Paul used the opportunity this epistle afforded him to give his readers basic instruction concerning Christian living. He did this to promote their maturation in Christ and to guard them from error (cf. 3:10).
Paul next turned to another subject on which his readers needed instruction in view of their newness in Christ (cf. 3:10). He outlined the immediate hope of his readers. He did this to explain that those of their number who had died, or would die in Christ, would share in His glory with those who were living when He returned. This pericope deals with the relation of their dead brethren to Christ's return.
The time of the Rapture has been a matter of disagreement among conservative interpreters. Some believe it will take place before the Tribulation (pretribulationists). Others believe that it will take place after the Tribulation (posttribulationists). Others conclude that it will take place during the Tribulation (midtribulationists). Still others hold that the Lord will catch away only some Christians, not all (partial rapturists). What does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 reveal about the time of the Rapture? How do advocates of the various schools of interpretation cited interpret these verses? Because 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 are "probably the most important passages dealing with the Rapture"73I want to examine them carefully.
I believe it is fair to say that more pretribulationists base their belief that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation on 1 Thessalonians 4 than on any other one passage of Scripture. This passage also contains more detail about the Rapture than any other one. It has major significance. All conservative interpreters agree that the translation of living Christians and the resurrection of dead Christians will take place at the same time. On this issue there is agreement regardless of when the Rapture will occur in relation to the Tribulation.
4:13 Paul wrote that to be uninformed about the future as a Christian is not good, even though some in our day say that eschatology is unimportant. Those "asleep"are the dead in Christ (cf. Mark 5:39; John 11:11). The ancients commonly used "sleep"as a euphemism for "death"(e.g., 1 Kings 2:10).74Knowing the future of believers who have died gives hope in the midst of grief. Paul did not deny that the death of a believer brings grief to his or her loved ones (cf. John 11:35). Nevertheless he insisted that Christians need not grieve as those who have no hope grieve.
"The risen Lord robbed death of its sting and horror for the believer and has transformed it into sleep for those in Christ."75
Pretribulationists and posttribulationists agree that the Thessalonian believers were grieving for two reasons. They grieved because their loved ones had died and because they thought the resurrection of dead Christians would take place after the Rapture. Pretribulationists believe the Thessalonians erroneously thought this resurrection would follow the Tribulation. Some posttribulationists believe the Thessalonians incorrectly thought that this resurrection would take place at the end of the Millennium.76Both of these conclusions rest on the interpretation of other passages that indicate the time of the Rapture. It was not the resurrection as such that disturbed the Thessalonians but the fact that they might not see their departed brethren for a long time that did. Specifically it was the fact that their dead fellow Christians might not participate in the Rapture with them that upset them. They apparently thought that one had to be alive to participate in the Rapture.77
4:14 We could translate "If,""Since."This word introduces a first class condition in the Greek text, which in this case is a condition true to reality. The death and resurrection of Christ are among the best attested facts of history.78Furthermore the Scriptures predicted these events before they occurred. Therefore we can be equally certain that the events of the Rapture, which Paul predicted here, will also happen. Paul told his readers that God would bring the spirits of Christians who had died back with Jesus when He returned for the saints still living on earth. Notice that it is only those who have died "in Jesus"(saints "in Christ,"i.e., Christians as contrasted with all the saved of all ages) who will accompany our Lord.79
Pretribulationists identify this return of Christ with the Rapture that, we say, will occur before the Tribulation. Posttribulationists contend that this return of Christ (the Rapture) will occur at the end of the Tribulation just before the second coming of Christ.
4:15 Paul further stressed the truth of his teaching (cf. v. 14a) by explaining that it was a revelation from the Lord, not just his opinion. Paul expected to be in the company of the living when Christ returned. He believed in an imminent Rapture. The "coming"(Gr. parousia, lit. "appearing") of Christ is his appearing in the clouds (cf. Acts 1:11). It is not His second coming, the coming at which time He will remain on the earth, set up His earthly kingdom, and reign for 1, 000 years (cf. Rev. 19:11-21). The differences in the descriptions of these comings present them as separate events (cf. Matt. 24:30-31 and 1 Thess. 4:15-17).
Some posttribulationists have asserted that the "word of the Lord"referred to in this verse is what Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:30-31; Luke 17:34-35). That was His revelation concerning His second coming that they believe will follow the Rapture immediately.80Pretribulationists, on the other hand, believe "the word of the Lord"is not a reference to what Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse. Most pretribulationists see no reference to the Rapture in the Olivet Discourse. We take "the word of the Lord"as referring to revelation Jesus gave Paul that the Gospels do not record, as did Ladd81and Gundry,82both posttribulationists. In short, we cannot identify "the word of the Lord"certainly with Jesus' teaching concerning His second coming recorded in the Gospels.
This leads to another question. Are there any prophesied events that must take place before the Rapture occurs? Posttribulationists say there are, namely the events of the Tribulation and preparations for the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24; Rev. 4-18). Pretribulationists say there are no events that God predicted would take place before the translation of the saints in the passages that speak of that translation (i.e., the Rapture).
The fact that the living will have no advantage over the dead when Christ returns makes excessive sorrow for dead Christians, beyond the sorrow connected with their dying, unjustified.
4:16 A supernatural announcement will precede the Lord Jesus' return for His own. People will hear a shout, an angelic voice, and a trumpet blast. Probably believers will hear them if not all people living on the earth. These may be three descriptions of one event or three separate events. It appears that these three events will take place literally (cf. Acts 1:9; 1 Cor. 15:52). In any case, God will herald the return of Christ from heaven. Note that only the dead "in Christ"experience resurrection. That is, God will reunite their resurrected, glorified bodies with their spirits (1 Cor. 15:35-58).
Many posttribulationists identify this trumpet blast with the one that will announce Christ's second coming (Matt. 24:31) or with one of the trumpet blasts that heralds judgments coming on the world in the Tribulation (Rev. 8:2, 7, 8, 10, 12; 9:1, 13; 11:15). Pretribulationists believe this must be a different trumpet blast since the Rapture will precede the Tribulation.83One's interpretation of this event will rest on when he or she believes the Rapture will take place relative to the Tribulation.84
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 rapturofrom which the term "Rapture"comes.85Living 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. Matt. 25:6; Acts 28:15) in the air with Christ with whom we will remain never to experience separation from Him.86Old Testament believers will evidently experience resurrection at the end of the Tribulation (Dan. 12:1-13; Isa. 26:13-19).87Probably 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.88
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 Cor. 5:10) and await our return with Him at His second coming (Rev. 19:14). 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.89Pretribulationists 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."90
Most amillennialists affirm that this catching up will result in Christians going to heaven, not 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."91
Posttribulationists reply that since the Scriptures elsewhere present the Rapture as taking place at the end of the Tribulation 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 (vv. 14-17; cf. 1 Cor. 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.92Some of them hold that this resurrection is "the first resurrection"(Rev. 20:5) and that no resurrection will precede this one, specifically one before the Tribulation.93However, pretribulationists point out that there has already been at least one resurrection, namely Christ's. Consequently "first"must not mean the first ever but first in relation to others, probably the first of the two mentioned in Revelation 20:5-14. 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.
Marvin Rosenthal offered a unique interpretation that he called the "pre-wrath Rapture."94He 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 (Dan. 9:24-27). He equated this 21-month long period with the day of the Lord (Joel 2:1-2).95
Most premillennialists have understood the day of the Lord to describe the whole seventieth week (seven years) plus the messianic (millennial) kingdom.96We view the whole seven-year Tribulation as a period of the outpouring of divine wrath (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1).97
"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') [Gen. 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)."98
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 vv. 16f. 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."99
4:18 The hope of being reunited with saints who have died and, what is more important, with Christ gives believers a hope that we can and should use to comfort one another when loved ones die.
"Paul's central point [in vv. 13-18] is that Christians who have died are in no way behind those who are alive at the Lord's coming, since the dead will actually rise first; then, we will all go together to meet the Lord in the air."100
Both pretribulationists and posttribulationists agree that the revelation Paul just gave is a comfort to believers. The hope of translation before death that Paul revealed is greater than the hope of resurrection after death that the Thessalonians had held. Will this translation occur before the Tribulation or after it? Pretribulationists say it will occur before. Consequently we have a very comforting hope. Not only may our translation precede our death, but it will also precede the Tribulation. Furthermore it may take place at any moment. Posttribulationists say our hope consists only in the possibility of our being translated before we die. We may have to go through the Tribulation. Therefore the Rapture is not imminent.
"The hope of a rapture occurring after a literal great tribulation would be small comfort to those in this situation [i.e., in mourning for loved ones who have died]."101
". . . although the church has gone through periods of great persecution in the past and undoubtedly may go through greater and even more intense persecutions before Christ returns, nevertheless, the view of a posttribulational rapture is impossible for the simple reason that it makes meaningless the very argument that Paul was presenting in the Thessalonian letters. Paul was arguing for the imminence of Christ's return. This is to be the major source of comfort for suffering believers. If Christ will not come until after the great tribulation (that is, a special period of unusual and intense suffering still in the future), then the return of the Lord is not imminent and tribulation rather than deliverance is what we must anticipate."102
I prefer the pretribulational explanation of verses 13-18 for the following reasons. The passage pictures the Rapture as an imminent event, but it is not if the Tribulation must come first. Second, Christians are not destined to experience the outpouring of God's wrath (1:10; 5:9-10). Third, the prospect of an imminent Rapture is a much greater comfort than the prospect of a posttribulational Rapture, and Paul revealed this information to provide comfort. Fourth, there is no mention of the Tribulation in the passage, but that would be appropriate and reasonable if it will precede the Rapture.103
A comparison of verses 13-18 with John 14:1-3 shows that they refer to the same event.
A similar comparison of 1 Thessalonians 4 and Revelation 19, which describes the second coming of Christ, reveals that these two chapters must describe different events.104
In view of the imminency of Christ's return Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to be ready to prepare them to meet the Lord at any time.
"The former [paragraph, i.e., 4:13-18] offered instruction concerning the dead in Christ; this [paragraph] gives a word of needed exhortation to the living."105
Other contrasts between these passages are the Rapture and the day of the Lord, and resurrection and judgment.
This pericope deals with the time of Christ's return and the consequent need for watchfulness.
5:1-2 Paul had previously taught this church about the day of the Lord (v. 2). Jesus had also taught His disciples about it (cf. Matt. 24:44; Mark 13; Luke 24). They had taught about the duration ("times, "Gr. chronos) and the major features of the times ("epochs,"Gr. chairos) that lay ahead in the future. These words may describe the end times from these two perspectives (cf. Acts 1:7; 3:19-21)106, but probably they mean virtually the same thing (cf. Dan. 2:21; 7:12; Acts 1:7).107
". . . the phrase may have been a conventional doublet, like our own times and seasons,' with no particular emphasis on a difference between the two nouns."108
The day of the Lord yet future usually refers to the period in history characterized by God's working in the world in direct, dramatic ways.109This period begins with the Tribulation and continues through the Millennium (cf. Isa. 13:9-11; Joel 2:28-32; Zeph. 1:14-18; 3:14-15; et al.). It contains both judgment (in the Tribulation) and blessing (in the Millennium). People living on the earth then (i.e., unbelievers, since Christians will be with the Lord in heaven immediately following the Rapture) will not expect it.
"By using day of the Lord' terminology to describe the great tribulation, Christ included the tribulation within the day of the Lord (cf. Matt 24:21 with Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1; Joel 2:2). This time of trial at the outset of the earthly day of the Lord will thus not be brief, but comparable to a woman's labor before giving birth to a child (Isa. 13:8; 26:17-19; 66:7ff.; Jer 30:7, 8; Micah 4:9, 10; Matt 24:8; 1 Thess 5:3)."110
The phrase "the day of the Lord"also refers to the Second Coming of Christ (cf. Joel 3:9-16; Zech. 14:1-5; Rev. 16:12-16; 19:11-21). Thus Scripture uses the term in a broad sense (the Tribulation and the Millennium) and a narrow sense (the return of Christ).
"Just as the word day' in Genesis 1:5 has both a broad sense (a 24-hour day--'And the evening and the morning were the first day') and a narrow sense (the light part of a 24-hour day in contrast with the darkness part--'And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night')--so the expression the Day of the Lord' has both a broad and a narrow sense in relationship to the future."111
Some posttribulationists say the day of the Lord here refers specifically to the second coming of Christ.112However in the context this day will be a time when God will pour out His wrath on unbelievers (vv. 3-9). While this could refer to the judgments that will take place at Christ's second coming, it seems more likely to refer to the judgments of the Tribulation (cf. Matt. 24:5-28; Rev. 6:16-18).113Gundry contended that the day of the Lord begins after the Tribulation but before Armageddon.114However this means that none of the judgments before Armageddon are judgments of the day of the Lord, a conclusion that few interpreters, posttribulational as well as pretribulational, can accept.115
"The only way to hold that this meeting with Christ in the air is an imminent prospect is to see it as simultaneous with the beginning of the divine judgment against earth. Only if the rapture coincides with the beginning of the day of the Lord can both be imminent and the salvation of those in Christ coincide with the coming of wrath to the rest (v. 9) . . .
"Were either the rapture or the day of the Lord to precede the other, one or the other would cease to be an imminent prospect to which the thief in the night' and related expressions (1:10; 4:15, 17) are inappropriate. That both are any-moment possibilities is why Paul can talk about these two in successive paragraphs. This is how the Lord's personal coming as well as the day's' coming can be compared to a thief ([Matt. 24. 36-43; Luke 12:35-40; ] 2 Peter 3:4, 10; Rev 3:3, 11; 16:15)."116
5:3 Evidently the occasion for the false sense of security felt then will be the Antichrist's signing of a covenant with Israel (cf. Dan. 9:27).117That signing will set the stage for a period of unprecedented destruction even though it will be the signing of a peace treaty. Bible students living on earth then will be able to anticipate this period of persecution since God has revealed it in Scripture. It will be much like a pregnant woman's delivery which observers can anticipate by her appearance (cf. Matt. 24:8). No one living on the earth then will in any way (double negative for emphasis in the Greek text) escape the turmoil to follow. They cannot escape it any more than a pregnant woman can escape delivering her child. This seems to argue against midtribulationism. No one on earth who is living in peace and safety during the first half of the Tribulation will escape the destruction coming in the second half, except those who die.
5:4-6 The Thessalonians were not ignorant of these events since Jesus and Paul had revealed them (cf. 4:13-17). They were not walking in wickedness either. God had removed the Thessalonians from Satan's kingdom of darkness and placed them into God's kingdom of light (cf. Col. 1:13).118Paul exhorted them therefore to remain alert (watchful) and sober (self-possessed), not asleep (insensible) to things that God has revealed.
If the church must pass through the Tribulation (Daniel's seventieth week) before the Rapture, it is useless to watch for Christ daily.119
5:7-8 Behavior consistent with their position in Christ required watchful preparation in view of the future. As soldiers engaged in spiritual warfare they needed to protect their vital parts with trust in God and love for others (cf. 1:3, 3:5; Isa. 59:17; Eph. 6:14-17). They also needed to protect their thinking from attack by keeping their sure hope of deliverance at Christ's appearing in mind (i.e., the Rapture).
5:9-10 Deliverance from the judgments of the day of the Lord (i.e., the outpouring of God's wrath in the Tribulation) is certain for Christians. It is certain because God has not appointed His children to wrath in any form or at any time (cf. 1:10). In the context, the wrath of the day of the Lord is in view specifically. Rather He has appointed us to full salvation (4:15-17).
"First Thessalonians 5:9 is not a both/and' statement. The believer is not appointed to wrath and to salvation--to the Day of the Lord and the Rapture (the posttribulational view). The verse states not one, but the other.' The believer is appointed not to wrath, but to salvation; not to the Day of the Lord, but to the Rapture (pretribulationalism). The believer's hope is the Rapture. We are not watching for wrath, but for the Lord."120
"When God vents his anger against earth dwellers (Rev. 6:16, 17), the body of Christ will be in heaven as the result of the series of happenings outlined in 4:14-17 (cf. 3:13). This is God's purpose."121
This deliverance is certain because Jesus Christ died as our substitute. He took all of God's wrath against us on Himself (cf. Rom. 8:1). Consequently we can have confidence that we will live together with Christ after the Rapture whether we are watchful or unwatchful at the time of His coming.
The Greek word translated "asleep"in verse 10 is from the same root as the one translated "sleep"in verse 6 where the reference is to spiritual lethargy. It is a different one from the word translated "asleep"in 4:13, 14, and 15 where the reference is to physical death.122God will snatch away all Christians whether watchful or unwatchful at the Rapture.123This statement refutes the partial rapture theory, the view that God will rapture only watchful Christians. Moreover it is another indication that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation since the Tribulation is a time when God will pour out His wrath on those dwelling on the earth (cf. 1:10).
5:11 This sure hope is a sound basis for mutual encouragement and edification among believers. Not only can we comfort one another when believers die (4:18), but we can also strengthen one another while we live.
"For the truth that the church is destined for rescue from the woes of the Tribulation, no passage has more to offer to exegetical scrutiny than does 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11."124
Paul also reminded his readers of their present duties. In doing so, he balanced his previous emphasis on their present hope in view of future blessings.125
The preceding exhortations led Paul naturally to focus on other individual responsibilities to enable his readers to perceive their personal Christian duty clearly (cf. Gal. 6). However all these things are the duties of Christians corporately (the church assembled) as well as individually.
