Smoodock's Blog

I am, presently, involved in a study of the eschatology (last things / end of time etc.) of Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians. We have come to the passage upon which the doctrine of the Rapture (for all intents and purposes) is founded: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Even 1Corinthians 15:52 depends upon this verse, if a rapture is to be seen in the meaning of its text. I believe it is safe to say, if 1Thessalonians 4:17 were removed from scripture, that is, if Paul never wrote it or anything like it, the doctrine of the rapture would never have arisen, because there is nothing anywhere else in the Bible that would naturally lead one to believe that doctrine. Every other verse about the coming of the Lord and the resurrection draw from 1Thessalonians 4:17 to read rapture into verses discussed elsewhere. However, does 1Thessalonians 4:17 actually show a rapture occurring in the sense defined by Christians who hold to this doctrine today?

For the purpose of this study, I’ll define the rapture[1] as the eschatological understanding that both the living and the dead, brought to life / resurrected, ascend to meet Jesus in the clouds at the time of his return. This is supposed to be an invisible event, that is, invisible to unbelievers. All those “left behind” know is millions of people have disappeared for no apparent reason—planes and cars crash, because their operators have been removed in the twinkling of an eye etc. At this time we are told the faithful will go back with Christ into heaven (or paradise). Some Christians believe forever, and the universe as we know it will be destroyed, but others conclude we’ll return to the earth with Christ after a period of time.

One problem with the belief is that the term rapture doesn’t appear in the Bible. It is not in the word of God, so does the doctrine represent a tradition of man, or is it simply a correct delineation of the text? There is also the inconsistency of the doctrine, in that, it is an invisible event to unbelievers. However, it is a literal event whereby Jesus returns in a physical body upon physical clouds, and, eventually, to physical Israel to a physical (rebuilt) Temple in physical Jerusalem. The **only** invisible component of the rapture doctrine is that unbelievers will not see the actual rapture occur. So, where does the doctrine come from, because nothing like this is found anywhere in the word of God? To be fair, believers in the doctrine will say this is implied in the text, but, although one might be able to say it is implied in the English translation. It is not implied anywhere in the Greek text.

For example, “shall be caught up” (G726) the word up isn’t in the text. The same word is used for Jesus’ understanding that the crowd would take him by force (G726 – John 6:15). The same is true of Paul in Acts 23:10, and, finally, in John 10:28-29 the same word is used for no one being able to pluck believers out of the hands of Jesus or the Father. There simply is no direction implied in the Greek word. The direction, if needed, is implied by the context.

So, is up implied, because Jesus is returning from heaven, for heaven is up, isn’t it? Is it? If heaven, as the dwelling place of God, was symbolized by the Most Holy Place in the Temple in ancient Jerusalem, is heaven up?

Paul tells the Thessalonians they would be caught or seized (G726) together with the raised dead (see my explanation of the word above) in clouds (G3507), the same Greek word is used in the Septuagint to refer to the Lord in a cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (cp. Exodus 13:21). Believers were to meet (G529 – apantesis) the Lord (1Thessalonians 4:17). Actually apantesis is a noun, so believers would be seized / taken away in a cloud for a meeting with the Lord. This same word, apantesis is used for believers who came to a meeting with Paul when he was being taken to Rome in chains. They met him at the Appius Forum and Three Taverns and escorted him to Rome (Acts 28:15). The Greek word has the technical meaning of leaving one’s place for a meeting with someone, especially a dignitary, and escorting that dignitary back to one’s place.[2] Therefore, if we want to apply this to the rapture doctrine, where’s the context to do so? Where is there room to be physically ‘snatched’ away to go with the Lord back to heaven? Even if we retain the technical meaning of apantesis (G529), why would it be necessary for believers to be physically seized to meet the Lord and return immediately to earth with him? Where’s the evidence, in the word of God, that such a fantastic event would take place—physically? It seems to me, lots of Christians, today, seem to want to walk by sight (physical realm), not by faith (spiritual realm).

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[1] See The Rapture by Matt Stefon; article written in Britannica on line.

[2] See W.E. Vine: An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words; Geoffrey W. Bromiley: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament