For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
There are two main views on what it means for the Church to be raptured or “caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”. The first and most widely publicized view of recent times is the idea of a secret rapture in which Christ makes a secret return and the believers who are still alive suddenly vanish without a trace and are taken to heaven. It also is expected to occur just before the Great Tribulation begins which means it is imminent—that is, it can happen at any moment. However, biblical evidence seems to better fit a second view in which believers—both dead and alive—are suddenly changed and then brought to meet Christ as he comes to begin his thousand-year reign on earth with them.
Meaning of “Caught Up”?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 the Greek word translated “caught up” is ἁρπάζω. It signifies being taken, caught up, or plucked up by force. It can only be speculated what this will look like or be like. In Acts 1:9 we can perhaps get an idea from how Jesus was being visibly lifted up until he disappeared in the clouds. The word is also used in many contexts of something being forcibly taken. In any case, it does not infer any kind of vanishing or disappearing phenomena.
Pretribulationists will also quote 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 in support of the secret rapture. They maintain that the “change” referred to speaks of being instantaneously “translated” into heaven. Hebrews 11:5 which speaks about Enoch being “taken” is commonly used to support this theory. Lahaye writes, “Enoch was in one place in space and time, in one form of existence, when God simply and suddenly transferred him to another.”[i] Yet the text in 1 Corithians 15 simply implies a change and not a disappearance. Perhaps there is some sort of vanishing and reappearance as we go through a change and ascension to meet Christ in the clouds, but it is speculation at best.
The ultimate point of the rapture as put forward by pretribulationists is that it will be a translation into heaven where we will remain until the Great Tribulation is over. This is inferred from John 14:3. Wayne Brindle writes,
When Christ returns, He will take believers to be with Him forever. In verse 2 the close connection between the “dwelling places” and “My Father’s house” almost certainly locates the “dwelling places” in heaven. Twice in verses 2 and 3 Jesus discussed what He will do in his “Father’s house”—He will “prepare a place” for believers. Sometime after that has been accomplished, He will then “come again” and “receive” παραλήμψομαι, “I will take to myself) them to Himself. Where will He take them? He said He will take them “where I am.” But where exactly is that? Two clues help answer this question. First, Jesus’ double reference to “preparing a place for them” in heaven is irrelevant (even worthless) information if He did not intend to take them there. The foregoing context thus requires the conclusion that He intends to take them to heaven—where He “will be”.[ii]
However there is no explicit mention of “Heaven” in these scriptures. The idea is inferred from what Jesus spoke of as the dwelling place. John Walvoord explained, “The revelation given in John 14 is to the point that the departure of Christ from earth to heaven is required in order to prepare a place for them in the Father’s house, used here as an expression equivalent to heaven.”[iii] Notwithstanding, we cannot forget about the dramatic picture in Revelation 21 which describes exactly what this “dwelling place” is that Jesus has been preparing for us—a massive “mansion with many rooms” descending out of heaven to make its final abode on earth.[iv] In verse 3 this “dwelling place” is explicitly defined as being on earth: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, He will dwell with them…” It is also important to see that when Jesus spoke of these things in John 14 he was talking about where we would ultimately live and not about a temporary get-away place.
Pretribulationists also assert that because of Romans 8:1 the Church has to be evacuated before the vials of God’s wrath are poured out. Gavin Hamilton writes, “Here is a sweet reminder that we are not ‘appointed unto wrath, but to obtain salvation’…this simply means that the wrath of the great tribulation era…shall not be our portion.”[v] Yet, as Robert Gundry notes, this is inconsistent with the fact that there will be saved people during the Great Tribulation:
But would not tribulational saints not belonging to the Church nevertheless be in Christ? Would not his blood justify them (Rev. 7:14!)? If not, how would they be saved? If so, why would they be in the tribulation, if the pretribulational line of reasoning is correct?[vi]
Being “caught up” is evidently not a translation into heaven. Such an idea seems to require a lot of theological hop-scotching and reading things into scripture. Perhaps it is just as simple as the Apostle Paul made it out to be: we meet Christ not in Heaven, but in the air.
It’s No Secret!
Paul writes to the Thessalonians that before this “catching up” takes place the Lord will give a cry of command with the voice of an archangel and the sound of the very trumpet of God. He makes it very clear that it will be no secret. There is nothing quiet or secretive about God giving a blast of his trumpet. In Exodus chapter 19:16 and 20:18 we see the first time God blasts his trumpet and that it was loud:
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off.
This was none other than the presence of God coming down. When Christ returns all the world will know it and behold it.
It commonly asserted that Revelation 3:10 is a promise of Jesus that he will take the Church out of the world to avoid the Great Tribulation. In it Jesus promises, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” If we allow scripture to interpret scripture we get an entirely different scenario here than what pretribulationists infer. In John 17:15 we find the same expression used by Jesus in a different context. Jesus says there, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” The word for “keep” in both of these expressions of Jesus is τηρέω which according to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary literally means “to guard”. It is more natural to read the text as simply meaning that Jesus would protect the Church from the hour of trial rather than attempting to make the word keep to mean remove. Jesus had every opportunity here to make the idea of a removal clear by the choice of his words if that was his intention, but he did not. One opportunity Jesus did take to speak of the timing of our removal was recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels. Jesus plainly stated, “Immediately after the tribulation … then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man [Jesus] … and he shall gather his elect”[vii] Whenever the New Testament speaks of the elect it invariably refers to the Church.[viii] Thus to read a different meaning in to this one particular saying would disharmonize scriptures.
Does not Weaken our Readiness But Strengthens It
Lahaye argues that “a church filled with imminence-consciousness is a church more prone to holy living in an unholy society.”[ix] Yet it is hard to understand how an escape from trial would cause us to wake up and live more holy lives. In fact, scripture teaches that we live more holy and sanctified lives when we are passed through refining fires. It is the testing and tribulation that wakes us up.[x] With the awareness of an impending tribulation soon to come upon the Church we are compelled to keep ourselves on guard and to be prepared for it. Instead of asking the question, “Are you ready for sudden rapture?”—which may appeal to un-saved people and get them into your church—it would be more compelling and profound to ask the question, “Are you ready for tribulation?” That sort of question would force non-believers to consider the cost of following Jesus and believers to consider their need for having real spiritual depth instead of a rest-easy kind of faith that doesn’t have to worry about fiery trials or deep testing of our devotion. Tribulation and persecution remind us that there is a great cost to being a Christian. Most of us who live in comfortable and secure communities and nations have a hard time understanding this, but if we want to live and walk according to the Gospel we will have to subject ourselves to the way of the cross just as our leader the Lord Jesus Christ did.
[i] LaHaye, Tim. No Fear of the Storm: Why Christians Will Escape All the Tribulation, (Multnomah Press Books, 1992), p.23.
[ii] Brindle, Wayne A. “Biblical Evidence for the Imminence of the Rapture”. Bibliotheca Sacra 158 (April-June 2001). p.140
[iii] Walvoord, John F. The Rapture Question, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI), 1979. p.70
[v] Hamilton, Gavin. The Rapture and the Great Tribulation, (Christian Press: Sydney, Australia). 1957. p.79
[vi] Gundry, Robert H. The Church and the Tribulation, (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI), 1973. p.45
[vii] Matthew 24:29–31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-27
[viii] See Romans 8:33, 11:7, 2 Timothy 2:10, Titus 1:1
[ix] LaHaye, Tim. No Fear of the Storm, p.65.
[x] John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Revelation 1:9 – “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus”
James 1:12 – “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 – “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 4:12 – “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”