1 Thessalonians 4:17

Then God will catch up the saints alive on the earth into the air and unite us forever with Christ. The word in the Latin Vulgate translated "caught up" is rapturo from which the term "Rapture" comes. In Greek it is harpazo (cf. Acts 8:39; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Living saints will experience translation-their bodies will become immortal-and saints who have died will experience resurrection with immortal bodies. Both kinds of Christians will meet (Gr. apantesis, cf. Matthew 25:6; Acts 28:15) in the air with Christ with whom we will remain never to experience separation from Him. Since we will always be with the Lord from then on we will return to earth with Him at His second coming, participate in His earthly millennial kingdom with Him, and finally dwell with Him in the new heavens and earth. Old Testament believers will evidently experience resurrection at the end of the Tribulation (Daniel 12:1-13; Isaiah 26:13-19). [Note: See John F. Walvoord, "The Resurrection of Israel," Bibliotheca Sacra 124:493 (January-March 1967):3-15.] Probably Paul included himself in the living group because he believed that the Lord’s return was imminent. He set an example of expectancy for the church of all ages. [Note: J. B. Lightfoot, Notes on the Epistles of Paul, p. 67.]

Why will God snatch Christians up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air? Pretribulationists answer that we will go with Christ to heaven where we will abide with Him in the place He has prepared for us there (John 14:1-3). We will receive our rewards at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and await our return with Him at His second coming (Revelation 19:14). Thus we will spend the seven-year Tribulation with the Lord in heaven, not on the earth. Posttribulationists respond that Christ never actually returns to the earth in such a view. He has to change direction and return to heaven immediately. This seems unnatural to them. Pretribulationists say this is not unusual in view of what Jesus said about His coming to take His bride, the church, to His Father’s house (John 14:3).

Posttribulationists say God will snatch Christians up to meet Christ in the air to join Him as He proceeds to the earth to set up His kingdom. [Note: Ladd, p. 78.] Pretribulationists point out that it is even more unnatural for Christians to change direction and return to earth immediately than it is for Christ to change direction and return to heaven (cf. John 14:1-3).

"A meeting in the air is pointless unless the saints continue on to heaven with the Lord who has come out to meet them." [Note: Thomas, p. 279. Cf. George Milligan, St. Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians, p. 61.]

Most amillennialists affirm that this catching up will result in Christians going to heaven and not ever returning to the earth, as the following quotation shows.

"Those who meet the Lord in the air (the space between the earth and the heavens in Jewish cosmology) are caught up in a heavenly ascent by the clouds without any indication that they then return to earth." [Note: Wanamaker, p. 175.]

Most amillennialists, of course, do not believe that there will be an earthly messianic (millennial) reign for Christians or Christ to return to the earth to participate in. Barclay took this section as poetry, a seer’s vision that the reader should not take literally. [Note: Barclay, p. 236.]

Posttribulationists believe that since the Scriptures elsewhere present the Rapture as taking place at the end of the Tribulation, they say, it must be Christians who change direction in mid-air rather than Christ.

Are there any other passages of Scripture that clarify when this translation of living saints will occur? Both pretribulationists and posttribulationists agree that this event will happen at the same time as a resurrection of believers from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). However we disagree about what resurrection is in view. Some posttribulationists identify this resurrection with one that will take place at Christ’s second coming. [Note: E.g., Reese, pp. 214-15; Gundry, pp. 134-39.] Some of them hold that this resurrection is "the first resurrection" (Revelation 20:4-5) and that no resurrection will precede this one, specifically one before the Tribulation. [Note: E.g., Ladd, p. 82.] However, pretribulationists point out that there has already been at least one resurrection, namely, Christ’s. The resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, and Lazarus were really resuscitations since these people died again. Consequently "first" must not mean the first ever but first in relation to others, probably the first of the two mentioned in Revelation 20:4-5. This "first resurrection" evidently refers to a resurrection of believers that will take place at the end of the Tribulation. The second resurrection, the resurrection of unbelievers, will occur at the end of the Millennium. This interpretation opens the possibility for another resurrection of believers before the Tribulation. [Note: For a very helpful account of the history of the Rapture debate, see Stanton, pp. 306-401.]

Marvin Rosenthal offered a unique interpretation that he called the "pre-wrath Rapture." [Note: Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church.] He believed that the only time when God will pour out His wrath on the world will be the last quarter, rather than the last half, of Daniel’s seventieth week (Daniel 9:24-27). He equated this 21-month long period with the day of the Lord (Joel 2:1-2). [Note: The chart below is from John A. McLean, "Another Look at Rosenthal’s ’Pre-Wrath Rapture,’" Bibliotheca Sacra 148:592 (October-December 1991):388.]

Most premillennialists have understood the day of the Lord to describe the whole seventieth week (seven years) plus the messianic (millennial) kingdom. [Note: See Showers, pp. 30-40, and Stanton, pp. 70-91, for excellent discussions of "the day of the Lord."] We view the whole seven-year Tribulation as a period of the outpouring of divine wrath (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1). [Note: For refutations of Rosenthal’s view, see Gerald B. Stanton, "A Review of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church," Bibliotheca Sacra 148:589 (January-March 1991):90-111; Paul Karleen, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church: Is It Biblical? and Showers, The Pre-Wrath Rapture View: An Examination and Critique.]

"Just as each day of creation and the Jewish day consisted of two phases-a time of darkness (’evening’) followed by a time of light (’day’) [Genesis 1:4-6]-so the future Day of the Lord will consist of two phases, a period of darkness (judgment) followed by a period of light (divine rule and blessing)." [Note: Idem, Maranatha . . ., p. 33.]

A representative amillennial explanation of this passage is as follows.

"Although an attempt has been made here [in his commentary] to organize the details of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 f. into a reasonably coherent picture of the events of the end, it must be acknowledged that Paul was probably not interested in giving us a literal description. His goal was to reassure the Thessalonians that their fellow Christians who had died would participate on equal terms with them in the salvation experience accompanying the parousia of the Lord." [Note: Wanamaker, p. 176.]

Yet there are no clues in the passage that we should take what Paul said as anything other than a literal description.