The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ 5

 LESSON 5

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT: AN EXPOSITION ON CHRIST'S WORDS IN MATTHEW 24:40-41

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible Study Programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ. The topic for this study is: "...the one shall be taken, and the other left": An Exposition on Christ's Words in Matthew 24:40-41. The complete message in this text reads: "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." 

Beloved, this statement of Christ as captured in Matthew 24:40-41 is set within the context of a variety of issues that Christ related concerning His second coming in Matthew 24. In Matthew 24:36-44, Jesus compared the events that took place in the days of Noah with the events that will take place prior to His second coming. In fact, we get a clearer picture of Christ’s words in Matthew 24:40-41 when we consider the larger passage of Matthew 24:36-44. Thus, at this point, I will want us to review this passage one verse at a time:

1. The text in Mathew 24:37 reads: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." As I stated earlier, Christ confirms in this text that the events that will occur prior to His second coming will be similar to those that took place just before the flood in the days of Noah. In other words, these two events share some parallels or similarities.

2. From the text in Matthew 24:38, we learn that  the people who lived in Noah's day engaged in eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark. This statement above basically means that the people in Noah's day went about their businesses as usual without seeing the need to change their course of life so they could be saved. 

3. Beloved, in Matthew 24:39, Christ makes it clear that before the people finally realized the seriousness of Noah's loud warnings, the floods had finally come; and in a rage took them all away. Christ warns us in this text that in our time too, a lot of people are going to focus on their various businesses as usual (work, school, entertainment, weddings etc.) without seeing the necessity to prepare their hearts for His second coming. 

4. During the time of Noah, two classes of people emerged after he had preached for 120 years. The large majority were destroyed by the flood; while only a few, even eight souls were saved through the ark (1 Peter 3:20). Christ taught his disciples in Matthew 24:40-41 that a similar scenario will occur when He comes the second time. That is, one class of people will be destroyed while another class will be saved.

 

5. Now, in regard to those who failed to heed Noah's warnings, the Scripture teaches that, the flood came and “took them all away” (Matthew 24:39). In other words, they were destroyed. Please note the phrase "took them all away". A similar usage is found in Christ's words in Matthew 24:40; "Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken (in other words destroyed), and the other left (in other words saved) (Emphasis Added). From this illustration of Christ, we learn that two people can be farmers in a field; Now, the one who will fail to prepare his heart for the Lord's coming will be taken (in other words, he will be destroyed). Nevertheless, the one who will make the adequate heart preparation by constantly watching for His Lord's coming will be left (in other words, he will be saved).

6. Friends, there are numerous quotations in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that support this position of interpreting Matthew 24:40-41 regarding the words taken and left. Here are some few examples. Let’s check them out:

A) TAKEN means destroyed: 

i. “So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken” (Jeremiah 38:28).

ii. “He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 48:44). 

iii. “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Peter 2:12).

B) LEFT means saved: 

i. “2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:” (Isaiah 4:2-3). 

ii. “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left” (Isaiah 24:6).

iii. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Beloved, when Christ appears the second time to redeem His people, the wicked will be destroyed (taken) by the brightness of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8), while the righteous will be (left alive) and proclaim: "...this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us;" (Isaiah 25:9). 

Friends, the above interpretation of "taken" and "left" as we have noted in Scripture is INCONSISTENT with the secret rapture interpretation of "taken" and "left"; where the people taken are those saved, and the people left are those doomed. 

7. Beloved, the disciple Luke also records this same discourse between Christ and His disciples in Luke 17:26-37. In the verses 34-37, we read the following: "34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." 

Friends, in the verse 37, the disciples were confused in regard to Christ's words.  And so they asked him the question: Lord, you are saying one will be taken and the other will be left. Where will the first group be taken? And Christ using strong metaphoric words declared: "Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together". In other words, Christ explained to the disciples that these people are going to be taken dead. This metaphor concerning the fate of the wicked is also used in connection with Christ's second coming in Revelation 19:11-21. The verses 17 and 18 of this chapter read: "17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great." 

Friends, from Matthew 24:40-41, we learn that just as the flood in Noah's time took away the wicked, so will the wicked inhabitants of the earth be destroyed when Christ appears the second time. 

8. From what we have studied so far, it is clear that the passage in Matthew 24:40-41 cannot be used to support the idea of a secret rapture. In fact, the Bible teaches the opposite in regard to the manner of Christ’s second. To prove this point, I want us to consider the following texts of Scripture:

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the VOICE of the archangel, and with the TRUMPET of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Capital Emphasis Added). Beloved, just a little thinking about this text will bring out the clear fact that Christ's second coming cannot be silent or secret as it involves shouting and trumpeting that comes from God Himself.

Moreover, 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which is the immediate next verse after the verse 16 above reads: "THEN WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN (that is, after the great devastation that will destroy the wicked as recorded in Revelation 6:14-17) SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM (That is, the resurrected saints) IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR: AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD” (Emphasis Added).

Beloved, when the Scripture says we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, the clear meaning from Scripture is that the innumerable host of angels who will attend Christ at His coming, will actually bear us up on their wings to meet our Lord in the air. Let's check the Bible evidence from Matthew 24:30-31. The text there reads: "30 And then shall APPEAR the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth MOURN, and they shall SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Capital Emphasis Added).

Friends, you may describe the passage above to mean anything but definitely not something that is secret or silent. With our Lord coming back with power and great glory; and then sending His angels to gather His faithful ones with the great sound of heavenly trumpets; while the numerous wicked of the earth mourn because of their doom, how on earth can anyone describe these events as of a secret or silent nature? 

Beloved, our Christ is not coming back as the humble Child who slept in a manger. He is fearlessly coming the second time with power and great glory, to redeem His faithful ones and dispense his wrath on the wicked (Revelation 22:12; Revelation 19:11-21).

Moreover, Revelation 1:7 declares: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so Amen" (Capital Emphasis Added).

Finally, beloved, Psalm 50:3 summarizes everything I have been trying to put across in this study with these words: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him."

Friends, as the Scripture evidence strongly points out, the idea of a silent secret rapture is not found anywhere in the Bible; and as we have learnt in our study today, the text in Matthew 24:40-41 cannot be used to justify the doctrine. 

Exhortation: Soon and not too far away, our Saviour will come to redeem His saints. Will you be taken (lost) or left (saved)? Why not ask our Loving Father in prayer now for the necessary strength to make the needed heart preparation for the soon coming of Jesus?

In our next study, we will consider the topic: "as a thief in the night": An Exposition on Paul's Words in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. Please do well to go through this text before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!