Appendix A: Greek Word Study

This appendix collects the key Greek terms relevant to the rapture/antichrist timing question. (For the Aramaic terminology of Daniel 7, see Appendix G.)

ἁρπάζω (harpazō) — To Catch Up, Seize

Greek: ἁρπάζω (harpazō) Strong’s: G726 Transliteration: harpazō

Root Meaning

From ἅρπαξ (harpax) — rapacious, seizing. The root relates to violent, forceful seizure. The verb means to seize, catch away, take by force, pluck.

Semantic Range

Seize with force or violence (Matthew 12:29 — binding the strong man to spoil his goods)
Snatch away (Matthew 13:19 — “the wicked one catcheth away” that which was sown)
Take or obtain (John 6:15 — “would take him by force to make him a king”)
Catch up, rapture (Acts 8:39 — “the Spirit caught away Philip”)
Catch up to (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4 — “caught up to the third heaven”)

Usage in Key Passages

1 Thessalonians 4:17:

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”

“Caught up” is harpazō — ἁρπαγησόμεθα, future passive indicative
The passive voice suggests God/Christ is the agent doing the catching up
The verb itself denotes sudden, forcible seizure — a snatching, not a gradual ascent

Acts 8:39:

“And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip”

Philip was supernaturally transported
Same verb, harpazō (here aorist active: ἥρπασεν, “the Spirit… caught away Philip”)
Shows the word can describe physical transportation

2 Corinthians 12:2, 4:

“That man was caught up to the third heaven… caught up into paradise”

Paul describes being caught up to heaven
Same word harpazō
This supports the “removal” sense

Matthew 13:19:

“Then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart”

The devil actively steals the word
Different sense (stealing rather than rapture)

Translation Comparison

Translation	1 Thess 4:17	Notes
KJV	”caught up”	Primary translation
ESV	”caught up”	Same
NASB	”caught up”	Same
LSB	”caught up”	Same
NIV	”caught up”	Same
LXX	N/A (NT passage)	—

Significance for the Study

The term clearly indicates a forceful, sudden removal. Whether it describes:

Removal TO heaven (going up to be with Christ)
Gathering TO meet Christ in the air (Christ comes down, we go up to meet Him)

The preposition syn (together with) in “caught up together with them” suggests a gathering — believers are caught up TOGETHER with the resurrected dead.

ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) — Antichrist

Greek: ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) Strong’s: G500 Transliteration: antichristos

Root Meaning

From ἀντί (anti) — against, instead of + Χριστός (Christos) — Christ, anointed one.

The term means:

Against Christ (opposing Christ)
Instead of Christ (usurping Christ’s role)
Anti-Christ (anti = complete opposition)

Semantic Range

A specific end-time figure (1 John 2:18)
False christs generally (Matthew 24:5, 24)
The spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:3)
Those who deny Christ (1 John 2:22)

Usage in Key Passages

1 John 2:18:

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time”

Antichrist is both singular (shall come) and plural (many antichrists)
The singular may be a representative individual
The plural includes all who deny Christ

1 John 2:22:

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? The same is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son”

Antichrist = one who denies Jesus is the Christ
Also = one who denies the Father and the Son
Denial of both the Son and the Father (Christological and Patrological)

2 John 1:7:

“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist”

The false teaching: Christ did not come in flesh
This is “the spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:3)

Translation Comparison

Translation	1 John 2:18	Notes
KJV	”antichrist”	Primary
ESV	”antichrist”	Same
NASB	”antichrist”	Same
LSB	”antichrist”	Same
NIV	”antichrist”	Same

Significance for the Study

The term appears only in 1 and 2 John in the New Testament. While the singular “antichrist” points to an end-time figure, the plural “antichrists” shows the term also applies to current false teachers.

The 2 Thessalonians 2 “man of sin” is conceptually related but uses different terminology. Whether these refer to the same individual is debated.

παρουσία (parousia) — Coming, Presence

Greek: παρουσία (parousia) Strong’s: G3952 Transliteration: parousia

Root Meaning

From πάρειμι (pareimi) — to be present, to have come. The term means presence, arrival, coming — used of both persons and things.

Semantic Range

Physical presence (2 Corinthians 10:10 — “his bodily presence”)
Arrival/coming of a person (1 Corinthians 16:17 — “the coming of Stephanas”)
Eschatological return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 2:19 — “at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming”)

Usage in Key Passages

1 Thessalonians 2:19:

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming (parousia)?”

“Coming” is parousia
Used of Christ’s return

1 Thessalonians 3:13:

“To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints”

Christ’s return with the saints
Again, parousia

1 Thessalonians 4:15:

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming (parousia) of the Lord”

The same word
Paul’s teaching about the return

1 Thessalonians 5:23:

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Same usage
Preservation until the coming

Translation Comparison

Translation	1 Thess 4:15	Notes
KJV	”coming”	Primary
ESV	”coming”	Same
NASB	”coming”	Same
LSB	”coming”	Same
NIV	”coming”	Same

Significance for the Study

The term parousia consistently refers to Christ’s return. Whether this “coming” includes both the rapture (meeting in the air) and the return to earth (establishing the kingdom) is the key question.

Pre-tribulationists argue for two parousiai (plural): one for the church (rapture), one for the world (revelation). Post-tribulationists argue for one parousia with multiple aspects.

σάλπιγξ (salpinx) — Trumpet

Greek: σάλπιγξ (salpinx) Strong’s: G4536 Transliteration: salpinx

Root Meaning

A trumpet — a brass instrument used in military and religious contexts for signaling, gathering, alarms, and announcements.

Semantic Range

Military trumpet (1 Corinthians 14:8)
Eschatological trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Angelic trumpet (Revelation)

Usage in Key Passages

1 Corinthians 15:52:

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”

“Last trump” = eschatē salpinx (ἐσχάτη σάλπιγξ)
The trumpet signals the resurrection
Used with rapture/transformation

1 Thessalonians 4:16:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God”

“Trump of God” = salpinx theou
Divine trumpet, not human
Accompanies Christ’s descent

Significance for the Study

The trumpet is a gathering signal — it calls people together. In eschatological contexts, it signals:

The assembly/convocation of God’s people
The announcement of Christ’s arrival
The beginning of the final judgment

The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 accompanies Christ’s descent (not our ascent). This is part of what makes the timing debate complex — is the trumpet signaling our catching up, or is it signaling Christ coming to earth?

Note also that identifying eschatological trumpets across books is itself contested territory: the mid-trib view equates 1 Corinthians 15:52 with Revelation 11:15, the pre-wrath view with Joel 2:1, and critics on both flanks reject the equations (Stearns, BSac 99 [1942]: 124-26; Svigel, TrinJ 22 [2001]: 41-42; Cole, DBSJ 9 [2004]: 40 — “The two trumpets are not synonymous”).

ἀποστασία (apostasia) --- Falling Away, Apostasy

Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia) Strong’s: G646 Transliteration: apostasia

Root Meaning

From ἀφίστημι (aphistēmi) --- to stand away from, to depart. The noun means departure, defection, apostasy, revolt.

Semantic Range

Political revolt or defection (used in classical Greek for military rebellion)
Religious apostasy, abandonment of faith (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Departure, withdrawal (some early English translations rendered “departing”)

Usage in Key Passages

2 Thessalonians 2:3:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed”

“Falling away” is apostasia
This is the great apostasy that must precede the Day of the Lord
The KJV, ESV, NASB all render “falling away” or “apostasy”

Acts 21:21:

“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake [apostasian] Moses”

The only other NT occurrence
Here it means departure from the Law of Moses

Translation Comparison

Translation	2 Thess 2:3	Notes
KJV	”a falling away”	Traditional rendering
ESV	”the rebellion”	Emphasizes revolt
NASB	”the apostasy”	Transliterates the Greek
LSB	”the apostasy”	Same
NIV	”the rebellion”	Same as ESV

Significance for the Study

A minority view holds that apostasia means “departure” (physical departure = rapture), making 2 Thessalonians 2:3 itself a rapture reference. The view can be traced to E. Schuyler English’s series “Re-Thinking the Rapture” (Our Hope, October 1949-March 1950; per Combs, DBSJ 3 [1998]: 63) and has been defended more recently by H. Wayne House and John Sweigart (CTJ 5 [2001]: 186-204). However, the overwhelming consensus among Greek lexicons (BDAG, LSJ, Thayer) and early translations is that the word means religious defection --- and pre-tribulational scholars themselves largely reject the rapture reading: Combs (himself pre-trib) concludes that apostasia “should not be used as evidence for the pretribulational Rapture” (DBSJ 3 [1998]: 87), and Dean notes the view “is widely rejected” (BSac 168 [2011]: 206). The Tyndale Bible (1526) rendered it “a departynge,” but this likely meant departure from the faith, not physical rapture --- Combs finds the appeal to pre-KJV versions has “no merit whatsoever” as evidence of spatial departure, noting that the original Wycliffe edition apparently rendered the word “discencioun” (dissension), not “departynge” (DBSJ 3 [1998]: 77, 86).

ὀργή (orgē) --- Wrath

Greek: ὀργή (orgē) Strong’s: G3709 Transliteration: orgē

Root Meaning

Settled anger, indignation, wrath. Distinguished from thymos (θυμός, G2372), which is passionate, explosive anger. Orgē is deliberate, settled divine judgment.

Usage in Key Passages

1 Thessalonians 1:10:

“And to wait for his Son from heaven… even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come”

1 Thessalonians 5:9:

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation”

Revelation 6:16-17:

“Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come”

Romans 5:9:

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him”

Significance for the Study

The meaning of orgē is central to the timing debate:

Pre-tribulationists argue that believers are delivered from the entire tribulation period, which they identify as God’s wrath
Post-tribulationists distinguish between God’s orgē (final eschatological judgment, which believers escape) and tribulation/persecution (which believers endure). They note that thlipsis (tribulation) and orgē (wrath) are different concepts in Paul’s letters

θλῖψις (thlipsis) --- Tribulation, Affliction

Greek: θλῖψις (thlipsis) Strong’s: G2347 Transliteration: thlipsis

Root Meaning

From θλίβω (thlibō) --- to press, to squeeze. The noun means pressure, affliction, tribulation, distress.

Semantic Range

General affliction in this world (John 16:33 --- “In the world ye shall have tribulation”)
Persecution for the faith (Acts 14:22 --- “through much tribulation enter into the kingdom”)
The eschatological “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21 --- thlipsis megalē)

Usage in Key Passages

John 16:33:

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”

Matthew 24:21:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world”

Revelation 7:14:

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”

Acts 14:22:

“Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”

Significance for the Study

Thlipsis is NOT the same word as orgē (wrath). This distinction is critical:

Jesus promises His followers will have thlipsis (tribulation/affliction) --- John 16:33
Paul says believers are NOT appointed to orgē (wrath) --- 1 Thessalonians 5:9
The question is whether the “great tribulation” of Matthew 24:21 is thlipsis (which believers endure) or orgē (from which believers are delivered)

ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) --- Meeting

Greek: ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) Strong’s: G529 Transliteration: apantēsis

Root Meaning

A meeting, encounter --- specifically, the formal reception of a visiting dignitary. In the Greco-Roman world, when an emperor or general approached a city, citizens would go out to meet (apantēsis) the dignitary and then escort him back into the city.

Usage in Key Passages

1 Thessalonians 4:17:

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”

Matthew 25:6:

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him”

Acts 28:15:

“And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum”

Significance for the Study

This word carries enormous weight in the timing debate. In all other NT and contemporary uses, apantēsis describes going out to meet someone who is coming toward you and then escorting them back to where you came from. The citizens of Rome went out to meet Paul and escorted him into Rome --- they did not leave Rome permanently.

Post-tribulationists argue this proves the rapture is believers going up to meet Christ and then escorting Him back to earth --- not going to heaven
Pre-tribulationists argue that the “air” (aēr) is the destination, not just a meeting point

This technical term is one of the strongest lexical arguments for a single-event return.

Summary

Greek Term	English	Key Meaning	Significance
ἁρπάζω (harpazō)	Caught up	Seize, take by force	The rapture event
ἀντίχριστος (antichristos)	Antichrist	Against/instead of Christ	The opposing figure
παρουσία (parousia)	Coming	Presence, arrival	Christ’s return
σάλπιγξ (salpinx)	Trumpet	Brass instrument	Gathering signal
ἀποστασία (apostasia)	Falling away	Departure, apostasy	Precedes the Day of the Lord
ὀργή (orgē)	Wrath	Settled divine anger	Believers not appointed to this
θλῖψις (thlipsis)	Tribulation	Pressure, affliction	Distinct from wrath
ἀπάντησις (apantēsis)	Meeting	Formal reception	Escort pattern