The Rapture - Biblical Fact or Fiction?

I was approached today and asked if I would include the following argument on my blog. Well, after a little bit of research, I believe I will. First, let me quote 1 Thessalonians 4:17:

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.

Now, let me define some key terms in this verse from the original Greek. The phrase "shall be caught up" comes from the Greek word harpazo, which means 1) to seize, carry off by force; 2) to seize on, claim for one's self eagerly; 3) to snatch out or away. This Greek word is the same word used in John 10:29 where Jesus says, "My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand."

The phrase "the clouds" is from the Greek word nephele, which literally means "a cloud." Nothing figurative here.

The phrase "the air" is from the Greek word aer, which means "the air, particularly the lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air." It also means "the atmospheric region".

Now, the question is, where in this verse does it ever state "rapture" and "heaven"? Well, in my humble opinion, it doesn't. "Rapture" derives from Latin raptus, past participle of rapere, which means "to seize". The word "rape" also comes from this same root. Heaven as we know it, well, is not mentioned here.

As a matter of fact, the word "rapture" never appears in the Bible in any form. "Now", you say, "if the word 'rapture' is not in the Bible, then where did it come from?" Well, I'm about to tell you. According to several sources, among them this article, the "Rapture" doctrine originated around or before 1830. Dave MacPherson, a post-tribulational dispensationalist, wrote several books on the history of the pretribulation Rapture doctrine. He has traced it back to c. 1830, where a 15-year-old girl by the name of Margaret Macdonald had a series of trance-induced revelations. She was a member of Edward Irving's church in Scotland, and her revelations came during special prayer meetings held outside the church. Prior to this time, not an inkling of the term "rapture", or the doctrine thereof, is included in any writing by any theologians, including the church fathers. Ms. Macdonald was in a state of illness; she was dangerously sick and thought she was dying. She is supposed to have come under "power" of the Spirit for several successive hours during which she experienced the manifestations of "mingled prophecy and vision". The message she apparently received was that Jesus was coming back in two stages, not one. This has been the primary source of the modern Rapture doctrine. The idea was then picked up by one John Nelson Darby, who went on to found the Plymouth Brethren group.

For more information, I invite you to check out this website and also this website.

I invite you to also do your own research and come up with arguments either for or against the Rapture doctrine. Please, please post them back here if you find anything! Thanks, and God Bless!