Second Thessalonians 2:3-4 The Rapture and The Day of The Lord part 2
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 · Bob Eckel · Aug 22, 2021
Thessalonians, No. 30
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926192403074

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All right, so I'm going to begin reading this morning from verse 1 in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians, down to verse 12. And Andrew, I think, is on for the next couple of weeks. Now we teach you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.

And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you those things, and now ye know what withholdeth that ye might be revealed in this time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now lets will let, and until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, and that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness."

Wow. All right, a lot of meat here. So today's lesson is intended to do Justice 3, verses 3 and 4. Let me read 1 and 2 again to lead into what we're doing today. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ or the coming of Christ is at hand. All right, so the two verses we're looking at today, let's read them together again. This is one sentence paused by a comma between the two verses.

Let no one deceive you by any means for, and we'll come back to the dot dot dot, unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin or lawlessness is revealed. the son of perdition or destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Alright, let's begin. That day will not come is not in the original translation. So that's where the dot, dot, dot is. So if we read this again, let no man deceive you by any means for that day will not come is assumed. Because it's what was discussed in verses one and two. That's why we read that again. Unless the falling away comes first, the man of sin. So let no one deceive you by any means.

How very important is this? Roger's nodding his head. He thinks this is important. Amazingly important. and look forward here. Keithley, the third. Everybody has junior after their name, always uses junior or the fourth or the fifth. So Dr. Keithley, we're going to give him credit for being the third Keithley. Anyway, deceive is a compound verb, expateo, a strengthened form of apateo, It means to deceive completely, or to perhaps deceive successfully. It's used of Satan's deception of Eve, described in 2 Corinthians 11-3, and also in 1 Timothy 2-14.

Wow, pretty strong term then, right? So this is very important, this idea of not being deceived. Any thoughts about that? So it sort of tells us that the church in Thessalonica there, they were very deceived about this. This is the second time around through this topic. It was very important that they understand what happens when Christ returns. Don't you find that kind of amazing? Don't you think the church in Thessalonica is one of the more mature churches, and really their act of faith was really exemplified and lifted up by Paul?

And yet he's cautioning them about being deceived, and I'm thinking here at Holly Hills. I mean, is it possible that we could be deceived by world thought or directions that are not consistent with the Word of God? I mean, doctrine's one thing, but applying it and understanding it and how we live our lives and portray them really is really a responsibility we all have. So, this is a strong term, and it's sourced in Satan, the deception that would occur even within the body of a believer. So when you see so many denominations today in the church, it's just, you know... It's obvious that there's a lot of deception going on.

And that's why we're here, right? We're trying to rightly divide the Word of Truth. So that's a theme we have to maintain. And I was thinking, today we have the complete Bible, whereas the Thessalonians didn't. It reflects a little bit on the incredible work God was doing through Paul. someone who was chosen for a task that ultimately he completed to serve God's will in his life. So what is Paul's big concern here, and to whom does it apply and why? Well, his concern is that the believer not be deceived, number one.

But what else? To whom does it apply and why? Well, it certainly applies to the Thessalonians and then, you know, by application does. Right, so it has... Isn't it the entire church age? I think so, really, Andrew. I think that's consistent with the Scripture. I mean, the Scripture is applicable to not only the people that Paul was writing to, but the church to follow, which is, you know, several millennia later.

So ultimately, I think the false teachers were omnipresent, and this is a warning, but I think what follows that is a couple of thoughts for each and every one of us. Be on guard, right? So to be on guard, we turn to Acts, and these were words of Paul.

Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. These are believers. to shepherd the church of the Lord of God which he purchased with his own blood. So that's a responsibility of all our elders, our deacons, our teachers, each and every one of us. We're ultimately to shepherd the church of the Lord to take heed among which the Holy Spirit has made you a body.

And the second warning is to be alert. So to be on guard, which would seem to be kind of redundant, but it's perhaps not according to, ultimately, I think, the way we might perceive all this. And that relates to Acts 20, 31, a couple of verses later. Therefore, watch and remember for three years I did not cease to warn everyone, night and day with tears.

I mean, you know, here's a guy whose whole heart and soul was poured out to making doctrine true. So that message was delivered to Thessalonica in terms of the day of the Lord that was forthcoming and not had already occurred. We're going to get to that here in a second. Any thoughts about the passion that Paul shares here in terms of his message to the church? Well, look where he is, too. He's getting close to the time when he's going to be off this planet. And so he's even more compassionate toward it. And wait, on Tuesday, Mike's study, we're looking at 2 Timothy now, which is very close to his homecoming, right?

All right, let's go ahead. Unless the falling away comes post. All right. Sorry. Implying the day of the Lord when or after what right that's that's the issue here, and that's what we brought up last week What about the day of the Lord Marva thinks it's occurring now? We had some that think it relates only to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the rapture But I think clearly scripture indicates. It's much more than that, and I think we're going to exemplify that today So let's let's drill down So when or after what? I have three points to make here.

The first is the falling away is the apostasy, an aggressive and positive revolt defined as the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief. That's an earthly dictionary, okay, defining it what it is. And here this is not an apostasy, it's the apostasy. So the article is the, it's not an apostrophe which would be a falling away from a political or religious belief.

Now we're talking about an aggressive positive revolt against the Lord Jesus Christ and everything he represents. Thoughts about that? Are we existing in that day today? Roger says no, he's just waving his head. I have to translate what's going on to the immediate audience here, to the people in the field.

Alright, so a couple of verses, Acts 21-21, that they have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. Why do I share this with you?

Because this apostrophe was only represented in one other, this Greek term only represented one other verse in the New Testament, and that is the teaching of the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses. Now are they forsaking Moses because of who he was, or are they forsaking Moses because of what he represents?

It's an apostasy. That is an apostasy to the people who were taught to forsake Moses. Well, it's forsaking the law. In other words, it's an apostasy for the church to live under law. And by the way, Galatians is all about that. I mean that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. It is no longer our rule of our lives. We live under the blanket of grace.

And another verse that I think relates to this a little bit, now the Spirit in 1 Timothy 4. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith or be part of the apostasy, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines and demons. speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." So the concept here is represented in 1 Timothy, but the only other Greek term that's used for this apostasy relates to forsaking the law. as an example of an apostasy for the believers to continue under law. Now, we know the law is perfectly righteous and holy. We're not questioning the law. We're questioning Moses and his impact on the church is what's being questioned by Paul here.

So you get the idea of when the apostasy- Recording stopped. I'm sorry. Recording in progress. Keep going, Bob. It's just Zoom's help here. Zoom's helping us. So anyway, you get the message here? We're talking about the fact that this apostasy which is coming to the Church by the world system that's going to follow, the day of the Lord, is compared to the believer continuing under law in terms of forsaking or denouncing the truth of the Word of God. I think that's a pretty strong message related to how we live by grace and not by law. Okay, let's go ahead.

So the second component that when or after what is this going to occur the Day of the Lord, the man of sin lawlessness is revealed. We're going to come back to that in a second. And the third point is the son of perdition, which is the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, ultimately is about his work. So here we're looking at the three components as implying the day of the Lord as to when or after what it occurs.

Any thoughts about that? So Bob, are you going to talk any more about the falling away coming first? Well, I think I'm going to say a little bit more about that. Go ahead. Well, actually, Andrew kind of got us... Actually, I have studied it in the past. There's a group of expositors that don't believe the falling away is really talking about the apostasy. Did you read through that paper that you got? Maybe you didn't. No, I didn't read that. Okay, well, if you didn't, then this is gone. And actually, J.B.R. McGee, there's a whole bunch of men that think that that is more, better translated, the departure.

So what's in view here is that this is viewing the rapture. This is not an apostasy. I'm going to come to that with a diagram in a second. OK. That's why I was kind of wanting to make sure you were going to head down that path. But the apostasy is a big, big term. It is. But the question is, is this verse, is that verse the falling away, coming first, talking about the apostasy? Or are there other possibilities that it's talking about something else? OK. Well, let's see. Go ahead.

What would this look like or have all these events occurred? I think what was occurring at Church of Thessalonica is they thought this was ongoing because of the persecutions and the false teaching they were being exposed to. And the Lord Jesus Christ had proclaimed them all. And this is just, this is the day of the Lord being prescribed by our Lord.

Matthew 24, 10, 12. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow old. Now, lawlessness is the Antichrist.

Okay, so to think that the falling away relates to, if we're wrapping all three of these components to when and after what into this, then that doesn't fit what Roger just shared. Let's look at the biblical truth and sequelae of these events. So here's what Constables share, and here's what I was going to point to. So here is the Thessalonians view of this whole scenario.

Here's the Church Age, the Rapture occurs, and here they are in part of the Tribulation. And ultimately, then, as we look at Jesus' second coming at the beginning of the millennium, the church is going through the tribulation period. So that means the falling away would lead to the fact that, if you will, this falling away could be a partial rapture of those who, in fact, are not falling away to those who are left behind. Or, in fact, it could be the entire church is left behind. And here's Paul's correction of this error, is that here you are, here's the church age, the rapture, then the tribulation occurs with two phases, the Antichrist revealed for who he really is, second coming, and then the millennium.

So that's the way that constable interprets this. This is the way I interpret this. It's the way many people interpret it, but maybe not all. So I think Paul's trying to teach them that the deceptions they're receiving, or the potential deceiving that they're going to be receiving, and or the trials and tribulations and persecutions they're going through, is welcome to the church. And you know, we all experience that today, don't we? So other thoughts. And someone else, I'd like to defend the other interpretation here. Roger, do you want to defend it?

Well, all I can say is that, you know, and I had looked at it before that, it's kind of involved, but basically, it's better if you put the departure, the best word to translate that word in this context is departure, unless the departure comes. And the question is, what is the departure?

And there are many, many men that think that departure is speaking of the rapture. So, and that fits well with what Paul taught before, the rapture first, then the day of the Lord starts. And so that, it's consistent with that bottom picture there, that the rapture occurs first, then the day of, that kicks off the day of the Lord, if you will. Anyway, so that's, So many think that the falling away picture, that's correct. All those verses are correct about the falling away and apostasy. But in this context, apostasy is not the best translation of that word. That's my understanding. Well, that's not true. That's the Greek term, apostasy.

Well, I would convince you to read the paper. And it's rather lengthy. And if someone else can summarize it better than me, please. Others would like to share? Well, I can hit on it next week a little. OK, sure. That's fine. So maybe Andrew will give the, you know, go ahead.

But the thing is, you know, it's only, the paper is only really one guy or a few guys, and Bob's right, a lot of Darby, Constable, Keithley, all believe the other thing. So it's, yeah, a lot of the big theologians agree with the apostasy, meaning the apostasy from the faith. Macaulay also. Macaulay too, yeah. Yeah, so I looked at multiple commentators here on this section. But anyway, doesn't make most right. I mean, sometimes the minority is correct.

But, you know, the coming of the Lord we mentioned last time. Now, by the way, the coming of the Lord and the day of the Lord are really interpreted identically by the Greek translation. We're going to come to that at the end today. but the coming of the Lord would include the rapture first, and then everything to follow. So the apostasy is a strong term from everything I can read, and probably is best interpreted the way that I've shared with you today. Now there's no question that Constable's diagram here indicates that the rapture occurs first. I don't look at the rapture as apostasy.

Well, and that's the whole question about, is apostasy the best translation of that word in this context? That's the point open for discussion. Some say apostasy, the traditional definition is right. Others say in this context, and I don't claim to understand all their logic, but I know J. Vernon McGee, if you want to name names, he goes along with the departure, fits better than apostasy. Well, falling away is a poor translation, though. Falling away would relate to apostasy. I agree. Falling away or apostasy are not the best translations.

Departure is the best translation. That's my contention. All right. Could it be both? I mean, the rapture, departing, and immediately there's the departure from the faith. Complete. I'm just saying, because we're gone. Yeah. Seems like they're close, close at the same time. All right, let's go ahead.

And the man of sin, which is translated lawlessness, is revealed, the son of perdition or destruction, who poses and exalts himself above all that is called God without his worship. So who is this man of sin? Is this Satan himself? Okay, so that's a human person, it's not Satan, is that correct? It's not Satan himself. This is a person, a human existence, an individual who's going to be put in this position.

So, notice it's being revealed, and that's passive voice. So, why is passive important here? I think it tends to reflect the political and social climate of that day. The Left Behind series, which again I think is really a very scripturally is really that this person is going to be globally popular because he's going to be making everyone feel hunky and dory about things that are occurring globally.

We're all one around the planet. I know. I mean, you know, you get a sense of this kind of occurring gradually over the last decades and maybe the time in which we live. So your thoughts about that? Being revealed means in the process of being revealed, and that's passive. God's going to allow this to occur in a kind of a gradual process.

Well, you know, we get a flavor of that today, how easy it is in our society with our communication for a man to rise to be well-known or whatever and sway many people with him. So it's easy to imagine. Of course, we're all, you know, everybody's trying to imagine, can we see the person now? Can we see him before the day the Lord kicks off? And so, I don't know. With the internet and instant communication, like you say, and instant pictures, I mean, we can see things happening in real time, which is, you know, no one ever thought that could happen. And here we are. It is. All right, so I've got a few commentators here worth, I think, noting in terms of the thoughts.

The word lawlessness, this is Macaulay, points to refusal to operate within laws as they exist. Probably rejection of moral absolutes. The other designation, son of destruction, assures of his final destiny. This expression was also applied to Judas Iscariot. The man of lawlessness will be the personification of pride and ego. So that's my colleague's interpretation.

Keithley III. We're not told who or what it is that reveals his person or of whom he is specifically revealed. However, for those who know something about scripture, that which first reveals him will undoubtedly be the covenant that he will make with the Jewish people.

And that's Daniel 9.27. There's other prophetic verses in Ezekiel and elsewhere that relate to this. And Zephaniah has a lot of relationship to this individual. Revelation teaches us that the early stages of the tribulation will unveil one who, appearing as a white horse rider, will conquer many by peaceful tactics.

And that's again well exemplified in the Left Behind series. It's not until the middle of the tribulation that as true colors manifest themselves. So this is kind of the second half of the Tribulation where things get ugly. The first half, ultimately, we're looking at something that's more passive and more pleasing to the human existence who continue to exist at that time. Now remember, people will get saved during the first part of the Tribulation. and maybe even during the second part.

So these are prophecies related to the world system as a whole, not to individuals who come to the Lord during that time. It's not until the middle of the tribulation, again, that his true colors manifest themselves. This is a person yet to appear who will be completely lawless and whom God will doom to everlasting destruction The breaking of that covenant seems to be the event that unmasks this individual for who he really is, the opponent of Christ. And he will eventually seek to make everyone worship himself and will claim to be God.

So ultimately, I think it's worth reading the prophecy that relates to that. Revelation 3 5 13 5 through 8 and he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies He was given authority to make war for 42 months. Okay, that's three and a half years, right? That's the second half of the seven-year period Then he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

Yeah, Bob, isn't it amazing that God, the Lord, gives that ability, I mean, he allows that to happen. It's amazing, just amazing. Being revealed, right? This being revealed, God's allowing this passively to be revealed for the people who are alive. And in this world, every tribe, tongue, nation, I mean, that's incredible. And I think the other neat thing about here, it reflects back on the comment I made a few minutes ago.

People are saved during the Tribulation Period. And notice, for everyone except those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life, there will be people whose names are written in the Book of Life that come to saving experiences during the Tribulation Period. You would think that that would be more likely maybe at the second part because of all the trials the world system is going to go through. But maybe, I mean again, I keep referring to left behind because it's such a graphic presentation.

But the whole story is about people who after the rapture say, what happened? And come to salvation based on how scripture has talked to them through the evidence of the rapture of the church being taken out. So I suspect that some people will get wise very quickly when a third of their friends are no longer here.

So other thoughts about this lawlessness, this man of lawlessness? Well, it's just amazing. He says, authority to make war, authority to do this. God's in control. You think, well, how can God allow this to happen? But He is. He has, in His wisdom, in His divine wisdom, He allows this to happen.

Well, let's go back here and look at this again. The idea that during the first part, Keithley III, we are not told who or what it is that reveals this person or whom he is specifically related to. However, for those who know something about Scripture, that which first reveals him will undoubtedly be the covenant he will make with the Jewish people. Revelation teaches us that early stages will unveil one who is appearing as a white horse rider.

This is going to be a politically popular person coming out of the World Health Organization or some other source. Don't quote me on that one. Very apropos, Bob. Very apropos. You're recorded. I was speculating. What's the name of our attorney? Too late. Too late.

OK, so the second part that follows is the phrase, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. So this individual, the Antichrist, will seek to destroy and abolish all forms of worship and replace them with himself.

So this, if you will, is a person who now not only is a political leader and a social leader, but now he's a, quote, religious leader. Macaulay, the words as being God contain a verb. The literal translation would be he is God. So this is God on earth in the form of the Antichrist.

How do you think, how are people going to respond to this? The name is not written in the book of life. Well, the world's going to eat it up. They're going to love it. Well, they've seen people disappear. They've been through the tribulation. It's happening before them, actually, right? Yes, they see all this, and it's, gosh, there's got to be someone who can save us. And they're going to just gravitate. And the Lord has this all orchestrated, so they're going to just accept Him right away.

So is it everyone's sense that all the kind of environmental events, fire and seas turn to blood and all that, that's second half of the tribulation, right? Not in the first half, I'm not perfectly accurate on that comment. No, I think that it's going to be pretty terrible. So salvation will occur and I think if you're all tuned in spiritually, what other decision could you make during this time? Daniel 725, he shall speak pompous words against the Most High and so persecute the saints of the Most High.

The question is are those living saints or those people who have been raptured or both? and shall intend to change times and law, then the saint shall be given into his hand for a time and times and a half a time. So that gives you the idea that it's the second half of the tribulation, to do the time and times, which would be twice times and half a time. So that's three and a half years, basically.

Daniel 11.36 Then the king shall do according to his own will. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the god of gods, and shall prosper until all the wrath has been accomplished, for what has been determined shall be done.

So anyway, this is an individual who now is beyond political leadership, but in fact, religious leadership. And the last part of the verse, and so that he sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. Back to Macaulay's translation too, he is God is really the best scriptural interpretation. I think this is likely the rebuilt Jewish temple as described in Daniel and Mark and a few other places. So let's look at those scriptures.

Daniel 9, 26, and after the 32 weeks, 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off. but not for himself. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end of it shall be with a flood. Until the end of war, desolations are determined." So this is kind of the timing of ultimately when the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. So how do we interpret that? I guess it's the people who live in the revived Roman Empire area, right? The people of the prince who is to come. That's the Antichrist, right? So it'd be in the area of the revived Roman Empire. Europe. Europe and... So what do you make of 62 weeks? Well then... Go ahead, Henry. You got me. That's happened in the past, right? Daniel 9, 26.

There's a time, 62 weeks is, I don't know, 62 times seven is what is 400 and some odd years. So then Christ was crucified, cut off. And then, yeah, so 62 weeks have passed already, and we're waiting for this final week of seven. That's right. I think the interpretation relates to how weeks relate to years, and ultimately now the messiah's been cut off. And then there's this period that we're existing in with today. and then ultimately the rapture and then the tribulation to follow, I think. And we're not going to study prophecy here today, but nevertheless, it's just the idea. The reason I use this verse is that the people of the prince who has come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

So he's in the temple. Presumably in the temple that's been rebuilt. And the end of it shall be with a flood. Till the end of the war, of the war, desolations are determined. So anyway, it just kind of relates to him being in the temple. In Mark 13, 14, so when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. So anyway, so I guess that relates to the kind of The Jews, maybe it's the remnant there that's being discussed in terms of what the events are at the end time. But anyway, the idea that he will occupy a temple, and presumably this is the rebuilt Jewish temple, which may actually be rebuilt before the tribulation period. I mean, that's the concept.

The tribulation will not occur, the rapture will not occur, or at least the tribulation won't occur until the temple's rebuilt. That's other scripture, but that's not something we would need to spend time on. More evidence that these events have not occurred is seen in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verses 7 and 8.

I'll read those, and Andrew's on board for that next week. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now lets it will let it, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. So Andrew, it's all yours next week to deal with that.

Verse seven's a little complicated, too, so I can't wait to hear what you have to say about that. Second Thessalonians 6 through 8. In fact, I just read that. And I emphasize, as you know, what is restraining that he may be revealed in his own time. That should be 7 and 8. For the mysteries of lawlessness are already at work. So the final point that we need to return to is a question that came up last week.

So now, returning to the coming of, or parousia, or day of Hemera, the Lord, what is our interpretation of the coming of the Lord, or the day of the Lord? Remember, the interpretation, at least in the inner liturgy, is these terms represent almost an identical interpretation. And that's the rapture all the way through the end times.

I think we all must agree and do agree that we're, as a church, not going to go through the rapture. I mean, through the tribulation, right? Amen. We all agree on that? I think, again, the diagram kind of reflects that time course. So that, I think, is consistent with almost all of scripture. People would take exception to that still. The church will, in part, go through the rapture.

But I think that's what Paul is trying to teach to the church of Thessalonica, that the rapture is first. So do we need to, in fact, get bogged down with how to interpret this last, whoops, my bad, how to interpret this, if you will, day of the Lord?

Well, I think we've said, maybe from the first Thessalonians, the Day of the Lord is a time period, right? It starts right after the Rapture and goes all the way to the end of the Millennial Kingdom, right? I think that's right. So the Day of the Lord is a period, but it's spoken of as a, you know, it has a beginning right after the Rapture, immediately.

All during that time for the Day of the Lord, a lot of it, especially the first seven years, is an awful time. And that's spoken of in the Old Testament. I find the Day of the Lord is challenging. You have to really... Paul, this is his second time through, and he wants to make sure they distinguish what the Day of the Lord is, and the fact that they're not in the Day of the Lord, that's key. That's the key part of this.

Like the Diet, they're not in the Day of the Lord. If they think they're in the Day of the Lord, they've missed the boat. Now, you could argue about the apostasy and that thing, but that's the key part here, that the Thessalonians were not in the Day of the Lord.

You know, if you interpret the falling away as being the rapture, I don't see any really reason not to think that that could be an interpretation. I just think that it does seem strange. I'm not saying that, you know, it does seem strange. I was thinking, I mean, I agree.

I think the day of the Lord referring to the whole time. But you know, in verse one, where we were talking about last week, when I think specifically, I guess I just felt that where it said gathering together, Christ and our gathering together, to him was referring specifically to the rapture part, for them not to think that they'd missed the rapture, I guess. That's kind of what I was thinking about. Yeah, the gathering together, I think, must include the rapture. And I think that's what we said last week, too. The gathering together is not just having a little power about here.

Again, both translations for these two Greek terms for coming of the Lord and also the day of the Lord capture the rapture as a sequence of events going forward. So I think, again, this is just important biblical truth. We can discuss what falling away is interpreted to be. I'm suggesting that all the falling away really is in fact, you know, an event that's earthly, the apostasy, but, you know, Roger's...

It's okay. I didn't come prepared to, you know... Actually, Andrew will do a good job, I'm sure. He'll show us what... Yeah, Andrew has... He'll help us out. And it's good, you know, it's good to know it's good that you know, like we always say it's good You know, we all need to be Bereans, you know, you know, we study God's Word and we try to understand what it's saying And that's it.

We don't do that. You know, that's where we're missing the mail. Listen the boat we need to We personally need to understand God's Word. It's not we shouldn't be even though we respect other men's teaching, we should figure it out for ourselves, as best we can. We're not all Greek scholars, we're not all... No, that's true.

And so, but the Lord, you know, he's given us a mind and the Holy Spirit, so hey, we should have a chance at it, right? Any other comments before we close? Andrew, you want to close us in prayer, please? Oh yeah, sure, sure. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time gathering together in this scripture that you've laid before us that's a big subject. We thank you that you have a plan for us and we thank you that we will be with you before this tribulation occurs. Just be with us throughout the week and we pray these things in Christ's name, amen.