We’ve almost reached the end of our writing about the snatching away, though without intending to be exhaustive. There are several expressions in Paul’s letters that we won’t discuss individually (at least not now), but which do refer to this event. For example, terms such as: the redemption obtained (Eph. 1:14), the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), the attainment of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:14), etc.
Out-resurrection
Yet, there’s one more expression from Philippians 3:11 that I would like to discuss: the out-resurrection from the dead (Greek: exanastasin ten ek nekron). This seems a somewhat strange expression at first glance, and it’s worth discussing, as there are quite a few misconceptions surrounding these words of Paul. The verse in which it appears literally says:
Philippians 3
11 if, by any means, I attain to the out-resurrection from the dead…
the snatching away
When Paul refers to the resurrection from the dead of the ecclesia, the body of Christ, he is referring to the event we call the snatching away or rapture of the church. In this event, a resurrection takes place from among the rest of the dead, that is, leaving the other dead behind.
We read this, for example, in the previously discussed 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul encourages the Thessalonians regarding those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). These deceased are later referred to as the dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16). These dead will be the first to be raised and, at the snatching away, will go together with the living remaining believers to meet the Lord in the air. They will therefore rise from the dead, for the other dead remain in the grave.
The extra “out”
But some believers believe that Philippians 3:11 refers to a different event. Paul nowhere else uses the term “out-resurrection from the dead”, so they conclude that it must refer to something else here. The use of the extra “out” in the expression “out-resurrection”, leads them to conclude that the members of the body of Christ experience an “individual resurrection from the dead” and are immediately with Christ after death.
Besides contradicting the passage in 1 Thessalonians 4, I see several Scriptural objections to this view.
Context
The main objection is that the passage itself contradicts it. We previously discussed several verses later in this same chapter. There, Paul describes, just as in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 4:16, that we await the Lord from heaven and that this is the moment when He will raise the dead and change those who are left alive. This will not only wait until that moment, but will also be an event we experience together (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Philippians 3
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform the body of our humiliation into conformity to the body of his glory, by the working with which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
No individual resurrection|
Therefore, it is not true that when a believer dies, an individual resurrection of that believer takes place. No, the dead in Christ, but also the living, wait until the moment when our Savior comes from heaven.
Fundamentally, this view denies death. After all, one dies and then immediately raises one’s eyes “on the other side,” and therefore one has never truly died. This is very reminiscent of the lie of the serpent in the garden (Gen. 3:4).
Has the resurrection already occurred?
In 2 Timothy 2:17-18, Paul says of two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, that they deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred. Paul doesn’t explain exactly what Hymenaeus and Philetus taught, but doesn’t the argument for an individual resurrection from the dead fit perfectly with the claim “that the resurrection has already occurred”?
The additional “from”
The idea that the term “out-resurrection from the dead” refers to an “individual resurrection” of believers is based on the additional “out” in out-resurrection from the dead. However, expressions with an additional preposition are much more common in Scripture and are a way to emphasize the preposition used. In Philippians 3:11, Paul emphasizes with the extra “out” in the term “out-resurrection” that it is a resurrection from the dead, that is, from among the other dead and leaving the other dead behind.
Double preposition
Scripture contains many more of these expressions with a double preposition, and our Dutch language is also full of them. I will not discuss the latter, but below are a few examples from Scripture:
The Exodus from Egypt (Numbers 33:38) ,Dutch: De uittocht uit Egypte
To be taken out of their land (Deuteronomy 29:28), Dutch: Uit hun land uitgetrokken
Chosen out of the world (John 15:19), Dutch: Uit de wereld uitverkoren
To be led out of the house of slavery (Exodus 20:2, Judges 6:8), Dutch: Uit het diensthuis uitleiden
To enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21), Dutch: Ingaan in het Koninkrijk der hemelen
Are there any occurrences? Those who attribute the concept of “out-resurrection” to an individual resurrection of the dead in Christ often point out that the word “out-resurrection” appears only once in Scripture, and therefore Paul must have meant something specific by it. However, the claim that the word appears only once is a half-truth.
The noun exanastasin (G1815) appears only once, in Phil. 3:11, but the verb derived from it, exanistemi (G1817), also appears three times in Scripture. Twice we find it in a rather euphemistic use and it is translated as “raise up seed/offspring” (Mark 12:19, Luke 20:28), literally: “that he will raise up seed for his brother”. The third time the word appears is in:
Acts 15 (NKJV)
5 But some of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
Literally, it says: but some stood up out (…). This verse also makes it perfectly clear what is meant. From the group of Pharisees, some who had believed, stood up. They spoke, not as representatives of the entire group, but as part of the group. In doing so, they stood up from the group of Pharisees.
the day of Christ
Paul opens his letter to the Philippians by giving thanks for the fellowship in the Gospel of the Philippians (1:5). God had begun a good work in them, and Paul trusted that He would complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (1:6). Compare 1:10, 2:16.
The day of Christ is not a different day for every individual believer, but rather speaks of a single moment. It is the day when Christ Jesus, our Savior, will descend from heaven and transform our bodies into the likeness of His glorious body. Whether we are still alive at that moment or have already died makes no difference. We will all go together to meet the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
1 Thessalonians 4
18 Therefore, encourage one another with these words.