29 - Ascension is Rapture

Bammerhab - Words from the Word

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29 - Ascension is Rapture

S3:E9 - "Anephereto" is Greek for "Carried Up" in Luke 24:51

SDG Morgan

May 29, 2025

Transcript

When you understand Jesus’ Old Testament references, you see that he spoke of end times more than anyone else in the Bible. But Jesus not only spoke of end times, he spoke of rapture, and he not only spoke of rapture, he demonstrated it.

Ascension Day is May 29th this year; it could just as easily be called Rapture Day. The two concepts are synonymous.

Just as Jesus modeled baptism for his church, and just as he was the first to have the spirit fall on him, just like Pentecost, and just like Jesus was the first to model how a Christian should live and how he expected his church to conduct herself, and just like Jesus was the first of his church to be resurrected, so too, Jesus was the first to be raptured. Only we miss it because of the language.

We call it Ascension. Luke called it anapharo. Paul called it harpazo which means to grab, and the Romans called it rapture, which means pretty much the same thing.

It’s a biblical theme. God can “grab” people and God does grab people.

The only difference between ascension and rapture being of course that Jesus left, he wasn’t grabbed. But that’s his prerogative and it doesn’t minimize the picture he meant to leave us with.

But maybe you are thinking that this is false because rapture theology is a recent invention? Well, that’s actually demonstrably false.

Don’t believe me? Let’s explore!

This episode digs deeper into “anephereto” (ἀνεφέρετο meaning ‘carried up’) in Luke 24:51.

Luke 24:51 - “And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” (KJV)