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NEW TESTAMENT RAPTURESOther than the Rapture of the church, there are other examples

of raptures in the New Testament. These do not teach about theRapture of the church, but they do serve to strengthen our under-standing that a rapture involves the translation of someone from onepoint to another.

Jesus ChristIn Revelation 12:5, Christ is called the “male child” who “was

caught up to God and to His throne.” This picture looks back toChrist’s ascension in Acts 1:8-11, where Christ ascended to heavenin a cloud. Because Revelation 12:5 uses the term “caught up” (or“rapture”), this means that Christ’s ascension in Acts 1:11 is viewedas a rapture—a trip from earth to heaven.

PhilipPhilip was “snatched…away” by the Spirit of the Lord after he

preached the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch and “found himself atAzotus” (Acts 8:39-40), which is located in the Gaza Strip in modern-day Israel. Philip was not taken to heaven but was physi-cally transported by the Lord.

PaulThe apostle Paul mentions that he was “caught up [raptured] to

the third heaven” and received “visions and revelations of the Lord”(2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Paul’s heavenly trip reminds us of Isaiah’sthrone-room commission (Isaiah 6:1-13). Perhaps a rapture wasinvolved in this incident. Paul, via rapture, received a commission,message, and revelation that became the foundation for the uniquepurpose for the church during this age, “which in other generations

Various Raptures in History and Prophecy

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