I’ve probably mentioned this before but felt like writing on it again.
Supposedly, Matthew 24 contains a rock-solid proof of the Rapture of the Church. First, here’s the passage in question.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe 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 entered into 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. 40 Then shall two be in the 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 ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Matthew 24:36–42.
Jesus says that something is coming and only the Father knows when. (We are actually given more context and time related information by Matthew but I’m strictly sticking to the quoted passage.) He then gives this analogy. People will be eating and drinking. Whoa. That’s evil? They will be marrying and giving in marriage. Whoa. That’s evil?
Seriously? Hey folks, life goes on, as normal but then Noah entered the Ark. Life still went on for another week.
“And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.”
Genesis 7:10.
Then the flood waters came. Guess what happened next?
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: Genesis 7:21.
Yep, all the bad guys died. The righteous folks, i.e. Noah’s family were safe in the Ark. The wicked were taken.
Ok, now look at verse 39 in Matthew 24. It actually says the exact opposite of when premillennial dispensationalists claim it does.
“39 And [they] knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
So, the bad guys knew not until the flood came and took them all away. Yep, the people taken are the wicked not the righteous.
Now look at verse 40 & 41 in Matthew 24.
40 Then shall two be in the 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.
So, who is taken? The bad guys not the Christians.
FYI zero Christians were killed in the siege of Jerusalem. This was the reason that the church in Jerusalem sold their property and held it in common all the way at the beginning of the Book of Acts. They were told to flee when they see the signs and they did. Obey and live. In fact, you didn’t even need to be a Christian to avoid the coming judgment, just flee when the predicted signs appeared.
Jump back to the Sermon on the Mount; “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5.
So, class, who inherits the world? The righteous. We don’t inherit Heaven, but the earth.
Need more proof?
The righteous shall never be removed:
But the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
Proverbs 10: 30
For evildoers shall be cut off:
But those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth;
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 37:9–11.
Jesus is promising that the wicked, those that oppose the Christians of the First Century, will be removed from the earth. This allows the meek to inherit the world.
The problem is not the Bible; it’s the false understanding that we have when we impose our presuppositions on the text instead of letting the text speak for itself.
In Matthew 24, Israel and more specifically, Jerusalem and its Temple, are about to be judged. The wicked Jews of the First Century are about to be judged for “all the righteous blood from Abel through Zechariah.”
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matthew 23:29–38
47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Luke 11:47–51.
The blood of all the righteous prophets ever killed in the history of the Bible would be required of this generation—those that heard the voice of Jesus just days before he was crucified. Folks, this promise is airtight. There is no deferring it or waiting until some future event thousands of years hence, it was going to happen to them, and it did. Jesus said the judgment would be so terrible that unless it was cut short, no flesh would be saved. Over one million people died in the siege of Jerusalem that ended in 70 A.D.
Folks, at the trial of Jesus, the crowd screamed let his blood be upon us and it was.
25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”
Matthew 27:25.
Within a generation of his crucifixion, the Jewish nation was wiped off the map. The Old Covenant era was ended forever. Jesus said I will take it from you and give it to a nation bearing the fruit thereof and he did. That new nation began with a remnant of Jews on Pentecost. Eventually, this righteous remnant began grafting non-Jews (Gentiles) into its assembly. This nation will encompass the entire world not just a small patch of land in Palestine. The Bible says that the Gospel was spread to all the civilized world before the New Testament’s writing was even completed. The Gospel was preached to every creature under heaven.
In the early church, there was apostacy in the form of Judaizers and gnostic teaching. Many fell away from the true faith. There was also persecution instigated by Jews jealous of the freedom found in Christ. Up until the end of Nero’s reign, Rome protected Christians from the Jews. Under Nero, persecution against the church began. The Apostle Paul and Jesus via Revelation both promised the church relief if they would stay faithful just a little longer. Relief came when Israel was judged for its sin. The apostate whore was burned by her lovers and destroyed just as John had recorded in Revelation 17.
The Olivet Discourse was a prophecy in 33 A.D. but history by 70 A.D. The Apostle John lived to see his prophetic work come to pass during his lifetime just as Jesus had promised on a beach in Galilee many years before.
Sorry kids. No Rapture in your future, just God’s promises … if you’d only believe them.