COMMENTARIES: Apostasy at 2Thes. 2:3  


 

APOSTASY
The issue here is not pretrib vs prewrath. It is the meaning of the word and the understanding of these people.

THE EXPOSITOR'S GREEK NEW TESTAMENT
James Moffatt, "the apostasy and the appearance (so of Beliar, Asc. Isa., iv. 18) of the personal anti-Christ or pseudo-Christ form a single phenomenon. From the use of ἡ ἀποστασία as a Greek equivalent for Belial (LXX of 1 Kings 21:13, A, and Aquila), this eschatological application of the term would naturally flow, especially as אישׁ בליעל might well be represented by ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας on the analogy of 2 Samuel 22:5 (LXX) = Psalms 17 (18):4. Lawlessness was a cardinal trait in the Jewish figure of Belial, as was persecution of the righteous (2 Thessalonians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, see Asc. Isa., ii. 5, etc.)."

A.T. ROBERTSON
"The second coming not only is not 'imminent,' but will not take place before certain important things take place. Apostasia is the late form of apostatis and is our word apostasy. plutarch uses it of political revolt and it occurs in 1 Macc. 2:15 about Antiochus Ephiphanes who was forcing the apostasy form Judaism to Hellenism. In Josh. 22:22 it occurs for rebellion against the Lord. It seems clear that the word here means a religious revolt and the use of the definite article seems to mean that Paul had spoken to the Thessalonians about it. The only other New Testament use of the word is in Acts 21:21 where it means apostasy from Moses. It is not clear whether Paul mans revolt fo the Jews from God, of Gentiles from God, of Christians from God, or of the apostasy that includes all classes within and without the body of Christians. But it is to be 'first' before Christ comes again."

NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY
William Hendriksen, "The fact that the day of the Lord would be preceded by THE apostasy (falling away, rebellion) - an apostasy about which the readers had received previous instruction - had been clearly predicted by the Lord while he was still on earth (Mat. 24:10-13).

JOHN CALVIN from commentary on 2 Thessalonians.
"As, however, interpreters have twisted this passage in various ways, we must first of all endeavor to ascertain Paul's true meaning. He says that the day of Christ will not come, until the world has fallen into apostasy, and the reign of Antichrist has obtained a footing in the Church;"
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"I am also surprised, that so many writers, in other respects learned and acute, have fallen into a blunder in a matter that is so easy, were it not that when one has committed a mistake, others follow in troops without consideration. Paul, therefore, employs the term apostasy to mean -- a treacherous departure from God, and that not on the part of one or a few individuals, but such as would spread itself far and wide among a large multitude of persons."

JOHN FEINBERG
"Let me summarize my findings: 1) aphistemi and its cognates are found widely in Greek literature; 2) the verb aphistemi has many and clear uses where a physical departure can only be meant; 3) the noun apostasion has a clear and fixed meaning that relates it to the marriage covenant, and it is the common way of expressing the giving of a certificate of divorce; 4) the other noun, apostasia, has a variety of meanings, but none of them relate to a physical departure. It seems that any fair assessment of the data leads to the conclusion that Paul does not refer to the rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3."

MATTHEW HENRY
"In these words the apostle confutes the error against which he had cautioned them, and gives the reasons why they should not expect the coming of Christ as just at hand. There were several events previous to the second coming of Christ; in particular, he tells them there would be,

I. A general apostasy, there would come a falling away first, v. 3. By this apostasy we are not to understand a defection in the state, or from civil government, but in spiritual or religious matters, from sound doctrine, instituted worship and church government, and a holy life."

JAMIESON-FAUSSET-BROWN BIBLE COMMENTARY
" a falling away--rather as the Greek, "the falling away," or "apostasy," namely, the one of which "I told you" before ( 2Th 2:5 ), "when I was yet with you," and of which the Lord gave some intimation ( Mat 24:10-12 Jhn 5:43 )."

J. VERNON McGEE
"v. 3 — Paul puts down two signs of the day of the Lord:
(1) “A falling away” which is apostasy (Hebrews 3:12);
(2) The revelation of the “man of sin” (the lawless one, v. 8)."

JOHN MCARTHUR
Audio: The Coming Man of Sin, Part 3 2 Thessalonians 2:3–5 March 8, 1992.
"I told you the day would not overtake you like a thief. Something has to come first he says. It can't be the day of the Lord for it will not come until the apostasy comes first.
The reason you can't be in the day of the Lord is because the apostasy hasn't come. . . The apostasy . . . short definition, revolt, rebellion. Long definition, a deliberate abandonment of a formerly professed religious position. This is defection, religious defection."

ELICOTT'S COMMENTARY FOR ENGLISH READERS
"A falling away.—A great change in the purpose of the sentence will be felt directly “the” is substituted for “a.” Only one insignificant MS. omits the definite article; the same article in our version is vigorously rendered “that” before “man of sin.” In both cases the purpose is by no means to utter a new, strange prophecy, or to add to the knowledge of the readers, but to remind them of careful teaching given during the first few weeks after their conversion. “That falling away” must undoubtedly imply that the persons so apostatizing had formerly held (or, perhaps, still professed to hold) the Christian faith: men cannot fall from ground which they never occupied."

BENSON COMMENTARY
"the apostacy, come first — The article here is emphatical, denoting both that this was to be a great apostacy, the apostasy, by way of eminence, (the general, grand departure of the whole visible church into idolatrous worship,) and that the Thessalonians had been already apprized of its coming. Although the Greek word here used often signifies the rebellion of subjects against the supreme power of the country where they live, or the revolt of soldiers against their general, or the hostile separation of one part of a nation from another; yet in Scripture it commonly signifies a departure, either in whole or in part, from a religious faith or obedience formerly professed, Acts 21:21; Hebrews 3:12. Here it denotes the defection of the disciples of Christ from the true faith and worship of God, enjoined in the gospel."

BARNE'S NOTES
"The word rendered "falling away" (ἀποστασία apostasia, apostasy), is of so general a character, that it may be applied to any departure from the faith as it was received in the time of the apostles. It occurs in the New Testament only here and in Acts 21:21, where it is rendered "to forsake" - "thou teachest all the Jews which are among us to forsake Moses" - apostasy from Moses - ἀποστασίαν ἀπὸ Μωῦσέως apostasian apo Mōuseōs. The word means a departing from, or a defection; see the verb used in 1 Timothy 4:1, "Some shall depart from the faith" - ἀποστήσονται apostēsontai; compare the notes on that passage; see also Hebrews 3:12; Luke 8:13; Acts 5:37. The reference here is evidently to some general falling away, or to some great religious apostasy that was to occur, and which would be under one head, leader, or dynasty, and which would involve many in the same departure from the faith, and in the same destruction."

THE BIBLE STUDY NEW TESTAMENT
"For the Day will not come until. Paul had already told them about this (see 2 Thessalonians 2:5). But no one has any way of knowing just what Paul said to them. The final Rebellion takes place. Protestant churchmen have traditionally identified this Rebellion as an apostasy to be identified with the Roman Church. But in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 the appearance of the Wicked One and the Coming of the Lord Jesus seem very close in time."

ADAM CLARKE COMMENTARY
Except there come a falling away first - We have the original word αποστασια in our word apostasy; and by this term we understand a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth - either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation. But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction. At present I shall content myself with making a few literal remarks on this obscure prophecy, and afterwards give the opinions of learned men on its principal parts.

ABBOTT'S ILLUSTRATED NEW TESTAMENT
"A falling away; an apostasy.--Be revealed; openly appear."

ARIEL MINISTRIES: ARNOLD FRUCHTENBAUM
"APOSTASY (ἀπόστασις, apostasis, ἀποστασία, apostasia). A public denial of a previously held religious belief and a distancing from the community that holds to it. The term is almost always applied pejoratively, carrying connotations of rebellion, betrayal, treachery, or faithlessness.
Koiter, I. W. K. (2016). Apostasy. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press."


COFFMAN'S COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE
"let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."
--
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, Paul prophesied the great apostasy from the Christian religion and the ultimate revelation of "the man of sin" who would be destroyed by the Second Advent of Christ. However, this prophecy of a vast and extensive defection from true Christianity does not stand alone in the New Testament, wherein definite mention of it is made in the following passages:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:15-23).

I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears (Acts 20:29-31).

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men, that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:1-5).

But know this that in the last days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith (2 Timothy 3:1-8).

For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth and shall turn aside unto fables. But be thou sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry (2 Timothy 4:3-5).

But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their lascivious doings; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not (2 Peter 2:1-3).

This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles: knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:1-7).
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CHARLES SPURGEON
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
"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;
except, 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-3; 4:3,4"

MATTHEW POOLE'S COMMENTARY
"for, except there come a falling away first, & c., or an apostacy, a recession, a departing, or a standing off, as the world imports; so that apostacy may be either good, when it is from evil to good, or evil, when it is from good to evil: it is always used in this latter sense in Scripture. "

GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE
"except there come a falling away first; either in a political sense, of the nations from the Roman empire, which was divided into the eastern and western empire; for which, way was made by translating the seat of empire from Rome to Byzantium, or Constantinople; the former of these empires was seized by Mahomet, and still possessed by the Turks; and the latter was overrun by the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, and torn to pieces; Italy particularly was ravaged by them, and Rome itself was sacked and taken: or rather in a religious sense, of the falling of men from the faith of the Gospel, from the purity of Gospel doctrines, discipline, worship, and ordinances; and this not of some Jews who professed faith in Christ, and departed from it, or of some Christians who went off to the Gnostics; but is to be understood of a more general defection in the times of the Papacy; when not only the eastern churches were perverted and corrupted by Mahomet, and drawn off to his religion, but the western churches were most sadly depraved by the man of sin, by bringing in errors of all sorts in doctrine, making innovations in every ordinance, and appointing new ones, and introducing both Judaism and Paganism into the churches; which general defection continued until the times of the reformation, and is what the apostle has respect to in 1 Timothy 4:1 where he manifestly points out some of the Popish tenets, as forbidding marriage to priests, and ordering abstinence from meats on certain days, and at certain times of the year: this was one thing that was to precede the coming of Christ, another follows, which should take place at the same time."

GENEVA STUDY BIBLE
"(3) The apostle foretells that before the coming of the Lord, there will be a throne set up completely contrary to Christ's glory, in which that wicked man will sit, and transfer all things that appertain to God to himself: and many will fall away from God to him."

MEYER'S NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY
"ἀποστασία] a later Greek form for the older ἀπόστασις. See Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 528. The expression is to be left in its absoluteness, not, with Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Augustin (de civitate dei, xx. 21), and Bolten, to be taken as abstractum pro concreto, so that Antichrist himself is to be understood. But not apostasy in the political sense, but entirely religious apostasy—that is, a falling away from God and true religion—can have been meant by ἀποστασία. (1) What is said of the ἄνθρωτος τῆς ἁμαρτίας in direct internal connection with the apostasy, (2) the characteristic of the ἀποστασία, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, by ἀνομία, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, and (3) the constant biblical usage, constrain us to this view. Comp. LXX. 2 Chronicles 29:19; Jeremiah 2:19; 1Ma 2:15, etc.; Acts 21:21; 1 Timothy 4:1. Accordingly, also, Kern’s view (comp. already Aretius and Vorstius) is to be rejected as inadmissible, that we are to think of a mixture of political and religious apostasy."

CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
"“A falling away” is a mistranslation. The Apostle uses the definite article; he refers to the apostasy of which he had spoken distinctly to his readers (2 Thessalonians 2:5). This word in common Greek denotes a military or political revolt, a defection; then in the LXX it is applied to revolting from God—e.g. in Jeremiah 29:32 (“rebellion against the Lord”), 1Ma 2:15 (“revolt,” consisting in sacrificing to idols): so the corresponding verb in Hebrews 3:12; comp. Acts 21:21 (“thou teachest apostasy from Moses”), 1 Timothy 4:1. Here this ominous expression appears for the first time within the Christian Church, as signifying revolt from Christ, the faithless defection of men “denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Peter 2:1)."

BENGEL'S GNOMEN
"II. Paul especially teaches, that some great evil will first come.—Paul does not enumerate all the events which were to intervene between that age and the day of Christ; but he points out a certain one thing, especially remarkable, the explicit declaration of which was even already at that time seasonable and salutary to the Thessalonians. He therefore describes the apostasy, the Man of Sin, etc."

E.W. BULLINGER'S COMPANION BIBLE NOTES
"falling away = apostasy. Greek. apostasia. Only here and Acts 21:21.

GEORGE MILLIGAN - PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
"Whatever then the exact nature of the apostasy in the present connexion, it must at least be a religious apostasy, and one moreover, as the use of the def. art. proves, regarding which the Apostles’ readers were already fully informed. In this conclusion we are confirmed when we pass to the next words."

GREEK TESTAMENT CRITICAL EXEGETICAL COMMENTARY
"3.] Let no man deceive you in any manner (not only in either of the foregoing, but in any whatever): for (that day shall not come) (so E. V. supplies, rightly. There does not seem to have been any intention on the part of the Apostle to fill up the ellipsis: it supplies itself in the reader’s mind. Knatchbull connects ὅτι with ἐξαπατήσῃ, and supplies ἐνέστηκεν after it: but this is very harsh) unless there have come the apostasy first (of which he had told them when present, see 2 Thessalonians 2:5; and probably with a further reference still to our Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 24:10-12. There is no need, with Chrys., Thdrt., Thl., Aug., to suppose ἀποστασία to mean Antichrist himself ( τί ἐστιν ἡ ὰποστασία; αὐτὸν καλεῖ τὸν ἀντίχριστον ἀποστασίαν, Chr.), nor to regard him as its only cause: rather is he the chief fruit and top stone of the apostasy)"

WILLIAM BURKITT COMMENTARY
"As if the apostle had said, "Let no man deceive you in this article of your faith, by any pretence whatsoever; for before Christ's coming there shall come a great falling away from the catholic faith, and by that means the man of sin will be revealed, who is the son of perdition:"

JOHN TRAPP COMPLETE COMMENTARY
"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;
Ver. 3. Except there come a falling] Gr. αποστασια, an apostasy, viz. of people from the truth, when the whole world went a wondering and a wandering after the beast, Revelation 13:3."

JOSEPHUS
Vitas, 43, "the apostasy from Nero."
Contra Apionem, 1, 135f; Antiquities 13, 219: "because of the apostasia from Rome."

JUSTIN EDWARDS' FAMILY BIBLE NEW TESTAMENT
"A falling away; a great apostasy from the faith and practice of the gospel."

PULPIT COMMENTARY
"Except there come a falling away; or, the apostasy; namely, that apostasy about which the apostle, when in Thessalonica, had instructed his readers. The falling away here alluded to is evidently religious, not political. Hence it cannot be the revolt of the Jews from the Romans, or any of those revolts and disturbances which then occurred in the political world. Nor must we conceive that the man of sin himself is here meant; for this apostasy precedes his coming - prepares the way for his advent; it is not the result, but the cause, of his appearance. The word, then, is to be taken generally to denote that remarkable "falling away" from Christianity concerning which Paul had instructed the Thessalonians (comp. 1 Timothy 4:1-3)."

MARK DUNAGAN COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE
“The falling away”: Defection from truth (properly, the state) apostasy, falling away, to forsake the faith."

PEOPLE'S NEW TESTAMENT
"3. Except there come a falling away first. An apostasy must precede the Coming. That is, there shall be a general falling away from the purity of the faith. No apostasy of magnitude occurred in the history of the church for centuries, which could answer to Paul's description, but the gradual declension, corruption, and departure from the ancient faith, which was fully developed a few hundred years later, has always been spoken of by Protestant church historians as The Apostasy. There is no good reason for doubting that it is to (what) the apostle refers."

SCOFIELD'S REFERENCE NOTES
2 Thes 2:3
"for that day
The order of events is:
(1) The working of the mystery of lawlessness under divine restraint which had already begun in the apostle's time 2 Thessalonians 2:7
(2) the apostasy of the professing church 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Luke 18:8; 2 Timothy 3:1-8."

THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Hermann Cremer and Julius Kogel; Edited by Gerhard Kittel.
2 Thes. 2:3, "Here a Jewish tradition is adopted which speaks of complete apostasy from God and His Torah shortly before before the appearance of the Messiah."

VINCENT'S WORD STUDIES
"Falling away (ἀποστασία)
Only here and Acts 21:21. Comp. lxx, Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19."

GEORGE N. H. PETERS: THE THEOCRATIC KINGDOM
Prop. 174.obs.3.10
"There is another sign attached to the church, the worst of all, and the most significant, viz., the fearful apostasy witnessed in her. The rason why Paul so guardedly expresses himself, e.g. 2 Thes. 2, concerning the falling away and the rise of the Antichrist is, that in every generation such apostatizing and (as John says even existed in his day) Antichristian powers should be witnessed, so that the believing might be influenced to occupy the position of watchfulness."

GEORGE HAYDOCK'S CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY
"2) What is meant by this falling away, (in the Greek this apostacy) is uncertain, and differently expounded. St. Jerome and others understand it of a falling off of other kingdoms, which before were subject to the Roman empire; as if St. Paul said to them: you need not fear that the day of judgment is at hand, for it will not come till other kingdoms, by a general revolt, shall have fallen off, so that the Roman empire be destroyed."

JOHN F. WALVOORD
The Thessalonian Epistles
"Two things are mentioned in verse 3 as necessarily occurring before the Day of the Lord and the time of judgment can begin. The first thing that is mentioned is “the falling away,” and the word translated literally is “the apostasy,” which means a falling away or a departure in a doctrinal sense. Our English word apostasy comes from the very Greek word used here."

SCAFF'S POPULAR COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT
"The apostasy, of which Paul had spoken while at Thessalonica, and which our Lord predicted in Matthew 24:12 as a characteristic of the last days."

WHEDON'S COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE
"That day shall not come—Critics agree that the italicized words, though not in the Greek, are properly supplied by our translators. A (or rather, the definite article the) falling away—The apostasy—the well-known apostasy. Not a political rebellion or revolt. The whole passage indicates that it is a religious apostasy from Christ, led by antichrist, the man of sin, leading to the most blasphemous opposition to God."

CHAFER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
"Apostasy – Apostasy is a willful standing apart from the Christian faith (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) and a falling away from relationship with God (Hebrews 3:12). It is distinguished from heresy, which is a belief which is held in variance with Biblical truth. Historically, heresy has indicated a refusal to accept a prescribed article of faith. Both apostasy and heresy should be distinguished from common error, which involves a non-Biblical interpretation of a minor doctrine. A gospel built on works or legalism is an example of apostasy (Galatians 1:6-8)."

ENDURING WORD COMMENTARY
David Guzik
"Unless the falling away comes first: The ancient Greek wording for falling away indicates a rebellion or a departure. Bible scholars debate if it refers to an apostasy among those who once followed God, or a general worldwide rebellion. In fact, Paul may have both in mind, because there is evidence of each in the end times (1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and 4:3-4). Nevertheless, Paul’s point is clear: “You are worried that we are in the Great Tribulation and that you missed the rapture. But you can know that we are not in the Great Tribulation, because we have not yet seen the falling away that comes first.”

i. The falling away: The article “the” makes it even more significant. This is not a falling away, but the falling away, the great and final rebellion.

ii. Some have suggested that the idea behind falling away is really a departure, in the sense of the rapture of the church. But a departure implies that the one leaving does so of his own accord and initiative, and this is not the case with the catching away of the church. In addition, the ancient Greek word in the New Testament (Acts 21:21, forsake) or in the Septuagint, always implies something sinful and negative.

iii. The idea of a great end-times apostasy also does not contradict the idea of a great end-times revival. Some Christians doubt the idea of great revival in the last days, or even welcome apostasy believing it signals the end. But just as the Book of Revelation describes great rejection of Jesus during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 9:20-21 and 17:2-6) and great acceptance of Him (Revelation 7:9-14), the two can stand side-by-side."

JOHN WESLEY'S EXPLANATORY NOTES
2 Thes. 2:3
"Unless the falling away - From the pure faith of the gospel, come first. This began even in the apostolic age. But the man of sin, the son of perdition - Eminently so called, is not come yet."


LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Harold Willmington; the chapters of 2 Thessalonians
(Remember, the rapture positions are not an issue. It is the meaning and understanding of apostasy)
"SECTION OUTLINE TWO (2 THESSALONIANS 2)
Paul writes about the Great Tribulation and gives thanks to God for the faithful believers at Thessalonica.
I. THE DAY OF THE LORD (2:1-12): This is a reference to the coming Great Tribulation.
A. The day of the Lord and the church (2:1-3)
1. The confusion (2:1-2): The church at Thessalonica has been falsely taught they are currently going through the Great Tribulation.
2. The clarification (2:3b, 3c): Paul reassures them this is not the case, for two events must occur prior to that terrible time.
a. A worldwide religious apostasy (2:3b)
b. The appearance of a satanic superman (2:3c)"

HOLMAN BIBLE DICTIONARY
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul addressed those who had been deceived into believing that the day of the Lord had already come. He taught that an apostasy would precede the day of the Lord. The Spirit had explicitly revealed this falling away from the faith ( 1 Timothy 4:1 ). Such apostasy in the latter times will involve doctrinal deception, moral insensitivity, and ethical departures from God's truth.

UNGER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY
"In the New Testament its more usual meaning is a religious defection."

BAKER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY APOSTASY. A word of increasing interest found twice in the NT (Acts 21:21; II Thess. 2:3). It comes from the Greek apostasia, a late m of apostasis, originally to desert a post or station in life. It is used by Plutarch of politi­cal revolt and is found in the OT in the use of revolt against the Lord (Josh. 22:22). Antiochus Epiphanes enforced an apostasia on Judaism to Hellenism (I Macc. 2:15). In the AV it is translated “falling away” in relation to the revelation of the man of sin, Antichrist. In this sense the thought is of religious revolt. Cremer states that apostasia is used in the absolute sense of “passing over to belief,” thus a dissolution of the “union with God subsisting through faith in Christ.” Arndt adds rebellion or abandonment in the religious sense.
In the NT, II Thess. 2:3 is a part of a prophetic passage of apocalyptic character. The falling away” invites conjecture about whom and from what. The event seems future and is related to Antichrist. The implication is at the apostates will welcome the man of sin.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE
(ἀποστασία , revolt), a forsaking or renouncing religion, either by an open declaration in words, or a virtual declaration by actions. The Greek term is employed by Paul to designate the "falling away" (ἡ ἀποστασία ), which in his time was held in check by some obstacle (τὸ κατέχον, ὁ κατέχων ), 2 Thessalonians 2:3. It means one of two things: (1) Political defection (Genesis 14:4, Sept.; 2 Chronicles 13:6, Sept.; Acts 5:37); (2) Religious defection (Acts 21:21; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:12).

EASTON'S BIBLE DICTIONARY
"Backslide — to draw back or apostatize in matters of religion (Acts 21:21; 2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1). This may be either partial (Prov. 14:14) or complete (Heb. 6:4–6; 10:38, 39). The apostasy may be both doctrinal and moral."

HASTINGS' DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE
APOSTASY . A defection from the tenets of some religious community. In Acts 21:21 it describes the charge brought against St. Paul by the Jews, viz., that he taught that the Jews should abandon Mosaism. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 it describes the defection of Christians which was to accompany the ‘man of lawlessness’; i.e. the Antichrist. This expectation is an illustration of what seems to have been a common belief that the return of the Christ to establish His Kingdom would be preceded by exceptional activity on the part of His superhuman opponent, and that this would result in an abandonment of Christian faith on the part of many of those nominally Christian

ISBE
Apostasy; Apostate
(ἡ αποστασία, hē apostasía, “a standing away from”): I.e. a falling away, a withdrawal, a defection. Not found in the English Versions of the Bible, but used twice in the New Testament, in the Greek original, to express abandonment of the faith. Paul was falsely accused of teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses (Act_21:21); he predicted the great apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Mat_24:10-12) which would precede “the day of the Lord” (2Th_2:2). Apostasy, not in name but in fact, meets scathing rebuke in the Epistle of Jude, e.g. the apostasy of angels (Jud_1:6). Foretold, with warnings, as sure to abound in the latter days (1Ti_4:1-3; 2Th_2:3; 2Pe_3:17). Causes of: persecution (Mat_24:9, Mat_24:10); false teachers (Mat_24:11); temptation (Luk_8:13); worldliness (2Ti_4:4); defective knowledge of Christ (1Jo_2:19); moral lapse (Heb_6:4-6); forsaking worship and spiritual living (Heb_10:25-31); unbelief (Heb_3:12). Biblical examples: Saul (1Sa_15:11); Amaziah (2Ch_25:14, 2Ch_25:27); many disciples (Joh_6:66); Hymeneus and Alexander (1Ti_1:19, 1Ti_1:20); Demas (2Ti_4:10). For further illustration see Deu_13:13; Zep_1:4-6; Gal_5:4; 2Pe_2:20, 2Pe_2:21.

“Forsaking Yahweh” was the characteristic and oft-recurring sin of the chosen people, especially in their contact with idolatrous nations. It constituted their supreme national peril. The tendency appeared in their earliest history, as abundantly seen in the warnings and prohibitions of the laws of Moses (Exo_20:3, Exo_20:4, Exo_20:23; Deu_6:14; Deu_11:16). The fearful consequences of religious and moral apostasy appear in the curses pronounced against this sin, on Mount Ebal, by the representatives of six of the tribes of Israel, elected by Moses (Deu_27:13-26; 28:15-68). So wayward was the heart of Israel, even in the years immediately following the national emancipation, in the wilderness, that Joshua found it necessary to re-pledge the entire nation to a new fidelity to Yahweh and to their original covenant before they were permitted to enter the Promised Land (Josh 24:1-28). Infidelity to this covenant blighted the nation's prospects and growth during the time of the Judges (Jdg_2:11-15; Jdg_10:6, Jdg_10:10, Jdg_10:13; 1Sa_12:10). It was the cause of prolific and ever-increasing evil, civic and moral, from Solomon's day to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. Many of the kings of the divided kingdom apostatized, leading the people, as in the case of Rehoboam, into the grossest forms of idolatry and immorality (1Ki_14:22-24; 2Ch_12:1). Conspicuous examples of such royal apostasy are Jeroboam (1Ki_12:28-32); Ahab (1Ki_16:30-33); Ahaziah (1Ki_22:51-53); Jehoram (2Ch_21:6, 2Ch_21:10, 2Ch_21:12-15); Ahaz (2Ch_28:1-4); Manasseh (2Ch_33:1-9); Amen (2Ch_33:22). See IDOLATRY. Prophecy originated as a Divine and imperative protest against this historic tendency to defection from the religion of Yahweh.

In classical Greek, apostasy signified revolt from a military commander. In the roman catholic church it denotes abandonment of religious orders; renunciation of ecclesiastical authority; defection from the faith. The persecutions of the early Christian centuries forced many to deny Christian discipleship and to signify their apostasy by offering incense to a heathen deity or blaspheming the name of Christ. The emperor Julian, who probably never vitally embraced the Christian faith, is known in history as “the Apostate,” having renounced Christianity for paganism soon after his accession to the throne.

An apostate's defection from the faith may be intellectual, as in the case of Ernst Haeckel, who, because of his materialistic philosophy, publicly and formally renounced Christianity and the church; or it may be moral and spiritual, as with Judas, who for filthy lucre's sake basely betrayed his Lord.

JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
By: Kaufmann Kohler, Richard Gottheil
Terms derived from the Greek ἀποστασία ("defection, revolt") and ἀποστάτης ("rebel in a political sense") (I Macc. xi. 14, xiii. 16; Josephus, "Contra Ap." i. 19, § 4), applied in a religious sense to signify rebellion and rebels against God and the Law, desertion and deserters of the faith of Israel. The words are used in the Septuagint for : Num. xiv. 9; Josh. xxii. 19, 22; for : II Chron. xxviii. 19, xxxiii. 19; for : Isa. xxx. 1; and for : I Kings, xxi. 13; Aquilas to Judges xix. 22; I Sam. xxv. 17. Accordingly it is stated in I Macc. ii. 15 that "the officers of the king compelled the people to apostatize," that is, to revolt against the God of Israel; and Jason, the faithless high priest, is "pursued by all and hated as a deserter of the law" (τοῦ νόμου ἀποστάτης; II Macc. v. 8). As the incarnation of rebellion against God and the Law, the serpent is called apostate (LXX., Job xxvi. 13; and Symmachus, Job xxiv. 13; compare II Thess. ii. 3; Revelation of John xiv. 6; Gen. R. xix., ).

MORRISH BIBLE DICTIONARY
Though the word 'apostasy' does not occur in the A.V., the Greek word occurs from which the English word is derived. In Acts 21:21 Paul was told that he was accused of teaching the Jews who were among the Gentiles to apostatize from Moses. Paul taught freedom from the law by the death of the Christ and this would appear to a strict Jew as apostasy. The same word is used in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 , where it is taught that the day of the Lord could not come until there came 'the apostasy,' or the falling from Christianity in connection with the manifestation of the man of sin.

NAVE'S TOPICAL BIBLE
"Shall abound in the latter days
Matthew 24:12 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:3 ; 1 Timothy 4:1-3"


 

 
 

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