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J-19. The RAPTURE: ONE TAKEN and the OTHER LEFT!
One of the Scriptures used by many, who teach from a perspective of a PRE-tribulation rapture in order to try and show that Christians are TAKEN out of the earth to escape the period of great tribulation is found in Matthew 24:40-42 which says.
“Then shall two be in a field: the one shall be TAKEN, and the other LEFT.
41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill: the one shall be TAKEN and the other LEFT.
42. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come.”
The PRE-tribulation view maintains that those who are TAKEN are Christians who are taken to heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb and therefore those TAKEN shall escape the great tribulation period, while those who are LEFT BEHIND will have to go through the great tribulation.
However, this is NOT what the Bible teaches what this verse means. Let's keep this verse in the context of where it is found and let the Bible interpret itself. For you see, the Bible ITSELF does NOT teach a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church.
Back up a few verses to Mathew 24:36-39 and read.
“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37. But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall ALSO the coming of the Son of man be.
38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe (Noah) entered the ark.
39. And knew NOT until the flood came, and TOOK them all away, so shall ALSO the coming of the Son of man be.”
Notice here that Jesus is comparing his COMING to the days of Noah and says, “as in the days of Noah so shall ALSO be the day of the Son of man”, when he comes again. People in Noah's day went about living their lives taking NO heed to Noah's preaching. Jesus said they went about eating and drinking as if nothing were going to happen and they KNEW NOT or refused to believe UNTIL the flood came and TOOK them all away to destruction.
You see, here in the days of Noah it is the WICKED who were TAKEN and destroyed and the RIGHTEOUS that were LEFT ALIVE and REMAIN.
Now please look at the passage of Scripture that is used to teach the rapture or being caught up into heaven to meet the Lord in the air.
Please read 1 Thessalonians 4:15, which teaches us that there will be Christians who have SURVIVED and have REMAINED ALIVE unto the COMING of the Lord.
“For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are ALIVE and REMAIN unto the coming of the Lord....”
The word “remain” here means to be LEFT. In other words, those Christians who are LEFT ALIVE or those who have REMAINED ALIVE will not prevent or go before those who have died in Christ, but TOGETHER we will all be changed in a twinkling of an eye and then be CAUGHT UP into the AIR to be GATHERED TOGETHER by the angels and then taken to MEET Jesus in the AIR over the place called ARMAGEDDON to execute the vengeance and WRATH of Almighty God.
The wicked are going to be TAKEN and destroyed just like it was in the days of NOAH when Jesus returns, while the RIGHTEOUS will be LEFT ALIVE and kept safe just like in the days of NOAH.
But the PRE-tribulation doctrine FALSELY teaches that those LEFT are LEFT BEHIND to endure the time of GREAT TRIBULATION, and the ones TAKEN are the church who are supposedly taken up to heaven for 7 years to eat the marriage supper of the Lamb and receive the reward or crown of eternal life, which totally contradicts what the CONTEXT of the verse in question teaches us.
Look at Matthew 13:24b-30 where Jesus tells us what the kingdom of God is like.
“...The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed GOOD seed in his field:
25. but while the man slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, did not you sow good seed in your field? From whence then has it tares?
28. He said unto them an enemy has done this. The servants said unto him, Will you then we go and gather them up?
29. But he said Nay; lest you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let them both grow together UNTIL the HARVEST: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers (The angels), gather you together FIRST the TARES, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Now the Bible interprets this passage of Scripture for us in this very same chapter. Skip down to verses 36-43 and read.
“Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house; and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us this parable of the tares in the field.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that sows the GOOD seed is the Son of man;
38. The field is the WORLD; the good seed are the children of the kingdom, but the TARES are the children of the WICKED one;
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the HARVEST is the END of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
40. As therefore the TARES are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be at the END of this world.
41. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that OFFEND, and them which do INIQUITY;
42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43. THEN (Speaking of after the wicked are gathered they are and are cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed by fire, THEN) shall the RIGHTEOUS shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Notice that Jesus said the TARES are the WICKED, and then notice that the TARES or that is to say the WICKED are TAKEN FIRST to be burned and that the RIGHTEOUS are LEFT ALIVE and THEN are gathered together into the kingdom of their Father.
So you see, those that teach the PRE-tribulation view of the rapture have NOT correctly divided the word of God when they try and say that those who are TAKEN are those who are righteous in Jesus Christ and the others that are LEFT BEHIND to go through the great tribulation period.
Let's read the passage of Scripture quoted in Matthew 24:40-42 about the one being taken and the other left from the gospel of Luke chapter 17. Read verses 34-36.
“I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed; 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 a field; the one shall be TAKEN, and the other LEFT.”
Again, keeping these verses in the context where they are found let us see what the Bible says about those who are taken.
Read the very next verse, Luke 17:37.
“And they answered and said unto him. WHERE Lord?”
Notice that in this very next verse after talking about one being TAKEN and the other on left the disciples ask Jesus WHERE Lord? In other words, Lord WHERE are they TAKEN? Then Jesus goes on to say in the rest of verse 37.
“Wheresoever the BODY is, there will the EAGLES be gathered.”
What a seemingly peculiar answer that Jesus gave to his disciples about where they are taken.
What does Jesus mean by this seemingly odd answer that he gave his disciples and us to the question of WHERE Lord will they be TAKEN?
So then, to WHOM do the BODIES belong to which were TAKEN or killed? And to WHOM does the EAGLES refer to that will be GATHERED?
Now, if you cross-reference this verse through the Bible you will find that Jesus is referring to the CARCASSES of the WICKED who will be slain at the COMING of Jesus. But WHERE will the wicked be SLAIN? Where the EAGLES will be GATHERED together to FEED on the dead bodies. Now, every allegory does not fill every detail perfectly. In other words, the EARGLE are the righteous SAINTS in Jesus Christ. So when Jesus returns to execute the WRATH of God he will go to the place called Armageddon. The TRUMPET shall sound and the RAPTURE of the church will take place. You know the order of events, The dead in Christ and resurrected FIRST and then all the righteous IN Jesus Christ are CHANGED in a twinkling of an eye. And THEN we are CAUGHT UP into the AIR. Jesus will send his angels to GATHER together his CHURCH and take us to MEET Jesus in the AIR over Armageddon. Then the WICKED will be TAKEN by the WRATH of God. The righteous in Jesus Christ are LEFT ALIVE. Yes, we are TAKEN UP in the RAPTURE but Jesus is talking about the word “TAKEN” and being synonymous with being DESTROYED like the wicked were TAKEN by the FLOOD and DESTROYED. Again, every detail of comparing the flood of Noah to the coming of Jesus does not fit perfectly.
Let's back up to verses 28-30 of Luke 17.
“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29. but the SAME DAY that Lot went OUT of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all (Speaking of the destruction of the WICKED in Sodom).
30. EVEN THUS (Or EVEN in the SAME WAY) shall it BE in the day WHEN the Son of man is revealed.”
Notice that it says the SAME DAY that fire and brimstone rained down from heaven and destroyed all the WICKED that were in Sodom that it was the very SELFSAME DAY that Lot went out of Sodom. And Jesus said that this is the way that it will be on the day of the Son of man when he is revealed or comes again.
So then, on the very SAME DAY of the RAPTURE of the church, in which Jesus will execute the WARTH od God to destroy all the WICKED by FIRE. But the RIGHTEOUS will be LEFT ALIVE and REMAIN unharmed by the fire of God's WRATH at his coming again. The righteous in Jesus Christ will be brought THROUGH the fire to ESCAPE the WRATH to be caught up into the AIR. The angels will gather us all together and take us to MEET Jesus in the AIR over the place called Armageddon where we are given the HONOR to help Jesus finish executing the wrath of God.
Now I know this is backward to what a great many of us have been taught from those that teach the PRE-tribulation point of view, but this is a VITAL TRUTH that you must embrace IF you do not want to be in the number whose hearts FAIL them for fear of the things coming upon the earth.
The Church, that is to say, all believers are going to go THROUGH the ENTIRE period of the GREAT TRIBULATION. This is what the word of God without a doubt teaches. I have shown that the POST tribulation RAPTURE of the CHURCH to be SOUND BIBLICAL DOCTRINE based solely upon the word of God in the study entitled “THE GREAT TRIBULATION”.
Then IMMEDIATELY AFTER the great tribulation, Jesus will send his angels to gather the elect, that is to say, the RIGHTEOUS in Jesus Christ to the place called Armageddon to meet out judgment upon the wicked.
Turn to Revelation 16:15 and 16.
“Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and KEEPS his garments, lest (Or for fear that) he walks naked, and they see his shame.
16. And he GATHERED them together into the PLACE called Armageddon.”
This is what the BIBLE refers to as the “marriage supper of the Lamb” as Revelation 19:7 clearly describes, and NOT what the traditions and doctrines of man have contrived in their IMAGINATIONS of a 7 year-long wedding feast up in heaven, while the great tribulation was being carried out upon the earth. Now for those who have “itching ears” and do not want to endure SOUND doctrine in these last days, those vain IMAGINATIONS and false dreams of escaping the great tribulation by spending that time at the so-called “wedding feast” does sound more pleasing to the ear, BUT be assured that the interpretation of a PRE-tribulation is a doctrine of the devils.
Please read Revelation 19:7 to discover the TRUTH.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the MARRIAGE of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself READY.”
Then in verse 17 of this same chapter we read.
“...And he cried to all the fowls (Eagles) that fly in the midst of heaven, come gather (There will the eagles be gathered) unto the SUPPER of the great God.”
Now compare Matthew 24:28 with Luke 17:34-37 where the WICKED are TAKEN and destroyed and the EAGLES are GATHERED together to eat their carcasses or their flesh.
“For wheresoever the CARCASS is, there will the EAGLES be GATHERED together.”
The Bible likens BELIEVERS to be EAGLES.
Take a look at Isaiah 40:31 which says.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as EAGLES; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and NOT faint.”
Now please look at Exodus 19:4.
“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on EAGLES' wings and brought you unto myself.”
Now for one to understand that this battle, that is to take place at the end of days, to be the MARRIAGE SUPPER of the Lamb, then one needs to understand the sweet taste of VENGEANCE.
I know this does not sound very Christ-like, but God does not forget our persecution that we as Christians have and will yet endure in the great tribulation.
In Revelation 18:4-6 reads.
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her (The sin-filled world) my people, that you be NOT partakers of her sins, and that you receive NOT of her plagues (The WRATH of my vengeance).
5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6. REWARD her EVEN as she has rewarded you, and DOUBLE unto her DOUBLE according to her works: in the cup, she has filled fill to her DOUBLE.”
The word “reward” here means to recompense or to PAYBACK. Now, what does the word vengeance mean to you? Yes, it is PAYBACK time!
Now the actual vengeance belongs to the Lord, but we are going to be there at his side executing vengeance.
Look at Psalm 149:5-7 which tells us this about us executing vengeance upon the ungodly.
“Let the SAINTS be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a TWO EDGED SWORD in their hand; (Why?)
7. To execute VENGEANCE upon the heathen, and punishment upon the people.”
Then verse 9 says.
“To execute upon them the JUDGMENT WRITTEN: this HONOR has all the saints. Praise you the Lord.”
We, the SAINTS of God, will be changed in a moment and a twinkling of an eye when the Lord returns and then we will all be GATHERED TOGETHER like the EAGLES to a place called ARMAGEDDON to execute vengeance upon those who have persecuted us and have slain or beheaded some of us. We will reward or REPAY to them DOUBLE what they did to us. This is the PATIENCE of the saints.
Now read Revelation 16:15,16 which says.
“Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and KEEPS his garments, lest he walks naked, and they see his shame.
16. And he (Jesus) GATHERED them (Those of us who have kept our garments clean, that is to say, have kept SIN out of our lives) into a place called in the Hebrew tongue ARMAGEDDON.”
Now, WHY do you suppose the Lord GATHERED us together to the battle of Armageddon? That is right! To EXECUTE VENGEANCE upon those who persecuted us. This battle is the MARRIAGE SUPPER or THE SUPPER OF THE GREAT GOD spoken of in Revelations.
Revelation 19:17 that reads.
“...Come GATHER yourselves together unto the SUPPER of the great God.
That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men...”
One has to remember that the language of the book of Revelation is in part symbolic in nature, meaning that we do not actually eat the FLESH, but rather take part in the slaying of the wicked. This will be our “meat”, so to speak. Food to our souls, if you will.
So in closing, the ones who are TAKEN are the wicked to be destroyed by fire, the lake of fire. And the ones LEFT are the RIGHTEOUS who are LEFT ALIVE and REMAIN ALIVE at the time of the coming of the Lord at the RAPTURE. Then we will be gathered together from the four corners of the world along with the dead in Christ who the Lord brings back with him, and all the SAINTS will be TAKEN to the battle of Armageddon to execute vengeance. And this is known as the MARRIAGE SUPPER of the Lamb.
Here is a drawing that I made to teach a Bible study on the end times at church. I could not find one anywhere on the Internet at the time so I improvised and made my own drawing. It is a drawing showing what the Bible itself teaches will take place in the ORDER that they will occur.
Keep in mind that the church age CONTINUES right on THROUGH the ENTIRE period of Great tribulation right up to the SECOND COMING of Jesus. The above drawing does not make this clear, but the word of TRUTH clearly teaches that from the Day of Pentecost to the SECOND COMING of Jesus is the church age.
In truth, there has been great tribulation pretty much all throughout the entire church age, but in the last 3 1/2 years there will again be Great tribulation in the Middle East such has never before. The Bible says that those in Judea and surrounding countries should FLEE to the mountains for safety. The word “mountain” is also used to speak of kingdoms, so this verse could mean for those in Israel and surrounding countries to FLEE to other more distant countries for refuge and safety when they see Jerusalem SURROUNDED by ARMIES.
To me, there is no doubt that these ARMIES will be MUSLIM armies seeking to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Please read the study “ISLAM IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST!”. So when you SEE Jerusalem SURROUNDED by Muslim ARMIES then look up forth your redemption draws near. According to what I myself have come to understand this war against Jerusalem, when she is SURROUNDED by ARMIES, will last for 3 1/2 years, which is the time of GREAT TRIBULATION spoken of by Jesus in Matthew chapter 24 referring back to Daniel the prophet.
And here are some links to other related studies on WHEN the RAPTURE of the church will take place. The word of TRUTH clearly and plainly teaches us that the rapture of the church will take place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus. For SOUND BIBLICAL PROOF please read the following studies.
“WRATH of God VERSE the GREAT TRIBULATION”
“RAPTURE: NO ONE KNOWS the DAY nor the HOUR”
“THE IMMINENT RETURN OF JESUS”
“THE GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD!”
“RAPTURE: ONE TAKEN AND ONE LEFT”
“250 REASON for the PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE???”
“THE TWO WITNESS: WHO ARE THEY?”
Then the following studies will also help you overcome the time of great tribulation.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
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Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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