Thursday, March 13, 2014

Mr. Smarty Pants on Falling Away

Dear Smarty Pants,
Are there theological questions that you feel should have been resolved by now?

S.P. Thank you for dropping "Answer Man" from your title for me.

Yes, I am thinking of one now. A very important issue is unresolved in the minds of some people who should know better. This concerns 2Thessalonians 2:2 and 3, where Paul speaks of the "day of Christ" and the "falling away". This is King James language. Can we trust the translation--and those who teach from it--on this point? Let us compare two translations.

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;.. KJV

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. NIV

What is my question? Do not both translations say the same thing?

The problem is that some very respected teachers claim that the statement "falling away" is not resolved. The NIV clears this up nicely, but those teaching from KJV (some of my favorite teachers) maintain that the "falling away" could mean either the Day of the Lord, or the Rapture!

So disappointing, that after all these centuries, such an important point is not settled. The whole second chapter is so illuminating. It was written to clear up confusion, oh so long ago, and to some it is still a problem.

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