TAKEN OR LEFT? [Must Read] When Jesus comes, do you want to be taken or left? I promise you that after reading this you will probably consider changing your answer. “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Matthew 24:40, 41 Some believe in the secret rapture of the righteous, others believe in the all glorious public rapture. But all agree that those taken will be the saved while those left will be the lost. OK... ...but this text does not say that Jesus will take believers to heaven when He comes while unbelievers will be left behind on earth. Our text simply states that when Jesus comes, one individual will be taken while another will be left. What is meant by “left” and “taken” remains to be seen. Is being caught up the same as being taken? In the immediately preceding verses (37-39) Jesus has been comparing the devastation that will take place at His coming with the destruction of the world by the flood in Noah’s day.(Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39) The flood in Noah’s day was far from secret–if it was, then it must have been a public secret It destroyed all people on planet earth except for Noah and his family. This was no ordinary local flood, it was a universal cataclysm or catastrophe. When the flood came there were only two groups: those who were destroyed and those who remained alive. This closely parallels Matthew 24:37-39 where those outside the ark were “TAKEN away by the flood or destroyed while those inside the ark were LEFT. Consider Genesis 7:23 -The NIV: Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. . . . Only Noah was LEFT and those with him in the ark. - Exodus 14:28 informs us that after the Red Sea swallowed up Pharaoh’s armies, not one Egyptian was left. - Elijah complains to God that only he is left, he is informed that God has 7,000 left who have not bent the knee to Baal (II Kings 19:18). In Matthew 24:2 Jesus announces to His disciples that not one stone will be left upon another in the Jerusalem temple. But wasnt Lot taken? If he and his daughters were taken, it means no one was left. The Bible says he escaped. He wasnt taken. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 NIV; ...And the dead in Christ shall rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are LEFT will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Joshua 8:8, 21, 22 describes how Ai was ambushed and taken by Joshua. It is noteworthy that not one escaped or remained because they were all slain with the sword. In Psalm 59:12 we are told that when the wicked are taken in their pride, they will be consumed by the wrath of God. Its the wicked who are taken [away]. The righteous are left. It is those that are left that will be caught up with him in the clouds of heaven. At the end of it all the wicked will be destroyed and the righteous left. therefore my question is not; When Jesus comes, do you want to be caught up in the clouds with him, rather its, do you want to be taken or left? THINK UPON THESE THINGS may God richly bless you.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:27:55 +0000
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