to leave remaining;, pass. to remain, survive, 1 Thess. 4:15, 17*

WHY THE RAPTURE IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-17 IS NOT PRETRIBULATIONAL

Paul’s message to the saints in Thessalonica on the advent of Christ is in two parts: First and Second Thessalonians.

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he mentions those “who are still ALIVE, who are LEFT until the coming of the Lord” who “will be caught up together” with the dead in Christ in the Rapture (1 Th 4:15-17). So the saints who are caught up in the Rapture include those who are “still alive and are left” (because others are presumed dead). The Greek word for “left” is “perileipomai” and is the verb “survive”. The question that begs to be asked: What would Christians have to survive before they are raptured? Paul tackles the issue in his second letter to the Thessalonians.

In Second Thessalonians, the believers fear they have somehow missed out on the Rapture through a rumour in circulation (2 Th 2:1-2). Paul corrects this pretribulational view of the Rapture by telling the Thessalonians that two events must happen before the Lord appears: the REBELLION and the unveiling of the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS aka the Antichrist (2 Th 2:3-4).

Here’s the truth behind being left behind: It is NOT true that those left behind will be left out of the Rapture. Rather, Christians will all be left to survive the Great Tribulation before the Rapture takes place.

to leave remaining;, pass. to remain, survive, 1 Thess. 4:15, 17*