Is Ἀπάντησισ (Apantesis) A Technical Term? Anthony T. Hopkins © 2020 Abstract: Some posttribulationists have argued that the use of ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 demonstrates that the Rapture is posttribulational. In this article we will examine the findings of early twentieth-century lexicographers, commentators, and the theologians Erik Peterson and Michael Cosby with regard to the words ἀπάντησις (apantēsis), ἀπάντάω (apantaō), ὑπάντησις (hupantēsis), ὑπάντάω (hupantaō), συνάντησις (sunantēsis), συνάντάω (sunantaō), and ὑπάπάντησις (hupapantēsis). We conclude that the verbs, ἀπάντάω, ὑπάντάω, and συνάντάω, are not technical but that nouns, ἀπάντησις, and, ὑπάντησις, can and often are used in a technical sense and that the use of ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 can legitimately be used in favour of the view that the Rapture is posttribulational. Key words: Erik Peterson, ἀπάντησις (apantēsis), “Die Einholung des Kyrios“, Michael R. Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, Rapture The Lexicographers In a 1906 publication, James Hope Moulton wrote concerning the word apantēsis: “It seems that the special idea of the word was the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary—an idea singularly in place in the NT exx.”1 He cites a single example from the Greek Old Testament (“The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army”) and a petition from the Tebtunis Papyri dating to 118 BC: “On Athur 17 of the present 53rd year it came to our knowledge that Asclepiades…was come to the village, and in accordance with (custom) we came out to meet him [paregenēthēmen eis apantēsin].”2 In a 1908 publication, George Milligan wrote: “An interesting instance of the phrase is furnished by Polyb. v. 26. 8 εἰς τὴν ἀπάντησιν ‘at his reception,’ with reference to 1 James Hope Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, Volume 1, Prolegomena (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1906), 14, n. 3. 2 Tebtunis Papyrus 43, 147–148. the preparations made for the welcome of Apelles in Corinth, with which may be compared P.Teb. 43, 7 (ii./B.C.) παρεγενήθημεν εἰς ἀπάντησιν of the formal reception of a newly-arriving magistrate.”3 In a collaboration begun in 1914, but cut short by Moulton’s tragic death at sea in 1917, and completed by Milligan in 1929, Moulton/Milligan writes: “The word seems to have been a kind of t.t. for the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary—a usage which accords excellently with its NT usage.”4 Erik Peterson’s “Die Einholung des Kyrios“ In a 1930 paper, Erik Peterson sought to demonstrate from quotations from ancient papyri, inscriptions and literature that the words ἀπάντησις (apantēsis), ἀπάντάω (apantaō), ὑπάντησις (hupantēsis), and ὑπάντάω (hupantaō), συνάντησις (sunantēsis), 3 George Milligan, St Paul’s Epistles to the Thessalonians: The Greek Text with Introduction and Notes (London: Macmillan and Co., 1908), 62. 4 James Hope Moulton and George Milligan The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non-Literary Sources (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914–1929), 53. συνάντάω sunantanō, and ὑπάπάντησις (hupapantēsis), “were used to describe a formal meeting of an important individual who was coming to a city (e.g., an emperor or general, or in Christian times, a visiting bishop”. Michael Cosby paraphrases Peterson’s description of such receptions thus: In anticipation of the coming, a formal resolution would be made to announce the event. On the day of the arrival, the city dignitaries would lead a large contingent of the local populace out of the city walls to conduct a formal reception and escort the esteemed individual back into the city. In this procession would be people representing various groups of citizens, such as priests dressed in their finest and carrying cult objects, soldiers in dress uniform, and teachers from the gymnasium with their students. The people typically wore garlands, and frequently the city was specially decorated and performed [sic] with burning incense. At the actual meeting the people shouted their welcome and praises to honor the arriving dignitary and often sang songs. Once inside the city, the arriving official would usually offer sacrifice on one or more altars and sometimes pronounce judgment on selected prisoners, liberating some and sentencing others to execution.5 This, in Peterson’s judgment, forms the conceptual framework of Paul’s use of the words eis apantēsin in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Commentators Moulton, Milligan, Moulton and Milligan, and Peterson were followed in this understanding by a number of more recent scholars—though with varying degrees of 5 Michael R. Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions and Paul’s use of ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΙΣ in 1 Thessalonians 4:17”, Bulletin for Biblical Research 4 (1994), 15 – 34. Cosby cites Erik Peterson, „Die Einholung des Kyrios,“ ZST 1 (1930) 682–702 (esp. 693–97). caution—including Ernest Best, who cites Peterson,6 W. Mundle,7 I. Howard Marshall, 8 Leon Morris,9 and F. F. Bruce,10 David J. Williams, 11 and Jeffrey A. D. Weima.12 In his contribution to the first volume of the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Peterson cited further evidence of the widespread understanding of apantēsis Ernest Best, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians , Black’s New 6 Testament Commentaries (London: A & C Black, 1972), 119–200. 7 W. Mundle, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology , Volume 1, ed. C. Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1975), 324–25. 8 I. Howard Marshall, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, NCB (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983) 131. 9 Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Volume 13 (Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press /Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 92. 10 F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary, volume 45 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982), 102. 11 David J. Williams, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, New International Biblical Commentary Series, Volume 12 (Peabody, MA: Hendricksom Publishers, Inc., 1992), 85. 12 Jeffrey A. D. Weima, 1–2 Thessalonians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic), 333–335. as referring to a “formal reception” in the rabbis’ use of this term as a loanword, for example: “The great of the city moved out to meet [‫ ]לאפני‬the king.” (Midrash Tanḥuma 178a)13 F. F. Bruce provides further evidence from Cicero: So Cicero, describing Julius Caesar’s progress through Italy in 49 B.C., says, “Just imagine what ἀπαντήσεις he is receiving from the towns, what honors are paid to him!” (Ad Att. 8.16.2), and five years later he says much the same thing about Caesar’s adopted son Octavian: “The municipalities are showing the boy remarkable favour. . . . Wonderful ἀπαντήσεις and encouragement!’” (Ad Att. 16.11.6).14 Although it is not possible to be dogmatic on this point, the semi-technical use of the word apantēsis in Greek literature to refer to a formal reception, following which a visiting dignitary was escorted back to the city by a delegation of its citizens who had gone 13 Weima, 1–2 Thessalonians, 334. Weima cites the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 1:381. 14 F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary, volume 45 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982), 102–03. out to meet him, and which was widely recognised in the Greek-speaking world, strongly suggests that after the apantēsin tou kurious eis aera (“meeting with the Lord in the air”), the saints will escort Jesus back to earth in accordance with the premillennialist posttribulationist view of the Rapture. Michael R. Cosby’s “Hellenistic Formal Receptions” In a 1994 study, Michael R. Cosby questioned whether the word ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) was indeed a technical term for a Hellenistic formal reception and whether this was the thought behind Paul’s use of the word in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. He writes: Ἀπάντησις finds widespread use in ancient texts, but the events described vary substantially author by author. One cannot responsibly claim that ἀπάντησις is a technical term on the basis of its percentage of use in passages describing formal receptions. Of its many occurrences in Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheca historica, for example, most involve the meeting of soldiers in battle, and the same is true for the historical work of Polybius. Sometime ἀπάντησις describes a formal greeting of a dignitary, but often it does not. And some descriptions of such receptions do not use ἀπάντησις or ὑπάντησις (or the verb forms of these words). A computer search of the literature written during the several centuries surrounding Paul’s era using the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) produced 91 pages of citations of passages that employ forms of ἀπάντησις, ἀπάντάω, ὑπάντησις, and ὑπάντάω. Yet only a minority of the uses of these terms describes formal receptions. For example, in the passages located, Philo Judaeus uses these words 27 times, but not once to describe the meeting of a dignitary. Similarly, Josephus employs them 92 times, but only ten times in descriptions of formal receptions. In the LXX the noun ἀπάντησις is used frequently in 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles and sporadically in other books, particularly 1–3 Maccabees. Often it designates the hostile meeting of armies, although it also describes virtually any kind of meeting.15 It is indeed the case that “one cannot responsibly claim that ἀπάντησις is a technical term on the basis of its percentage of use in passages describing formal receptions”, but neither can one rule out the possibility purely on the basis of its restricted use in this sense. After all, Christians understood the παρουσία of the Lord Jesus Christ and similar such formulae to be a technical term referring to the Second Coming, and yet its use in 15 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 20–21. this sense makes up a tiny percentage of the total instances of its use in the Corpus of Greek literature. In the fifteen passages quoted or otherwise referenced in Cosby’s study, in which ἀπάντησις and related words are found, the verbs ἀπάντάω and ὑπάντάω are used respectively four and five times, and the noun ἀπάντησις is used twice and the related noun ὑπάντησις is used four times. Use of the verbs ἀπάντάω and ὑπάντάω We will look first at the passages in which the verbs ἀπάντάω and ὑπάντάω are used and which I have quoted below. From Dittenberger, Sylloge, Nr. 798: Res Gestae Divi Augusti. By decree of council assembled: those holding the most important offices were sent as far as Campania to meet [ὑπαντήσοντες, hupantēsontes] me.16 16 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 24. Cosby translates Peterson’s citations from “Dittenberger, Sylloge, Nr. 798” (“Die Einholung“, 685). From the Papyrus Petrie: After this we proceeded to Antioch and found the preparation and the enthusiasm of the crowds to be so great that we were all amazed. For they met [ἀπήντησαν, apēntēsan] us outside the city gate, chief officials and satraps, as well as the other civic leaders, and soldiers and priests and the various magistrates, together with all the youths from the gymnasium, and additionally a large crowd wearing garlands. 17 It should be pointed out here that this text is lacunose and that all but the final nu of πάντασ. Ἀπήντησ (pantas. Apantēs, “all. They met”) has been reconstructed. From Josephus’ description of the Roman citizens’ reception of Vespasian: 17 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 24. Cosby cites Papyrus Petrie 3.44, Col. 3, lines 17–25. Cosby translates text from Peterson, 684. Amidst such feelings of universal goodwill, those of higher rank, impatient of waiting for him, hastened to a great distance from Rome to be the first to greet [ἁπάντων, apantōn] him.18 The verbs ἀπάντάω and ὑπάντάω are also used in the context of formal meetings in Josephus’ Antiquities 12.138 (“a meeting of Antiochus, as recounted by Polybius”); 13.149 (“Askelon gives a formal meeting to Demetrius, Antiochus’ general”); and 19:340 (“Marcus, the ruler of Syria, is greeted by Herod Agrippa to show honor”).19 It would be difficult to argue that in the above passages the verbs ἀπάντάω and ὑπάντάω are used in a technical sense. With regard to the five passages in which the nouns ἀπάντησις and ὑπάντησις are used, however, their technical force cannot so easily be dismissed. Use of the nouns ἀπάντησις and ὑπάντησις 18 The Jewish War, Books IV–VII, volume 3 LCL; trans. H. St. J. Thackeray (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928), 7.68–72. 19 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 27. A decree from Cyzicus (c. 37 AD) reads: And all from Cyzicus, as an expression of their good will, meet [ὑπαντήσαντας, hupantēsantas] them with their rulers and garland bearers…and that the overseer of youth bring his young men and the teacher his students to the reception [ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπάντησιν, epi tēn hupantēsin].20 The passage from the Papyrus Petrie already quoted above continues: They brought out all the sacred artifacts for the procession to the meeting (πρὸς ἀπάντησιν, pros apantēsin]. Some extended the right hand in greeting, while others expressed their approval with applause and shouting.21 20 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 24. Cosby translates Peterson’s citations from “Dittenberger, Sylloge, Nr. 798” (“Die Einholung“, 685). 21 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 24–25. Cosby cites Papyrus Petrie 3.44, Col. 3, lines 17–25. Cosby translates text from Peterson, 684. Again, it should be pointed out that the text is lacunose and that the final sigma of πρὸς (pros) and the entire word, ἀπάντησιν (apantēsin), have been reconstructed. In his account of the arrival of Alexander the Great at Jerusalem, Josephus explains that Jaddua the high priest had a dream in which he was instructed to “adorn the city, and open the gates; and that the rest appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should meet [ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὑπάντησιν, poieisthai tēn hupantēsin] the king in the habits proper to their order”.22 Whiston’s translation masks the use of the noun, ὑπάντησις, in the phrase ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὑπάντησιν (literally, “to make the meeting”) in this instance and its use in preference to the more fluid verb ὑπάντάω is best explained with reference to its technical force. Josephus continues the account: And when [Jaddua] understood that [Alexander] was not far from the city, he went out in procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession [τὴν ὑπάντησιν] was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It reached to a place called Sapha.23 22 Antiquities of the Jews 11.8.4 (§327), trans. W. Whiston, The Works of Josephus. 23 Antiquities of the Jews, 11.8.5 (§ 329). The phrase, “manner…of other nations”, seems to be predicated on the assumption that the term ὑπάντησις was widely understood to have a technical use; and the odd phrase, “the meeting was unto a certain place being called Sapha” (Greek: τὴν ὑπάντησιν εἰς τόπον τινὰ Σαφειν λεγόμενον, tēn hupantēsin eis topon Saphein legomenon ), can only be understood if its use in this instance is technical. Josephus, in his Jewish War, describes the reception accorded to Titus by the Antiochenes as he made his way back to Rome after his suppression of the Jewish Revolt: The people of Antioch, on hearing that Titus was at hand, through joy could not bear to remain within their walls, but hastened to meet him [ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπάντησιν, epi tēn hupantēsin] and advanced to a distance of over thirty furlongs, not only men, but a crowd of women and children also, streaming out from the city.24 Another passage from Josephus’ Jewish War describes the Romans coming out to meet Titus, in which the plural form of ὑπάντησις is used: 24 The Jewish War, Books IV–VII, volume 3, LCL, 7.100. So when he had had a prosperous voyage to his mind, the city of Rome behaved itself in his reception [ὑποδοχὴν, hupodoxēn], and their meeting [ὑπαντήσεις, hupantēseis] him at a distance, as it did in the case of his father.25 In his study, Cosby cites an example of the use of the verb ἀπάντάω from Polybius, who recounts a meeting limited to soldiers: After entering the city in great pomp owing to the number of officers and soldiers who had flocked to meet him [τῶν ἀπαντησανων], he proceeded without alighting to the royal quarters.26 Unfortunately, the use of the noun ἀπάντησις in the previous sentence escaped Cosby’s attention: 25 The Jewish War, Books IV–VII, volume 3, LCL, 7.119. 26 Polybius: The Histories, volume 3, LCL, trans. W. R. Paton (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1923), 5.26.9. Apelles set out from Chalcis to the assistance of Leontius. On his arrival at Corinth, Leontius, Ptolemy and Megaleas, being commanders of the peltasts and the other chief divisions of the army, took great pains to incite the young men to go to meet him.27 The above quotation is taken from Evelyn S. Shuckburgh’s 1889 translation in which the words “to go to meet him” translate εἰς τὴν ἀπάντησιν. In his 1923 translation of Polybius’ Histories, W. R. Paton’s rendered the abovequoted passage thus: [Apelles] hastened to the help of Leontius. On his arrival at Corinth Leontius, Ptolemaeus, and Megaleas, who were in command of the peltasts and the other crack corps, were at much pains to work up the soldiers to give him a fine reception [ἀπάντησιν]. 27 Polybius: The Histories, trans. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (London, New York. Macmillan. 1889. Reprint Bloomington 1962). 5.26.8. While the possibility that Paton was influenced in his choice of the expression, “fine reception”, to translate, τὴν ἀπάντησιν, by James Hope Moulton’s 1906, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, and George Milligan’s 1908 commentary on Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, in which the self-same passage from Polybius is cited, cannot be excluded, the use of the noun in preference to the more natural verb suggests that its use here is technical. Entirely absent from Cosby’s study is any discussion of what is undoubtedly one of the most significant examples of the use of the word ἀπάντησις (and, as it happens, also of the word παρουσία) in the entire corpus of Greek literature. The passage in which it occurs, also from Polybius (16.25.3–8), and which describes the reception that the Athenians gave to king Attalus I Soter of Pergamon (269–197 BC) on his arrival in Athens, is worth quoting in full: The Athenian people, being informed of his coming [τὴν παρουσίαν], passed very liberal votes as to the reception [τῆς ἀπαντήσεως; genitive form of ἀπάντησις] and general entertainment of the king. Arrived at the Piraeus, Attalus spent the first day in transacting business with the Roman ambassadors, and was extremely delighted to find that they were fully mindful of their ancient alliance with him, and quite prepared for the war with Philip. Next morning, in company with the Romans and the Athenian magistrates, he began his progress to the city in great state. For he was met [ἀπήντων, apēntōn; a participle form of the verb ἀπάντάω], not only by all the magistrates and the knights, but by all the citizens with their children and wives. And when the two processions met, the warmth of the welcome [τὴν ἀπάντησιν] given by the populace to the Romans, and still more to Attalus, could not have been exceeded. At his entrance into the city by the gate Dipylum the priests and priestesses lined the street on both sides: all the temples were then thrown open; victims were placed ready at all the altars; and the king was requested to offer sacrifice. Finally they voted him such high honours as they had never without great hesitation voted to any of their former benefactors.28 A form of the noun ἀπάντησις is used twice in the above passage and a form of the verb ἀπάντάω once. While the use of the verb ἀπάντάω is non-technical, it cannot seriously be contended that the first use of the noun ἀπάντησις, if not also the second, is nontechnical. 28 Histories. Polybius. trans. Shuckburgh. 16.25.3–8, 192–193. Cosby also cites Antiquities 13.101, in which Josephus recounts how, in Cosby’s words, “the people of Askelon have a reception in an attempt to buy off Jonathan”, and in which the noun ἀπάντησις is used.29 To the passages quoted or otherwise referenced by Cosby, we can add Polybius 5:43, which is cited in the definition of ἀπάντησις given in LSJ: While this was going on, Antiochus happened to be at Seleucia, on the Zeugma, when the Navarchus Diognetus arrived from Cappadocia, on the Euxine, bringing Laodice, the daughter of king Mithridates, an unmarried girl, destined to be the king’s wife…Having gone to meet the princess with all due pomp and splendour, Antiochus immediately celebrated his nuptials with royal magnificence.30 The words, “Having gone to meet the princess with all due pomp and splendour”, translate the words μετὰ τῆς ἁρμοζούσης ἀπαντήσεως καὶ προστασίας (meta tēs harmozousēs apantēseōs kai prostasias), and are perhaps more literally rendered, “after the fitting and 29 30 Cosby, “Hellenistic Formal Receptions”, 27. Polybius: The Histories, trans. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (London, New York: Macmillan), 1889. suitable reception”. That “pomp and splendour” should be considered “due”—or more accurately that the reception is described as “fitting and suitable—surely indicates that ἀπάντησις is used in a technical sense in this instance. Absent from Peterson’s article was any discussion of the use of ἀπάντησις and related words in the Greek version of the Old Testament. Cosby noted that the noun ἀπάντησις “is used frequently in 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles and sporadically in other books, particularly 1–3 Maccabees” and that “often it designates the hostile meeting of armies, although it also describes virtually any kind of meeting”. In a 1952 publication, J. Dupont faulted Peterson for not examining possible Jewish sources for Paul’s use of ἀπάντησις and related words in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and highlighted the use of the word in Genesis 14:17 and 2 Kingdoms 19:16 and 2o in the Greek version of the Old Testament: And the king of Sodom went out to meet him [Εξῆλθε…εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῷ, exēlthe…eis sunantēsin autō], after he returned from the slaughter of Chodollogomor, and the kings with him, to the valley of Saby; this was the plain of the kings. (Genesis 14:17) And Semei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Baurim, hasted and went down with the men of Juda to meet king [εἰς ἀπαντὴν, eis apantēn] David…For thy servant knows that I have sinned: and, behold, I am come to-day before all Israel and the house of Joseph, to go down and meet [εἰς ἀπαντὴν, eis apantēn] my lord the king. (2 Kingdoms 19:16, 2o) Of possible significance is the use of εἰς συνάντησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ (eis sunantēsin tou Theou) in the description of the giving of the law at Sinai in the Greek Old Testament: On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God [εἰς συνάντησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ, eis sunantēsin tou Theou], and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16–20) J. Dupont saw an analogy between the “very loud trumpet blast” and the fact that the people were brought “out of the camp to meet God” on the one hand and the Second Coming as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 on the other but his understanding of the coming of God in glory at Sinai as “le prototype” of the eschatological coming of the Lord Jesus has not met with widespread acceptance. The Use of the Words, ἀπάντησις (Apantēsis), and, ὑπάντησις (Hupantēsis), in the Bible Apantesis is used on two other occasions in the New Testament—in the parable of the virgins and in the account of Paul’s arrival in Rome as recorded in Acts: But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ (Matthew 25:6) And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. (Acts 28:15) In both texts, the words, “to meet”, translate the Greek εἰς ἀπάντησιν (eis apantēsin), which is more literally translated “to a meeting”. With regards to the parable of the virgins, it is not clear whether, following the apantēsis, the bridegroom continues on with the bride to his own home, or whether he comes to his father-in-law’s house to collect his bride and then is escorted with his bride back to his own home. Pretribulationists (unsurprisingly) argue the latter. It is clear from the context of Acts 28 that, after the brothers come to an apantēsis with Paul at the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns, they continue on with him on the last leg of his journey to Rome. Some posttribulationists (equally unsurprisingly) see this as an analogy of the saints’ apantēsis with Christ at the Rapture. The related word ὑπάντησις (hupantēsis) is used three times in the gospels. The first instance of its use is to be found in the account of the healing of Legion in Matthew: And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.” (Matthew 8:34) The second instance is to be found in the parable of the ten virgins: Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1) In both texts, the words, “to meet”, translate the Greek εἰς ὑπάντησιν (eis hupantēsin), which (again) is more literally translated “to a meeting”. Thus, both the words apantēsis and hupantēsis are to be found in this parable. Lastly, it is to be found in John’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem: So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him [εἰς ὑπάντησιν αὐτῷ, eis hupantēsin autō], crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13) Again, the words, eis hupantēsin are more literally translated “to a meeting”. Conclusion We conclude that the verbs, ἀπάντάω, ὑπάντάω, and συνάντάω, are not technical but that nouns, ἀπάντησις, and, ὑπάντησις, can and often are used in a technical sense and that the use of ἀπάντησις (apantēsis) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 can legitimately be used in favour of the view that the Rapture is posttribulational.