Tag: perileipo

1 Thessalonians 4:17 – Glorious Meeting

Posted on by Will

Afterwards we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Truth to Learn

Living Christians will join the “dead in Christ” at the rapture.

 

Behind the Words

“Afterwards” is from the Greek word epeita, which is made up of epi meaning “upon” or “at” and eita, a particle of succession. Hence, epeita means “then,” “afterwards,” or “next.”

The words “who are alive” are translated from dzao, meaning “to live.” It is preceded by the plural definite article oi, thus it could be translated “the living ones.”

“Remain” is from the Greek word perileipō, which we saw a couple verses back, meaning “the ones left behind” or “the remaining ones.” When we combine this with oi dzaō, which we just talked about, it means “the remaining living ones.”

“Shall be caught up” is the translation of the Greek verb harpadzō. This verb means “to seize by force” or “to snatch away.” In the Latin translation of the Bible it is translated as a form of rapare, from which we get the English word rapture.

The words “together with” are from two Greek words. They are hama, meaning “at the same time” and sun, meaning “with.”

Nephelē is the word translated “clouds.” This is the diminutive form of nephos, meaning “clouds.” Thus, nephelē literally means “little clouds” or “cloudiness.” The Greek text does not contain the definite article (the), so a more accurate translation would be “in clouds,” not “in the clouds.”

“Meet” is from apantēsis, a form of apantaō, meaning “to meet, coming from different directions.” The form of apantēsis used here literally means “a meeting.”

“In the air” is from eis aera, meaning “into air” or “into the atmosphere.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse we learned that those “who sleep in Jesus,” Christians who have died physically, will be raised from the dead first. Now we learn that right afterwards, Christians who have not yet died will be snatched away from the earth. These two groups of Christians will be joined together in clouds. This could be a description of the weather conditions at the time (cloudiness) or, more likely, it means that there will be clouds of people being raised up off the earth for a meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ.

This glorious meeting will take place “in the air” or “in the earth’s atmosphere.” This is a significant statement because it indicates that our Lord will not come to the surface of the earth, just into the atmosphere. In other words, this is not “the second coming of the Lord,” which occurs on the “Day of the Lord.” According to the prophet Zechariah, on the day of the Lord, the Messiah will come to the surface of the earth and stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:1-4). Remember, the day of Christ (the rapture) is a time of celebration and joy, whereas the Day of the Lord is a day of judgment and woe.

From the moment of the rapture, for the rest of eternity, we will be with our Lord. Also, note again that Paul says “we who are alive.” Paul expected to be alive for the rapture.

 

Application

If you have committed yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ through belief of His death and resurrection, you will be part of the rapture. Are you looking forward to this event which could happen any day now? I sure am!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 4:15 – Any Day Now

Posted on by Will

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Truth to Learn

The rapture could happen any day now!

 

Behind the Words

The word “alive” is from the verb dzaō, which means “to be alive” or “to have life.” It is expressed here as a present participle, so it could be translated as “the living.”

“Remain” is translated from perileipō. This word is made up of peri, meaning “around” and leipō, meaning “to leave” or “to have a lack of something.” Hence, perileipō means “to leave around” or “to leave behind.” This verb is also expressed as a present participle, so it could be translated as “the ones left behind” (when the others died).

Parousia is the Greek word translated “coming.” This word is derived from pareimi, meaning “to be present.” It can refer either to the presence of something or it can refer to the coming of someone into our presence.

“By no means” is the translation of the two Greek words ou mē. Ou represents the absolute negative and mē represents the relative negative. When the two words are used together it indicates the strongest form of a negative, meaning “absolutely not” or “no way.”

The word translated “precede” is phthanō, which means “to be beforehand” or “to precede.” When the King James Version of the Bible was by far the most frequently read translation, many people became confused about this verse. The reason is that the word phthanō was translated as “prevent.” At the time the KJV was translated, the word “prevent” meant “to come before,” not “to keep from happening” as it does today. Nearly all modern translations use the word “precede,” meaning “to happen before something else.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is currently teaching about the rapture, indicating in verse thirteen that it is a future hope that belongs to all Christians. In yesterday’s verse we learned that when Jesus Christ comes back at the rapture, He will bring with him everyone who has died having a saving faith in his work on the cross.

He now makes a statement about why we should believe what he is telling us. He says, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.” In other words, this is not just some hair brained idea that Paul came up with. This is teaching directly from the mouth of God, His Word.

Some Christians believe that this is a description of the “second coming of our Lord” which takes place at the end of the tribulation as described in Revelation 19:11-14. However, in that passage (verse 14) those who come with Him are clothed in fine linen, white and clean. This is an indication that those who come with Him have already been presented before the Father, which must occur after the Bema Seat Judgment, which happens after the Rapture. Therefore, this must be a description of the Rapture and not the Second Coming.

Paul’s message here is that Christians who are alive at the time of the rapture will not receive their heavenly bodies before those who are asleep in Jesus (Christians who have died). Finally, notice that Paul said “we who remain.” He fully expected the rapture to occur within his lifetime!

 

Application

The rapture hasn’t happened yet, but we (like Paul) believe it could occur any day now. Christians should be serving God faithfully now, looking forward to Christ’s return when “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 4:15 – Any Day Now

Posted on by Will

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Truth to Learn

The rapture could happen any day now!

Behind the Words

The word “alive” is from the verb dzaō, which means “to be alive” or “to have life.” It is expressed here as a present participle, so it could be translated as “the living.”

“Remain” is translated from perileipō. This word is made up of peri, meaning “around” and leipō, meaning “to leave” or “to have a lack of something.” Hence, perileipō means “to leave around” or “to leave behind.” This verb is also expressed as a present participle, so it could be translated as “the ones left behind” (when the others died).

Parousia is the Greek word translated “coming.” This word is derived from pareimi, meaning “to be present.” It can refer either to the presence of something or it can refer to the coming of someone into our presence.

“By no means” is the translation of the two Greek words ou mē. Ou represents the absolute negative and mē represents the relative negative. When the two words are used together it indicates the strongest form of a negative, meaning “absolutely not” or “no way.”

The word translated “precede” is phthanō, which means “to be beforehand” or “to precede.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is currently teaching about the rapture, indicating in verse thirteen that it is a future hope that belongs to all Christians. In yesterday’s verse we learned that when Jesus Christ comes back at the rapture, He will bring with him everyone who has died having a saving faith in his work on the cross.

He now makes a statement about why we should believe what he is telling us. He says, “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.” In other words, this is not just some hair brained idea that Paul came up with. This is teaching directly from the mouth of God, His Word.

When the King James Version of the Bible was by far the most frequently read translation, many people became confused about this verse. The reason is that the word phthanō was translated as “prevent.” At the time the KJV was translated, the word “prevent” meant “to come before,” not “to keep from happening” as it does today. Nearly all modern translations use the word “precede,” meaning “to happen before something else.”

Paul’s message here is that Christians who are alive at the time of the rapture will not receive their heavenly bodies before those who are asleep in Jesus (Christians who have died). Finally, notice that Paul said “we who remain.” He fully expected the rapture to occur within his lifetime!

Application

The rapture hasn’t happened yet, but we (like Paul) believe it could occur any day now. Christians should be serving God faithfully now, looking forward to Christ’s return when “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved