I DO NOT WANT TO BE THE ONE TAKEN
August 3, 2022 7:22 PM
Mike of the Midwest
2022/08/03
All Scripture references from the New King James Version Copyright by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
I read with great interest the recent post, dated 7/30, entitled THE TESTING OF OUR FAITH. I wholly agree that there is zero scriptural support for a pre-tribulation rapture (physical removal) of the saints. This submittal will only focus on the passage found in Matthew 24:36–44, that is widely used to claim that the “one taken” is the saint and the “one left” is the ungodly. The purpose here is to conclusively show that this scripture teaches the exact opposite.
We read in v37 that when the Son of Man comes, the conditions in the world will be just like it was when God told Noah to build an ark. V38 then describes the various activities that were ongoing until the day Noah entered the ark. The key to understanding this passage is v39. The rapture teachers would have us believe that it was Noah and his family that “….did not know until the flood came and took them all away…” (emphasis added). Quite the contrary, Noah knew what was coming. God told him what was coming and furthermore that he was to build an ark to keep his family safe while being in the middle of the flood.
So, that has to mean it is the ungodly who “…did not know…”and the ungodly who were subsequently “…taken away…”. V39 goes on to say “…so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. “ The scripture clearly says that the same thing is going to happen again.
V40 then means that the man taken from the field is the ungodly and the righteous man is left. The woman taken in v41 is the ungodly and the righteous woman is left. The remaining verses merely emphasize that no one knows the day nor the hour when Jesus is coming again.
This same event, describing the comparison to the days of Noah and the coming of the Son of Man is found in Luke 17:26–37. V27 specifically says that on the day Noah entered the ark, “…the flood came and destroyed them all.” Who got destroyed? It sure wasn’t Noah, because he was safely in the ark. As we saw in the Matthew passage, it was the ungodly who were taken away and destroyed.
The undisputable answer to all of this is v37. This comes right after Jesus tells of the one taken and the one that is left. It is here that His disciples asked Him “Where. Lord?” They were not asking where these people were left. It plainly says that one man was left in the bed, one woman will be left grinding, and one man will be left in the field. They were asking where they were taken. Jesus’ answer was “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered”. Other versions of the Bible use the word “vultures”. Both eagles and vultures are flesh-eating birds of prey. That is where the “one taken” ends up. That does not sound like a place where I would want to be.
In summary, if I am still alive when the coming of the Son of Man occurs, I most certainly do not want to be the one taken away. My hope and prayer is that I will be one of those who are left here.
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
