What does 'that day' refer to in 2 Thessalonians 2:3?
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 'that day' refers to the introduction of the Antichrist. According to the context, that day shall not come except there come a departure first. The Greek word apostasia is better translated 'the departure' rather than 'a falling away.'
Les explains that 'that day' in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to the introduction of the Antichrist. He points to the Amplified Bible's footnote, which translates the Greek word apostasia as 'the departure' instead of 'a falling away.' Read in that light, the verse says the day shall not come except a departure comes first. Les notes that early translations, including Tyndale and Geneva, all translated the word as 'the departure.' Dr. Kenneth Weiss, a respected Greek scholar, also makes that same delineation, saying the word is better translated 'the departure.' The same Greek word rendered 'falling away' in the King James is translated eight times in the New Testament as 'depart.'
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;
More Questions
What must happen before the Antichrist is introduced in 2 Thessalonians?
Read in that way, the day of the Antichrist's introduction will not come until the departure comes first.
Who is the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:7?
The 'he who now hindereth' in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is the Holy Spirit, who is the hindering force in the person of the believer until he is taken out of the way when the church is removed at the departure/rapture.
Who is the restrainer taken out of the way in 2 Thessalonians 2:7?
Les teaches that 'he who now hindereth' in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is the Holy Spirit acting as the restraining influence in the person of the believer.