1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“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.”
King James Version
Paul's foundational description of the resurrection of dead believers and the catching-up of the living at Christ's return.
Fulfillment References
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 John 14:2-3 Matthew 24:30-31 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalApostolic/Oneness theology affirms the literal return and resurrection; the 'Lord' who descends is Jesus Himself — the one God — gathering His people to be forever with Him (Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13).
JewishSecond-Temple Judaism expected a bodily resurrection of the righteous at the end of the age (Dan. 12:2); Judaism does not accept a return of Jesus, but shares the hope of resurrection at Messiah's coming.
CatholicRead as the general resurrection and gathering of the elect at the one Second Coming (Parousia); the Church does not teach a separate secret rapture.
ProtestantCited as the believer's 'blessed hope'; views on its timing relative to the tribulation vary by school (see below).
OrthodoxThe universal resurrection at Christ's glorious return, when the living are transformed and united with the risen dead — one Parousia, not two stages.
DispensationalThe key pre-tribulation rapture text: the Church is caught up to meet Christ in the air before the seven-year tribulation, distinct from His later return to earth.
AcademicCritical scholars read 1 Thessalonians (c. 50 AD) as Paul's earliest letter, consoling believers grieving those who died before the imminent Parousia they expected.
Scholarship & Sources
The 'caught up' (Greek harpazo; Latin Vulgate rapturus, hence 'rapture') of 4:17, with 'the trump of God' (cf. 1 Cor. 15:52), is the primary rapture text. Its timing relative to the Tribulation (pre-, mid-, or post-) is debated; the apostolic framework here is pre-tribulational.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.