apostasia: rebellion or rapture? thomas ice pre-tribulation rapture trickery!

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (Mark 9:42)

This post refutes Thomas Ice's noxious mistranslation of the Greek noun apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, which he contends indicates the pre-tribulation rapture:

http://www.raptureready.com/featured/ice/TheRapturein2Thessalonians2_3.html 

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, (episunagōgēs) we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion (apostasia) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.... (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

Ice specifically cites seven early bible translations prior to the King James Version of 1611 that he claims render the noun apostasia as either "departure" or "departing" which he chooses to interpret as the rapture, a meaning which was not intended by the early translators. 

Ice: "The first seven English translations of apostasia all rendered the noun as either " departure" or " departing." They are as follows: Wycliffe Bible (1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539); Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608)."

The Bishops' Bible is an English translation of the Bible produced in 1568 under the authority the Church of England. It was substantially revised in 1572, and the 1602 edition was prescribed as the base text for the King James Bible that was completed in 1611.{1}

Bishops Bible: "2Th 2:3 Let no man deceaue you by any meanes, for [the Lorde shall not come] excepte there come a fallyng away first, & that that man of sinne be reuealed, the sonne of perdition..... " {2}

Wycliffe Bible: "2 Thessalonians 2:3 No man disseyue you in ony manere. For but dissencioun come first, and the man of synne be schewid, the sonne of perdicioun.^" {3}

The Middle English word “dissencioun” comes from the Old French "dissension" which is not physical departure!{4}

Apostasia is translated "revolt" in the the Douay-Rheims Bible which was translated from the Latin Vulgate of Jerome (1582).

William Tyndale interpreted apostasia as a departure from the faith.. 

"sheweth that there shall be a departure from the faith....."

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no ma deceave you by eny meanes for the lorde commeth not excepte ther come a departynge fyrst and that that synfnll man be opened ye sonne of perdicion.^" {5}

Tyndale NT Commentary: "The necessary prelude to the coming of Christ is 'the rebellion'.... falling away hardly gives the force of apostasia..... In classical Greek, the word apostasia denoted a political or military rebellion; but in the Greek Old Testament we find it used of rebellion against God (e.g. Joshua xxii. 22), and this becomes the accepted biblical usage." {6}

The Original Geneva Footnotes

The Geneva Bible (Breeches Bible) includes marginal notes authored by John Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, and many other leaders of the Reformation.

The Second Epistle Of Paul To The Thessalonians:

"Lest the Thessalonians should think that Paul neglected them, because he went to other places, rather than come to them, he writeth unto them and exhorteth them to patience and other fruits of faith, neither to be moved with that vain opinion of such as taught that the coming of Christ was at hand, for as much as before that day there should be a falling away from the true religion, even by a great part of the world, and that Antichrist should reign in the Temple of God;"

2 Thessalonians 2: " 2 He sheweth that the day of the Lord shall not come, till there be a departure from the faith, and that the Antichrist be revealed, 8 whose destruction he setteth out, 15 and thereupon exhorteth to constancy." {7}

It is interesting that Paul does not make a distinction between the rapture (episunagógé) and "the day of the Lord" in this passage. Paul had previously taught the Thessalonian church about the rapture, and this later letter appears to indicate that they were in need of further clarification. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)

Ice: "What precisely does Paul mean when he says that 'the falling away' (2:3) must come before the tribulation? The definite article " the" denotes that this will be a definite event, an event distinct from the appearance of the Man of Sin. The Greek word for " falling away" , taken by itself, does not mean religious apostasy or defection. Neither does the word mean " to fall," as the Greeks have another word for that. [pipto, I fall; TDI] The best translation of the word is " to depart." The apostle Paul refers here to a definite event which he calls " the departure," and which will occur just before the start of the tribulation. This is the rapture of the church."

voilà - the pre-tribulation rapture!

The context of verses 1-3 themselves defy Ice's interpretation. Apostasia is historically interpreted as defection, desertion, rebellion, from the prefix apó, which is a departure from a previous standing.{8} Paul's use of the noun episunagógé in verse 1 defines the rapture. Paul also uses the verb harpazo (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4), but he never uses apostasia in this context! Ice switches "departure from the faith" with the rapture, he inserts the word "tribulation" which is not specifically mentioned in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, let alone verse 3, and then, as if by magic, the rapture precedes the tribulation! The false interpretation of "rapture" for "apostasia" is essential for the pre-tribulation rapture theory to hold water, whereas if we interpret "apostasia" as "rebellion", the meaning is plain! If we give Ice's interpretation credibility, we are left with the bizarre meaning that the rapture will not come unless the rapture comes first! His teaching is totally perverse! 

There are only two occurrences of apostasia in the New Testament, the other being in Acts 21:21: 

.....and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake (apostasian) Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

I am not a "King James Only" adherent, but you would think that the forty seven scholars involved in interpreting the King James Bible between 1604 and 1616 would have arrived at the correct interpretation of this word, though clearly Ice thinks that he has carte blanche to redefine it!{9}

The root of apostasia is the verb aphistémi, meaning: I make to stand away, draw away, repel, take up a position away from, withdraw from, leave, abstain from.{10} There are fourteen occurrences of aphistémi in the New Testament, and since this verb can mean physical departure as well as a departure from the faith (below), some have used the connection as a pretext to teach that apostasia means physical departure, i.e. the rapture. Ice's mentor, pre-tribulation rapture authority John Walvoord (1910-2002), once held this view, but he was humble/honest enough to change his mind after considering the lexical arguments of Robert Gundry.{11} Actually Walvoord admitted that no single verse of scripture by itself clearly teaches the pre-tribulation rapture.{11}

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from (aphistémi) the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1) 

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away (aphistémi) from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), crazed cult leader, founder of the Exclusive Brethren and "god" of  the Pre-Trib Rapture Center (PTRC) and the PWMI, is falsely credited with "discovering" the pre-tribulation rapture by Ice and his associates. Yet even the "mighty" Darby translated 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as the apostasy..

 

Darby Bible Translation: "Let not any one deceive you in any manner, because [it will not be] unless the apostasy have first come, and the man of sin have been revealed, the son of perdition;^" {12}

 

Darby: "With nominal Christians this has necessarily the character of apostacy, or at least it is connected with this apostacy, and is consequent upon it; as Verse 3 (Th2 2:3) teaches us, the apostacy takes place, and then the man of sin is revealed.^" {13}

Erasmus: "signifies that great and before-predicted apostasy." {14}

John Wesley:  2:3 Unless the falling away - From the pure faith of the gospel, come first.{15}

More recently, Christian Apologist and pretribulationist Dave Hunt (1926-2013), interpreted apostasia as the apostasy: "Paul says that the apostasy precedes the revelation of the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:3).^" {16}

The scriptures do speak of the end time apostasy, and we should bear in mind that this is linked with false teachers who will mislead many believers and cause them to fall away. Critically, they often achieve this by redefining important passages of scripture by their own authority. Chillingly, the redefinition of scripture can be as subtle as reinventing just one word in one verse! (Genesis 3:1; 2 Corinthians 11:3)

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. (Matthew 24:4-5, 9-13, 24)

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. (Jude 17-19)

Needless to say, Ice has failed Joe Schimmel's challenge/offer to collect $10,000 to produce a single verse or passage of scripture which clearly teaches that the rapture happens before the tribulation.{17}

1   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops'_Bible
2   http://thebiblecorner.com/englishbibles/thebishopsbible/2thessalonians/2.html
3   http://oldebible.com/wycliffe-bible/2-thessalonians-2.asp
4   https://www.wordnik.com/words/dissension
5   http://oldebible.com/tyndale-bible/2-thessalonians-2.asp
6   Leon Morris, 1956 "Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 1&2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary" Inter-Varsity Press p.126

7   http://www.genevabible.org/Geneva.html
8   http://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_thessalonians/2-3.htm   ??
9   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version
10  http://biblehub.com/greek/868.htm
11  http://www.walvoord.com/article/137#G77B2
12 http://biblehub.com/dbt/2_thessalonians/2.htm
13 http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/darby/th2002.htm 
14 http://www.godvine.com/bible/2-thessalonians/2-3
15 http://www.godvine.com/bible/2-thessalonians/2-3
16 http://www.raptureready.com/resource/hunt/dh11.htm
17 http://www.leftbehindorledastray.com/good-fight-answers-thomas-ices-pre-trib-challenge-for-10k/

Further links:

https://www.moriel.org/articles-new/2015-12-06-13-31-51/bill-walthall/item/2633-a-welcome-yes-to-thomas-ice.html 

www.moriel.org/articles-new/2015-12-06-13-31-51/bill-walthall/item/2631-a-response-to-david-reagan-s-in-defense-of-the-pre–tribulation-rapture-and-an-appeal-to-my-traditional-pre-tribulational-brethren.html 

http://son-of-encouragement.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/pre-trib-expert-john-walvoord-melts-ice.html 
https://onecanhappen.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/12-reasons-not-to-expect-a-pre-trib-rapture/
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Geneva-Bible