1 Thessalonians 4
13And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
15I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. 18So comfort and encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, NLT)
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You may have heard Christians talk about “the Rapture” and asked yourself, “what is that?”
The rapture is a biblical end times event that was popularized in the mid-to-late 20th century through books such as Hal Lindsey’s “Late Great Planet Earth” and the “Left Behind” book series from authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
While most evangelical Christians embrace the doctrine of Jesus’ second coming, that Jesus will appear at the end of time to judge the world, eradicate evil and reign over creation forever, not all Christians hold to the doctrine known as “the rapture”, which is considered an event that is separate from and preceding to the second coming of Christ.
For those who do hold to a “rapture” as a distinct event from the second coming, this passage in 1 Thessalonians is a primary passage in support of their view.
In this passage, Paul is seeking to console the Thessalonians who are grieved that many of their loved ones have passed. Paul is correcting a misunderstanding these young believers had concerning what happens to believers after they have passed.
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The Thessalonians apparently had mistakenly believed that because their loved ones were in the grave, they would miss out on “the rapture”.
What exactly is the rapture?
“The rapture” is a doctrine that says Jesus will appear unexpectedly to take believers from this earth so that they might be with Him for eternity.
The word rapture comes from the Latin word “rapturo” which comes from verse 17 where Paul says that when Jesus returns, believers will be “caught up” with Christ in the clouds and will remain with Him forever. The Latin word for “caught up” is rapturo.
So the rapture is that moment when believers will be “caught up” with Jesus upon His return.
Paul tells these Thessalonian believers that those who have already died and are in the grave will be raised up first to meet Jesus and then those who are alive will be “caught up” with them.
So the order of events, according to this passage from Paul, is as follows:
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- Jesus will come back at some point. The exact timing of His return is not known so believers are exhorted to always be ready and to not be caught off guard
- When Jesus returns, all those who have died will be resurrected and will meet Jesus in the clouds
- Those believers who are alive on earth when Jesus returns will also meet Jesus in the clouds AFTER those who have already died are raised
As has already been mentioned, not all Christians agree that what Paul is describing in this passage is a separate, distinct event from the second coming of Christ. There are valid arguments for each view – that the rapture is a separate event that precedes the second coming of Jesus, and that the rapture is simply a different description of the second coming of Christ.
Regardless of the view one might take, we know for certain from this passage that Jesus WILL come back. When he does, those who have already died WILL be raised from the dead and WILL meet Jesus. Additionally, those who are alive when Jesus returns WILL also meet Jesus.
Paul says that this teaching is designed to give us hope, knowing that we, as believers, have a purpose and a destiny beyond this life. If there is no resurrection and no hope for life beyond our earthly physical existence, then, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “we are to be pitied more than all men.” (See my blog post “Will Christians Really Experience a Bodily Resurrection?“)
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Reflection
What do you think happens to people after they die? What has been. your belief about the afterlife?
Have you heard of the rapture? What have you been taught about the events leading up to the “end times”?
Do you think it matters what a person believes about the end times? Why do you think it’s important that we, as Christians, understand what the Bible teaches about the end times?
If the rapture really is an event that is distinct from and preceding to the second coming of Jesus, how does that change how you think about the Christian life and live out the Christian life?
Photo by Mahmoud Yahyaoui: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dramatic-sunlight-through-fluffy-clouds-29286046/
The Lowedown 