Harpazo
Caught up, to take, to pluck
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up <harpazo> together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
726. harpazo
harpazo har-pad'-zo
from a derivative of 138; to seize (in various applications):--catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
G726
ἁρπάζω harpazō
Thayer Definition:
1) to seize, carry off by force
2) to seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly
3) to snatch out or away
Part of Speech: verb
Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take <harpazo> it by force <harpazo>.
2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth such an one caught up <harpazo> to the third heaven.
2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up <harpazo> into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Matthew 13:19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away <harpazo> that which was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the way side.
John 6:15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take <harpazo> him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
John 10:12 But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches <harpazo> them, and scatters the sheep.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck <harpazo> them out of my hand.
John 10:29 My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck <harpazo> them out of my Father's hand.
Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away <harpazo> Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 23:10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take <harpazo> him by force from among them, and to bring him into the barracks.
Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling <harpazo> them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up <harpazo> unto God, and to his throne.
Rapture is a state or experience of being carried away. The English word rapture comes from a Latin word, rapio, which means to seize or snatch in relation to an ecstasy of spirit or the actual removal from one place to another. In other words, it means to be carried away in spirit or in body. The Rapture of the church means the carrying away of the church from earth to heaven.
The Greek word from this term “rapture” is derived appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, translated “caught up.” The Latin translation of this verse used the word rapturo. The Greek word it translates is harpazo, which means to snatch or take away. Elsewhere it is used to describe how the Spirit caught up Philip near Gaza and brought him to Caesarea (Acts 8:39) and to describe Paul’s experience of being caught up into the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-4). Thus there can be no doubt that the word is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 to indicate the actual removal of people from earth to heaven.
***Editor's Note: The Latin Vulgate used a different form of the same verb-- "Rapiemur" instead of "Rapturo."
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