Matthew 24:34-40 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But 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.Jesus said THAT generation to whom he spoke would see ALL these things in Matthew 24 fulfilled. And then he compared that unexpected event of the siege by Rome on Jerusalem to destroy the temple there with the days of Noah.
The issue of Noah's example is not an issue of a SECRET INVISIBLE COMING, but of an UNEXPECTED CRISIS.
Notice this is stresed as follows:
Matthew 24:43-44 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.It is not the aspect of a thief's unseen coming that is the issue here. It is the unexpectedness of His coming. Its not as though he came and went and took the treasure without anybody seeing him that Jesus is speaking about. Not at all. It is the aspect of nobody knowing the time he came, whether they saw hiim or not. You can see a thief break into your house, but not have known THE TIME he was going to come. Jesus said we can prepare before he comes so long as we know that he will come. (Pre-trib's secret rapture fails there.)
The world saw the flood when it came, but did not expect it, for they did not believe it would come. And the contrast between the people taken and Noah was that the sinners' lack of belief in the coming deluge caused them to be taken the very day the flood came. Notice the people that were "taken" were the sinners who ate and drank and gave in marriage until the day the flood took them all away. This cannot be rapture at all! Why?
Jesus said so shall it be when He comes. Two would be in the field, and the one taken and the other left.
If it is going to be as it was in the days of Noah, and the ones taken in that day were sinners taken in destruction , then what does that say about the one taken in the field and the other left?
You have to find out who was taken in Noah's day to understand who is taken when the Son of man comes!
Sinners were TAKEN in Noah's day so it must be SINNERS that are taken in the coming of the Son of man. TAKEN IN DESTRUCTION. The siege of Jerusalem was foretold to the followers of Jesus. And when that day came, the church recalled those words of watching for Jerusalem encompassed with armies, and for them to fell to the hills. NOT ONE CHRISTIAN PERISHED IN THAT SIEGE because of this chapter in Matthew! That is factual history!
But the sinners, who disbelieved Jesus, WERE TAKEN IN DESTRUCTION. The Church REMAINED alive, while the sinners were TAKEN.
It was not NOAH that was said to be "taken," but rather the sinners were TAKEN in destruction. NOAH REMAINED ALIVE in the world.
This is also seen as follows:
Notice that the CHURCH REMAINS while all else is REMOVED in Hebrews 12:
Hebrews 12:25-28 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Its like the wise house on the rock.
Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.The foolish house was TAKEN in destruction, while the wise house STOOD and REMAINED. Why? Because the WISE MAN BELIEVED THE WORD AND OBEYED IT. Jerusalem disbelived Jesus' words and wound up falling in 70 AD.
Its backwards to say the one taken in the field is the Christian in rapture! To be consistent with Noah's account, the one taken HAS TO BE THE SINNER, who is taken in destruction.
Same with Lot!
Luke 17:28-36 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come downto take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 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. Two 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 this is FASCINATING!!!
Luke 17:37 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.Where will the ones TAKEN be TAKEN? And Jesus said where the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. A carcase is a DEAD BODY! It speaks of DEATH.
Some say the greek actually implies VULTURES, since it is a dead carcase that eagles do not eat of. But even if it was EAGLES.... Rome was known to be represented by THE EAGLE. Rome swarmed in like eagles to the carcase.
The disbelievers woudl be taken away in the place of death... Jerusalem's siege!
Notice that the VERY DAY WRATH CAME, the CHURCH WAS PRESERVED ON THE EARTH. The one REMAINED, while other other was TAKEN IN DESTRUCTION.
This is 70 AD. The church survived while the unbelievers in Jerusalem were taken in destruction.
The pop-prophecy movies and literature have made it popular to think the ones TAKEN are the church. Lets get back to the BOOK! The ones TAKEN in Noah's day and in Lot's day were contextually the SINNERS in Jesus' discourse.
This does not mean the Son of Man is not coming in a future rapture. Some verses speaking about His coming are speaking about the wrath upon Jerusalem, while others speak of the rapture.
Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.The disciples to whom Jesus spoke would experience these things. And they did! Read Acts! And in their lilfetime, the SON OF MAN CAME UPON JERUSALEM IN WRATH in 70 AD. That verse cannot refer to the rapture.