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The Rapture of the Church Prior
to the Day of the LORD
The Day of the LORD and Believers in the Church Age Part 1: A Discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, The Thessalonian Christians and the Return of Christ to Gather Up the Church By James T. Bartsch From the very beginning of his first
letter to the Thessalonians Paul recounted their experience
and their expectation. Their Experience:
They had turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God (1
Thess. 1:9). Their Expectation:
“and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come” (1
Thess. 1:10).
They expected to be delivered from the wrath to come, which, in the
context of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, certainly included that aspect of the
“Day
of the Lord” known as the Tribulation
Period.
The Apostle Paul, in writing his first letter to the Thessalonian believers, made a point to enlighten them about the fate of those believers who had died. They, it seemed, were no longer able to “wait for His Son from heaven.” What would happen to them? Had they missed His "Parousia"? Paul wanted the surviving Thessalonians neither to be uninformed, nor to grieve as unbelievers, who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). He stated that when Jesus returned, God would bring the souls of the departed Church age believers back with Him (1 Thess. 4:14). At the coming (parousia, 1 Thess. 4:15) of Christ, those Christians who remained alive on earth would not have an advantage over those Christians who had already died (1 Thess. 4:15). Note that Paul placed himself in the category of believers who would still be alive at Christ's coming. He said, "we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:15) (emphasis mine). In other words, Paul portrayed this phase of Christ's parousia as an imminent event. It could happen at any time, and there were no intervening events (such as a time of terrible trouble upon the earth known as "the Great Tribulation" (Matt. 24:20-22, 29; Rev. 7:13-14), also known as "the day of the Lord" (1 Thess. 5:1-3; 2 Thess. 2:1-4)). Continuing, Paul revealed that Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. In response, the dead in Christ (deceased believers from the Church Age) will rise from their graves (1 Thess. 4:16). Then Christians who remain alive on earth will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in air, never again to be separated from the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17)! The grieving Thessalonians are to comfort one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:18). We call this snatching up of living believers and resurrected believers to be with the Lord the Rapture. One of its primary features is Reunion - a reunion with both deceased Christian loved ones as well as a reunion with Christ Himself. It should be noted that this expectation of the Church for the return (coming, parousia, 3952), of Jesus is presented as an imminent event. In other words, Paul gives no list of signs that must be fulfilled prior to that event (1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1; James 5:7-8; 2 Pet. 3:4; 1 John 2:28). By contrast, there are multiple signs that must be fulfilled before that phase of Christ's parousia we call the Second Coming, in which He returns for retribution and judgment in preparation for reigning here upon earth (Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 2 Thess. 2:8). See also Zechariah 14:1-21; 2 Thess. 1:6-10; Rev. 19:11 - 20:6. Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, and the Book of Revelation, chapters 6-18, all of which are replete with signs that must precede the Second Phase of Christ's Parousia. We should also note that Christ's Parousia for the purposes of Reunion (the Rapture), is presented as occurring prior to that aspect of the Day of the Lord known as the Tribulation, a time of wrath. Paul first portrays the Rapture of the Church as a glorious hope and comfort to the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Immediately following, he assures them that they are not destined for the wrath of the Day of the Lord, here to be defined as that time of great trouble known as the Great Tribulation (1 Thess. 5:1-11). He has already assured them that Christ's coming for them would exempt them from the coming wrath (1 Thess. 1:9-10), which by definition, must include the wrath of the Great Tribulation. He will again reassure them of that in his second letter (2 Thess. 2:1-12). Thus, WordExplain is justified in espousing a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, as opposed to a Post-Tribulation Rapture, which most of Christendom espouses. This Pre-Tribulation Rapture position is based on a solid, literal exegesis of God's Word, not on some narcissism that pleads for exemption from persecution. Those of us who espouse a Pre-Tribulation Rapture are fully aware that all Christians, in greater or lesser degrees, suffer persecution and trouble in this life. That is inevitable. One has only to examine the suffering of the Thessalonian Church, the pages of Church history, and the events of the present day to understand that reality. |
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