1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and the Rapture

By Zane C. Hodges [1]

Zane Hodges earned an A.B. from Wheaton College and a Th.M. in New Testament Literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary. He was Professor of New Testament Greek at Dallas Seminary for twenty-seven years. He teaches, preaches, and serves on the pastoral staff at Victor Street Bible Chapel in Dallas. His many books, including The Gospel Under Siege are available through Redención Viva (214) 821–5357.

Introduction

A growing number of evangelicals question the doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church, [2] claiming that the New Testament nowhere teaches it. Even proponents of the Pre-tribulation Rapture often defend it as if it results from a series of inferences drawn from scattered biblical texts. Or, they may cite a few isolated proof-texts (like Revelation 3:10). Unfortunately, few pre-tribulational expositors attempt to justify this doctrine by appealing to a coherent exegesis of an extended passage of Scripture. [3] Yet, the apostle Paul directly teaches the Rapture of the Church as a deliverance before the Great Tribulation’s judgments in one such passage, 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11.

The Epistle’s General Structure

The Key Passage

As he opens his first epistle to the Thessalonians, the apostle informs those believers that the story of their conversion meets him everywhere. It is well known how they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:9b–10). [4]

The last phrase of this statement (who delivers us from the wrath to come) reflects a participial construction in the original Greek that could easily be rendered: “who will deliver us from the wrath to come.” This kind of participial construction is inherently timeless, so any temporal implication must derive from the context or from the nature of the statement. [5] In context, the participle presents Jesus as “our Deliverer from the wrath to come.” The NIV’s especially felicitous rendering of 1:10 is sufficiently clear: Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. [6]

The exact time at which the deliverance takes place depends, naturally, on when the wrath is supposed to come. However, the deliverance in question clearly relates to an eschatological consummation. The phrase, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath, connects wrath with our Lord’s Second Coming. [7] The only other place in which 1 Thessalonians links wrath with the believer's experience is in the midst of another eschatological passage, verse 5:9.

The Epistle’s Organization

Recent studies of ancient literature, as well as of the writings of the rhetoricians of the Greco-Roman period, have revealed that accomplished communicators of this era normally worked from an outline. [8] Verses 1:9b–10 (within the prologue, 1:2–10) reveal the anticipated organizational divisions of the body of 1 Thessalonians. [9]

Text	Anticipated Passage
How you turned to God from idols	2:1–3:13
To serve the living and true God	4:1–12
And to wait for His Son from heaven	4:13–5:11

The outline of 1 Thessalonians is as follows:

1. Epistolary Greeting (1:1)

2. Prologue: Gratitude for God's Work in the Thessalonians (1:2–10)

3. Body: Stay the Course (2:1–5:11)

A. My Initial Love for You Remains Unchanged (2:1–3:13) 

B. Keep Serving God in Holiness and Brotherly Love (4:1–12) 

C. Keep Hoping in Deliverance by the Rapture (4:13–5:11)

4. Epilogue: Specific Admonitions (5:12–22)

5. Epistolary Farewell (5:23–28)

The prologue’s conclusion, 1:9b–10, skillfully anticipates all three divisions of the body (2:1–5:11).

In the first major section (2:1–3:13), the Apostle considers his relationship to the Thessalonians from the point of initially evangelizing them (2:1–16) to the present. Specifically, he has longed to see these converts again, but so far has been unable to do so (2:17–3:13). This unfortunate circumstance may have caused them to question the integrity of his love for them, so he diligently seeks to put these questions to rest. To doubt the messenger’s integrity could have been a first step in doubting his message and, therefore, the validity of their conversion experience. Paul devotes much space to this concern. Pressures of persecution might well tempt the Thessalonians to “give it all up.”

The second section (4:1–12) urges the Thessalonians to continue to serve the living and true God with conduct marked by moral purity, by brotherly love, and by diligent work for meeting their own needs and maintaining a proper relationship with those outside (4:1–12). They must not give the unconverted an excuse to call Christians lazy moochers who beg non-Christian neighbors for help.

Following these two sections, the third (4:13–5:11) [10] presents the doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. As with the two prior sections, the brief summation given in Paul’s conclusion to his prologue anticipates this last section of the body. This factor is pertinent to an examination of 5:1–11, since it is this passage that elaborates Paul’s claim that Jesus is the One who rescues us from the coming wrath (NIV). Careful analysis of the rhetorical features of 1 Thessalonians reveals the organizational structure of Paul’s epistle, thereby enabling a detailed analysis of his teaching in 5:1–11.

Detailed Analysis of 5:1-11

The Thessalonians’ Knowledge (5:1–3)

According to the apostle Paul the Thessalonians are well informed on the subject of the [prophetic] times and seasons (5:1). Though the death of some of their fellow Christians may have aroused uncertainty about how accurately they understood Christian prophecy, Paul clearly wishes to lay such doubts to rest by reaffirming a correct understanding of his prior teaching. Specifically, what did the Thessalonians understand that was relevant to their present situation? Paul affirms, For you yourselves know perfectly [i.e., “accurately”] [11] that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:2–3).

One cannot mistake the formal allusions to eschatological (or end-time) ideas in these verses. Just as the phrase times and seasons (5:1) was undoubtedly a familiar phrase in a prophetic context, so also was the expression the day of the Lord (5:2). Jesus Himself had already used the former phrase in Acts 1:7, when He declined to say whether the time had come to restore the kingdom to Israel. Given this context and its usage in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, the phrase times and seasons had probably been well defined and used by Jesus on numerous occasions to teach His disciples about the end times. The term day of the Lord, on the other hand, was a familiar prophetic term that readers of the Old Testament would readily recognize. [12] Paul had undoubtedly employed it often in his prophetic teaching. In the same way, the words at the end of verse 3, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, contain a well-known metaphor for the eschatological woes yet to come. In fact, the Greek word for labor pains [ōdin] is the same one that the Lord used when speaking of the beginning of sorrows [i.e., birth pains] in Matthew 24:8. Thus, concerning the end times, Paul chose biblical terminology that is purposefully familiar to his audience (5:1–3).

Likewise, his readers need only recall the famous analogies with the days of Noah or Lot (cf. Luke 17:26–30). Essentially, the apostle Peter paints the same picture; the day of the Lord will come as a thief (2 Peter 3:3–10). The era of eschatological climax has its advent when (humanly speaking) all seems well with life proceeding as usual. Our Lord’s words in Matthew 24:38–39 clearly illustrate this: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage… and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. [13] The observation that all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation (2 Peter 3:4) dissuaded them regarding Christ’s promised coming. [14]

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 is the context for understanding the phrase the wrath to come (1:10)—as a reference to our Lord’s Second Advent. To say that the wrath to come somehow refers to hell and eternal damnation introduces a wholly gratuitous idea without any contextual support. By contrast, to associate the wrath to come with the labor pains—the eschatological calamities—of the end of the age is completely harmonious within the immediate context of 1 Thessalonians. Furthermore, Paul's resumptive use of the term wrath (from 1:10) in verse 5:9 powerfully reconfirms the foregoing association. Therefore, it follows that 1:10’s statement that our Lord delivers us from the wrath to come is a definitive promise that His coming will rescue or deliver believers from the eschatological calamities that lie ahead. Equally clear, 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 invokes several well-known motifs in New Testament prophecy to underscore this wondrous truth.

The Thessalonians’ Position (5:4–5)

As just noted in the previous section, Paul focuses on a well-known fact that the day of the Lord comes unexpectedly (as a thief in the night), bringing unanticipated disaster to a world that feels itself securely confident about peace and safety (5:2–3a). Verse 5:3b concludes, they shall not escape, denoting the assured and inescapable nature of the calamities that will befall the unbeliever. [15] In stark contrast to the unbeliever’s plight, Paul particularly emphasizes the believer’s escape from these calamities in verses 5:4–5, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Of special interest is the emphatic usage of the pronoun, you ($umeis). Grammatically, neither verse strictly requires the Greek subject-pronoun. [16] Paul adds it to each, therefore, for emphasis. Likewise, he places the you that is the object of overtake ahead of the Greek verb in an emphatic position. In relation to the coming woes, it is plain that Paul regards his Christian readers’ standing as a remarkable contrast to the hopeless plight of the world around them.

Again, let it be emphasized that the timing of the Rapture does not rely solely upon the reference to the Day of the Lord coming as a thief. Instead, it is framed within the larger picture of a world that is both unconcerned and undisturbed. Therefore, it should be obvious that the time-frame to which Paul’s words apply can be nothing less than a period before the eschatological woes begin—which is to say, before the Tribulation itself. [17]

The Thessalonians’ Response (5:6–11)

Based upon their standing as sons of light and sons of the day, Paul’s exhorts the Thessalonians: Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober (5:6–8a)…. Inasmuch as they belong to the day and not to the night, Paul says that their response to adversity should reflect that fact and should contrast sharply with that of the world around them. These words appear to communicate Paul's major concern. The Thessalonians struggled under the burden of their trials (see 3:1–5). Perhaps, the death of some of their number suggested that the Lord’s return was a false hope—at least for their own lifetime. Any faltering of this expectation could produce spiritual lethargy and unwatchfulness. Believers need to maintain a sober alertness, so Paul admonishes: “Be careful not to slip into that.”

Likewise they must always equip themselves against the spiritual stupor and unawareness that characterize the surrounding world. Therefore, Paul reminds them of their spiritual armament, the putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation (5:8). The two pieces of equipment mentioned here (the breastplate and the helmet) are basically defensive.

The first of these (the breastplate) is a spiritual “alloy” composed of faith and love. It seems likely that in the back of Paul’s mind lies the famous parable of Jesus in which the unfaithful servant concludes: My master is delaying his coming, and then he proceeds to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk (Luke 12:45). The Thessalonians must not follow this route. Instead, they should cultivate a continuing and lively faith in the hope of their Lord’s return, and they should combine this with persistence in loving conduct toward their fellow Christians (see 1 Thessalonians 4:9–10). Such a breastplate protecting their hearts makes it unlikely that Satan would strike them a damaging blow.

In addition to the breastplate, Paul also exhorts the Thessalonians to put on as a helmet the hope of salvation. This phrase might well be rendered, as a helmet the expectation of deliverance [or, ‘rescue’]. In contrasting his audience with the plight of the world, Paul has already said that the unregenerate shall not escape (5:3). As sons of light, the Thessalonians did not share the nature of those around them. Neither should they share in the world’s unwatchful stupor, but instead they were to watch and be sober. Having exhorted his audience to put on their spiritual armament, Paul picks up the familiar theme of assurance in 5:9–10. Thereby, he reaffirms the declaration made in verse 1:10. Although world would bear inescapable calamities, as believers, they most certainly had “the expectation of deliverance!”

The deliverance mentioned in 1:10 is identical with that of 5:9, but was that a valid expectation? Could the Thessalonians rely on it? They could: For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation [deliverance] through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him (5:9–10). These two climactic verses make Paul’s theology explicit. This now gives a theological rationale to the epistle’s thematic statement (1:10) about rescue from the coming wrath. Christ’s death is the basis of the believer’s pre-tribulational deliverance from those calamities.

Once again, absolutely no exegetical basis exists for seeing the wrath in verse 5:9 as a reference to eternal damnation. The context addresses the advent of the eschatological woes, which clearly constitute the wrath to come referred to earlier in the letter (1:10). Thus, when he affirms that God did not appoint us to wrath (5:9), the apostle Paul means quite obviously that God has not appointed the Thessalonian believers to experience these eschatological calamities. But to what has God appointed believers? The answer is salvation, the deliverance or rescue to which 1:10 also refers. And through whom does this deliverance come? It comes through the One who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him (5:10). Or, as 1:10 declares, it comes through God’s Son from heaven.

The true force of the phrase whether we wake or sleep is crucial. By-and-large expositors have overlooked its actual meaning, especially post-tribulational expositors. Frequently, they construe this phrase as a reference to Christians who are either alive (wake) or dead (sleep) at Christ’s coming. But careful examination of the Greek text shows that this is not exegetically possible.

How does it show this? 1 Thessalonians 4:14–15, uses the verb koimaō to refer to “sleeping” believers (i.e., dead ones). However, the verb for sleep in 5:10, katheudō, is quite different. The immediate context defines the meaning of katheudō since both 5:6 and 5:7 have already used it to describe the unwatchful state against which Paul is warning. [18] Likewise, the verb in 5:10 for wake is grēgoreo, used previously in verse 6 to describe the state of alertness that Paul wants his readers to maintain. Unless one throws sound exegetical procedure to the winds, verse 10 does not contrast the living with the dead, but rather, watchful with unwatchful believers!

Hence, Paul asserts in 5:9–10 that the Thessalonians possess an immutable hope that is completely independent of whether they watch for Him or not. The believer’s destiny, he insists, is not the wrath of the day of the Lord. Contrarily, their destiny is deliverance from it, so that they may live together with Christ. This destiny not only belongs to those Christians who are wide awake when He comes, but also to those who are sound asleep! In short, His coming delivers all believers!

Again, the realization that whether we wake or sleep refers to the contrasting states of watchfulness and unwatchfulness, makes it plain that Paul is still thinking of eschatological woes, specifically the advent of the day of the Lord, which brings an inescapable ruin to the unsaved and unwatchful world (5:3). So at the critical high point of his contrast between the world and his readers, Paul affirms that his fellow Christians will escape, whether watching or not, and will live with their Lord. This is what the death of Christ—not their own spiritual alertness—has secured for them! [19]

Of course, the Day of the Lord awakens everybody, saved and unsaved alike. The unwatchful Christian will awaken through being raptured to meet the Lord, while the unsaved by the advent of the initial catastrophes of that day (following the rapture). After the initial catastrophic events, what would be the point in describing anyone as still asleep? And Paul is not discussing anything beyond that point of time. He simply wishes to say that the arrival of that eschatological era brings two contrasting experiences: rescue versus ruin. The Thessalonians are destined for the former, the world for the latter. Therefore, in the light of this grand fact, Paul says, comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing (5:11).

At the moment of Paul’s writing, the Thessalonians are behaving appropriately toward one another. But Paul reminds them to keep their sure hope of deliverance in mind. Let them be certain they have put on the breastplate and the helmet so that they may withstand any satanic attack against this superlative and thrilling anticipation.

Conclusion

Some suppose that an unconditional guarantee of deliverance from the tribulation undermines the exhortation to watchfulness; however, such thinking flatly contradicts the apostle’s pattern of exhortation elsewhere. For example, Paul did not sense that a believer’s absolute assurance that he is justified and eternally saved by faith apart from works should lead to an indifference about good works (Ephesians 2:8–10). On the contrary, he regarded his doctrine of eternal salvation by God’s grace as a powerful incentive to good works (cf. Romans 6:1–11; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Titus 2:11–14; etc.). In the same way, the apostle stimulated a watchful spirit among the Thessalonians by showing that a believer’s failure to watch for the hope of deliverance (1 Thessalonians 5:8) could not forfeit that hope. Although Romans 13:4 and Hebrews 4:1 show that fear does have a place among legitimate Christian motivations, [20] it is far from being the most powerful one. Immeasurably more powerful is the reality of God’s love and unconditional grace to us (see 1 John 4:19). The apostle Paul not only understood this motivation, but his epistles show that he frequently based his exhortations upon it. [21]

As the above exposition indicates, 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 is the apostle Paul’s direct teaching on the doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. Christ at His coming will deliver His people from all eschatological woes before the outset of those woes. Those who have believed in Him will then live with Him. Alternative explanations of this passage, while frequently offered, typically fail to grasp the smooth unity of Paul’s argument, especially the way in which the apostle develops the epistle's programmatic statement of 1:10. In addition, most overlook the correct exegetical meaning and crucial force of whether we wake or sleep. [22] A correct analysis of this passage clashes irreconcilably with the post-tribulational position. Rather, the Church will escape the Tribulation by means of the Pre-tribulation Rapture. This doctrine has firm roots in New Testament exegesis—the exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11. This passage draws upon the certainty that all believers (whether watchful or not) will participate in the Pre-tribulation Rapture and will live together with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:10). Thus, grace, not fear, is the basis for the concluding exhortation, Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are doing (5:11).

—End—

Notes

1. Zane C. Hodges updated his earlier article, “The Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11, ” in Walvoord: A Tribute, ed. Donald K. Campbell, (Chicago: Moody, 1982), 67–79. Used as the basis of this revision by permission.
2. The teaching that Christ will remove the true Christian Church from the world before the Great Tribulation begins is called the Pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church.
3. Of course, this does not deny the validity of drawing inferences based on comparing Scripture with Scripture. In the same way, a proof text is valuable, if carefully weighed within its own context. However, the most forceful argument results from a careful analysis of an extended unit of biblical material.
4. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture citations come from the New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1982).
5. The Greek construction is an attributive articular present participle, ton ruomenon. Mark 6:14 clearly illustratrates another timeless attributive present participle. Literally, Herod said, “John, the one who baptizes, is risen from the dead.” John did not continue baptizing in prison or after he died. Attributive present participles do not give the time of the action. Rather, they focus on the doer. Mark 6:14's doer is John, but in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, it is Jesus. The participle does not identify the time of deliverance.
6. New International Version (Colorado Springs: International Bible Society, 1973, 1978, and 1984).
7. Ibid.
8. The reader might profitably consult, George A. Kennedy, New Testament Interpretation Through Rhetorical Criticism (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1984).
9. Technically, writers called these divisions kephalaia (Greek for “headings”).
10. 1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11’s doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church has two sub-units (4:13–18 and 5:1–11). In 4:13–18 the issue is not simply the coming of the Lord (4:15), but more particularly the destiny of believers who have died before His return. These Christians did not miss the Rapture, as some may have thought. Rather, Christ’s resurrection guarantees their resurrection as well, when He comes (see 4:14, 16). Paul anticipates this basic truth by 1:10’s statement that the Thessalonians were waiting for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead. In 5:1–11, however, the emphasis falls instead on the assured reality that Christians will escape the coming wrath (see 5:3–4, 9). 1 Thessalonians 1:10 also anticipates this basic truth, this time by the phrase who rescues us from the coming wrath (NIV). Two linked features indicate that 4:13–5:11 has two sub-units (4:13–18 and 5:1–11): the use of peri de (“now concerning”) and references to deficient versus sufficient knowledge. Peri de appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 and 5:1, while 4:13 has de… peri (“but concerning”). These signal changes in topic. Their knowledge of brotherly love was sufficient: But concerning brotherly love (4:9) Paul did not need to write. However, their knowledge of those who have fallen asleep was deficient: But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep (4:13). With regard to the times and the seasons, they had sufficient knowledge: But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you (5:1). Sufficient knowledge on the first and last topics as opposed to deficiency on the second distinguishes three subjects. Paul divides 4:13–5:11 into two parts. Thus, expositors should not ignore obvious indicators of Paul’s outline.
11. The Greek is akribōs, meaning accurately.
12. See Isaiah 2:12; Amos 5:18, 20; Zephaniah 1:7, 14; and elsewhere.
13. The Lucan account adds in reference to Lot’s day: they bought, they sold, they planted, they built (Luke 17:28).
14. Some strange exegesis has resulted from the failure to recognize that 1 Thessalonians 5 speaks in terms of a familiar eschatological scene. For example, some have attempted to place the events of chapter 5 immediately before Christ’s manifestation in glory at the end of the Tribulation. To do this, some post-tribulational expositors have postulated a brief period of tranquility just after the major judgments of the Tribulation have run their course and just before Christ appears. However, New Testament prophecy knows nothing of such an interlude. According to the Lord Jesus Himself, the Tribulation is so severe that it threatens man's extinction (Matthew 24:22). Furthermore, at the end of the Tribulation, the world’s armies mobilize for the final battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:13–16 and 19:19). Therefore, this kind of exposition does not deserve serious consideration.
15. The emphatic Greek negative phrase used here allows the rendering: “they shall certainly not escape.” “They have absolutely no way out,” Paul insists.
16. It would be sufficient for the Greek to say este (you are). Both verses have $umeis plus este (“you” plus “you are”). The sentence gives emphasis to you.
17. If, as seems necessary, the two prophetic witnesses of Revelation 11 belong to the first half of Daniel’s so-called seventieth week, then it further indicates that the time frame is also before the final seven-year period. The period of these witnesses' ministry specifically lasts one-half of a prophetic week (Revelation 11:3). After this ends, the Beast slays them, allowing their bodies to lie unburied for three and one-half days, while the world joyously celebrates their deaths. In this light, the apparent defeat of the witnesses (after which their resurrection occurs [Revelation 11:11]) becomes their final prophecy: The three and one-half days presage the Beast’s three and one-half years of triumph over the saints (Revelation 13:7). Thereafter, the victory of God’s people is assured. Moreover, assigning the two witnesses to the first part of Daniel’s seventieth week highlights this period as a time of impressive divine judgment. These are prophets who exercise powers like those belonging to Elijah and Moses in Old Testament times (Revelation 11:16). In the days of these two witnesses, therefore, the eschatological woes will have already begun, even though the final half-week escalates these woes to unprecedented proportions. This is not surprising. The Lord’s own reference to the beginning of sorrows (i.e., labor pains) followed by great tribulation (Matthew 24:8, 21) points in precisely the same direction.
18. Editor’s note: This issue of CTS Journal contains a detailed analysis of these words in Thomas R. Edgar, “Lethargic or Dead in 1 Thessalonians 5:10?” CTS Journal 6 (October-December 2000): 36-51. The chart on page 39 of Edgar's article is a visual representation of the main point which both Zane Hodges and Thomas Edgar affirm regarding katheudō and grēgoreo in 5:10.
19. In the last part of verse 10, the words for wake and sleep are in the present tense, whereas the word for live is in the aorist tense. This contrast may impart to the Greek verb, zēsōmen, a touch of what the grammars call an “ingressive” force, translated in English as “we shall commence to live.” But this subtle nuance is not strictly necessary for gleaning the transparent force of Paul’s declaration. “When the day of the Lord arrives,” whether we are watching or sleeping, we will live with our Lord Jesus Christ.”
20. The New Testament does present the specter of shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ in this light. However, the New Testament teaches absolute assurance of eternal justification. No one who has believed in Christ alone for eternal life should ever fear eternal damnation. Cf. John 5:24.
21. Romans 12:1–2 is yet another classic case in point!
22. Editor’s note: For a detailed analysis of these words, cf. Edgar, “Lethargic or Dead in 1 Thessalonians 5:10?” 36–51, the third article of this issue.