Greek, Latin, and English "Rapture'

[Philip] ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord SNATCHED (my emphasis) Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. (Acts 8:38-40) What happened to Philip in this passage is similar to what seems to have occurred in John 6, when Jesus walked on the water, got into the disciples’ boat, “and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going” (John 6:21). Both scenes reminded me of the theological doctrine many call “The Rapture of the Church.”  The rapture of the Church refers to the belief that Jesus will, at some point before His Second Advent, suddenly (in the twinkling of an eye – 1 Corinthians 15:52) “snatch away’ or ‘catch up’ all who belong to Him. They will suddenly be given glorified bodies and will join all who have already died ‘in Christ’. Some have argued that the word, ‘rapture’ is not in the Bible and therefore is an erroneous theological position. But, actually, the word is in the Bible. For example: 2 Corinthians 12:2  -- “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was 'caught up' to the third heaven.” Also, 1 Thessalonians 4:16- 17  “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be 'caught up' together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” The Greek word St. Paul used in these passages, and then translated to the English ‘caught up’ is harpazo. Harpazo means 'to be snatched away’ or ‘to be seized.’ When St. Jerome translated the Greek New Testament into Latin, he used conjugates of the verb ‘rapio.’ It is from those conjugates and cognates of the Latin ‘rapio’ that we get the English word, “rapture.” The doctrine of the rapture is implied in several other New Testament passages as well – a discussion beyond the scope of this short note. My point, however, is to clarify that the word ‘Rapture’ does, indeed, appear in the New Testament.