2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

"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."

Verse 1 speaks about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, indicating one future coming, and it talks about our gathering together unto him. That gathering together unto him is referencing the rapture. So the Bible is saying that at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ we are going to have the rapture. This is the event that everybody is waiting for and looking forward to. But that does not mean the Bible teaches it can come at any moment.

Notice what it says in verse 2 — that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled as that the day of Christ is at hand. When the Bible says the day of Christ is at hand, it is referencing something that is about to take place. He is saying do not be shaken in mind or troubled by some false teacher telling you that the rapture is at hand, that it is about to take place. You will see this all the time where people will falsely predict the coming of the rapture, saying it is going to come on a specific date or that it can come at any moment. But the Bible is saying do not be shaken in mind by teaching that says Jesus can come back at any moment or on some specific date that someone has figured out.

Notice also what Paul mentions in verse 2 when he lists the sources this false teaching was not coming from. He says neither by spirit — it was not the Spirit of God that taught them the day of Christ is at hand, that it can come at any moment. He says neither by word — it was not the word of God, and it was not a word preached by various pastors, evangelists, or apostles who were faithfully teaching the word of God. They were not teaching that Jesus can come back at any moment. And he says neither by letter — it was not an epistle written specifically to the church saying to be ready because Jesus can come back at any moment.

So the first two verses of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 are actually saying very clearly — do not be shaken in mind, because the day is not at hand. It cannot come back at any moment. And as the chapter goes on it mentions that the antichrist must be revealed first, which is something that has not yet taken place. Now, once the antichrist is revealed at the abomination of desolation, of course we will have a very short time left and we will realise it. But the Bible is being very clear here to the church at Thessalonica — do not be confused, do not be deceived or troubled into thinking that the day of Christ is at hand just because there is persecution. A lot of things still had to take place first.

This passage directly disproves both the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture and the idea that Jesus can come back at any moment.

Pastor Matthew Stucky