Would not such an interpretation of this scripture reference imply that the gates of hell have indeed prevailed against Christ’s church?
Would this not break scripture?
The proper interpretation of the phrase from the original Greek reads more like “snatched away” or “caught up”.
The proper interpretation of the passage in question is a reference to the rapture.
The same concept or teaching, namely that the tribulation period does not begin (anti-christ revealed) until the Holy Spirit removes Himself from earth, appears MULTIPLE times in scripture.
The teaching that your scripture reference is somehow a contradiction of Jesus’s promise to Peter relies SOLELY upon this single phrase or passage.
I don’t care how many degrees you got... Your teaching fails the confirmation test. (scripture confirms scripture)
2 Thess. 2 does not say the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, you are reading a pretrib rapture into the scripture.
If “apostasy” is supposed to mean a departure from earth (in a pretrib rapture), instead of a departure from the the faith, why is it nobody in church history interpreted the way you do until the rise of pretribulationism in the early 19th century?
None of the ECF (Early Church Fathers) understood “apostasy” to mean a pretrib rapture. And they knew Greek very well, I would dare say better than you.
Justin Martyr, for instance, said the antichrist would be “the man of apostasy.” The context supports Justin I would say.
Nobody said that the apostasy would be total...Jesus did leave the door open to that possibility...but did not outright claim that...and the apostle Paul clearly said that in the last days some -- not all -- would depart from the faith...
So the Scriptures to look at include:
* 4 The Spirit clearly says that in later times SOME will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 4:1)
* "...when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Jesus, Luke 18:8)
What is Jesus' promise to Peter? Are you speaking of Simon BarJonah? Would you please explain this to me?
Also "falling away" (aphistaymee) In Luke 8:13 bears no relationship to "caught up" (AV) or "taken up" (DRB) (harpadzoh) in six different senses:
(1) They are two different words, verbs that are not related. To fall down is not the same as to be taken up.
(2) The are different in time frame. falling away was/is in the present tense and is continually in progress, caught/taken up will happen sometime yet in the future.
(3) The action is different. The falling away is a slower course, and being of the middle deponent, it means that the person falling away is deliberately withdrawing oneself and actively causing it. In the upper-taking, the catching up, it is a plucking up or away by an agency external to the person who is passively receiving, not actively causing the catching away process.
(4) In the falling away, seekers have been walking away and withdrawing from The Faith over a period of almost two thousand years, to form a cumulative group. In the catching up, the process will happen in one fleeting moment, in the blink of an eye.
(5) The falling away is by individual personal decision by his/her own will. In the taking away, the process will be instituted by the decision of an authority above and apart from any of the ones are being acted upon, the time of occurence not by their own choice.
(6) The terminal location of the one fallen away (apostate) is Hell and the Lake of Fire with eternal agony. The final residence of those caught up/taken away (firmly committed believers) will be in The God's Heaven, to enjoy absolute abumdant etermal Life in His Presence.
Got it ? Capisce?