When the Rapture occurs, who receives immortal bodies and meets Jesus in the air?
In responding to the grief of the Thessalonian believers, Paul clarified that all those who have previously died in Christ will participate in the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16). They will receive resurrected and immortal bodies first, after which Jesus will take them to glory (1 Corinthians 15:47-55; Philippians 3:20-21; John 14:2-3), no exceptions.
The apostle also settled the fate of living believers at the time of the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17:
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.
All living born-again believers will also participate in the Rapture, no exceptions.
But here’s where it gets a bit sticky as some erroneously teach that only believers who are watching and/or obedient will take part in the Rapture. Those who hold such a view tell us that wayward saints will require further purification during the Tribulation.
There are substantial problems with what’s known as the partial Rapture doctrine. First, it reconstructs the unbiblical Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory, albeit for living believers in this case. Second, it contradicts Paul’s teaching in the books of Ephesians and Romans regarding salvation by grace through faith, not of works. Justified saints don’t require further purification, they are already holy and blameless before the Lord (Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:8-9).
Third, it unduly favors those who have already died in Christ because it’s only living saints that face the possibility of remaining on the earth to endure the terrors of the Tribulation period. If the partial Rapture teaching is valid, a believer would be far better off being dead at the time of the Rapture since that would eliminate the possibility of being left behind. Fourth, there’s not one verse that suggests the possibility that some New Testament saints will remain on the earth after the Rapture occurs. Not one.
And lastly, the partial Rapture doctrine contradicts the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10:
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
Let me explain why these verses ensure that all living believers will take part in the Rapture.
It’s Not a Matter of Life or Death
Because the apostle wrote about the participation of both dead and living saints in the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, most readers assume the words “awake” and “asleep” in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 imply life and death. However, Paul uses different words in these verses than in the previous section, words that signify a different contrast, one that applies to living believers.
The Greek word for “awake” in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 is gregoreo, which denotes alertness or watchfulness. Earlier in the passage (5:6), Paul used this word along with that of being “sober” to portray the idea of temperance in one’s walk with the Lord versus that of drunkenness or carelessness. Together, they depict attentiveness in watching for Jesus’ appearing.
When it comes to our deliverance from the wrath of the Day of Lord (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3), those who are awake in the sense of watching for the Rapture will participate in it. The sense is that Jesus will rapture all those who are waiting and watching for His return.
The Greek word Paul used for “sleep” in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 is katheudo. This word almost always refers to someone who is sleeping rather than physically dead. Of the 22 times katheudo appears in the New Testament, there is only one instance where it might refer to someone who had already died. It’s not the same Greek word for that Paul used in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 to depict those who are “asleep” in the sense of having already died “in Christ.”
In 5:7, the apostle used katheudo as the opposite of gregoreo implying that those who are not watchful are asleep in their walk with the Lord, not dead. Since katheudo is the opposite of vigilance in regard to Jesus’ appearing, its sense more likely signifies indifference rather than that of physical death.
The opposite of watching for Jesus’ appearing is not that of physical death, but rather that of being asleep in the sense of not paying attention to the sings of the times and recognizing the nearness of the Rapture, a common malady among the saints today
The good news is that Paul doesn’t limit participation in the Rapture to those who are watching for it. That’s what he meant when he wrote “that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10). This interpretation fits rather well with the preceding verses where the contrast was between watching for Jesus’ appearing and not doing so.
The Similarities with the Olivet Discourse
There are at least three similarities between 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10 and Jesus’ warnings in the Olivet Discourse recorded in Matthew 24-25. First, in Matthew 24:42 and Mark 13:35 we find the same Greek word, gregoreo, that Paul later used to denote watching for the day of His return. Both passages stress watchfulness using the same word in the original.
Second, both the Lord and Paul used the identical imagery to depict the surprising start to God’s judgment on the earth. Paul described the sudden arrival of the Day of the Lord wrath as a “thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). Jesus also compared the unexpected nature of the onset of this time judgment upon the earth to a thief coming at night to rob a house (Matthew 24:42-43).
Although the books of Matthew and Mark were most likely not yet written when Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, it’s clear the apostle was familiar with what Jesus taught in the Olivet Discourse and likely taught from it while with his readers especially since Paul wrote that they were “fully aware” of the imagery of the “thief in the night.”
Third, in Matthew 24:45-51, Jesus told a parable to emphasize the necessity of watching, gregoreo, and readiness for His return. In His story, He lists drinking “with drunkards” as one of the faults of the servant who assumes that his master is not returning soon and as a result, behaves badly (to say the least). Interestingly enough, the apostle used soberness as an element of watchfulness for Jesus’ appearing and drunkenness to describe those not watching for it, whether they be believers or not (1 Thessalonians 5:6-7).
The Advantages of Watching
Since all born-again believers will participate in the Rapture, is there an advantage for those who watch for it? Does it really matter if we are awake or unaware of its nearness? I believe there are at least two key benefits.
First, those watching for Jesus’ appearing recognize that we live in the last days. We understand the times because of what Scripture reveals about the state of the world during the Tribulation. As a result, the rampant deception, lawlessness, senseless violence, and corruption of our day doesn’t surprise us because the Bible warned that the last days would look like this.
What we see greatly saddens us at times, but we rest in the assurance that Jesus will soon appear and justly deal with the evil so prevalent in our day.
Second, Paul later wrote that those love Jesus’ appearing will receive a “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). I believe that at the judgment seat of Christ, He will favorably recognize those saints who longed for His return. In some way, the Savior will honor those who valued the prospect of meeting Him in the air above temporal aspirations.
Maranatha!
My book, Invitation to a Lavish Feast – Wisdom’s Path to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, is available on Amazon or on the SkyWatchTV website. In it, I take the reader on a journey showing how the words of Scripture verify our beliefs in not only the restoration of Israel, but also our hope in Jesus’ soon appearing to take us home to glory. My goal is to provide believers with a solid biblical foundation for their anticipation of the Rapture before the Day of the Lord wrath overspreads the world.
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