Is The Antichrist Revealed Before The Rapture?

 

 

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed..” – 2 Thessalonians

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 – Is The Man of Sin Revealed Before or After The Rapture? A Study of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 –

2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 has been a major source of debate, question and confusion when it comes to discussion of the Rapture of the church and its timing. Many pastors, writers and Bible students cite this chapter as proof that the Rapture must occur after the Antichrist has been revealed, based on verse 3 of the chapter. But is this the case? This article will show a very simple interpretation of this much-debated verse and correct a common mistake in its interpretation that will show that in line with the timing outlined in the Beginning and End Rapture series, the Rapture of the Church indeed takes places before the Antichrist emerges on the global scene.
The Passage

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 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 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. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5.

The verses in bold are where the Apostle Paul gives two clear “prophetic signposts”: the apostasy or falling away of many people in the church from the Christian faith and the revealing of “the man of sin”, a title for the Antichrist, the Satanically-empowered False Messiah who rule the world in the final years before the Second Coming of Christ.  The questions and debates arise over, what event comes after these 2 signs? What is Paul talking about? Is he saying that the Rapture will not happen until the falling away and the revealing of the Antichrist? Will the church be here to see the Antichrist in power before being Raptured? Or is there another meaning altogether? Let’s examine the Scriptures in detail.

The Context Of 2 Thessalonians

It is critical to understand the context of 2 Thessalonians 2.

It is always important to understand the context of a Biblical passage that one is interpreting. In the first letter written to the Church of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul wrote a great deal about the end times. He explained the process of the Rapture, the end times gathering of the church, both dead and alive to meet The Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds and be taken into Heaven before the judgments of the end times:

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18.

He also discussed the Day of The Lord, the end times pouring out of God’s wrath on the unbelieving world.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.

The Day of The Lord is a series of judgments detailed in the chapters of the Book of  Revelation’s seven trumpets and seven vials (for a more detailed discussion of the Day of The Lord, please see Part 1 of the Rapture series here). This period is also known Biblically as the Great Tribulation. In 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5, Paul assures the church that unlike the unbelieving world, they will not be surprised or overtaken by the Day of The Lord. He closes this passage writing:

“God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11.

The “wrath” referred to in verse 9 is not just a reference to the wrath in the lake of fire. It is an assurance that Christians will not experience the wrath of God during the Day of The Lord, but will escape through Jesus Christ via the Rapture, which Paul had just described in the prior chapter. So Chapters 4 and 5 flow perfectly together: there will be a gathering of all believers, supernaturally, to meet Jesus in the air and be taken to Heaven as described in Chapter 4. Following this, there will be the Day of The Lord, where the unbelieving world will be shocked, overtaken and punished in God’s wrath (described in Chapter 5). But this is not something believers need to worry about, because they are not appointed to wrath. This is why Paul tells the church to “comfort” one another with this information as they share it. It was good news! And it is still good news for Christians today.

False Information Invades The Church

By the time 2 Thessalonians was written, false information had entered this church. Whether it was by an incorrect interpretation or prophecy, or by a false letter written by an imposter in Paul’s name, something had shaken the faith of this church in their belief about the end times. They were under the impression that due to the persecution they were suffering, that they were experiencing the end time wrath of God during the Great Tribulation at that time. Paul uses the book of 2 Thessalonians to reassure them that was not the case. It is very important to understand this background when reading chapter 2. With this understanding we can examine the verses in question.

 Dividing The Scriptures

The Book of 2 Thessalonians gives 2 important signs of the last days.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.

This verse describes two distinct events: the Second Coming of Christ to Earth (“the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”) which occurs in Revelation 19 and the Rapture (“our gathering together unto him”), which occurs at the 6th Seal in Revelation 6. The description of the two events is consistent with the dual nature of “Christ’s Coming” as described in prophetic Scripture. He comes in the clouds at the Rapture to receive His Bride, the Church and return to Heaven. And He returns on a white horse with His Holy Angels and all His saints for the battle of Armageddon at His Second Coming. This is dual nature is supported by various Scriptures:

Two different world conditions (Matthew 24:37-42, Matthew 24:21).

Two different approaches of Christ to the Earth ( 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 19:11, 14-15, 21).

Two different scenarios regarding the predictability of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36, Daniel 12:11).

Two very different descriptions of his return (Revelation 16:15, Matthew 24-26-27).

(B&E: The careful Bible student is strongly encouraged to check those passages and see the confirmation of the author’s point for themselves).

The Day of Christ

It takes careful Bible study to make sure we do not skip over any key phrases in Scripture.

Continuing in the passage we get to the critical verses for understanding the timing of the revealing of the “man of sin”, or the Antichrist:

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; -2 Thessalonians 2:2-3.

Verse 2 is where much of the confusion arises. Many articles and commentaries skip over the phrase “the day of Christ is at hand” and jump to the two signs given in verse 3 (the falling away in the church and the revealing of the Antichrist). However, this phrase cannot be overlooked. When Paul is giving the signs in verse 3 he is mentioning them with respect to the “day of Christ.” The “day of Christ” is a term for the Second Coming of Christ to Earth as described in Revelation 19. Even in the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians Paul described the Second Coming as “that day”: