These are passages that cause me to believe that we who have the indwelling Spirit will be raptured in advance of the Great Tribulation.
In this passage, I believe that the Holy Spirit is the one whose presence prevents the anti-Christ/false prophet from being revealed (emphasis mine):
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?
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, [Not so]; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. - Matthew 25:1-13
That's an interesting analogy A-G! I've never heard of the oil being equated with the Holy Spirit before. Interesting...
I have a slightly different take on the lamps and oil: I believe they are a metaphor for preparedness. The whole thrust of the 25th chapter of Matthew is one of preparedness.
But why is Jesus telling CHRISTIANS to be prepared, if we are going to be raptured out of here? What's there to prepare for? Well, here's an interpretation of the parable of the ten virgins that's a bit disturbing, but very powerful...
The "virgins" in this parable represent what we would call bridesmaids. They are, by deffinition, friends of the bride.
The bride is always symbolic of the chruch in scriptures. So these "virgins," or "bridesmaids" are Christians. (Not just the five wise ones, but ALL TEN.)
The bridegroom is always symbolic of Jesus.
The lamps and oil represent preparedness, or even steadfastness (perseverance).
The "marriage" represents salvation, and the feast of the wedding supper of the Lamb (Jesus).
With the symbols defined, what is Jesus telling us about the Last Days and salvation? The message is simple: not all Christians will be saved. This is an absolute refutation of the "once saved, always saved" dogma. Of course this is NOT the only time or place where the dogma is refuted in scripture, there are several places throughout the NT where this warning is given, by Jesus and the Apostles.
However, Jesus also communicates to us why not all Christians will be saved: they failed to be prepared. This is not just a parable for the end-times, but for all Christians in all times.
Jesus knows who is really for him, and those who are Christian in name only. We don't even know, for sure, who these people are --though I bet we could make some rather accurate guesses! Ultimately, we are responsible for our own salvation, as the five wise virgins illustrate. When they refused to share their oil with the foolish virgins, it not that they were being stingy with their oil, but rather that they had prepared correctly for the bridegroom, and could not possibly share their preparedness with the foolish. They had taken personal responsibility for their own salvation.
This parable confirms that one thing you learn in life: you are ultimately responsible for only yourself. This does not absolve us from helping others, rather it demonstrates that each person must ultimately make their own choices.
You might be able to fool the people around you by your upright Christian behavior, but Jesus knows those who are really his, and those who are just pretending, or relying on their church affliation, or their "correct" view of doctrine and dogma.
In this passage, I believe that the Holy Spirit is the one whose presence prevents the anti-Christ/false prophet from being revealed (emphasis mine):
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?
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Alamo-Girl, thank you for sharing this! I do not believe in a pre-trib rapture. I used to, back years ago, but as I have been reading and studying the Bible more, I found the pre-trib rapture scenario to be unbiblical. As a matter of fact, I find it to be contrary to the plain meaning of scripture.
What is more, is that passage you quote, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, plainly contradicts the pre-trib position!
Paul is clearly warning the Thessalonians that there will be certain events that happen before the return of Jesus, and "our gathering together unto him" --the rapture.
As a rememdy for their confusion surrounding the "Day of the Lord," Paul gives the Thessalonians a simple outline of events that must happen first before the rapture takes place. Here is a simple outline of those things Paul mentions, in the order that he mention them:
1. "A falling away" must occur. (the word "rebellion" is used in other translations.) --People will openly deny and rebel against God, perhaps even in a violent fashion. This also might be speaking of a falling away of believers, as per Matthew 24:10.
2. "...that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition..." --this is the coming of the antichrist, and his taking power on earth.
3. "He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God..." --the antichrist will reveal his true identity, by setting himself up to be God!
4. "...he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way..." Whomever "he" is, he will be removed, so that the antichrist will have the ability to reign on earth.
5. "Even him [the antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders..." We will know it's the antichrist because he will able to perform miraculous signs and wonders. (as so to decieve the very elect!)
Assuming what Paul is telling us is accurate, (a rather safe assumuption IMHO....) then there is no way there could possibly be a pretribulation ratpure, since Paul is clearly telling believers that the antichrist must come into power, and be enthroned as God on earth before any sort of coming of Jesus or rapture occurs.
In the pre-trib position, the revealing of the antichrist happens after the rapture, not before. But this passage from 2 Thessalonians clearly refutes that idea.
Paul is paraphrasing the outline of the end-times given by Jesus in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. The sequence of events here in 2 Thessalonians, and those two gospel accounts are identical. The antichist, and the tribulation must occur before the rapture. All three accounts are unanimous on this point.
In all three accounts where the rapture in mentioned in context with the tribulation and the antichrist, (Mt 24, Mk 13, 2Thes 2)--it is clear that there is no rapture until both the tribulation and the revealing of the antichrist have occured. Scripture is very clear on this point, there is no other way to interpret the chain of events given by either Jesus or Paul (who is just parphrasing Jesus).
What is more, both Paul and Jesus are paraphrasing and retelling the prophecies of Daniel. Specifically those things Daniel says in 7:23-28, 8:9-14, 9:26-27, 11:36-12:3. In Daniel verses 12:1-3, there is something along the lines of a rapture event. However, this comes at the end of reign of the antichrist, and after the archangel Michael "arises." In fact, the best solution for the mysterious "he" of 2 Thessalonians may be Michael, who God removes from his position of guarding Isreal so that the antichrist might come to power in Jerusalem.
In every place I look in the Bible where the rapture is mentioned in context with other end-times events, the rapture always occurs after the tribulation and after the antichrist is revealed.