βBut as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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 entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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 leftβ (Matt. 24:37-41).
These verses are often mistakenly applied to the Rapture of the Church, the Body of Christ, when in truth they refer to the Lordβs Second Coming at the close of the seven-year Tribulation period (Matt. 24:29-30).
The Lord taught His disciples about peopleβs preoccupation with everyday livingβeating, drinking, getting marriedβwhen judgment suddenly fell on them in the days of Noah. They had received warnings in the form of Noahβs preaching and the building of the large ark itself which testified of the judgment to come (Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 3:5-6). But they were unconcerned, unbelieving, and did not respond, so they were swept away when the flood came.
The Lord taught His disciples that it will be like this at the end of the Tribulation, when two men will be working in the field, and one will be taken and the other left; two women will be grinding at the mill, and one will be taken and the other left.
While this might sound like the Rapture, these verses are not referring to the Lordβs coming to take believers to heaven. It is important to note that the Lord compares His Second Coming to the judgment of the days of Noah, when βthe flood came, and TOOK them all awayβ (Matt. 24:39).
Who were the ones βtakenβ away in Noahβs day?Β Those who perished in the flood. Who were the ones βleftβ?Β Noah and his family. They were the only ones left after the judgment. The flood watersΒ tookΒ the rest of the world away. The ones βtakenβ away in Noahβs day were not taken to blessing, but rather they were taken in judgment and they died.
Like the ones who were taken away in Noahβs day, the ones βtakenβ at the Second Coming are not taken to heaven. So, where are they taken? Thatβs what the disciples asked the Lord as we learn from Lukeβs account of the Olivet Discourse.
βTwo women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto Him, Where, Lord? And He said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered togetherβ (Luke 17:35-37).
The Lordβs answer to where these people will be taken is a direct reference to the Battle of Armageddon, where the eagles and other birds will gather together to feast on dead carcasses. At that battle, John tells us in Revelation 19:17-18,
βAnd 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; 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.β
βAll men, both free andβ¦small,β refers to the humble laborers who will be grinding at the mill or working in the field when Christ returns at His Second Coming. At that time, unbelievers will be taken to Armageddon where they will perish and birds will eat their flesh, but believers will be βleftβ (Matt. 24:40-41).
At the Rapture, the believer is removed from the earth and caught up to heaven prior to the Tribulation, and the unbeliever is left behind (1 Thes. 4:13-5:3). Just the opposite takes place at the Second Coming: unbelievers will be removed in judgment at the Battle of Armageddon. The one who is βleftβ at the Second Coming is the believer, who will enter into the blessings of Christβs earthly Kingdom. And it is logical that Tribulation believers are leftΒ on the earthΒ because thatβs their hope (Jer. 23:5-6). Believers in the true Messiah who endure to the end of the Tribulation will be able to walk right into the Millennial Kingdom.
The Rapture is part of the revelation of the mystery made known first to Paul (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Old Testament prophecy and the Olivet Discourse haveΒ nothing to say about believers being caught up to heaven. Instead they reveal how Israelβs Messiah will return to earth, and unbelievers will be taken away in judgment, while believers will remain to enter His earthly kingdom. In this sense, the Second Coming is a reverse Rapture! source
