A Rapture Study: One Taken, One Left

In A Rapture Study: Rapture vs Second Coming, I began taking a look at the differences between the rapture and the second coming. I made the case as to why the rapture and second coming of Christ are 2 separate and distinct events. I first took a brief look at the sequence of events in Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.

Then I examined the differences between the use of episynagō (to gather together) used in Matthew 23:37-39 and Matthew 24:31 and harpazō (to seize) used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

I then used this point to introduce the Jewish context that I believe is needed to better understand what exactly is going on in Matthew 24 to further differentiate between the rapture and the second coming of Christ.

In part 2 I then used the glorification of the believer at the rapture, the saints’ return with Christ at his second coming, and the judgment of the goat and sheep nations at the end of the tribulation to further illustrate this point.

In the first part of this study I’ll continue to take a look at the differences between the rapture and the second coming but this time by heading to Matthew 24:40-41, a section that is often attributed to be the rapture of the church. I’ll first take a look at the context to see if being “taken” is a good or bad thing and how this helps us understand what Jesus is talking about.

Being Taken, Good or Bad?

To start, in Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus likens the state of the earth and specifically the judgment that will overtake those on the earth – at the time of his 2nd coming – to the time of Noah,

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39)

This is an important place to start because it dictates the context of what’s to follow. He then proceeds in Matthew 24:40 by saying, “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left”.

It’s at this point that some would argue that those taken here are taken via the rapture while those left are left behind on earth (presumably to go through the tribulation period).

Some who argue for a rapture here refer to the Greek of “taken” – “paralambanō” and then tie its use here in Matthew 24:40 with how Jesus uses it in John 14:3 concerning the rapture, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive [paralambanō] you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also”.

The case is then made that since Jesus used paralambanō to speak on the rapture there, specifically in receiving us to himself, therefore the use of paralambanō in Matthew 24:40 must be referring to the same subject – the rapture. However, the word can be used in either a negative or positive situation and not in a positive situation only.

And when we keep into consideration the context which it’s being used, paralleling the judgment of Noah’s day, it should be clear to us that the intended meaning is a negative one denoting judgment.

The argument is also made that in Matthew 24:39, the Greek word “airō” is used to speak of those who were taken away by the flood in Noah’s time and then in verse 40 a switch is done from airō to paralambanō showing us that a different idea is in scope here. However, this is not the first place in scripture we see airō and paralambanō used together.

We can see these same two words used together in John 19:15-16 concerning Jesus being handed over to be crucified, “But they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him [airō]! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took [paralambanō] Jesus and led Him away“, (John 19:15-16). It’s clear to us that with the use of airō and paralambanō in this passage that there is no shift or change in subject just because two different words are used.

We can see both of them are used in the same context to denote the same idea of Jesus being handed over/taken to be crucified. Due to this, I don’t believe that the use of airō and paralambanō in Matthew 24:39-40 leads us to the conclusion that two separate ideas are being conveyed to us. The context in this passage clearly gives us the clues needed to interprete it as necessary.

Thomas Ice in his commentary, An Interpretation of Matthew 24-25, quotes Stan Toussaint to further highlight how the use of paralambanō in Matthew 24:40 does not correlate to the rapture,

Is this a description of the rapture of the church or of the taking of the wicked to judgment? Those who take the former position argue that “to take” (paralambano), the verb used here, is to be differentiated from “to take” (airw), the verb used in verse thirty-nine. It is asserted that paralambano signifies the act whereby Christ receives His own to Himself. However, paralambano is also used in a bad sense (cf. Matthew 4:5, 8; John 19:16). Since it is parallel in thought with those who were taken in the judgment of the flood, it is best to refer the verb to those who were taken for judgment preceding the establishment of the kingdom. The difference in verbs can be accounted for on the basis of accuracy of description.

Although some indeed see this as a verse describing the rapture, we’re already starting to see how this can’t be the case due to the aforementioned context from verses 37-39.

In Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus explained that as the wicked were taken by a flood during Noah’s time, likewise, so will the time period concerning his coming be – the wicked will be “taken” suddenly in judgment. He’s using the reality of the flood which was a judgment against mankind as a comparison to the judgment that’s yet future. John Walvoord in his book, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come, also makes the same argument stating,

According to Matthew 24:40-41, ‘Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.’ Because at the rapture, believers will be taken out of the world, some have confused this with the rapture of the church. Here, however, the situation is the reverse. The one who is left, is left to enter the kingdom; the one who is taken, is taken in judgment. This is in keeping with the illustration of the time of Noah when the ones taken away are the unbelievers. (Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come, 193)

To add to this point, we also must keep in mind the overall context of Matthew 24, being Jewish in nature which is something I’ve stressed in my previous articles A Rapture Study: The Tribulation and A Rapture Study: Rapture vs Second Coming.

I’ve made the case that due to the references concerning the abomination of desolation which takes place in the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15) – a time reserved for Daniel’s people (the Jews) and their holy city (Jerusalem – Daniel 9:20, 24), the warning to flee to the mountains to those who live in Judea (Matthew 24:16) after the event takes place as well as the statement concerning the possibility of it occurring on the sabbath (Matthew 24:20) are all Jewish in nature.

In Christ’s Olivet Discourse on the End of the Age – Part I, John Walvoord also makes this point clear regarding both Matthew 24 and Matthew 25,

In Matthew 24—25 the expositor should, therefore, understand that the program of God for the end of the age has in view the period ending with the second coming of Christ to the earth and the establishment of His earthly Kingdom, not the church age specifically ending with the rapture. Both the questions of the disciples and the answers of Christ are, therefore, keyed to the Jewish expectation based on Old Testament prophecy, and the program of God for the earth in general rather than the church as the body of Christ.

This overall context expressed in the chapter should solidify our understanding that this relates to the Jewish people and not the church, so therefore a rapture is not in scope.

In Luke 17:26-27, we find that Jesus makes the same allusion to Noah’s day as we read in Matthew 24:38-39 as he likened that judgment to the one that will occur at his Second Coming. This point is further reiterated through his use of the judgment that befell Sodom and Gomorrah as they went on about their lives until judgment swiftly, and suddenly overtook them (Luke 17:28-30).

As we proceed we see that Luke 17:34-36 repeats the general idea of a person being “taken” while another is “left” just as we read in Matthew 24:40-41 with differences only in the actions performed when this event occurs. However we can see here that it’s made clear in verse 42 that being “taken” is not a good thing despite how many believe it to be, “And they answered and said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ So He said to them, ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together’”, (Luke 17:37).

Who Does the Taking?

Now that we understand the larger context of Matthew 24 as well as Matthew 24:39-40 with its parallel passage in Luke 17:34-36, we know that being taken is an act of judgment that occurs at Christ’s second coming. However, how exactly are unbelievers “taken”? In Noah’s generation it was done via the flood.

I believe the answer to this can be found in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) as well as the parable of the dragnet (Matthew 13:47-52). Something worth noting here is that the parable of the wheat and tares is another part of the bible some use to refer to the rapture (like Matthew 24:36-41 and Luke 17:26-37) where the rapture isn’t being discussed but rather judgments at Christ’s second coming. I plan to talk about these two parables in depth in a different study.

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus gives a parable concerning the wheat and tares which he later expounds upon in Matthew 13:36-43. He explains that the parable of the wheat and tares concerns a “harvest” at the “end of the age” where the reapers are angels,

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41-42)

During this harvest that takes place at the end of the age, the “tares” (the “sons of the wicked one” or unbelievers) will first be gathered up by the angels who are the “reapers” and thrown into hell (Matthew 13:30, 40-42) while the “wheat” (the “sons of the kingdom or believers) will be gathered by the angels into the “barn” or the millennial kingdom (Matthew 13:30, 43).

Matthew 13:47-52 also highlights this harvest and judgment in the parable of the dragnet where Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a “dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” (Matthew 13:47-50).

Again, we see the same theme of the just and wicked being separated by angels and thrown into a “furnace of fire” or hell. We see that in both parables, the ones doing the “taking” are the angels.

Although out of scope for this study we can see the idea of angels returning with Christ at his second coming in Matthew 25 in reference to the judgment of the goat and sheep nations, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats,” (Matthew 25:31-32).

It’s these angels that will return with Christ at his second coming to execute this judgment and “take” unbelievers into judgment. From these passages, it can be inferred that those “taken” into judgment are essentially the “tares” that are gathered by the angels. In part 2 of this study, I dig deeper into Luke 17:37 to understand the nature of the judgment that’s being discussed here.

Other articles in this series:

1. A Rapture Study
2. A Rapture Study: The Tribulation
3. A Rapture Study: The Tribulation II
4. A Rapture Study: Rapture vs Second Coming
5. A Rapture Study: Rapture vs Second Coming II
6. A Rapture Study: One Taken, One Left II
7. A Rapture Study: Parable of the Wheat and Tares

Also Learn more about what follows this “blessed hope”:

1. Beyond The Blessed Hope