One of the most often quoted passages used in support of the secret rapture teaching is Luke 17:34-37 and its parallel passage in Matthew 24:37-41. Please note the quotation from Matthew 24:37-41 below:
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."
Accordingly, this passage indicates that when Jesus comes, one person will be snatched away in the rapture, while the other person will be left to continue life on this earth in the tribulation period. However, neither Matthew 24 or Luke 17 indicate that those who are left are engaged in any activity after the coming of Jesus. As with other texts, we must examine carefully the context of the passage. Once the context is clear, there will be absolute harmony with the rest of the Biblical teaching on the second coming of Jesus.
Matthew 24:37-39 draws a parallel between the end time and Noah's day. In fact, that is the context and the obvious impact of all that Jesus is saying here. The end time is going to be just like Noah's day. In Noah's day, eight people entered the ark; the rest did not. So it will be in the end times. Some will be taken when Jesus comes, and the others will be left.
In both Noah's day and in the last days there are people left. In Noah's day, those left were destroyed by the flood (Matthew 24:39). In the last days, those who are left will die too. Luke 17:34 indicates that their bodies are left for the eagles to devour. In other words, in both cases, at the time of the flood and at the second coming, those who are left are left for destruction.
There is no indication what-so-ever in these verses that those who are left have a second chance after the rapture. The Bible is exceedingly clear that those who are left are destroyed by the coming of Jesus. Revelation 19:15-18 describes the same scene when Jesus comes and calls for the fowls to devour the mighty men of earth who have not accepted Him. Here again is a picture not of a second chance, but of total destruction at the second coming of Jesus.
This page maintained by Allen Roy. Last update on 09/13/98