Left Behind
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    Concerning this part of the chapter of "No One Knows the Day or Hour" starting at vs. 36 of Matthew 24
    36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
    Looking at this closer we see the following:
    37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
    I think we see that it is life as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary in the life of people. nothing necessarily sinful going on here.
    39a) and did not know until the flood came and took them all away,
    Here I see that the people of the world were going about their regular lives until suddenly and without warning, the flood came and took them all away.
    39b) so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

    44b) for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

    Meaning likewise will the judgement come at an hour unexpected.
    40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
    There are many teachers and authors who have a different take on this than I do, and I will mention only one for time sake. And there are some noted teachers and authors you hold the same view as mine.

    The late Zola Levitt, a pre-trib teacher and believed that this is a parable concerning the rapture of the church. He sees it as two people going about their daily duties in life and suddenly one is caught up in the sky and one is left behind (just like the "Left Behind" series). A few years ago I too held to what Zola taught, but being only a casual reader of such things in the Bible, I tended to take his word for it.

    But now what I see is this; (and you are free to disagree but I think I can show at another time that I may be correct) I read that during the days of Noah, people were suddenly, without warning, overcome by the flood and taken by it. We know that as the Flood story told, Noah and his family were already safe and secure inside of the ark. The door was shut and could not be opened from the outside. Those who were outside found themselves unprepared to die, and die they did. Likewise, Jesus tells of two people in a field. One is taken and the other left.

    Now these two different stories are only different in terms of time placement but were otherwise the same story told two different ways. We know that the people outside of the ark were overcome and taken by the flood. The flood was a bad thing to happen to them while the ark was a good thing for those inside. Therefore since these two stories are the same but told two different ways, we have to assume that the one taken from the field or from the grinding mill was a bad thing as well.

    This is why I do not believe that this story is told concerning a rapture of the church as so many teachers and authors believe.

    If we go to the Luke account in Luke 21, we see that the disciples asked Jesus where were these people taken. Jesus then relates a somewhat ugly scene pertaining to vultures and carcasses.

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