"CAUGHT UP" - HARPAZO - 1 Thes 4:17
The term "caught up" depicts a powerful event. The Greek word "harpazo" (Strongs 726) conveys the idea of force suddenly exercised (Vines) and is used to describe a powerful release of God's energy. It means to be taken hold of, to be seized by a power beyond our own. For those who would say “caught up” means to be removed from the earth let us consider the following. Paul was “caught up” to the third heaven and whether in or out of his body but he did not leave the earth; he had access to spiritual realms and heard words which could not be expressed in human language. Philip was “caught away” by the Lord from one place to another but neither did he leave the earth. It seems Ezekiel also had a similar experience. Each received a powerful intervention of God's power which released them from the restrictions of this physical dimension but they were not taken away. (2 Cor 12:2-4, Acts 8:39, Ezk 8:3, 11:24)
The use of this word by the Lord himself reveals its meaning. Jesus used the same word but never said that people are taken out of the world. He said that "harpazo" empowers “men of force” to enter the