PAUL DIDN’T BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE. NEITHER DID JESUS. NEITHER SHOULD YOU.
In
Theology by
Kurt Willems
The rapture.
This is still one of the most influential beliefs in pockets of Christianity.
The old mantra goes, “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”
But is that true? Are we just sort of stuck here until something apocalyptic happens like the second coming of Christ, the rise of the anti-Christ, and a rapture?
Of course, this belief is usually combined with something that gets referred to as the Great Tribulation.
Although I won’t have time in a single article, I want to demonstrate what I’ve come to understand of bothJesus and Paul: neither of them taught or believed in something like a rapture.[clickToTweet tweet=”Neither Jesus or Paul taught or believed in something like a rapture.” quote=”Jesus and Paul: neither of them taught or believed in something like a rapture”]
I’m going to invite you to consider whether or not you should believe in the rapture either.
PAUL’S “RAPTURE”
The famous “rapture” passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 4.15-17 and reads:
According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
This passage, when placed in the larger context of the chapter, is answering questions that Christians in Thessalonica had concerning death.
What has happened to our loved ones who have died before the return of Christ to earth? What is theirs and our ultimate destiny?
Paul’s answer: bodily resurrection at the return of Christ to earth. Not an escape into the sky (on this point, see especially 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 8).
“AIR” DOESN’T MEAN “WAY UP IN THE SKY”
Nowhere does this passage make a claim about an escape into the sky. In fact, the Greek word for “air” (which many Christian interpreters have associated with “sky”) that Paul uses is interesting in and of itself. It looks like this—
ἀήρ—and means in Greek:
1) the air, particularly the lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air 2)the atmospheric region[1]
Notice the important point: this sort of “air” is the “lower” region of the atmosphere, specifically differentiated from the “higher and rarer air.” The Greek word οὐρανός (often translated “heaven”) has a different meaning when used as “air” than ἀήρ.
Rather than referring to the “lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air,” it means:
1. the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it
- a. the universe, the world
- b. the aerial heavens or sky, the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, and where thunder and lightning are produced
- c. the sidereal or starry heavens
2. the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings[2]
Just for fun, I want to break down this word a bit. [By the way, I’m not using any fancy books to do this. These sorts of tools can be used online, even for folks with little familiarity with Greek. I link this stuff below.]
- Acts 22:23
…εἰς τὸν ἀέρ
…dust into the air,
- 1Co 9:26
…ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων·
…one that beateth the air:
- 1Co 14:9
…γὰρ εἰς ἀέρα λαλοῦντες.
…shall speak into the air.
- Eph 2:2
…ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος τοῦ πνεύματος…
…power of the air, the spirit that…
- 1Th 4:17
…κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα καὶ οὕτως…
…the Lord in the air: and so shall…
- Rev 9:2
…καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ ἐκ τοῦ…
…sun and the air were darkened by…
- Rev 16:17
…ἐπὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ ἐξῆλθεν…
…vial into the air; and there came…
It seems that the difference between these two words matters for our study. The word in the 1 Thessalonians text indicates the “air” of the “lower” region as opposed to the “heavens” as οὐρανός can also be translated (heavens – 24x, heavenly – 1, heaven – 218).
In other words, Paul had an option to use either of the words to talk about the “air” but he chose to use the word that refers mostly to the lower atmospheric region.
This should already make us wonder.
But, it isn’t enough to win us over yet. Because there remains a series mixed metaphors that need to be addressed. Even more than the word “air,” these are what contribute to a “rapture” reading of Paul.
We will find that Paul never had in mind a future event where Christians would be evacuated out of this planet. And this has nothing to do about the timing of such an event.
Paul never imagined a pre-, mid-, or post- Tribulation rapture. Why? Well, because just like Jesus, he had no concept of a way distant future Great Tribulation. More on that in a moment. Let’s consider Paul’s challenging language before we jump ahead, briefly, to Jesus.