How many times is the Greek word translated as 'falling away' rendered as 'depart' in the New Testament?
The Greek word apostasia, rendered 'falling away' in the King James Version, is translated as 'depart' eight times in the New Testament. This same term appears in the Amplified Bible footnote as 'the departure,' and early translations such as Tyndale and Geneva also used 'departure.'
Les explains that while studying the Amplified Bible, he noticed a footnote for apostasia giving 'the departure' instead of 'a falling away.' He reads 2 Thessalonians 2:3 in that light: the day shall not come except there come a departure first. Les points out that early English translations, including Tyndale, Geneva, and others through the 1500s, translated the word as 'the departure.' He also cites Dr. Kenneth Weiss, a respected Greek scholar at Moody Bible Institute, who in his book makes the same distinction, arguing 'the departure' is better because the same Greek word behind the King James 'falling away' is rendered 'depart' eight times in the New Testament.
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;