Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 24:39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 24:39 and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment]. [Gen 6:5-8; 7:6-24] |
Bible Question: During the flood those that were taken were lost, the ones that were left were saved. If this is the Second Coming of Christ, the ones that are taken are are saved and the ones that are left are lost? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Eugean! If we read 2 Peter 2:5-7,9, it reads as such in the English Standard Version... "if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ... then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment," "Peter simply repeats what he had been taught by his Lord- the truth that when Christ returns, He will come to simultaneously rescue His saints and destroy the wicked." (1) "..the illustration of Noah's rescue before the world was destroyed by water is the illustration used to describe the back-to-back timing of the Rapture of the church and the judgment of God. Not only does Peter use it in the passage quoted just above, but Christ used the same illustration when He explained to His disciples that both events will occur on the same day (Luke 17). When He delivered His Olivet Discourse- just a few days before His crucifixion- He used the same illustration once again. Yet some, in order to preserve a system unsupported by Scripture, must again somehow distort the clear intent of Christ's illustration, making it applicable to the Battle of Armageddon instead of the Rapture of the church, claiming that the one "taken" is taken to judgment and the one "left" is left behind to enter into the millennial Kingdom of Christ. In response to this position, we need only to look carefully at the illustration itself, in particular the very words of Christ. In response to the disciples' question "What will be the sign of your coming?" Christ illustrates His teaching concerning His "coming" and the wrath it will initiate, by again giving His disciples the example of Noah and the Flood." (1) "As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ... and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left." (Matthew 24:37,39-41 [ESV]; cf. Luke 17:34-36). "When the one is "taken," the other is "left." The meaning of this passage in this context clearly is that those who are "taken" are taken to be with the Lord when He comes to rescue His faithful church (see 1 Thess. 4:15). Those that are "left," will be the wicked who remain after the elect are taken, left to face the wrath of God's judgment "like [in] the days of Noah." This is exactly as Peter understood it ... when the godly are "rescued" and the unrighteous are left for "punishment" (2 Peter 2:5-7,9)." "This is confirmed further when we look at the Greek term translated as "taken." In both instances the word "taken" is paralambano, which means to "receive near, that is, to associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation)." Christ uses the term only six times in reference to future events. He uses it twice in Matthew 24:40, 41 and three times in Luke 17:34-36, in each instance referring to one person being taken and another being left behind. The other time Christ uses this particular word is in the beautiful promise to His followers that... "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive [paralambano] you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2,3 [NASB, 1977])." (1) "In light of the meaning of paralambano as found in John 14, we see that in these verses from Luke and Matthew, "taken" carries the sense of "being received"- that is, of being received by Christ, as in the case of John 14:2,3." (1) "Thus, as in the days of Noah, God will destroy those who are "left" during His fiery Day-of-the-Lord judgment of the world, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God" (2 Thess. 1:7,8)." (1) Blessings to you, Makarios Source: (1) "The Sign", 2000, Crossway Books, Robert Van Kampen, pages 311-313. |