So What Is "The Rapture" Anyway?

Let's start with the basics about "the rapture".

What do we mean, first of all, by the term "rapture" ? In my opinion, the term itself, not found in the Bible, is part of the problem we are having to confront. By giving a new label to this portion of the second coming of Jesus, the teachers who promote this message cause their hearers to understand it in a separated way. "Different name, different event," they reason. The word itself means the state of being "caught away in body or spirit." The idea roughly corresponds to the Greek harpadzo, used several times in Scripture, and translated several ways, but always with the idea of taking something away. Consider the following passages (the words in quotes come from harpadzo):

• Matthew 13:19 speaks of how the enemy "snatches" what of God's Word is sown in the heart of man.

• John 10:12, in a similar vein, speaks of the wolf who "catches" sheep and then scatters them.

• In Acts 8:39, the Spirit of the Lord "caught away" Philip.

• II Corinthians 12:2- 4, speaks of Paul's "catching up" into Paradise. Here is a preview of our own "rapture."

• I Thessalonians 4:17 uses harpadzo to speak of the subject at hand, the "catching up" of all believers to be with the Lord.

• In Revelation 12:5, the elect child is "caught up" to God.

So, the idea of a "catching up", from Enoch to Elijah to Jesus, to our own future appointment with Christ, is a legitimate one, and the term "rapture" seen in this light is surely a descriptive helpful word. However it is unfortunate that the catching away of Christ's Bride has been disassociated from the destination of the believers. We will be caught up. Of this there is no doubt or contention. But when? And then what? We are not left suspended in air! What happens before and after our rapture? Well, that is the subject of another study. For now, I think it's clear that there is a "catching away" from Earth to glory, and that that "snatching" is what people are talking about when they use the term "rapture."

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.