“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.” 2 Thessalonians. 2:3
There is no world-wide ‘falling away from the faith’ by the church in the Bible.
The ‘it’ in the verse above is the Day of the Lord. That is what Paul says in the preceding verse. The Day of the Lord will not come unless the ‘apostasy’ comes first. The Thessalonians thought they were in the ‘Day of the Lord’, or the judgment of the world, i.e. tribulation.
Most Christians understand this passage to say that the apostasy is the Body of Christ, or the ‘Church universal’ in general, falling away from the faith. It is understood to mean that there will be a mass rejection of Jesus before the tribulation period begins, otherwise known as the 70th Week of Daniel.
The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, as Paul said in 1 Thess. 5:2, which indicates the rapture will take place before the tribulation. Therefore, in this scenario, the ‘falling away’ of the Church will take place before the rapture.
If you hold to this view, then the ‘falling away’ would be a sign that would precede the rapture. It must be if you read it that way.
If the apostasy is the Church ‘falling away’ from the faith, then Paul is saying essentially that they will know when the Tribulation is about to start because of the worldwide rejection of Christ by the Body of Christ. This is problematic because the rapture, by definition, has no signs precede it. It is a hidden, secret event, which only the Father knows the timing.
In this scenario, not only will the Thessalonians (and therefore all believers) be witness to the Church falling away, but they will also witness the ‘man of lawlessness’ being revealed.
Paul links these 2 things together in the verse in question.
To put it another way, Paul is saying that they would know that they were in the tribulation if the ‘apostasia’ had happened AND the antichrist was revealed.
The latter obviously had not happened.
They knew that the tribulation begins with the antichrist making the covenant with Israel (Dan 9:27). This confirms that the ‘Day of the Lord’ is analogous with the 70th Week of Daniel.
Also problematic is that the definition of the word ‘apostasy’ (Greek – apostasia) does not mean falling away from the faith. It simply means to depart from, separate from, move away from or leave. It is a verb with no object noun. In other words, faith, or belief in Jesus, is inappropriately inserted into the passage as an object to quantify or explain the ‘falling away’.
Apostasia is a derivative of the word ‘aphestemi’, which means to flee from, desert or go away. Faith was nowhere to be found in the passage. It is assumed. Without the word ‘faith’ the passage is simply saying that the departure must come first.
It’s significant to note also that many of the early bibles used ‘departing’ in the passage for the translation of apostasia.
Vulgate (405) – discessio (Latin): withdrawal, dispersion
Tyndale Bible (1525) – departing
Coverdale Bible (1535) – departing
Geneva Bible (1587) – departing
Finally, notwithstanding the definition of the word apostasia, ‘departing’ or rapture makes perfect sense in the context. ‘Falling away from the faith’ is in-congruent. It does not make sense. Contextually it is a piece of coal in a basket of apples.
The ‘falling away from the faith’ translation comes out of nowhere and there is no other passage in Scripture that indicates there will be a mass rejection of the faith by the Church. Some point to Matt. 24:12, but you must really strain reason to get that out of the verse. Also, Matthew 24 is prophesying about conditions that will exist DURING the tribulation for the Jews.
Paul was attempting to calm the believers in Thessalonica. They were panicked that they were in the midst of the Day of the Lord, or tribulation. This is the context.
Paul starts the segment in vs. 2:1 by setting the context – “with regard to the coming of our lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,”. This is the concern of the Church. They thought they had missed the DEPARTURE! Paul is saying in vs. 3 that the Day of the Lord (tribulation) will not come unless the DEPARTURE comes first!
There is no great falling away by the Body of Christ that is prophesied in the Bible.