Chapter 19: Is the Word “Rapture” Biblical?
The catching away, or rapture of the body of Christ is biblical and from God. It is part of God’s plan of saving believers from the tribulation to come.
Many deny the word rapture; and also deny the event. Question, is the word rapture in the English version of the Bible? No! Is the word rapture, “rapturo” in the Latin Bibles? Yes!
The first 66 books of the Bible were first gathered together in the 4th century by Jerome. Jerome was a priest, theologian, and historian. He was born March 27th in the year 347 A.D. and died in September of 420 A.D. He is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin, and his commentaries on the Gospels.
The Bible was first written in Latin and the Latin word used for rapture is “rapturo” which means to be seized by force, snatched up. From the Latin, the Bible was then translated to Greek, and the Greek word used is, “harpazo” which also meanings “to seize upon by force” or “to snatch up”. Finally, the Bible was translated into English and the phrase used for rapture is “caught up.” So, the English word rapture comes from the Latin word “rapturo”, and the Greek word “harpazo,” all three mean the same thing, to seize upon by force, to snatch upon by force. So, depending on the Bible version and language your Bible is written in, the three words have the same meaning, therefore the three words are legit.
Here’s a good comparison, the name of our Lord in English is Jesus, in Hebrew its Yeshua, in Greek Iesous, in German, wer ist das. Question, is one correct and the other not? Of course not! Again, it would depend on the language your Bible is written in.
Therefore, in the same way, the English word “rapture” which means “to be caught up,” is an excellent translation for the Latin word, “rapturo”, or the Greek word “harpazo”, but they all mean the same thing.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com