The expectation of modern believers is the snatching away. In many circles, this event is referred to as the rapture of the church. Both terms require explanation. I personally prefer “the snatching away”, as it best approximates what Scripture itself says about this event. The advantage of referring to an event with a specific term is that it simplifies our discussion of it. The disadvantage is that we may miss other Scripture passages that address the same event because they use different terminology.
snatching away or rapture of the ecclesia?
Both terms are based on 1 Thessalonians 4. This moment is described there, which I will discuss in more detail in future blog posts. In short, Paul foretells how, at the return of Christ, the deceased believers will be resurrected first and simultaneously, along with those still living until that moment, will be caught up or snatched away to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
The NBG (Dutch Bible) says “to be caught up,” and both the Statenvertaling (Dutch King James Version) and the Herziene Statenvertaling (Dutch King James Version) translate this as “to be taken up.” This is perhaps where the word “rapture” (Duth: “opname”) comes from.
As translated, it reminds us of the story of Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9). A different Greek word is used there that indeed means “to lift up or to take up,” and it is translated that way in the aforementioned translations. The context of Acts 1:9 shows that the ascension described here is a quiet and gradual catching away.
snatch away
But in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, a different word is used, which has to do with seizing or snatching away. It is associated with violence (Matthew 11:12), the spirit that snatched Philip away in an instant (Acts 8:39), Paul being caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4), rescuing someone from the fire by snatching them away (Jude 23), and stealing something (Matthew 12:29, 13:19; John 10:12). The similarity is that in all occurrences, it involves taking something away with a swift movement.
Similarity
In the various applications of the term, the similarity with snatching away is obvious: Philip being taken away by the spirit, Paul being taken up to heaven, and saving someone by snatching them away. But the act of stealing is also significant in connection with 1 Thessalonians 4. In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul continues his argument and elaborates on the timing of the rapture. He says:
1 Thessalonians 5
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Is it “like a thief” or not?
The following verses show that the Lord will come like a thief in the night for those who don’t expect Him, but that it’s different for His readers (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4). For those who don’t know Him, the Lord will come “like a thief in the night.” Just like a thief, the Lord will take something away, namely His ecclesia (church). It will be a secret event that will overtake the world, for they are in darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4).
It’s a comparison of “like a thief” because a thief takes something that doesn’t belong to him, while the Lord takes something that does belong to Him. We will, of course, return to these verses in more detail later.
Our hope, but also His desire!
To the extent that Christianity believes in a snatching away (or: rapture of the church), this is usually based on only a few texts. Of course, the aforementioned 1 Thessalonians 4 and, in addition, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. But isn’t that a bit meager? Wouldn’t you expect much more from Paul’s letters, which reveal the secret that Christ and His body are one? After all, the snatching away concerns the future of the ecclesia and our hope. And of Christ it is said that for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has now sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2). God has subjected all things to Him (Heb. 2:8), and He now awaits the moment when all things will truly be subjected to Him (Heb. 10:13).
Starting point
But take note! Christ Jesus will not fulfill the task of subduing the universe alone, but He shares it with a company, those who belong to Him: the ecclecia, which is His body (Eph. 1:22-23). The snatching away will be the starting point for this. The Lord Himself also longs for the moment of the snatching away! It should therefore come as no surprise that there are many more than a few texts that speak of this event and its related events. More on this in the following blogs.