What does 1 Thessalonians 4:17 mean?

This verse continues an often-quoted description of "the rapture:" the sudden, bodily taking from earth of all Christians by Jesus Christ. That depiction, in turn, is part of Paul's reassurance to the Christians of Thessalonica. He is correcting certain fears and misunderstandings about the end times, including what happens to believers who die before Jesus returns. The prior verse describes the rapture as a dramatic event, which first involves the resurrection of those believers who have already died (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Following the resurrection of departed Christians, Jesus will snatch up living Christians who are "left." Being left should not trouble believers, because they are left for only a fleeting moment before Jesus takes them up from the earth to join Him in the clouds of earth's atmosphere. This event will introduce Christians to an eternity in Jesus' presence.

The word "clouds" is used metaphorically, most likely as a reference to the sky. Alternatively, Paul might mean this as crowds of people, just as it represents a crowd of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1. At any rate Jesus' arrival in earth's atmosphere suggests He offers Christians' safe passage through the Devil's territory, reflecting imagery used elsewhere in Scripture. The Devil is "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), but he is no match for Jesus. The apostle John offered strong encouragement by writing, "… he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

Notably, Paul makes it clear that this meeting is "in the air," and not on the literal surface of the earth. This is why the rapture is considered to be a separate event from the second coming of Christ. When Jesus fully returns to earth, a second time, He will do so leading the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11–16).