Bible Discussion Thread

where is a reference to the word rapture?

These are verses for the "Caught Up in the Clouds". Rapture is not in the English. I believe it's a Greek word.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:2

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Mark 13:26

And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Mark 14:62

And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Revelation 1:7

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

John 3:17 - For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[now pencil these scriptures in the back of your Bible; in case a friend asks you what you believe about this]

Hi Ray. The word 'Rapture' is not found in the Bible. In Greek, this 'snatching away' is 'harpazo' and when the word 'rapture' is often used now, it's taken from Latin, 'rapio': both meaning the same 'to seize or snatch from one place to another'.

Another example is in 2 Corinthians 5:10, referring to the 'judgement seat of Christ'. You may have heard it referred to as "the Bema Seat of Christ", which is a specific time of judgement for believers not aligned with any other judgement by God against unbelievers. And this 'judgement seat' in Greek is 'bematos', from whence comes this phrase 'bema seat'. So these are just other names given to specific events, names that appear in other languages.