The classic rapture theory is based on 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and says that Christians will be “caught up in the air” with Christ and then head off to heaven for a period of time (between three and a half to seven years, depending on the interpretation). According to this theory, God “raptures” the church out of the world so that he can use this time to deal directly with the Jewish people to fulfill all remaining Old Testament covenantal promises.
Our perspective at Woodland Hills is that this rapture theory is a misinterpretation. To understand Paul’s teaching here, it is important to consider the context of the ancient Greco-Roman world. In ancient Rome, there was a common ritual associated with the return of a victorious military leader and his army after a war. When the people of the city, who were waiting to celebrate the victory, finally saw the army out on the distant horizon, they would leave the city to meet the general and escort him back to the city in a celebratory parade. Examples of this are found in ancient writings about Caesar’s or Pompey’s triumphal return to Rome after their military victories.
In this passage in Thessalonians, Paul applies this ancient idea to say that, at the end of the age when Jesus has fully completed his victorious defeat of the kingdom of darkness (including Satan, sin and death), he will “return” to Earth. Paul uses standard apocalyptic imagery of Jesus returning “on the clouds” and with a “sound of a trumpet” to meet Christians “in the air.” This is simply a symbolic expression of Jesus’ returning in glorious fashion. In first century thinking, the “air” was the domain of spiritual authority immediately over the earth, so when Paul says we shall meet the Lord “in the air,” he is saying we will greet him as Jesus assumes authority over the earth and then usher and celebrate in his eternal victory over evil and reign over the earth. As he does so, the Christians who are still alive will “meet him in the air” and escort him on the rest of his journey back to Earth as a way of celebrating his complete victory over evil.
Recommended Resources
- Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture by Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener
