Question:            THE RAPTURE - WHY USE THAT WORD?

Who used the word "rapture" for the coming of Jesus to take Christians back with Him and leave those who do not believe for the Tribulation to begin?  I know "rapture" is of Latin descent and not Greek or Hebrew.

Answer:

The concept of the Rapture is addressed in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 and also in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where the Bible speaks of persons "caught up" to heaven or to meet Jesus in the air.  There is also a reference to this phenomenon in the Old Testament in Genesis..."And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:  And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:   And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him"...Genesis 5:22-24.  The word here used for "took" is "laqach" which means to carry away.

The word used in the Greek bible is "harpazo" which means to be caught up.  In the Latin Vulgate Bible the word "harpazo" was translated into Latin as "raptus" which means the same thing.  The word "rapture" thaat we use to refer to the catching away of the Christians comes from the Latin word "raptus."

Question: 

Why do we have to keep repenting for sin if Jesus already died that we could be forgiven for our sins?

Answer:

The sins we committed before we became Christians became Jesus' responsibility.  He took them upon Himself so that God would place us in the position of being clean and free from sin.  Jesus gave us a new beginning, a new lease on life, because of His sacrifice.  Once we accept that new lease, everything after that becomes our responsibility.  Jesus will not die again.  The sins we commit after we become Christians are the sins for which we will have to  repent to step back in the grace that He brought.  He suffered and died once, for two reasons:

1.  He died to blot out past transgressions.  He paid the debt for the sins we commited before we were saved.  This places us in God's good will.

2.  The second purpose for His sacrifice was to become the propitiation for sins committed after we become Christians.  In other words, because of Him, we enjoy the good will of God that means we can get forgiveness through Jesus Christ for sins commit after the new birth, assuming our repentance is sincere.  This allows us to remain in God's good will.

Question:

I see Jesus coming to earth three times, at birth, at t he Rapture and at the end of time.  Why do people only refer to His Second Coming?

Answer:

There is a difference between the coming of Jesus and the appearing of Jesus.  Jesus actually only comes TO the earth twice, meaning that He actually sets foot on this world.  He comes first as a babe, born to the virgin Mary.  His second appearance is at the Rapture, when He comes to gather the faithful.  But He does not set foot down; rather we are caught up to meet Him in the sky.  The third time He appears is at the end of  time, when He comes to do battle with the enemy.  So Jesus actually appears three times, but He comes to earth  only twice.  That's why His arrival as stated in the book of Revelation is consider the Second Coming, rather than the third.

Question:

Isn't it also true that if one is prophesying (sorry about the spelling) in tongues someone else is supposed to interpret? Unless you are using your personal prayer language?

Answer::

Absolutely! When the prophecy comes forth in tongues there must always be an interpretation.