Casos de Pruebas

So there is no undue difficulty in envisaging Paul's belief in a very definite End-time sign of this nature. It appears to us that the objection of Rigaux and Ernst is invalid.

Moving to the passage itself, we note that Satan's Anomos works effectively amongst those who are perishing. These people are described in two further statements,

y.lO T^\/ ^Sê Çocv/TO.

V.12 of -AirTeu(Tk\/Tê-^ •Tfj' .

It is on this basis that God’s judgment is upon them in the form of The Lie, v.ll. In contrast to these people, Paul can give thanks that there are others who have been chosen

38

by God unto salvation, 2s13 , The contrast is not only one of election or non-election, but acceptance or rejection of the truth. Some had come to faith,

2:13, othershad deliberately not received (accepted) and

believed it. This implies that they had had the opportunity to do so, which indicates not merely a casual hearing of that faith. we should note that whilst Paul speaks of believers as those actually alive at the time of writing, those who

reject the truth belong to the future and the coming of Anomos. Since the Apostasy is for Paul in the future, we are led to believe that the apostates of 2:1 0f. are in effect the

Apostasy of 2:3.

Frame makes the interesting comment that the Greek

Bible), suggests that God had sent those who ultimately rejected the truth the divine power to create in them a love for the truth of God (Rom. Is25) or Christ

39

(II Cor. 11:20) . If his insight is correct we can see a further reason for Paul believing that this group had had a special opportunity to respond to the truth of the Gospel, but had rejected it. In our view then these people are

40

apostates from the church and not Jews who had rejected the Gospel message, or those who had rejected the 'natural truth' of God. The very word itself implies an already existing relationship which has been deliberately broken. If so it is unlikely we can refer it to the hearing of the Gospel message. They had refused the truth, which comes to mean ultimately, Christ, and it would appear they must have

41

claimed to have once belonged to the faith . Without doubt they provide the soil upon which the Anomos works and practises his deceptions. Not only will he carry them along but we can suppose that more will bé attracted to his side as apostasy proceeds during his period of sway.

A summary of conclusions can now be set out as follows.

1. The term is used with a

religious connotation,

2. The word itself implies a definite departure from a previous relationship and acceptance of new (and false) beliefs or way of life, 3. The theme of apostasy in the O.T. and N.T.

confirms that rejection denotes a previous relationship with God.

4. The article presupposes a well-known

eschatological fact, at least, well-known

to the Thessalonians. It is a definite sign wl^ich will be evident to the community, assuming they are 'awake', 1.5:6.

5, It is an apostasy from the Christian faith and church. It does not concern an outside group such as the Jews or the falling away of the world into greater lawlessness.

The future apostates are briefly described in II.2:10ff. in which passage the Anomos

(- the Lie) is regarded as God's judgment upon such people.

Rigaux, ad. loc., apparently takes the view that the adverb is linked to <k7^o(T^\dur\(L "L'apostasie,

premier signe que le jour du Seigneur n'est pas là". Frame, ad. loc., says we cannot be certain. Giblin wants to see a logical force in its use here, although it does appear to be impossible to reitiove the temporal aspect. He is probably correct in stating that if Paul wished to attach -tk

to he would have added àVeiToc as in I,4;16f. and placed it before the former noun, p.83 n.3.

^Fof the word see Bauer, s.v. j

von Dobschtltz, pp. 269-271; J. Ernst, Die eschatologischen ■Gegensoieler in den Schriften des Neuen Testaments,

Regensburg, 1967, pp. 27-32; Giblin, pp. 81-88; Milligan, p.98; Rigauxl, pp. 235ff. and 654; H. Schlier, • AO<rroc(n o( »

(also 0L(|)»1rTm vu ) in T.D.N.T. I, pp. 512-514 and

àp/éo poCL in I p.470. For the Latin translations of the term von Dobsbhütz, p. 269 n.2, but they are of little help in deciding the meaning and content of the word in our passage,

^For the 'papyri, Moulton-Milligan, p.68, P.Amh, II.30:33f. (2nd cen. B.C.), the burning of title deeds py Egyptian^'rebels ' orCb -rpv/

& TLCXTTKTW \/ 6 y KolLT%uT&&^ N

examples are given for

^So Codex A (LXX) translates t Theod.

too.

) , ^ Kou iTblV (XKo i^ioC0rtUi4Ç, ^ j '

656^uyi<rbn(T(<v^ Tü'ij e6vre<r-«\/ XocY jf x y '-rov

To ' I

^ ^ K (^crro^ d{KO XoLTpei'c<l iKf^Té d u T o d .

7For the Jewish Rabbinical tradition, Strack- Billerbeck, III, p.637 and IV, pp. 977ff. Schab,138b says The Torah is destined to be forgotten in Israel.

®it is important to stress that Jub. 23 is not concerned with heathen wickedness but the lawlessness of the Jews, 23:19 is an amplification of v.l6, "They.have forgotten commandment, and covenant, and feasts, and nonths, and Sabbaths, and jubilees, and all judgments' (A.P.. II, p.48), A similar picture is given by Philo, De Proem, 148-152 = Strack-

Billerbeck ,111, p.291, De Execrat 6,

9Does this refer to the secularization policy of Sadducean-Hasmoneans? V.10 goes oh to state that 'at its

(i.e. the seventh week) close shall be elected The Elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness to receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation'. Cf. this with the thought in IIi2:13^ It must be 'pointed out that

in 1 En. 93 (The so-called. Apocalypse of Weeks) the second, sixth and seventh weeks are characterised by

wickedness. We cannot find a definite End-time sign of . Apostasy in the chapter.

l^A.P., II, p.418.

\

11_{4 Ezra 9;Iff. seems to have a number of ideas}

Which echo the Synoptic Apocalypse, e.g. earthquakes, tumult of peoples, confusion of leaders. The same may

apply to T.Jud. 23# T.Dan. 5:4. However the many references to evil in the last days must go back to Jewish eschatological beliefs. For a thorough list of texts, Ernst, o p. cit.,

pp. 30ff.

12_{The underlined words are the conjecture of}

Vermes and Lohse.

Milik in 'Le Travail d'Edition des Fragments Manuscrits de Qumrân', R.B. 63 (1956) 49-67, pp. 56ff.;

idem. Ten Years of Discovery in the Wilderness of Judea (transi, by J. Strugnell, S.B.T. 26), London, 1959, pp. 32ff.

^^Rigaux, p.255.

15It is only one sign among many. See D.S. Russell, OP. cit.. pp. 263-284.

^S.D.B. S.v. ZLTùP Qal. 2d.

17P.269. Also Ernst, o p. cit.. p.28.

lBp.270 19

^^P.269 n.4.

20_{Cf. II Mac. 5s8s Jason is an apostate from the}

laws ( 1^5 Tiliv/ \/ojuwy ).

21_{Warnings are given by Ignatius against falling}

back into Judaism, Ad Maan. 8:1, 'Be not led astray by strange doctrines ... for if we are living until now accord­ ing to Judaism, we confess that we have not received grace', cf. 10:1; Ad Philad. 6:1,2,

23 <

Irenaeus Adv. Haer, V, 25;Iff; Chrysostom; Augustine Civ.Dei. xx.l9; Theodoret; Theophylact and . Oecumenius. Wohlenberg suggests this identification is due to the Fathers regarding the Antichrist as Belial and the latter is translated in the 1*XX by ,

24Theodore; Augustine, ad loc.? Cyril, Cat, xv.2 (= P.O. xxxiii),

25De Res. Carnis. Rigaux, p.256, is wrong in

stating it is the kingdom of Antichrist as such. Tertullian's words are, 'veniat abscessio primo, huius utique regni, et

reveletur delinquentiae homo, id est antichristus'.

26_{Adv. Haer. V. 25:2.}

27Ad loc. For earlier views, Bornemann, pp. 405f£. and von Dobschtltz, p. 270, The theory of a Jewish political revolt is particularly attractive to those who are persuaded that the parousia in Mt. 24 and II.2:lff. refers the destruc­ tion of Jerusalem. Orchard, op. cit.. p.41 refers to it as the unfulfilled event of the destruction of Jerusalem,

28Ad, loc. J. Denny, The Epistles to_.the

Thessalonians (Expositor's Bible), 1902, pp. 308f. suggests the religious defection of the Jews who crown their guilt which is mentioned in I.2:14f. Similarly Dibelius p.37 (2nd edn.) = p.45 (3rd edn.) p.45 says that the idea comes from Jewish circle of ideas and refers to the apostasy of Jews to

heathenism. Oepke and de Boor, ad loc.. stress that it refers in the first place to Israel. Best is attracted to this view pp. 282,308.

^^Sirard o p. cit., supposes that is

an anticipation of , w.3,7,8, and the whole is influenced by the underlying idea of Belial, p.94. He is attracted by the idea that the word refers to the fall and

removal of Satan (parallel in thought to &K uè < ro v ),

cf. Rev. 12ï7ff. but he rejects it on the grounds that the word has political and religious uses which forbid it, pp. 94 n.l, 98.

269ff

31De Boor too. We can refer back to Palladius, Dial, de vita S. loannis. 74 who conceived of it as apostasy gaining ground. Bornemann thinks of moral defection but is uncertain of the area in which it will take place. Frame suggests the non-christian world; Bicknell too. Neil,

(Moffatt), Morris, (Tyndale) and Grayston treat it as a human revolt and defiance of God. Rigaux pictures it as general evil at the End-time.

For the view that the Apostasy is from the church Oecumenius, T o O or c c k o Be-ou KwMrn/;

Calvin; Adeney; Findlay; Staab; Schlier, ' ^-ï\o

OP. cit., pp. 513f. Lightfoot and Plummer remain uncertain as to Judaism or Christianity. Bailey, p.327 attempts to synthesize: 'The rebellion is strictly speaking within the church but the outcome affects the world outside'. Rigaux, p.258, is strangely ambivalent. He only gives the word a vague and general value (cf. Whiteley, Theology, p.236), yet resorts to vv.10-12 in order to fill in the content of the term. He sees in the rejection of the truth the seducing work of antichrist (cf. Chrysostom Lug péXX^)\/ToC

(X Ko\ Au\/p(.L Kot'v (k(picTT^/ • He argues thus because in his opinion the apostasy and Anomos are one and the same

calamity (so arguing against his previous position of the prior event of Apostasy, L 'Antéchrist et l'opposition au royaume

messianique dans l 'Ancien et _le Nouveau Testament. Paris, 1932, p.268). It does seem in II.2:lff. that the Apostasy is prior to the Antichrist, even if we cannot deduce such from , 2:3. Giblin, whilst agreeing with Rigaux, goes further and maintains the term implies an

ultimate division between believer and unbeliever. He almost wishes to translate, 'first must come the separation'. He admits he is on weak philological grounds and his texts

(Mt. 13:43; 25:32) do not seem logically or temporally to apply to the Thessalonian teaching. Apostasy refers to an individual rejecting God and accepting another life; it does not refer to the separation of sheep from the goats, pp. 85ff.

^^We can, perhaps, trace something of this idea in Matthew and Romans. in the Parable of Wheat and Tares

(Mt. 13 = 24:30), the latter exist amongst the former, i.e. under the blessings of the church. In Romans the Jews are depicted as experiencing the blessings of being God's chosen race. They have the oracles ( Aoyo/, 3:1), have experienced the long-suffering of God (2:4f.) and have the law (2:17f.). Unfortunately they are building up God's wrath against them.by their disobedience (2:5,9), The conclusion is stated in

2:28,29; oo y ^ ù 6 kv' Tuj cj)oCv/^pCo o a t ? . ... a

Tto KpwKTlp à / t.

What ‘Paul describes in Rom. 2 and 3 ref ers-to the past and present but it does indicate Paul's view in Judaism;'the true' and 'the false' can exist together.

32 ^

Giblin, p.82 n.l also seems to be unaware of the distinction made by the evangelist.

We have omitted Mk. 13:22 = Mt, 24:24 (cf. Lk. 21:8); Asc. Is. 4:9; II Bar. 28:3; S.Or. II. 168; III. 68 which deal with the deception of Pseudo - or Anti­ christ (s). II Tim, 3:1-10 may also be more concerned with general lawlessness than apostasy (which is included in the thought of that passage).

3"^Both ad loc. Giblin's argument, pp. 84f., namely that the church was basically 'healthy' and the idea of

apostasy opposes the fact, must be rejected. The Apostle would have had enough previous experience to know of the dangers to churches.

35If there is a reason for rejecting II it must spring from the uniqueness of material in II.2slff,

36Findlay, A. Plummer A Commentary on St. Paul's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. London, 1918, Adeney and Staab (ad loc.) trace back the idea of Apostasy to the Synoptic discourse, (Mk. 13 and parallels). It may have connections with the tradition of that discourse, but nothing in the latter presupposes. The Apostasy,

37Galatians may have been written between 53-55 A.D. (Kdmmel, Introduction, p. 198), which shows that in a very short space of time after the writing of II we have the danger of apostasy appearing in an extant letter of Paul. Of course if the letter is earlier than II we have evidence that Paul was aware of heretical tendencies and defection from the church,

3^Do we read 'chosen p ^ D pm some old lat. sy^ cop or * B 09^ P 33 some old lat, vg sy^ cop^. For the former Bornemann, von Dobschtltz,

Rigaux, Giblin and Best. If we read the latter,“^Dibelius, we have to ask to what the "first-fruits" refers. It is not

(a) the first group of converts: there is no supporting

evidence and (b) the Fhi-lippians were the first converts in Macedonia, Acts 16:14f*, 32f. In favour of the first reading is that it suits the contextè Some had chosen deliberately to reject the Gospel so divine punishment comes. Those who

believe do so because of their election from the very -beginning. 39 _{As against Lightfoot and Plummer and J.M.-O'Connor,}. '^Truth' in Paul and Oumran, 1968, pp. 193f,, who see

* , truth in general. Cf. Rigaux, 'la revelation chrétienne'«