"Unless the Falling Away Comes First"

[Before you read this article, you might consider reading the article I wrote yesterday called Discerning Futuristic Texts in Scriptures. It serves as a foundation for this short study today.]

Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4,

"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 comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

I'd like to analyze this text in two parts. Then I'd like to clarify a common misconception about this text by making a comparison to a passage in Isaiah 7. Ready? Okay, let's go!

"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"

Paul is speaking here of the final return of Christ. Already, in chapter one, he's made the point that Jesus will one day be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels" just prior to meting out eternal judgment (vs. 7-9). The "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" here in 2:1 has in mind the same event. When Jesus is revealed from heaven, we will be gathered to Him. Along these same lines, Jesus says in John 14:1-4 that He will one day return to receive us unto Himself and take us to His Father's house. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Paul adds that we will be caught up together, with those saints who have already died, to meet the Lord in the air. "And thus we shall always be with the Lord." So the language is consistent throughout the New Testament regarding the return of Christ.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Paul is addressing a misunderstanding that these Christians apparently had regarding Christ's return. They were being led to believe that Christ had already returned when, in fact, he hadn't. They still had reason to hope.

Here's where things get interesting...

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

Again, these saints had been misled or deceived regarding Christ's return. In verses 1-2, Paul told them "not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled," but to remain eager and hopeful for His return. Here, Paul gives them something more substantive to latch onto.

Specifically, Paul argued that Christ's final coming wouldn't take place until a certain event, or series of events, had occurred. He mentions:

1. The falling away
2. The revealing of the man of sin, or son of perdition
3. The appearance and self-glorification of the son of perdition in the Temple, which is also called the "abomination of desolation" (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15).

A thorough examination of the Scriptures will reveal, I believe, that Paul is speaking of the events surrounding AD70 and God's judgment against the Jewish nation. After all, the language here is comparable to that of Matthew 24:4-35. Jesus, in Matthew 24, spoke of deceivers and a falling away (vs. 10-14), and of the abomination of desolation. On this point, the Jewish historian Josephus says, "The Romans brought their ensigns into the temple, and placed them over against the eastern gate, and sacrificed to them there" (War, b. vi. chap. 6).

Paul likely wrote this second letter to the church in Thessalonica around 51-54 AD, approximately fifteen years before the events of 70AD took place. So Paul is telling these brethren that Christ's final coming wouldn't take place until God's judgment against Judea and the Jewish nation was executed by means of Titus and the Roman legions.

Some brethren are confused by this passage, however. Upon reading it, they conclude that the final coming of Christ would immediately follow these other events (of 70AD). After all, Paul does say that "that day (the final coming of Christ, ch) will not come unless the falling away comes first..." In other words, it is assumed that these two events took place "back to back." It is therefore posited that Christ's final return actually took place in 70AD or shortly thereafter.

With this question in mind, turn your attention to Isaiah 7:14-16. Ahaz, the king of Judah was confronted and threatened by Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel. God offered Ahaz a sign that Judah would prevail. When Ahaz refused a sign, God gave Him one anyways...

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings."

As in 2 Thessalonians 2, there are two "events" under consideration here - (1) the birth of the Messiah and (2) God's judgment against Syria and Israel - the point being that God would judge these two sinful nations before the Messiah knew "to refuse the evil and choose the good."

Here's the point. Even though these two events are mentioned back to back, we know that hundreds of years separated them. God judged Israel and Syria long before Christ was born of the virgin Mary.

So in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul is not saying that Christ's final coming would immediately follow the events of 70AD, but that the events of 70AD had to occur before Christ's final coming.

I hope this makes sense. If you have any questions, please comment below.