“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.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV
Reflection: when the Lord says He will appear “in the clouds”, what comes to mind?
If we were to pick out the top verses in the Bible that have caused the most controversy and division, perhaps even fear among Christians, our focus verse today has to be towards the top of that list. The theology of a so-called “rapture” is mainly based on this verse, where many books have been written and even Hollywood has gotten in on the action. So we have to ask ourselves, why is this verse so controversial? And, since it is controversial, why would the Lord even allow Paul to write such a verse? To be fair, there are obviously many controversial verses in the Bible, as God’s commandments and plan for salvation goes against the world system, and against man’s selfishness. So let’s try to understand the purpose of the verse.
The paragraph this verse is included in, ends with the following “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:18 ESV. So, this whole paragraph was written for encouragement, and therefore clearly not to cause controversy and division. Let’s read from the beginning of the paragraph, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 ESV. So the first, the key topic Paul is addressing here, is about what happens to those who have already passed away, died, which here is referred to as “being asleep”. The Greek word used for asleep here also means metaphorically in a biblical context to have died. And, the word is here to give hope and encouragement to the believers, that “through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
What happens to the saints when they die appears to be the main point Paul wants to address, which must have been an important concern for the church in Thessaloniki. But, Paul goes on and also adds some additional details about what happens to those who still are alive, when the Lord Jesus appears. And this is what causes the controversy. So let’s look at three topics Paul writes about. Please note that I am not writing to convince you of anything, just looking at what the scripture says. The first topic is the phrase “caught up”, as we read “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them”. The Greek word is harpazō and means to be snatched away, to be seized or carried off by force. In other words, there will be a separation at the day of the Lord.
The second topic is “the clouds”, or “in the clouds to meet the Lord”. And this is probably the one phrase that cause the most controversy. Because, we associate clouds with what we see “up” in the sky above us. So this idea of clouds, with the previous of being “snatched away” leads to an easy conclusion that Christians will somehow be lifted up into the clouds. But let’s be careful here. The cloud reference in biblical context is the presence of the glory of the Lord, and it is written about all throughout the Bible; both in Old and New Testament It is not a white, puffy thing floating up in the sky. We see for instance this cloud glory appears when Jesus was transfigured. Let’s read.
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.””Matthew 17:1-5 ESV. Luke adds also that they were afraid as they entered the cloud. “As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”” Luke 9:28-35 ESV.
Notice that Jesus is not lifted up into the clouds during the transfiguration as many artists have painted. Because we think of physical clouds “up in the sky”. This cloud, the glory of the Lord, walked with the Israelites through the waters and in the desert, and will again appear “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” Revelation 1:7 ESV. Which brings us to the last topic of our focus verse “the air”, as in the phrase “o meet the Lord in the air,”. The word used in Greek is aēr, which actually means “the air, particularly the lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air; the atmospheric region” Which makes it even more clear that we will meet the Lord “in this atmosphere”, and not up in the sky or some physical clouds.
The Lord is coming, like a thief in the night for those who have rejected Christ. Perhaps in our earthly lifetime. “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 ESV
