The Rapture of the Church
Before we discuss the concept of the Rapture, it is imperative to dive deeply and examine different facts about the Rapture. We need to research the issue that surrounds the Rapture, for the word “Rapture” is indeed not found in the Bible, just as the word “Trinity” is also not in the Bible.
The Koine Greek New Testament which was written approximately between: (~50–100 CE), is the original text of the New Testament. The Koine Greek New Testament (the original) is almost the same as the Greek New Testament we use now, and the Greek New Testament is also the New Testament we use today in the form of modern English translations such as: KJV (King James Version), NIV (New International Version), ESV (English Standard Version). They are adopted from the Greek New Testament. Below are the summary of etymology:
Greek Origin: "Harpazo"
The Greek word "harpazo" (??p???), found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 in the original Koine Greek New Testament means "to seize," "snatch away," or "catch up." This word is the theological and linguistic foundation for the concept of the Rapture, as it describes believers being "caught up" to meet Christ in the air.
Latin Translation: "Rapiemur"
When the New Testament was translated into Latin in the 4th century by St. Jerome (the Latin Vulgate), the Greek word "harpazo" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 was rendered as "rapiemur", the first-person plural future passive indicative form of the Latin verb "rapio" (meaning "to seize," "snatch," or "carry off"). "Rapiemur" translates to "we will be caught up."
English Term: "Rapture"
The English word "Rapture" comes directly from the Latin "rapio" (via "rapiemur") through its influence on theological terminology. The term entered English in the early 19th century, particularly in the context of the Rapture doctrine popularized by John Nelson Darby. The English word "Rapture" is derived from the Latin root "rap-" (from "rapio") and its association with being "carried away" or "caught up," reflecting the meaning of both "harpazo" and "rapiemur."
The English word “Rapture” comes from the Latin root “rapio” not directly from Greek. So while “Rapture” isn’t in the English Bible, it’s a theological term derived from the Latin translation of the Greek original.
The Greek word ”harpazo” was originally in the Greek New Testament, and St. Jerome faithfully translated it into Latin as “rapiemur” in the Vulgate, and later translated into English word “Rapture”. Thus, the word “Rapture” was originally preserved linguistically and theologically from Greek to Latin to modern understanding of English Language.
So from the time that the original Bible New Testament was published in Koine Greek, the Greek word “harpazo” was already there. As explained earlier, the English word “Rapture” is a derivative of the Latin word “rapio” (via rapiemur), and these Latin derivative is a direct translation of the Greek word “harpazo” from which the word Rapture originates and traces its root.
So the veracity of the word "Rapture" is infallible, it is irrefutable. Yes it is true that the word “Rapure” is not found in the Bible, but the concept is there, the concept is clearly derived from the Greek word "harpazo" (??p???) in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which means "to seize" or "catch up." This describes believers being "caught up" to meet Christ in the air, forming the basis of the Rapture doctrine. Similarly, the word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, but the concept of one God in three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is inferred from various passages (e.g., Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14). Both terms—"Rapture" and "Trinity"—are theological labels developed later to describe concepts rooted in biblical texts. The Rapture concept is clearly tied to "harpazo" in the Greek New Testament, and the Trinity is supported by verses implying the unity and distinctness of the three divine persons. Thus, with absolute certainty, while the words "Rapture" and "Trinity" are absent from the Bible, their underlying concepts are present in the original Greek New Testament texts.
The Rapture verse or the real verse that teaches the truth about the Rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT (New Living Translation), this is the core passage on the Rapture, it is the clearest description of the Rapture, and this is what it says: (v13) “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. (v14) For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died. (v15) We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. (v16) For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. (v17) Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. (v18) So encourage each other with these words.
Note that the word “caught up” is translated from the Greek word “harpazo”, which means to snatch away and or seize suddenly upwards in the clouds as what verse 17 indicates.
This passage is considered the clearest and most foundational doctrine of the New Testament passage describing the Rapture. The Apostle Paul writes that believers who have died will rise first, and those who are alive will follow, and will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” – a moment of sudden transformation and reunion with Christ. The Rapture doctrine is fully revealed in the New Testament through the Apostle Paul. This was a unique revelation to Paul directly from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Paul received this teaching as evident in verse 15 that says: “I can tell you this directly from the Lord”, which implies a direct revelation from Christ Himself. The teaching was revealed directly to the Apostle Paul. He affirms this in 1 Corinthians 15:51, saying: “Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed”. The term “mystery” here refers to a truth or to something previously hidden but now revealed, used by Paul to describe new revelations from God that were not made known in the Old Testament.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not explicitly mention the Rapture in the New Testament Gospels; instead, He focused more on His Second Coming and the establishment of His kingdom, as well as end-time signs, judgment and concerning the nation of Israel. The Rapture doctrine was not taught by Jesus to His original 12 apostles, and the apostle Paul was not among the 12 apostles personally chosen by the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry (Matthew 10:2-4).
The Rapture, as a distinct event from the Second Coming, was not clearly taught until Paul, who received it by direct revelation from the risen Christ. Paul himself states that he was made an apostle not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:1). He also says: “for I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12). Thus, Paul received unique revelations, including the mystery of the Rapture, directly from our Lord Jesus Christ after His ascension into heaven.
During the Lord Jesus earthly ministry, Paul was a zealous persecutor of the early Christian Church in Jesus time. Paul became an apostle after Jesus resurrection and ascension, when the risen and glorified Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 8:1-3; Acts 9:1-9). After his conversion, Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles (Roman 11:13). Paul has a unique role in revealing Church Doctrine. He was used by God to reveal key truths about the Church Age, including:
• The Body of Christ
• The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
• The concept of justification by faith apart from the Law
• The Rapture of the Church
Even though it was not made known before, the Old Testament gives us glimpses through Enoch and the Prophet Elijah that God has the power to take His people directly to Himself without seeing death. In the Old Testament, Enoch and the Prophet Elijah was viewed as foreshadowing the Rapture. Both were taken by God without experiencing physical death:
• Enoch: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24). Hebrews 11:5 confirms this, and it says: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not
see death…because God had taken him…he had this testimony that he pleased God”.
• Elijah: “Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:11-12), witness by the prophet Elisha in verse 12 that says: “so he saw him no more”.
These events are seen as types or previews of what will happen to believers at the Rapture – being taken alive into God’s presence like Enoch and the Prophet Elijah.
Church comprises all Christians, they are literally known as Jesus followers, all Jesus believers; sometimes they are called the Saints, the Elect, God’s chosen one.
The Rapture is when Jesus comes down from heaven but He doesn’t come all the way to the earth. He stops in the clouds as what was mentioned earlier in the Rapture verse stated in verse 17 that says: “we will meet the Lord in the air”. During the Rapture event, believers who have died will rise from their graves. They will be ahead, for they will be the first one who will be caught up in the clouds as stated in verse 16. Then together with them (referring to dead believers), we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, as clarified in verse 17. Then we (referring to dead and living believers), will be with the Lord forever.
When this event takes place, believers who have already died will rise from their graves. Their dead and corruptible bodies from the graves will be transformed into incorruptible and immortal bodies, a bodies that will never die. After them, believers who are still living will follow. All Jesus followers who are alive at that time will not experience death, but their perishable mortal bodies and corruptible bodies will also be transformed into immortal and incorruptible bodies, a bodies that will never die (1 Corinthians 15:53-54). In other words, dead and living followers of Jesus will all be pulled away upward to be collected in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, afterwards all of them will be transported to heaven together with Jesus when the Rapture takes place. It is as if, all dead and alive followers of Jesus will suddenly be physically snatched away from the earth to be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Corinthians 15:52 says that: “It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye”. So this event is telling us that innumerable, countless (probably millions) Christians worldwide will suddenly be removed from the earth in the twinkling of an eye, as if great disappearance of Jesus followers will be witnessed in the Rapture event.
Philippians 3:20-21 says: “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own.” So when the Rapture happens, our mortal bodies will be transformed into a glorified bodies like what this verse is implying. That our transformed incorruptible, immortal bodies will conform to be like our Lord Jesus Christ glorified bodies after he was risen on the third day. So if our glorified bodies have the same characteristics as that of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can expect the same extraordinary qualities of our Lord Jesus glorified bodies after His resurrection as recorded in the Bible. Then we can share the same character that the Scripture affirm such as:
• Glorified body that could appear in closed rooms when Jesus appeared to His disciples even when the doors were shut (John 20:19). Lord Jesus glorified body was no longer bound by physical limitations, suggesting a spiritualize nature that could pass through barriers.
• Glorified body that have the ability to vanish or appear in different locations when Jesus appeared and disappeared suddenly suggesting a different dimensions of existence as recorded in Luke 24:31 that says: “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight.” Also in Luke 24:36, “As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”. This implies that our Lord Jesus Christ had the ability to appear in multiple places quickly or even at the same time. His sudden appearances in different locations, like on the road to Emmaus and later in Jerusalem, though the Bible doesn’t explicitly say He was omnipresent in human form, but His glorified body simply had supernatural mobility.
• Glorified body having the ability to levitate when He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9) when Jesus
ascended visibly into heaven that was witnessed by His apostles. This shows that the Lord Jesus glorified body could defy gravity, levitating and rising into heaven before the eyes of His apostles.
• Glorified body that is impassibility, for Jesus was no longer subject to suffering, sickness, or death. His glorified body was incorruptible, as described in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. His glorified body was immortal as described in 1 Corinthians 15:53.
• Glorified body that is physical yet transformed, for Jesus could be recognize and touch (Luke 24:39), and ate food (Luke 24:41-43), showing that His body was real and tangible, not a ghost or illusion
• Lord Jesus Christ glorified body shines with divine glory, just as Moses and Elijah did in the Mount of Transfiguration, shinning with heavenly radiance which is a glimpse of heavenly glory.
So all believers of Christ Jesus will also possess all the characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ glorified body mentioned here when the Rapture of the Church takes place. Lord Jesus Christ followers will one day receive glorified, radiant, incorruptible, immortal bodies, just like Jesus after His resurrection. Someday, Raptured Christians will be fully transformed, body and soul, and reflect God’s heavenly radiance.
The Rapture was already experienced by Enoch and the Prophet Elijah in Old Testament (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11-13) who did not experience death but was taken up alive in heaven when God took them from the earth. The Old Testament foreshadows the patterns for the New Testament fulfillment. And since the Old Testament serves as a shadow of things to come, and we have a prophetic pattern manifested in the Old Testament, for God has already demonstrated the bodily translation of Enoch and Elijah, then the Rapture of the Church is a theologically anticipated event, it is a precedent event that is yet to come. It is biblically supported that the Rapture will surely take place in the future.
As previously mentioned in this article, Christians worldwide will be transformed instantaneously. There will be great disappearance of Christians in the entire world. But there will also be innumerable people that will be left behind in the Rapture, people who do not put their faith in Jesus, and those left behind will enter into the seven years Tribulation – an event described in the Book of Revelation accompanied by natural disasters, calamities, catastrophic events, and chaos. It is a time of God’s wrath poured out on earth, a time of God’s judgment as described in the Book of Revelation. It is also the time of the Antichrist ruling and reigning as what the Bible mentions in the Book of Revelation. Those left behind will suffer the consequences brought about by the Tribulation recorded in the Scripture. Adversities are what awaits those who will be left behind in the Rapture. Thus, unbelievers who rejected or not accepted Jesus will remain on earth. This includes adherents of other religions, atheist, infidels, heretics, and even nominal Christians who never truly placed their faith in Christ, and nominal Christians that remain sinners. Those unbelievers left behind when the Rapture occurs will face a quickly changing world, and that change will not be for the better, but for the worst.
So those who do not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, including people from all religions and belief systems worldwide that do not place saving faith in Christ will be left behind. From a biblical perspective, the Rapture of the Church is an imminent event that can come anytime. Since the Rapture can come anytime, it is essential for us to accept our Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord God and Personal Savior and to repent and turn from sin, so as not to be left behind when the Rapture of the Church takes place.
P.S.
In my next article, I will be discussing the timing of the imminence of the Rapture as recorded in the Scripture, why it can come anytime. It is all about the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, the biblical basis why the Rapture happens before seven years Tribulation and why the Tribulation last for seven years.
