What Does 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Mean?

What Does 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  Mean?

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain 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.” 
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 

This verse is given as “proof” of a pre-tribulation rapture. Of course it says nothing about a tribulation, but it seems to be the only verse that even vaguely supports the eschatology of those who believe this.

The sensational idea we will be “caught up into the clouds” to be rescued from a great tribulation does not explain why the “dead in Christ” need to be rescued.

So what is this verse talking about? If we are not being snatched away to heaven, what is happening?

Apantesis, the Greek word translated “meet”  in 1 Thessalonians 4, is, according to the Souter Lexicon, “almost technical for the arrival of a newly arrived official.” The idea is to meet to honor and escort.

In ancient times, when a king visited, the people would go out to meet him and escort him back to town. Those welcoming the official would change direction after the meeting and then escort him back to the town from which they had come, not back to his place of origin (see Moulton, Greek Testament Grammar, Vol.1, p.14).

Apantesis is used four times in the Bible. In Matthew 25:1,6, Acts 28:15 and in 1 Thessalonians 4.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Matthew 25:1

 “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Matthew 25:6

“And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.” Acts 28:15

Notice in Matthew, it is revealed that the virgins had been waiting for the bridegroom to appear. When He did, they met him and escorted him to the banquet hall.
They did not go back with him to the place from which he came.

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” Matthew 25:10

The bridegroom did not change directions, reverse course after the waiting virgins met him. Rather, he kept on coming in the original direction from which he started. The ones who changed direction were the virgins.

In Acts, the brethren came out and escorted Paul back to Rome. After they met him they did not return to Caesarea with Paul (which was his place of beginning for this trip). Paul did not change directions after the waiting brothers met him; rather, he maintained his course to Rome. The ones who changed direction were those who met him.

The Lord’s coming is not our going. It is His coming! We will not be caught up to escape anything,. We will be meeting him in the air to honor him in his coming and escort him back to earth.

No matter one’s eschatology, nothing can be proved from this verse other than that this is the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13

It is the time of His glory and honor. “When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10

We are caught up to honor him and escort him to earth.

(PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, BUT KEEP IT NICE. THANK YOU.)

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What is "the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven?"

Matthew 24:30 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

What is "the sign?" The sign is the Son of Man in Heaven. Will Christ return for his church? I believe so. And he will return with all glory and dominion which was given him when he sat at the right hand of the Father. But I believe the sign mentioned in this verse is that the "Son of Man" is in Heaven. He has been given the same glory and dominion as the Father.

What is the " Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven?"

Daniel 7:13-14 "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

Not this.

So many Christians read Matthew 24:30 and immediately the get the idea of Jesus riding a cloud and returning to earth. But when we compare the verse to to the very same phrase in Daniel's prophecy, we see Jesus is not coming down in Matthew 24, but he is going up. Up to the throne of God where ALL dominion and glory was given to him.

Jesus referred to this part of Daniel's prophecy when he addressed Caiaphas, the high priest, at his trial.

Mark 14:60-64 "And the high priest (Caiaphas) stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death."

Jesus claimed to be that very "Son of Man" that would be given ALL DOMINION AND GLORY. Now we know that these things belong only to God, so Jesus was saying that, yes, he was (he is) God.This was the great blasphemy the Jews used to condemn him.

Mark 14:62 "And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

I welcome comments and corrections. I do not welcome argumentation and contention.

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When The Whole World Heard The Gospel: Matthew 24 Fulfilled.

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, known as the Olivet Discourse, the disciples have asked Jesus when the temple would be destroyed. Jesus said the destruction of the temple, and Jerusalem, would come when the gospel of the kingdom had been preached to all the world.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14
Has this prophesy been fulfilled? Was the gospel of the kingdom preached "in all the world" before the destruction of Jerusalem?
I’ve checked the Olivet Discourse in all three gospels, and the disciples never ask about when Jesus is going to establish His kingdom. They ask about when the temple will be destroyed, and in Matthew’s gospel, additionally, about the end of the age, which was in the process of passing away (Heb. 1:1-2; 9:26-27; 1 Cor. 10:11).
Hebrews 1:1-2  "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"
Hebrews 9:26-27 "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" This is the end of the world as the Jews knew. The end of the age - the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new covenant.
1 Corinthians 10:11 "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." The ends of the "world," or the age, was coming on those who were the recipients of Paul's letter. "The ends of the world are come," not "will come." It was a present and looming event. (Emphasis mine.)
The word translated "world" in Matthew 24:14 is oikoumenē not kosmos. The same word is used in Luke 2:1, where it says, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed." Comparing the scriptures, it is clear that the understanding of the word "world" does not mean the world as we know it, but rather, the known world of Jesus' time.
"The ecumene (US) or oecumene (UK; Greek: οἰκουμένη, oikouménē, lit. "inhabited") was an ancient Greek term for the known world, the inhabited world, or the habitable world. Under the Roman Empire, it came to refer to civilization and the secular and religious imperial administration." Ecumene - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumene
So we must ask, was the gospel of the kingdom preached in all the world?
We know from the epistles that this prediction had been fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem that took place in AD 70 (Rom. 1:8; Rom. 16:25–26; Col. 1:6, 23; 1 Tim. 3:16).
Romans 1:8 "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world." When Paul wrote to the Romans, he commended them that their faith was known and spoken of "throughout the whole world." Does this mean that the Chinese and the natives of the Americas had heard of the faith of the Romans? No. It spoke of the known world, the same one Jesus spoke of. This is the only way the first century disciples could have understood these words.
Romans 16:25-26 "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:"  Again, Paul says that the gospel was made known to all nations. Not "will be," but "now is made manifest." It was finished then, not in the future.
Colossians 1:6 "Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:" Again, as it is in all the world. It was a present and known thing, not a future event.
1 Timothy 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." Christ had been preached unto the Gentiles and believed on "in the world," not in part of the world. Certainly, not the world as we know it today, but the world as known to those who received Paul's letter. The world as known to Jesus' audience.
Luke’s version does mention the kingdom. But notice the audience reference: “So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” (Luke 21:31). The kingdom of God was near to them: “when YOU see these things.” Jesus said that those very disciples hearing his words would see these things that were leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He did NOT say, "when THEY see these things."
John the Baptist had proclaimed, as the forerunner to Jesus’ ministry, “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2). We know that the word “near” means “near,” not some distant time in the future. In fact, the context of Luke 21 confirms this.
Luke 21:30 "When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand." Jesus wasn't saying that when the leaves appeared on the fig tree that summer is at some undisclosed, far future time. He said it was coming then.
Jesus follows this promise with the following: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.” Luke 21:32. "This generation" is always a reference to the generation to whom Jesus was speaking.
It is certainly a sad tragedy that hysterical speculators on Bible prophecy would take those signs of Matthew 24, that have to do solely with the destruction of ancient Jerusalem, and attempt to give them a modern application in the context of a world war!
Jesus was addressing the people of his time. The end of the age was when the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D 70. This was a pivotal time in age of the Sadducees , the Pharisees and fledgling Christianity. The Sadducees eventually faded out, the Pharisees morphed in Rabbinical Judaism and dispersed. Christianity ceased to be seen as a sect of Judaism, but as a distinct religious system.
Jesus' words were true and came to pass as he prophesied.

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All scriptures from the KJV