, mean "apostasy" and "apostatize." They mean "departure" and "depart," nothing more.

2. II Thessalonians 2:3 states in the Greek, that the day of the Lord will not come "except the departure come first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."

3. Paul had written to the Thessalonians in his previous letter about the departure of the members of Christ's Body from this earth (I Thes. 4:16,17) and had even dissociated this from the prophesied "day of the Lord" with the "But" of I Thessalonians 5:1. He had also referred to this "departure" in the phrase "our gathering together unto Him," in II Thessalonians 2:1. Indeed, this was the basis for his appeal to the Thessalonians not to be "shaken" or "troubled" by those who would make them think that "the day of the Lord" was at hand. He had also "told" them about "these things" while he was yet with them (II Thes. 2:5).

4. "The man of sin" must also be manifested before the "day of the Lord" can come (II Thes. 2:3,4) and he cannot be manifested until "the departure" takes place "first."

5. Thus, in addition to many clear proofs that the Rapture of the Body will precede the great tribulation we also have a passage which "explicitly affirms" this.

"Wherefore comfort one another..." (I Thes. 4:18).

"Be not soon shaken in mind, or...troubled..." (II Thes. 2:2).

"Let no man deceive you by any means..." (II Thes. 2:3).



Endnotes

1. I Thessalonians 2:2 properly reads the "day of the Lord" not the "day of Christ."

2. "Such a noted scholar as Dr. George Milligan, in his commentary on the Greek Text (Macmillan, New York), although holding to the traditional translation of apostasia, states that the use of the definite article proves [that the apostasia referred to is one] regarding which the apostle's readers were already fully informed."

(My Note: See later examples from Kenneth Wueist's Translation of the New Testament.)

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

I want to emphasize something before I post examples from Wuest's New Testament Translation. This doesn't make me happy because of a long-term debate, rather a revelation of what I now know is the complete TRUTH. I've been in the debates and posted tons of Scripture that does support a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, but there were always doubts and there were also outstanding presentations of other views (i.e. Mid-Tribulation Rapture, Post-Tribulation Rapture, Pre-Wrath Rapture, etc.).

I want everyone to know that I've read and studied other views with great interest because this is such a complex and lengthy study. I have no interest at all in saying that I was right, rather here is the TRUTH from GOD. Just one word in translation made from commonly quoted portions of Scripture say something that they never said at all. Please look at them now and see if they make more sense with the CORRECT TRANSLATION. The thoughts and structure of the context now make common sense.

Brothers and Sisters, if you still disagree - that's fine and no problem at all. I hope that everyone understands why this thread makes me so happy, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with debates and arguments. It concerns the Promises of GOD and a TRUTH jumping off the pages of the Holy Bible. I know that many of you have studied Bible Prophecy for 10 years and much longer, and I'm one of them. I've always known there is a reason why Bible Prophecy is in the Holy Bible, and I wanted to study it and understand it. I won't live long enough to understand everything I want to know from the Holy Bible, but this one TRUTH about the RAPTURE is like being given a precious gift. Beside, what Christian would prefer to go through the Tribulation Period as opposed to going HOME WITH JESUS IN HEAVEN?

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 4:20-21 NASB  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

[nChrist]

1 Thessalonians 4:1 1-8  Wuest  Finally, therefore, brethren, I request you and I beg of you, please, in the Lord Jesus, that even as you received from us the particular way in which it is necessary in the nature of the case for you to be ordering your behavior and to be striving to please God, even as also you are conducting yourselves, that you superabound yet more and more. For you know with a positive assurance what charges we gave you through the Lord Jesus, for this is the will of God, your being set apart , that you should hold yourselves off from fornication; that each one of you should know that he is to procure his own vessel in holiness and honor, not in the passion of an inordinate desire even as also the Gentiles do who do not know God, that no one be transgressing and defrauding his brother in the aforementioned matter because the Lord is the One who inflicts punishment with reference to all these things, even as also we told you before and charged you. For God did not issue His divine summons to you for uncleanness but within the sphere of holiness. Therefore, he who rejects , not man is he rejecting but God who also gives His Holy Spirit to us.
 


1 Thessalonians 4:9 9-12 Wuest   Now, concerning brotherly affection you are not having any need that I should be writing to you, for as for you, you yourselves are those taught by God with a view to loving one another with a love that impels you to deny yourselves for the benefit of the one whom you love, for you also are doing the same with respect to all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia. Now, as for you, I beg of you, please, brethren, that you see to it that you continually are increasing more and more , that you make it your ambition to be living a quiet life, that you are cultivating the habit of attending to your own private affairs, and that you are working with your hands, even as I gave you a charge, in order that you may be conducting yourselves in a manner becoming to you toward those who are on the outside, in order that you may not be having need of anything.
 


1 Thessalonians 4:13 13-18 Wuest   Now, we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who from time to time are falling asleep , in order that you may not be mourning in the same manner as the rest who do not have a hope. For in view of the fact that we believe that Jesus died and arose, thus also will God bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through the intermediate agency of Jesus. For this we are saying to you by the Lord's word, that as for us who are living and are left behind until the coming of the Lord, we shall by no means precede those who fell asleep, because the Lord himself with a Cry of command, with an archangel's voice, and with a call of a trumpet sounded at God's command, shall descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall be raised first, then as for us who are living and who are left behind, together with them we shall be snatched away forcibly in clouds for a welcome-meeting with the Lord in the lower atmosphere. And thus always shall we be with the Lord. So that be encouraging one another with these words.

[nChrist]

1 Thessalonians 5:1 1-3 Wuest  But concerning the duration of the successive intervals of time and the epoch-making periods of time, brethren, you have no need that I should be writing to you, for you yourselves know positively that the day of the Lord comes in the same manner as a thief at night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then comes sudden destruction upon them as birth-pains upon a woman with child. And they shall by no means escape.
 


1 Thessalonians 5:4 4-11 Wuest   But as for you, brethren, you are not in darkness, that the day shall come down upon you as a thief, for as for all of you, sons of light you are and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. So then, let us not go on sleeping as do the rest, but let us be constantly on the alert, and let us be mentally and spiritually well-balanced and self-controlled. For those who are sleeping, sleep in the night time, and those who are intoxicated, are intoxicated at night. But as for us who are of the day, let us be mentally and spiritually well-balanced and self-controlled, having clothed ourselves with a breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, a hope of salvation, because as for us, God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us in order that whether we are awake or asleep we might live together with Him. Wherefore, be encouraging one another and be building one another up, one believer the other believer, even as also you are doing.

[nChrist]

2 Thessalonians 2:1 1-4 Wuest   Now, I am requesting you, brethren, with regard to the coming and personal presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, even our being assembled together to Him, not soon to become unsettled, the source of this unsettled state being your minds, neither be thrown into confusion, either by a spirit , or through a word as from us or through a letter falsely alleged to be written by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come and is now present. Do not begin to allow anyone to lead you astray in any way, because that day shall not come except the aforementioned departure comes first and the man of the lawlessness is disclosed , the son of perdition, he who sets himself in opposition to and exalts himself above everyone and everything that is called a god or that is an object of worship, so that he seats himself in the inner sanctuary of God, proclaiming himself to be deity.
 


2 Thessalonians 2:5 5-7 Wuest   Do you not remember that while I was still with you I kept on telling you these things? And now you know with a positive assurance that which is preventing his being disclosed in his strategic, appointed time, for the mystery of the aforementioned lawlessness is now operating. Only He who is holding down, until He goes out from the midst .
 


2 Thessalonians 2:8 8-12  Wuest   And then shall the Lawless One be disclosed , whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth and render inoperative by the sudden appearance of His personal presence, the coming and presence of whom is according to the operation of Satan in the sphere of miracles demonstrating power and attesting miracles and miracles of a startling, imposing, amazement-wakening character which deceive, and whose coming and presence is in the sphere of every kind of wicked deception geared to those who are perishing, caused by the fact that they did not accept the love for the truth to the end that they might be saved. And because of this God sends them a deluding influence result-ing in their believing the lie, in order that they all might be judged who did not believe the truth but took delight in wickedness.
 


2 Thessalonians 2:13 13, 14 Wuest   But as for us, we have a sense of moral obligation to be giving thanks to God always concerning you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you out for salvation, this choice being within the sphere of the setting-apart work of the Spirit and a belief of the truth, into which also He summoned you through our good news, resulting in your acquisition of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 


2 Thessalonians 2:15 15 Wuest   So then, brethren, be constantly standing firmly, and be holding fast to the teachings which were delivered to you to be passed on to others, which you were taught either orally or through our letter.
 


2 Thessalonians 2:16 16, 17 Wuest   Now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and who gave us everlasting encouragement and a good hope, this gift having been given us in grace, encourage your hearts and. stabilize them in the sphere of every good work and word.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

Curiosity got the best of me, and I had to see what the Geneva Translation of the Holy Bible said. Please make your own conclusions. The Geneva is what King James wanted to replace.
__________________________________

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Geneva  Nowe we beseech you, brethren, by the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ, and by our assembling vnto him,

2 Thessalonians 2:2 Geneva  That ye be not suddenly mooued from your minde, nor troubled neither by spirit, nor by worde, nor by letter, as it were from vs, as though the day of Christ were at hand.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Geneva  Let no man deceiue you by any meanes: for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that man of sinne be disclosed, euen the sonne of perdition,

2 Thessalonians 2:4 Geneva  Which is an aduersarie, and exalteth him selfe against all that is called God, or that is worshipped: so that he doeth sit as God in the Temple of God, shewing him selfe that he is God.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 Geneva  Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I tolde you these things?

2 Thessalonians 2:6 Geneva  And nowe ye knowe what withholdeth that he might be reueiled in his time.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 Geneva  For the mysterie of iniquitie doeth already worke: onely he which nowe withholdeth, shall let till he be taken out of the way.

2 Thessalonians 2:8 Geneva  And then shall that wicked man be reueiled, whome the Lorde shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall abolish with the brightnes of his comming,

2 Thessalonians 2:9 Geneva  Euen him whose comming is by the effectuall working of Satan, with all power, and signes, and lying wonders,

2 Thessalonians 2:10 Geneva  And in al deceiuablenes of vnrighteousnes, among them that perish, because they receiued not the loue of the trueth, that they might be saued.

2 Thessalonians 2:11 Geneva  And therefore God shal send them strong delusion, that they should beleeue lies,

2 Thessalonians 2:12 Geneva  That all they might be damned which beleeued not the trueth, but had pleasure in vnrighteousnes.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 Geneva  But we ought to giue thankes alway to God for you, brethren beloued of the Lord, because that God hath from the beginning chosen you to saluation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and the faith of trueth,

2 Thessalonians 2:14 Geneva  Whereunto he called you by our Gospel, to obtaine the glory of our Lord Iesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Geneva  Therefore, brethren, stand fast & keepe the instructions, which ye haue bene taught, either by worde, or by our Epistle.

2 Thessalonians 2:16 Geneva  Now the same Iesus Christ our Lord; and our God euen the Father which hath loued vs, and hath giuen vs euerlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

2 Thessalonians 2:17 Geneva  Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in euery worde and good worke.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

This was an exciting study, so exciting that I couldn't stop until I felt led that the truth was revealed. I'm pretty tired, and I pray that being tired didn't effect this post. I hope you enjoy this study as much as I did. In my opinion, the structure, content, and sequence of Paul's message makes much better sense by going back to the root and making comparisons. This also puts to rest a seeming contradiction with this same portion of Scripture that is used to indicate that Salvation can be lost. I'm talking about 2 Thessalonians 2:3 which is a central focus for many contentions. It's ironic how important a single word can be in this case. It's also an example about how a single word from the ancient languages can be and have been translated in different ways, many which lead the reader down confusing paths that implies the unintended.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Matthew 25:35-40  NASB  'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

[Soldier4Christ]

Something else to take note of here. Strong's list the root word as being the same as the feminine   .....   apostasion. This word is used Mat 5:31, Mat 19:7 and Mar 10:4 which was translated as divorcement in the KJV, ASV, Geneva and many others. Divorcement is the putting away, departure from or separating from. This words root verb is also aphisteemi.

[YOUNG MEGATRON]

I agree with what you say, I was brought up in a family and church who tought the Rapture will come 1st , launching the 7 yr trials and tribulations. after the 7 ys, God will return to fight Satan on Earth in the Battle of almagedon.

I also have learned That On the History Channel , allmagedon is a actuall location in the middle east beleived by many hebrew translators and religiouse scholors. for many years it has always been thought as a future event rather then a actuall location.

In other words when this battle is fought , we know the pin point location of where it will take place.

[nChrist]

Hello Young Megatron and Pastor Roger,

First, WELCOME! to Young Megatron.

I look forward to reading your posts and having fellowship with you.

I realize there may still be some controversy for many on this subject, and I understand that completely. BUT for myself, I don't wonder about this portion of Scripture any longer. That alone is enough to make me happy. I'm worn out completely, but I'm still finishing up some notes and trying to decide if I want to do more study on this issue.

I've just about decided that I would rather expend my time in trying to witness and go back to the CROSS. Knowing about the RAPTURE is certainly more GOOD NEWS, but this isn't the kind of GOOD NEWS that saves the lost. I've had many good hours of discussion with other Brothers and Sisters in Christ about this subject. The simple fact is that the sequence of events for the Rapture won't help anyone but already Saved people.

Pastor Roger, I'm cross-eyed from checking the ancient languages to see if Brother Stam is right. I think that he is, especially in light of many other portions of Scripture that indicate the same thing. We have enough material for several books already on the forum, and I'm far to tired to try summarizing them. I would say that everything meshes now completely:

1.  The Seal of the Holy Spirit on our hearts can't be broken.

2.  The Great Restrainer (Holy Spirit) must be out of the way for the devil to do his worst.

3.  Daniel's 70th Week was determined against Israel, not THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST.

4.  THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST was not formed for condemnation or wrath.

These were just a few thoughts. My biggest thought is this issue is no longer one of contention for me. That doesn't mean that I will stop studying Bible Prophecy, just that I won't spend any time arguing about it.    That might make many folks happy.

Pastor Roger, I didn't say that I no longer have a list of questions on this issue, mainly because I still do. I think that a complete study on this one word could easily take several pretty long days, and it would take you all over the Bible. I think that I did enough to satisfy myself on this one Verse, and the rest will have to wait for another day.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Isaiah 2:1-5 NASB  The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

[ibTina]

Brother Tom,

       I want  to thank you for posting this. How exciting it is to see that God has opened up the Truth to us by a Servant of the Lord.  The Truth has always been there, but our eyes/ears had not learned it yet, but in His timing he has touched someone to learn the real meaning that was in The Word. 
        One might ponder as to why has God brought this to us at this time...  could it be that it is near and He wants us to be rest and assured, to be ease of mind, to not be of troubled minded with all the bad stuff that is going on?    WOW!!!!!!