2 Thess 2:3 World English Bible
Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,
Having seen how the popular understanding of the phrase "falling away" creates a problem for the posttribulational interpretation of 2Thess 2, let's get to what we believe is the simple solution.
Though one would never know it to read most Bibles today, the Greek noun apostasia, translated "falling away" in this passage, has an alternate translation: it can also be translated "departure", "departing", or "disappearance". This is significant because this particular translation, according to scholars, denotes the removal of something, as in the physical or spatial sense. Could it be that the Greek word, apostasia, rather than denoting a spiritual falling away or rebellion is actually referring to the removal of God's people at the Rapture?
The interesting thing is that "departure" used to be the predominant translation of the Greek, apostasia; it was found in virtually every early version of the English Bible. Even the Latin Vulgate from around 400 AD translates apostasia to discessio, meaning "departure". So the "departure/removal" translation is by no means a stretch or an anomaly -- it used to be the norm. For whatever reason -- no good one has ever been given -- the translators of the King James Version (published in 1611) decided to render apostasia, "falling away". Subsequently, most English versions followed suit.
From the book: The Coming Days of Awe by T.W. Tramm
Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,
Having seen how the popular understanding of the phrase "falling away" creates a problem for the posttribulational interpretation of 2Thess 2, let's get to what we believe is the simple solution.
Though one would never know it to read most Bibles today, the Greek noun apostasia, translated "falling away" in this passage, has an alternate translation: it can also be translated "departure", "departing", or "disappearance". This is significant because this particular translation, according to scholars, denotes the removal of something, as in the physical or spatial sense. Could it be that the Greek word, apostasia, rather than denoting a spiritual falling away or rebellion is actually referring to the removal of God's people at the Rapture?
The interesting thing is that "departure" used to be the predominant translation of the Greek, apostasia; it was found in virtually every early version of the English Bible. Even the Latin Vulgate from around 400 AD translates apostasia to discessio, meaning "departure". So the "departure/removal" translation is by no means a stretch or an anomaly -- it used to be the norm. For whatever reason -- no good one has ever been given -- the translators of the King James Version (published in 1611) decided to render apostasia, "falling away". Subsequently, most English versions followed suit.
From the book: The Coming Days of Awe by T.W. Tramm