Sign/ The Disappearance of Faith from the Earth
When Jesus Himself contemplated conditions on the earth at the time of His coming, He asked the question, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8b). He would not have asked the question if the right answer was, yes. The question is rhetorical. It is designed to lead the hearer to a particular answer. Since the question raises doubt that faith will be found on the earth, the implied answer is, "Maybe not." Jesus is therefore warning us that, in the final stages of church history, the church will sink so low that vital faith will all but disappear.
If we look at His question in context, we find that He had just told the story of a widow who, after suffering some harm at the hands of an adversary, sought the help of a local judge.
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luke 18:1–6
Because the judge did not provide justice at first, the widow went to him time after time until he viewed her as something of a pest. To get rid of her, he finally came to the decision she sought. Jesus offered her as an example for Christians in their prayer life. He said,
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Luke 18:7–8
Jesus’ gaze forward to the spiritual condition of this world when He returns implies that He is speaking especially to believers living at that time. In light of the preceding parable, His words appear intended to teach them two important lessons.
- They will face a world so abusive of real Christians that they will be entirely justified in seeking divine vengeance on their enemies.
Yet Jesus is not advising us to pray for God’s wrath to be poured on specific individuals who have wounded us personally. He said elsewhere,
The words "avenge" in verses 3, 5, 7, and 8 of Luke 18 represent slightly different constructions in Greek. All four use a form of the word ekdikeo (εϰδιϰε𝜔), which truly means "avenge."1 Luke later uses another form of the same word in his description of events before Christ descends in glory to establish Himself as world ruler.43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43–48
In reference to either the whole Tribulation or its horrific climax, Luke anticipates "days of vengeance" (v. 22). "Vengeance" is ekdikeseos (εϰδιϰ𝜂𝜎ε𝜔𝜍), another variant of ekdikeo.2 The divine vengeance that Luke foresaw after the Rapture therefore has the same meaning as the vengeance that God promises to provide for His mistreated children in the Last Days. What should we conclude? In Luke 18:7–8, Jesus’ message to end-time believers targeted by wicked men must be that if they pray earnestly, from hearts rich in faith, for God to avenge them, He will answer by moving history into the next phase of His divine plan. He will remove them at the Rapture, and immediately afterward He will begin to sweep disaster across a wicked world.20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Luke 21:20–27
- Although God speedily avenges His downtrodden people if they "cry day and night unto him," Jesus asks, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" We cannot avoid the conclusion that in the Last Days, there will be few professing Christians with enough faith to implore God for deliverance from their enemies.
Both lessons imply a severely weakened form of Christianity. The organized church will then lack enough leverage in society to stave off persecution. Also, most of those Christians who remain will react to persecution not by looking above with hearts of faith and seeking divine help, but by fending it off by means of compromises in doctrine and practice.
The question in verse 8 at the basis of this bleak picture refers especially to the kind of faith that produces fervent and effective prayer. Do you give prayer a generous portion of your time?
Sign/ The Great Falling Away
In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul takes up the subject of final things.
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 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.
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;
4 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.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 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
Paul is seeking to counter a false teaching circulating among the Thessalonians that "the day of Christ is at hand." The words "at hand" are better translated "has come." The effect of this teaching was to arouse anxiety and dread. Why? Because these Thessalonians understood from Old Testament prophecy and from Paul's teaching that the Day of Christ—that is, the Day of the Lord—would bring great trouble. Divine wrath in full measure would visit the earth. The prospect of living through such a time caused them to be "shaken in mind."
When a rapture will occur
Paul allays their fears by saying, "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, . . . , as that the day of Christ is at hand" (vv. 1-2). He means that they need not worry about living through the time of great trouble, for when Christ comes at the dawning of His Day, the first task on His program will be to gather the church unto Himself. He will remove His saints from the world before horror and havoc descend upon it. Thus, he is reviewing facts that he taught them in First Thessalonians.
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
How will He deliver the church from the terrible wrath to come? The same earlier epistle provides the answer.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The means that Christ will use to deliver the church from the coming wrath will be the Rapture. At that event, He will not show Himself to the whole world. Rather, He will come secretly like a thief in the night and steal away His children. All true believers in Christ will suddenly disappear and rise into His presence.
Immediately afterward, history will enter its tragic climax, the period known as the Tribulation. The world will descend into unspeakable turmoil and suffer devastating plagues. Then Christ will come a second time. At the end of all the woe and misery, Christ will descend in glory, overthrow His enemies, and establish His kingdom on the earth.
In chapter 2 of Second Thessalonians (quoted above), Paul conspicuously does not treat the "gathering together unto him" (v. 1) as one of the developments that must precede the Day of Christ. These developments include the falling away (v. 3), but not the Rapture. By combining the concepts "coming of Christ" and "day of Christ" within the same sentence, Paul encourages us to understand that Christ's coming will bring Christ's Day. When He comes, He will gather His saints. The Rapture is therefore one of the first events during the Day of Christ, not one of the last events preceding it.
When the Day of Christ will begin
This passage is extremely nettlesome to those who believe that the prophetic timetable includes no event between now and the Rapture. Why? Because this passage identifies a development that must come before the Day of Christ and hence before the Rapture, scheduled for the beginning of this Day. According to Paul, the Day of Christ will not come until there is a falling away (v. 3). "Falling away" is a rendering of the Greek word apostasia, root of our word "apostasy." Paul says that the falling away will come "first"—that is, before the Day of Christ. Therefore, it must also precede the Rapture.
Paul informs readers of another proof that the Day of Christ has not yet arrived. It is that the man of sin—the same person as the Antichrist—has not come onto the world scene. He seems to be implying that the Antichrist will be a recognizable figure quite early during the Tribulation.
Writers on prophecy who deny that Scripture defines any event that will precede the Rapture have skirted this passage in various ways. We will look specifically at how this passage has fared in popular books on the Rapture by E. Schuyler English and John Walvoord.
English's interpretation
English agrees that apostasia must precede the Day of Christ and end-time events, but he says that the word has been mistranslated "falling away. " It should be translated "departure. " This, he says, is the root meaning of the word, although he concedes that the word often denotes a falling away from the truth; that is, "apostasy." According to English, the departure Paul has in mind is the departure of the church at the Rapture, and the meaning of verse 3 is that both the Rapture and the revelation of the Antichrist will come before the Day of Christ.1
The chief difficulty in English's interpretation of the verse is that the meaning of a word is determined not by its derivation, but by its usage. When we investigate how apostasia was used in the first century, we discover that the word meant not simply departure, but departure in the sense of betrayal or rebellion. We find this more specific meaning in the only other occurrence of apostasia in the New Testament.
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake [literally, ‘teachest apostasy from’2] Moses.
Acts 21:21
Likewise, the word means "apostasy" in every one of its many occurrences in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament).3 Every authoritative Greek dictionary defines apostasia as "apostasy."4
Walvoord's interpretation
Walvoord endorses the translation of verse 3 in the NIV. "[That day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed." This translation shifts the meaning enough so that Walvoord can claim that these developments will occur not before the Day of Christ, but during the Day of Christ, serving as evidence that this Day has already begun. In other words, the sense of the verse is that the Day of Christ will usher in these other developments.5
The NIV's subtle reworking of verse 3 distorts the Greek, which clearly says that in relation to the Day of Christ, the apostasy must come "first. " "First" is proton, which cannot mean anything else but "first. " This word disallows any attempt to make verse 3 say that the apostasy will come during, rather than before, the Day of Christ.
Conclusion
Our study of Scripture must proceed with an unbiased openness to what it is really saying. If we try to make it fit preconceived ideas derived from our teachers or based on our preferences, we will never grasp the whole counsel of God. An honest reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 altogether overthrows the popular notion that the Rapture will come unheralded by signs. Paul clearly states that the approach of the Rapture will be announced by at least one highly visible sign—that is, by general apostasy in the church.
Sign/ Only a Few Who Are Looking for Christ
It would be well for us to heed Christ’s words in the Olivet discourse.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 24:44
He is not saying that we cannot predict the exact moment when He will return. Our inability to mark the date does not in any way prevent us from eagerly and joyfully looking forward to the event, and such anticipation expresses itself in a strong hope that He will come at the very next moment. In the forward vision of all Christians who long to see the Lord, the next moment is a time when His return is very possible. They are far from thinking that His return so soon is very unlikely or downright impossible. Yet, according to Jesus, many who will read His words in the Last Days will be confident that they are not living on the verge of His coming. Why will they lack expectancy? For some, the reason might be ignorance. But for the rest, the reason will be either that they are too caught up in this world to want His return, or that they do not believe in a literal Second Coming.
During my lifetime I have seen a sharp decline of interest in Bible prophecy. What is the result of this trend? Many Christians today, especially in the younger generation, are not watching for Christ to return. They are certainly not expecting Him to return at any moment.
What we have discovered, therefore, is yet another sign that Christ’s return must be very near. The sign? Fewer and fewer professing Christians are waiting eagerly for this glorious climactic event.