A Little Used Rapture Passage

Dr. Thomas Ice

Anumber of years ago I was preaching the funeral of a dear lady who used to bein a church that I had pastored. Her husband, also a devout believer, askedthat I build my sermon for his wife's funeral around 2 Corinthians 5. Since Ihad never taught through 2 Corinthians, I was somewhat surprised to discoverduring my preparation for the message that it spoke of our blessed hope-therapture. Follow along with me and see what I mean.

Manyof us are familiar with the second half of 2 Corinthians 5, but what about thepreceding context? Paul is dealing with a group of people who were rejectinghis authority as an apostle of Christ. Thus, they were reluctant to accept hisadvice. In chapter 4, Paul notes that he is pouring out his life for theirsake. He contrasts this temporal life, which the Corinthians believers greatlyvalued, with the one to come. Since the life and world to come are of greatervalue, then, Paul reasons, believers should live this present life from theperspective that places a priority on things that will have "an eternal weightof glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

TheCorinthians, to which Paul wrote, had adopted the view that the physical body wasof no value, since everything on the physical plane was inferior to things inthe spiritual realm. Paul rejects this, and teaches that the physical is notin and of itself carnal but can be used to promote that which has eternalspiritual value. This Paul explains in his chapter on the resurrection in 1Corinthians 15. As he sets the stage for 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says, "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us aneternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the thingswhich are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which areseen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor.4:17-18).

2Corinthians 3:1-2 says, "For we know that if theearthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, ahouse not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house wegroan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven." Since verse 3 isbased upon Paul's statements in verses one and two, we need to know what he issaying there. Paul tells the Corinthians believers that their current body islike an "earthly tent." Why did he choose the word "tent?" He most likelyuses the word "tent" because it is a temporary dwelling for a person who is ona trip away from home. That is the status of a believer during the church age,he is a pilgrim, just passing through this world (Phil. 3:17-21). The termused for a resurrected believer in heaven is called "our dwelling from heaven."It is also called "a house not made with hands." Thus, our permanent dwelling place is clearly said to be in heaven andsomething to which we look. Since heaven is our home, then it makes sense that"building" is the description that Paul uses since it connotes a permanent structure.

So our current physical body iscalled a "tent," while our future resurrected body is described as a"building." So what does Paul mean when he speaks in verse 3 of not wanting tobe found "naked" in verse 3?

NakedBelievers

Since the subject matter of thisportion of Scripture relates to the state of the body, whether mortal orresurrected, Paul speaks of the interval between a believer's death and theresurrection. Robert Gromacki says, "This period between the physical death ofa believer and his resurrection is designated as the time of nakedness. It iswhen the self has neither its old body or its new body. Theologians havecalled it the intermediate state of the soul."[1] This does not meanthat when a believer dies he does not go to be with the Lord, since Scripturesays, "to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (2 Cor.5:8). Philip E. Hughes explains as follows:

Atthe death the soul is separated from the body, and man's integral nature isdisrupted. This important aspect of the disintegrating character of deathexplains the Apostle's desire that Christ should return during his lifetime sothat he might experience the change into the likeness of Christ's body of glory(Phil. 3:21) without having to undergo the experience of "nakedness" whichresults from the separation of soul and body at death. . . . It still means astate of nakedness and a period of waiting until he is clothed with hisresurrection body.[2]

Thispassage, in its indirect way, is teaching the Paul was longing for the raptureto occur before he died, since the interval between Paul's death and theobtaining of his resurrection body would come at the time of the rapture (1Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58). Thus, 2 Corinthians 5 is a rapture passage."It is the resurrection and the rapture which the new desire longs for," saysRoy Laurin, "because the resurrection and the rapture will bring us thisbuilding which is "an house not made with hands."[3] Gromacki notes the rapture connection in the following:

Theverb "clothed upon" is a double compound (ependu using three words epi, en,du). It actually means toput one piece of clothing over another which is presently being worn. Theusage in this context probably means that Paul wanted to be alive when the Lordreturned. In that way, the new body could be put on right over the old one.[4]

Paulfurther explains in verse 4 why he hopes for the rapture before his death. "For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, beingburdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in orderthat what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." G. Coleman Luckexplains, "The thing for which we groan is not death and dissolution of the body. We do notlong to be 'unclothed,' so to speak, but rather to be 'clothed upon,' to haveour mortal bodies transformed and perfected without dying at the time of the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:17;1 Cor. 51, 52)."[5]

Thispassage seems to teach that a believer during the church age who dies beforethe rapture is with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8), but do not yet have their newresurrection body. This seems to also imply that there is no New Testamentbasis for those who teach that we have an intermediate body (i.e. not aresurrection body) during the interval between death and the resurrection as wedwell in the presence of the Lord. Otherwise, how do they explain Paul'sdesire to not be naked? Further, this passage does not allow for "soul sleep"since the person is very much alive during the interval, it is the body that is"sleeping."

RaptureImplications of 2 Corinthians 5

Thereare a number implications that flow from the fact that Paul said in 2Corinthians 5 that he desired to be taken in the rapture rather than die. Iwill attempt to note some of those implications.

First,Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must allappear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed forhis deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." This is significant in that the "judgment seat," or "bema" is the specialjudgment for church age believers only, not the end of the millennium greatwhite throne judgment of unbelievers. Since verse 10 is part of Paul's passagewhere he has expressed his desire to be taken in the rapture, it supports thenotion of pretribulationism since the bema will take place after the rapture ofthe church, while in heaven, in order to prepare the church for her return withChrist at the second coming (Rev. 19:1-10).

Second,Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 the following: "Behold,I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in amoment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet willsound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed." Here Paul taught the doctrine of the resurrection, while in 2 Corinthians 5 helinks it with the rapture. Although 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 stands on its ownas a rapture passage, it is further strengthened by Paul's rapture teachings in2 Corinthians 5. Paul is writing to the same church in both epistles, thus, heis speaking of the same subject-the rapture-both times when he addresses thesubject of the resurrection.

Third, we learn from 2Corinthians 5 that it is indeed a godly attitude to desire for the rapture tooccur in one's lifetime. Since Paul desired to be taken to be with the Lordvia translation so that he would not be naked, it is clear that he is modelinga godly attitude to be emulated throughout the remainder of the church age bysubsequent generations. Yet, many Christians in our day disdain the rapture. Rapture hater Gary North says the following:

Christians livingtoday supposedly will escape this supposedly burning building because we all havebeen issued free tickets on God's helicopter escape.

Thisescape never comes. The supposedly imminent Rapture has now been delayed foralmost two millennia. . . . They care only about an imminent escape fromlong-term responsibility: the Rapture. Rapture fever destroys men'sability to reason theologically.It weakens God's Church.[6]

Howdoes North explain Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 5:8, which says, "we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to beabsent from the body and to be at home with the Lord"? According to North'stheology, Paul's attitude is sinful. Apparently the rapture has destroyedPaul's ability to reason theologically. Perhaps Paul's theology also weakensGod's church, as North declares. Paul clearly states that he would reallyrather be "at home with the Lord." Was Paul one of those just sitting aroundwaiting for the helicopter escape known as the rapture? Of course not, andneither do we who would rather be "at home with the Lord."

Fourth, this passage does not teachone to shirk genuine biblical responsibilities as suggested by rapture haterslike North. Instead, it teaches those of us who love His appearing that "wehave as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him" (2 Cor.5:9). Why? Because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2Cor. 5:10). Tim LaHaye has said many times and in many ways that those whobelieve in the pre-trib rapture have three great practical applications: First, a motive for evangelism; second, a motive for world missions; andthirdly, a motive to live a godly life in an ungodly world. That is exactlywhat Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 5:1-13, contrary to rapture nay-sayerslike Gary North.

Eventhough 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 is a little used passage relating to the pre-tribrapture, it is an important one that needs to be considered by anyone desiringa complete understanding of the New Testament teaching of the rapture. Itprovides another interesting piece of the puzzle concerning the nature and roleof the church and how it fits into the blessed hope, which is the rapture ofthe church. It models for believers a proper motive for longing for therapture, not because we cannot handle life in the present, but because "thoughyou have not seen Him, you love Him" (1 Pet. 1:8). Maranatha!

[1] Robert Gromacki, Stand Firm in the Faith: AnExposition of II Corinthians(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), p. 78.

[2] Philip E. Hughes, The Second Epistle to TheCorinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), p. 171.

[3] Roy L. Laurin, Second Corinthians: Where LifeEndures (Findlay, OH: DunhamPublishing Company, 1946), p. 97.

[4] Gromacki, Stand Firm, p. 77.

[5] G. Coleman Luck, Second Corinthians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1959), pp. 48-49.

[6] Gary North, Rapture Fever: WhyDispensationalism is Paralyzed(Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1993), p. 90.