From: theirony2013@gmail.com   
      
   On 2026-01-03 17:44, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   >   
   > First, I want to point out that the Greek word "harpazo"   
   > means to seize, snatch, or carry off by force. It's that   
   > Greek word that is translated into English in capital   
   > letters just below (that's my highlight, just to show   
   > where the word "harpazo" was used in the original Greek).   
   >   
   > Next, the Latin Vulgate translates "harpazo" as "rapiemur",   
   > which is the basis for the word "rapture" in English. With   
   > all that hopefully understood, here are the scriptures that   
   > describe the coming Rapture:   
   >   
   > "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a   
   > cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with   
   > the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ   
   > will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left,   
   > will be CAUGHT UP together with them in the clouds to   
   > meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with   
   > the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17   
   >   
   > This is backed up in the Bible by Jesus Himself, who   
   > said this:   
   >   
   > "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so,   
   > would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for   
   > you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come   
   > again and will take you to myself, that where I am you   
   > may be also." John 14:2-3   
   >   
   > But before we can go meet Jesus in the air, our bodies   
   > must be changed. And then He will take us to that place   
   > He has prepared for us in the Kingdom of God:   
   >   
   > "I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit   
   > the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the   
   > imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not   
   > all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in   
   > the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.   
   >   
   > "For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised   
   > imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable   
   > body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body   
   > must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the   
   > imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then   
   > shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is   
   > swallowed up in victory.'" 1 Corinthians 15:50   
   >   
   > So that's it. The Rapture is most certainly in the Bible,   
   > whether anyone chooses to believe in it or not. It's in   
   > the Bible, and that's what matters to me. Because the Bible   
   > is the true and accurate Word of God. The Bible has proven   
   > itself to be true with its 100% accuracy rating with its   
   > prophecies that have already happened.   
      
      
      
      
   REBUTTAL TO THE CLAIM THAT THE RAPTURE IS "CERTAINLY" IN THE BIBLE   
      
   Word meaning does not equal doctrine   
      
   No one disputes that the Greek word "harpazo" means "to seize" or   
   "catch up." The issue is not the word, but the doctrine built from it.   
   The Bible never names or defines a distinct end-times event called   
   "The Rapture." A word existing in Greek does not automatically prove   
   a specific theological system.   
      
   1 Thessalonians 4 describes the Second Coming, not a separate event   
      
   The passage includes:   
      
   The Lord descending   
      
   A loud command   
      
   The voice of an archangel   
      
   The trumpet of God   
      
   This is a public, visible event, not a secret removal of believers.   
   Paul presents one unified return of Christ, not two separate comings.   
      
   John 14 is comfort language, not end-times prophecy   
      
   John 14 contains no description of clouds, trumpets, resurrection,   
   timing, or tribulation. Jesus is reassuring His disciples before His   
   death. Reading a detailed rapture doctrine into this passage requires   
   importing ideas from elsewhere.   
      
   1 Corinthians 15 conflicts with a pre-tribulation rapture   
      
   Paul says the transformation happens at "the last trumpet."   
   If it is the last trumpet, it cannot occur before later prophetic   
   events that also include trumpets. The passage speaks of resurrection   
   and transformation, not evacuation from Earth.   
      
   Early Christians did not teach a rapture doctrine   
      
   For roughly 1,800 years, no major church father taught a pre-   
   tribulation rapture. The doctrine became popular in the 19th century.   
   If it were clearly taught in Scripture, early Christians somehow   
   missed it entirely.   
      
   "100% prophecy accuracy" is a claim, not proof   
      
   Saying the Bible has a perfect prophecy record assumes disputed   
   interpretations are already settled. Many prophecies are vague,   
   retrospective, or interpreted differently even within Christianity.   
      
   Bottom line   
      
   These verses can be assembled into a rapture theology, but they do   
   not require it. Saying something is "in the Bible" is not the same as   
   saying the Bible clearly teaches it.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)