George Gunn (Shasta Bible College, Redding, CA)
Pre-Trib Study Group; 2005

2Thessanlonians 2:13; A Rapture Passage?

2Thessalonians 2:13, "But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you, a first fruit, for deliverance by the sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."

Synopsis:  2Thessalonians 2:13, though frequently cited in theological works as a proof text for the soteriological doctrine of election, is probably best understood eschatologically as descriptive of God's promise to deliver the church from the persecution and worldwide judgments of the Day of the Lord by means of a pretribulational rapture.

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The real issue here is NOT whether this verse is soteriological or eschatological.
The issue is the statement that the verse is “descriptive of God's promise to deliver the church from the persecution and worldwide judgments of the Day of the Lord by means of a pretribulational rapture.”

This violates the proper definition of the Day of the Lord.
The Day of the Lord is different from the tribulation and actually occurs AFTER the tribulation.

It is true that the church will be delivered from the “worldwide judgments of the Day of the Lord.” But it is not true that this will be accomplished “by means of a pretribulational rapture.”

The tribulation is NOT the same as the 70^th week of Daniel, but occurs only at the midpoint of the 70^th week according to Matthew 24:9-21.
We learn from comparing Joel 3:31 with Mat. 24:29; and Rev. 6:12-17, that the Day of the Lord will begin AFTER the tribulation. And we learn from 2Thes. 2:1-3, that the Day of the Lord will not occur until AFTER the man of lawlessness has been revealed.

We also learn from 2Thes. 1:6-10, that the church will be on the earth, experiencing tribulational persecution AT THE TIME of “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.”

We learn from Matthew 24:22 that the tribulation will be cut short by the sovereign decree of God. And at Matthew 24:29, that after the tribulation is cut short, God will bring about the second coming of Christ “in his own time” (1Tim. 6:15).

It is at this time that the relief promised in 2Thes. 1:6-10 will be accomplished for the church. It is the same promise stated by Jesus at Matthew 24:29-44 and John 14:1-3; and by Paul at 1Thes. 4:14-17.

2Thes. 2:13 is definitely NOT a promise of a pretrib deliverance from the tribulation.
Whether it is a promise of deliverance from the wrath of God that will come at the day of the Lord AFTER the tribulation, is a matter of interpretation which is not in dispute in this article.

Questions and comments are always welcome

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