The Greek noun apantesis (ἀπάντησις) refers to a formal meeting or reception, particularly the custom of going out from a city to meet an approaching dignitary and escort them back in. It is a technical term of ancient civic ceremony.
Apantesis appears in Matthew 25:6 (the virgins going out to meet the bridegroom), Acts 28:15 (believers going out to meet Paul), and most significantly in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 — 'and so we will be with the Lord forever.' The word is a key text in eschatology: believers are 'caught up... to meet (apantesin) the Lord in the air.' The civic imagery suggests the welcoming party goes out to meet the arriving king and then escorts him back — pointing to a return, not a departure. The saints go out to meet the returning Christ and escort him as he comes to earth.