Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Why Pre-Trib Rapture: 2 Thessalonians 2
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture has a whole lot of real evidence in the Bible. To the point that when you put it all together, it becomes the clear truth. I have put much of it in articles but they become long articles that many do not want to read. I felt it time to break it all down. This short article is one in a series that when put together, they prove the Pre-Trib rapture is true.
2 Thessalonians 2, if one really looks at it and uses true logic, almost proves the rapture is Pre-Tribulation. Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and so many studying only the KJV Bible, it is usually misinterpreted.
Lets look at the scripture in the KJV first.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (KJV)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 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. 3 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; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
Apparently, the church in Corinth had received a letter they had wrongly believed was from the apostles. The news in the letter had them upset, and so Paul felt a need to write to them and settle their fears. Logically they must have been quite upset that their trouble had reached Paul and He had to write to them.
In verse 1, Paul makes it clear that this letter is in regards to the rapture.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 (KJV)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Our gathering to Him can be nothing else but the rapture. The confusion comes in understanding the second verse.
2 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.
The day of Christ, is understood to be either the Rapture or the Second Coming. The problem with this is, why would the church be upset that the rapture or the Second Coming was at hand? These are events every Christian should be looking forward to. If you read Paul's letter, he never tells them they shouldn't be upset over that news, but instead clarifies the news is not from the apostles and that event is not actually at hand. So clearly if the event was at hand, they would not have been wrong to be upset over it. Which brings us back to the question of why? Why would they be upset that the rapture or second coming was at hand? Those are events we should be overjoyed about. Not troubled over. Clearly, there is something not quite right here. What is not right, happens to be the translation in the KJV bible.
When the KJV was translated 410 years ago, all of the oldest manuscripts we had used the term "day of Christ". So they were correct to use that term in the Bible. However, in the 410 years since, we have found thousands more ancient documents. Today there are something like 25,000 ancient manuscripts, and all of the oldest manuscripts do not use "day of Christ". They use "day of the Lord". Other than KJV Only Purists, every scholar agrees that "day of the Lord" is likely what was in the original manuscripts.
What is the difference in "day of Christ" and the "day of the Lord" you ask? Everything! As previously stated, every time "day of Christ" is used in the bible, it is referring to either the rapture or second coming. However, every time "day of the Lord" is used, it refers to God's anger or God's Wrath.
Even though the letter is in regards to the rapture, the church was not upset that the rapture or second coming was at hand. It was upset that the day of God's Wrath was at hand. And that, is a very good reason to be upset.
What is the day of God's Wrath?
Acts 2:17-21 (NASB)
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. 19 And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
This makes it clear it happens in the last days when all these things will happen before the "day of the Lord" comes. But look at how other verses speak of the "Day of the Lord"...
Malachi 4:5
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Zephaniah 2:2
Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the Lord’s anger.
Amos 5:18
Woe to you who are longing for the day of the Lord, For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light;
Joel 2:11
The Lord utters His voice before His army; His camp is indeed very great, For mighty is one who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
Joel 1:15
Woe for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
The day of the Lord is a time of destruction when God pours His anger, His wrath on the world. But what does the Bible say will be our place in this wrath? The Bible repeatedly tells us that we will be saved from His wrath. You can read about that in this article....
Why The PRe-Trib Rapture: Saved from Wrath
The church in Corinth understood that the Lord was going to come to save us before the "day of the Lord" arrived. So when they received news, as if from the apostles, that the day of the Lord was at hand, that would mean they had missed the rapture. That was what had them so upset. That is why Paul did not correct them for being upset over the Day of the Lord being at hand, but instead clarified that the day of the Lord was not at hand and that they should have known that.
2 Thessalonians 2, once you really understand what is happening, and once you learn that the KJV translation is wrong in using "day of Christ", proves the Pre-tribulation is right.
To be clear, this is not me twisting interpretation to fit my beliefs. This is simply truth. To hold to the KJV translation as being right, is wrong, plain and simple. It is not correct logically because then you have to believe the church in Corinth was upset that the Lord was returning, and it is not correct technically because the only scholars who hold onto that translation are KJV purists who are biased.
Return to Pre-Trib Rapture Articles
2 Thessalonians 2, if one really looks at it and uses true logic, almost proves the rapture is Pre-Tribulation. Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and so many studying only the KJV Bible, it is usually misinterpreted.
Lets look at the scripture in the KJV first.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 (KJV)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 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. 3 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; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
Apparently, the church in Corinth had received a letter they had wrongly believed was from the apostles. The news in the letter had them upset, and so Paul felt a need to write to them and settle their fears. Logically they must have been quite upset that their trouble had reached Paul and He had to write to them.
In verse 1, Paul makes it clear that this letter is in regards to the rapture.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 (KJV)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Our gathering to Him can be nothing else but the rapture. The confusion comes in understanding the second verse.
2 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.
The day of Christ, is understood to be either the Rapture or the Second Coming. The problem with this is, why would the church be upset that the rapture or the Second Coming was at hand? These are events every Christian should be looking forward to. If you read Paul's letter, he never tells them they shouldn't be upset over that news, but instead clarifies the news is not from the apostles and that event is not actually at hand. So clearly if the event was at hand, they would not have been wrong to be upset over it. Which brings us back to the question of why? Why would they be upset that the rapture or second coming was at hand? Those are events we should be overjoyed about. Not troubled over. Clearly, there is something not quite right here. What is not right, happens to be the translation in the KJV bible.
When the KJV was translated 410 years ago, all of the oldest manuscripts we had used the term "day of Christ". So they were correct to use that term in the Bible. However, in the 410 years since, we have found thousands more ancient documents. Today there are something like 25,000 ancient manuscripts, and all of the oldest manuscripts do not use "day of Christ". They use "day of the Lord". Other than KJV Only Purists, every scholar agrees that "day of the Lord" is likely what was in the original manuscripts.
What is the difference in "day of Christ" and the "day of the Lord" you ask? Everything! As previously stated, every time "day of Christ" is used in the bible, it is referring to either the rapture or second coming. However, every time "day of the Lord" is used, it refers to God's anger or God's Wrath.
Even though the letter is in regards to the rapture, the church was not upset that the rapture or second coming was at hand. It was upset that the day of God's Wrath was at hand. And that, is a very good reason to be upset.
What is the day of God's Wrath?
Acts 2:17-21 (NASB)
17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men will see visions, And your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. 19 And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
This makes it clear it happens in the last days when all these things will happen before the "day of the Lord" comes. But look at how other verses speak of the "Day of the Lord"...
Malachi 4:5
“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Zephaniah 2:2
Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the Lord’s anger.
Amos 5:18
Woe to you who are longing for the day of the Lord, For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light;
Joel 2:11
The Lord utters His voice before His army; His camp is indeed very great, For mighty is one who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
Joel 1:15
Woe for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
The day of the Lord is a time of destruction when God pours His anger, His wrath on the world. But what does the Bible say will be our place in this wrath? The Bible repeatedly tells us that we will be saved from His wrath. You can read about that in this article....
Why The PRe-Trib Rapture: Saved from Wrath
The church in Corinth understood that the Lord was going to come to save us before the "day of the Lord" arrived. So when they received news, as if from the apostles, that the day of the Lord was at hand, that would mean they had missed the rapture. That was what had them so upset. That is why Paul did not correct them for being upset over the Day of the Lord being at hand, but instead clarified that the day of the Lord was not at hand and that they should have known that.
2 Thessalonians 2, once you really understand what is happening, and once you learn that the KJV translation is wrong in using "day of Christ", proves the Pre-tribulation is right.
To be clear, this is not me twisting interpretation to fit my beliefs. This is simply truth. To hold to the KJV translation as being right, is wrong, plain and simple. It is not correct logically because then you have to believe the church in Corinth was upset that the Lord was returning, and it is not correct technically because the only scholars who hold onto that translation are KJV purists who are biased.
Return to Pre-Trib Rapture Articles
