The answer
To understand this idea promulgated by John Derby, we need to ask the following questions:
a. Why do none of the Church’s writings of the Fathers or her liturgies mention it as a
dogma of the Church before the end of the eighteenth century?
b. Why does the apostle Paul use this term in his account of the resurrection from the
dead in the first letter to the Thessalonians (4:17) but not in his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 15?
c. Why is this term not found in the Old or New Testament prophecies concerning the
second coming of Christ?
d. Why do some Evangelical denominations reject it?
e. Does his doctrine of the rapture agree with the divine economy that knows no
confusion but rather takes great care that all things are done properly and in good order?
f. Will the faithful be caught up to the clouds before the Great Tribulation and escape it
when we know that the apostles considering tribulations a gift wherein we suffer and are crucified with Christ so we may also rise with Him?
g. Does the Holy Bible speak of a coming of the Word of God for our salvation, then a
second coming to take up His Church to sequester it from the Great Tribulation, and then yet a third coming for the final judgment?
We will return to answer these questions and show that the apostle Paul did not by any means intend the words of 1 Thess. 4:17 to be understood the way John Derby interpreted them.
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty