Paul and the Rapture — Part 3

The “rapture passage” (1 Thess 4:13–5:11) creates problems for the current prophetic models.¹ Their interpretations implicate Paul in error. They portray him as naïve and inconsistent.² They do not take the Olivet Discourse to be “the word of the Lord” to which Paul appeals (1 Thess 4:15), even though the two passages appear almost identical.³

This post will give inmillennialism’s interpretation of this passage. Some ideas here will be unfamiliar to most readers. We encourage them to examine the scriptural evidence for each concept. 

This is, of necessity, a longer post than usual. We ask for a patient and thorough reading. If questions remain, please submit them in the comment box at the bottom of this post.

Key Terms

Inmillennialism’s view of 1 Thess 4:13–5:11 depends on a few key terms. We have discussed most in previous posts. The following paragraphs provide brief summaries for easy reference.

Last Days

The “last days” in Scripture almost always means the final period of the Mosaic age. They began with the coming of Christ and ended with the Temple’s fall in AD 70.⁴

Parousia

Most translations have “the coming of the Lord” (or something similar) in 1 Thess 4:15. The word “coming” translates the Greek word “parousia.” 

This translation suggests a point-in-time event. It creates a mental image of Christ’s “coming” that is the opposite of his “going” into heaven (Acts 1:11). This translation implies the “coming” occurs on “the day of the Lord” (1 Thess 5:2). These ideas cause some problems we listed in our last two posts.⁵ 

Inmillennialism uses the word “presence” to translate parousia. It means a state of being, a condition that lasts over a period. Its opposite is “absence,” not “going” (Phil 2:12). Christ’s parousia—his “presence”—began during the “last days.”⁶ It will remain with his churches during the messianic age.

We have discussed (here) how the apostles thought in terms of two ages. They knew the Temple’s fall would end the Mosaic age. It would also complete the transition to the messianic age. They called the new age the parousia of Christ. In it, his “presence” would dwell with his people according to the new covenant (Jer 31:31–34; Heb 8:6–13).

We have discussed these matters in our glossary (here) and in a previous post (here).

Day of the Lord

The “day of the Lord” is a period during which God judges a people. For example, an earlier “day of the Lord” brought God’s judgment on Judah (Zeph 1:14–18). This day “commenced with the death of the good king Josiah, who was slain by Pharaoh-necho at Megiddo, and continued to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.”⁷ In this “day of the Lord,” the Babylonians destroyed the first Temple in 587 BC.

Prophecies of these “days of the Lord” contain common prophetic images. They speak of darkness, wrath, clouds, cosmic collapse, trumpets, fire, etc. For example, Isaiah foretold God’s judgment of Babylon in “the day of the Lord.” He used a mother’s travail, desolation, cosmic collapse, etc. to describe it (Isa 13:6–13).

In the New Testament, “the day of the Lord” often refers to God’s judgment of Israel. Jesus described it in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24–25; Mark 13; and Luke 21:5–38). He said it would happen in his generation (Matt 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32). 

In the “rapture passage,” Paul repeats Jesus’s description of this “day of the Lord” (1 Thess 5:2). It came in the “great tribulation” of AD 66–70 (Matt 24:21; cp. Rev. 7:14).

Resurrection

Paul used the same word (Gk. anistēmi) to represent the resurrection of both Jesus and the saints (1 Thess 4:14, 16). Jesus died and “stood up.” In like manner, believers who die will “stand up.” The nature of the resurrections is the same in both cases. These resurrections produce empty graves (cp. John 5:28–29; Matt 28:6).⁸ We will discuss their timing below.

The Thessalonians’ Concern

The Thessalonians worried about their deceased brothers and sisters (1 Thess 4:13). Paul does not tell us the precise nature of their concern. But, we can get enough information from his response to meet our needs.

Paul says, “we which are alive and remain unto the coming (parousia) of the Lord shall not prevent (phthanein) them which are asleep” (1 Thess 4:15). “Prevent” in this case means “to go before,” or “precede.”

Paul mentions an order in the resurrection. The dead rise first and the living saints second (1 Thess 4:16–17). But, “The interval separating the two groups will be infinitesimally small by human reckoning.”⁹ Paul’s main point did not focus on this small time difference.

F. F. Bruce makes some helpful comments on this verse. “The verb [phthanein] means to anticipate someone in doing something. Presumably, the Thessalonian Christians had wondered if those of their number who had died would suffer any disadvantage through not being alive to witness the Parousia.”¹⁰ For living saints to “precede” the dead saints would be for them to have an advantage. A logical difference in time implies a difference in blessing and status.

William Hendriksen makes the same point.

Verse 15 . . . shows that in no sense whatever will those who are still on earth at the return have any advantage over those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. The inspired writer expresses it this way: For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we, those who remain alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall have no advantage at all over those who fall asleep.¹¹

These observations support the following translation. “For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming (parousia) will certainly have no advantage over (phthanein) those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess 4:15, HCSB¹²; emphasis added).

This statement summarizes the Thessalonians’ concern.

A Key Concept

Inmillennialism’s explanation of 1 Thess 4:16–17 uses a little-discussed concept. Ken Gentry mentions it while speaking about John’s vision of the Bride of Christ in Revelation.

The picture he presents is . . . protensive: He looks at the end results of the present redemptive reality. This protensive view is common in Scripture, as when we read of “new wine” being found in the “cluster” (Isa. 65:8). Obviously grapes are found in clusters, not the end product of new wine. But the inherent quality of the grape to produce wine and its common usage for such allow the poet to see the developing wine through the original product. John is able to see in the historic, persecuted first-century church the beauty that is hers—because of her . . . future glory.¹³

Inmillennialism uses this “protensive¹⁴ view.”

The apostles often summarize the “last days”¹⁵ using this view. They use it to link this period to the messianic age. Often they concentrate on the resurrection and other events at the end of the messianic age. They show the “wine” of the resurrection in the “cluster” of the last days of the Mosaic age.

We saw an example of this protensive outlook in a recent post (here). John says, “If he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is” (1 John 3:2, ASV). Christ’s “manifestation” occurred in the “last days” of the Mosaic age. Christian’s being “like him” and seeing “him as he is” will happen at the end of the messianic age.

As we saw in that post, we can think of this view in terms of “if-then” logic. We can use this logic to amplify John’s statement. “If Christ appears in his generation as he promised—the Mosaic age will end. The messianic age will continue. Then—in the new age of resurrection—God will make us like Christ. He will glorify the saints in the resurrection at the end of the messianic age.”

The “wine” of our Christ-likeness was in the “cluster” of his manifestation.

Here is a template for the protensive view in apostolic logic:

If [the “last days” events] occur, then [the messianic age events] will occur. 

We will provide several examples of this pattern. In each, the “if” part comprises events in the “last days” of the Mosaic age. The “then” part encompasses messianic age events. Here, we will restrict the “then” part to the resurrection and final judgment. Paul says,

If [“Christ was raised up from the dead”], then [“we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection”] (Rom 6:4–5).

If [“Christ both died, and rose, and revived”], then [“we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” at the end of the messianic age] (Rom 14:9–12). 

If [God “raised up Jesus from the dead”], then [he “shall also quicken your mortal bodies”] (Rom 8:11).

If [“God . . . raised up the Lord”], then [he “will also raise up us”] (1 Cor 6:14). 

If [“Christ (is) risen from the dead”], then [“they that are Christ’s” will rise] (1 Cor 15:20–23).  

If [God “raised up the Lord Jesus”], then [(he) “shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you”] (2 Cor 4:14)

If [God destroys the (Jewish) enemies of Christ], then [he will “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body] (Phil 3:19–21; cp. Phil 3:2–8)

This list shows the protensive view is common in Paul’s writings. He often relates events in the “last days” of the Mosaic age to those at the end of the messianic age.

In 1 Thess 4:16, Paul’s “if” comprises the signs Jesus listed in the Olivet Discourse. We provided a list of these in our last post (here). His “then” includes the resurrection. This combination produces Paul’s normal structure:

If [“the Lord . . . descends from heaven with a shout,” etc.], then [“the dead in Christ shall rise”] (1 Thess 4:16). 

As in each of the above examples, the “if” part occurs in the “last days” of the Mosaic age. Christ’s resurrection is an example. The “then” part happens at the end of the messianic age. Our resurrection, for example. 

The “wine” at the end of the messianic age was in the “cluster” of the last days of the Mosaic age. 

Paul’s Response

We can expand our analysis of Paul’s use of protensive language in the “rapture passage.” Paul is saying, if [God fulfills Jesus’s Olivet Discourse prophecies], then [the Thessalonian dead will stand in the resurrection, even though they did not live to see the events that brought the parousia] (1 Thess 4:13–5:11).

Christians who lived to see the Temple fall would enter the parousia of Christ (Matt 24:1–3, 34; cp. Matt 16:27–28). But, they would “certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess 4:15, HCSB; emphasis added). 

Dead Christians are with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). God will bring them with Jesus (1 Thess 4:14) at the end of the messianic age. There was no need for the Thessalonians to worry.

Paul’s later writings confirm this understanding. He wrote Romans after responding to the Thessalonians’ concern. He adds an interesting element to his “if” in Rom 14:9–12. “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom 14:9; emphasis added). Paul did not want the Romans to fret over deceased saints as the Thessalonians had done. Their dead were with the Lord.

The apostle John’s later writings also make this point. Here is his description of departed saints in the messianic age. 

And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4–5; emphasis added)

Whether these saints lived to see the Temple fall does not affect their status. Those who lived to see it “certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess 4:15, HCSB). All saints live with Christ. They will all rise on equal footing.

An Amplified Rendering of the “Rapture Passage”

The following amplified rendering shows Paul’s “rapture passage” from an inmillennial perspective. The text of Scripture appears in bold.

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians. . . . 

[I have heard about your concern for those who have died since I was with you. The Temple is still standing. God has not completed the transition from the Mosaic age to the age of Christ’s parousia (presence). You fear the saints who died before this event will be at some disadvantage in the messianic age.] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. [So, you need not fear. God will raise your loved ones from the dead. He which raised up the Lord Jesus at the start of the messianic age shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you—all of you—at the end of the messianic age.”¹⁶] 

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord [which he gave in the Olivet Discourse], that we which are alive and remain unto the [parousia (presence)] of the Lord shall not [have an advantage over] them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. [He told us about these events in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:1–3, 30–31). They will complete the transition from the Mosaic age to the messianic age. During the new age, the parousia (or presence) of Christ will dwell with his people.]: and [at the end of that age] the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain [until the soon-coming parousia (Matt 24:27, 34)] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [So, as I said, those of us who enter the parousia will have no advantage over those who do not.] Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. [Jesus said his parousia will come in our generation (Matt 24:3, 27, 34). Some of us will live to see it. Most will not (Matt 16:27–28). Jesus did not reveal the day or hour for these events (Matt 24:36).] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord [that will bring God’s judgment against apostate Israel] so cometh as a thief in the night [Matt 24:43]. For when they [i.e., the Jews, who enjoyed great advantages in the Mosaic age] shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child [Matt 24:8]; and they shall not escape. [ As I said earlier, “the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess 2:16). In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said, “These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:22).]

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [You know “the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night (of the Mosaic age) is far spent, the day (of the parousia, or messianic age) is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Rom 13:11–12).]

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. [Matt 24:42, 49] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. [Let us live the kingdom-age lifestyle Jesus described in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7).] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep [—whether we die before or live to the parousia —], we should live together with him [both in the messianic age and in the eternal state that follows it]. 

[So, whether or not you or your brothers live to see the parousia has nothing to do with life during or beyond the messianic age. This experience will not affect one’s resurrection-status at the end of the messianic age.] Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” 

—1 Thess 1:1; 4:13–5:11

Conclusion

Inmillennialism offers a view of the “rapture passage” that clears Paul of charges made against him. Some of his contemporaries did live to see the parousia (presence) of Christ. His “rapture passage” is consistent with his other writings. He was not naïve—a letter could have persuaded the Thessalonians “the day of the Lord” had happened.

This position on the “rapture passage” conforms to the orthodox historic Christian faith. It aligns well with, for example, paragraphs 31 and 32 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.¹⁷ 

This view also accounts for Paul’s flow of thought in this letter. We will show this in our next post if the Lord wills. 

1. For a description of these models, see our post Comparison of Prophetic Models.
2. We saw this in Paul and the Rapture — Part 1.
3. We saw this in Paul and the Rapture — Part 2.
4. We saw this in The Great Tribulation: a Sign of the Temple’s Destruction. For more on this topic, click on the “Last Days” tag at the bottom of this post.
5. Which we have already mentioned Paul and the Rapture — Part 1 and Paul and the Rapture — Part 2.
6. As defined above.
7. Adam Clarke, The Old and New Testaments With a Commentary and Critical Notes (Nashville: Abingdon, [1970?]), 4:755.
8. The image in this post is Jesus’s Tomb by Geagea. This file (here) is licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0
9. Robert L. Thomas, “1 Thessalonians,” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein and J.D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 279.
10. F. F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary 45, eds. David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982), 99.
11. William Hendriksen, First and Second Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953), 114. Bold type in the original.
12. The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009.
13. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Book of Revelation Made Easy: You Can Understand Bible Prophecy (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2010), 128. Emphasis in original.
14. Many dictionaries do not list “protensive.” It means “having continuance in time” or “having lengthwise extent.”—Philip Babcock Gove, ed., Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1981), s.v. protensive.
15. As defined above.
16. 2 Cor 4:14; cp. 1 Cor 15:20–23
17. The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism (Birmingham, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2010), 65–68.