WILL SOME BE “LEFT BEHIND”? The coming of Christ will be so sudden that two men will be outside doing chores together, and “one is taken, and one is left” (Matt. 24:40). Two women will be preparing food together and “one is taken, and one is left” (Matt 24:41). Now we must give credit is due. Rapturists have done a magnificent job in convincing Christians that this is a prediction of the rapture, when Jesus will return secretly for His Christians, take them to Heaven, and leave the unbelievers to suffer here on earth. They insert the word behind into the passage. They understand it as “one is taken, and one is left Behind.” But this is not what the verses say, nor does the Greek language support this interpretation. Jesus does not mean one of these people will be left behind. Jesus is speaking here of the second coming that will usher in eternity. It will be impossible to be left behind, because the world will come to an end. No, Jesus is saying they will be left out, left out of His eternal Kingdom when He returns. The Gospel account uses the Greek verb “aphiemi,” which most commonly has the meaning of being left, left alone, forsaken, or even sent away. There is another Greek word that would have made it clear that Jesus meant “left behind.” This word is “apoleipo,” or “hupoleipo.” The idea that the first person will be taken to Heaven and the second left behind is not justified by the Greek text. But the context of Jesus’ discourse argues even more strongly against the rapturist understanding of being left behind. How do we know this? Jesus proceeds to tell three parables. When we get to the second parable, we will see that the only reasonable understanding of Jesus’ meaning is not “left behind,” but “left out” – left out of the eternal marriage feast of the Lamb. The “left behind” controversy should not obscure an important assertion of Jesus: the daily lives of the loyal Kingdom subjects will remain entirely comingled with those of the disloyal. People are not sorted into or out of Christ’s Kingdom by physical or national boundaries. Christ’s subjects will be neighbors and friends with unbelievers until the very end, at His second coming. They will be working, living, and socializing together. Some will enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the end, and some will be left out of it. This is the part of these verses that would have shocked any first century citizen of Rome. This is unlike the four earthly kingdoms that the Kingdom of Heaven replaces in Daniel’s vision. Christ’s Kingdom will not have physical boundaries, because it is spiritual. Three parables to clarify the answer Jesus was a master at using parables to clarify His meaning. This case is no exception. The next three stories illustrate how we must live in the light of Jesus’ teaching concerning the suddenness of His second coming. Parable of two servants The first story is about two servants. One of them is faithful and wise; when his Master returns, he is rewarded. The other servant is wicked, and he is punished for his wickedness when his Master unexpectedly returns to find him abusing his freedom. Notice that at the return of the Master, the judgment is the final one, and the return has no warning: “The master of the servant will come on a day when he does not expect him… and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth” (Matt. 24:50-51). Jesus is clearly alluding to His second coming, which will usher in the final judgment of all humankind. The only thing after the judgment is eternity. Unfortunately for the rapturist, Jesus does not mention any hint of a seven-year tribulation of a Millennium after this coming. All that remains is either eternal bliss or eternal damnation. Our lesson in this? Never do anything of which you would be ashamed if your Master caught you in the act of it as His second coming. He will come suddenly and unexpectedly. We will be judged. Eternity will immediately follow. Parable of the ten maidens The second story is about ten maidens waiting for the bride-groom, an obvious picture of the Church waiting for the second coming. Five of the maidens were wise and took extra oil for their lamps, so that when the bridegroom was slow in coming, they were still ready. Oil in the New Testament is usually a symbol of the Holy Spirit. These five maidens had prepared themselves for a marathon rather a quick dash to the final eschaton. The other five maidens were foolish. They ran out of oil before the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut” (Matt 25:10). When the bridegroom took the five wise maidens into the marriage feast, the five foolish maidens were left out. The mention of the marriage feast is a hint that once again we are in eternity. The joy at a wedding reception is analogous to the joy of Heaven. We will encounter the marriage supper again in the Apocalypse. The main message of this parable? Be ready. You may have associated with Christians your entire life. You may know all the right answers. But you must still remain prepared. Don’t be like the foolish maidens. Notice how the parable expands our understanding of the earlier phrase “one is taken, and one is left” (Matt 24:40-41). This parable substantiates our claim that Jesus meant “left out of the eternal Kingdom.” He never meant “left behind at the secret rapture,” as rapturists claim. Jesus is talking about the taking of Christians into eternal bliss. Two men will be working together. One will be taken, and the other left out of the marriage feast (Matt 24:40). Two women will be together. One will be taken into the marriage feast of the Lamb, and the other left out (Matt 24-42). Parable of talents The third parable concerns three servants, each entrusted with a sum of money: one received five talents, another received two, and the third received one. The master left and did not return for “long time” (Matt 25:19). When the master returned, he rewarded the servants based on how they had managed the talents he had given them. The obvious message is that our talents – our material goods as well as our abilities – are God-given, and He expects us to use them for Him. In addition, this third story states explicitly something at which the second story merely hinted. In the second story, the bride-groom came much later than the five foolish maidens expected. In this story, Jesus specifically tells us that the Master did not return for “a long time.” Jesus was absolutely right; we have been waiting for His coming for a long time. It has been two millennia since the Master left His Church on earth to work for His Kingdom. We might easily wait for two or three more. This parable is another blow to modernists who assert that Jesus led His Apostles into an unrealistic view of how soon the second coming would occur. In fact, neither Jesus taught that it would be a “long time,” and His followers believed Him. These three parables are completed by Matthew 25:30. Jesus ends His discourse by giving His disciples a few more details concerning the second question. First we learn that at the second coming, the Son of Man will complete the work He set out to accomplish here on earth. How do we know this? Jesus tells us, “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne” (Matt 25:31). Sitting signifies the consummation of the Son of Man’s work. All the battles are won at that point. All enemies have been subdued. All that remains is the final judgment. Need I say it again? There is no mention of the seven-year tribulation or a thousand-year kingdom after this coming. “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from goats” (Matt 25:32). Because Jesus mentions the gathering of “all the nations,” some rapturists have tried to read into this passage a judgment different from the final judgment each of us will individually experience at the close of history. Some rapturists foresee two or even three judgments. But look carefully at the judgment being described. Although we are gathered as nations, we are sorted into the “sheep” side or the “goat” side on the basis of our individual actions: “He will place the sheep at His right Hand, but the goats at the left” (Matt 25:33). Those who have exhibited the greatest gift, charity, are rewarded for all eternity: “ Then the King will say…’Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you… for I was hungry and you gave them food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink: I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was in prison and you came to me” ( Matt 25:34-36). These are the actions of individuals, not of nations, that are being rewarded. Our response to the needs of others will be credited to our eternal account, as though we had helped Jesus Himself: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). Those who have not shown charity to the needy will experience the results of their rejection of God’s commandments: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels; for I was hungry and gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink” ( Matt 25:41-42). Suddenly, the use of our talents for the Master in the earlier parable becomes apparently important. We must use our talents for the sake of the least of His – and our – brethren. Our eternal destiny depends on it. (David Currie, Rapture: The End-Times Error That Leaves the Bible Behind)
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 16:24:31 +0000
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