Matthew 24:37-42
Kenneth S. Wuest Translation
37-42 For just as the days of Noah, thus shall it be at the time of the advent of the Son of Man. For as in those days, before the deluge, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the deluge came and snatched them all away (all dead under the flood). Thus shall it also be at the time of the advent of the Son of Man. Then there shall be two in the field. One shall be taken and one shall be left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill. One shall be taken and one shall be left. Therefore, be constantly on the watch, because you do not know on what sort of a day your Lord is coming.
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SNATCHED THEM ALL AWAY : The flood SNATCHED them and all DIED
ONE SHALL BE TAKEN (away) FROM THE FIELD : TAKEN means thrown into hell (Hades/prison of the unseen world)
Noah stayed behind (alive inside the ark) while the enemies were snatched away by the flood (dead). "And one shall be left..." refers to the ones that will be left alive and will stay on earth to enter the thousand years (Matthew 25:31, 34).
Matthew 24:39,"snatched them all away." This caught up here is opposite to the caught up of the assembly in 1 Thessalonians 4:13. In Matthew 24, the caught up is taking away the enemies of God directly to the fire. They will be plucked out, taken away by force. And those who remained behind will "inherit (enter) the (earthly 1000 years) kingdom which has been prepared...from the foundation of the universe" (Matthew 25:34).
The one that stays behind is the blessed one, but the one that goes is the cursed one. However, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, its the opposite. The one that goes is the blessed one (will go to heaven), but the one that stays on earth is cursed. 2 Thessalonians 2:11, "... that they all might be judged who did not believe the truth but took delight in wickedness." These two caught up-s will happen in two different times. The assembly caught up in 1 Thessalonians will happen before the tribulation, but Matthew 24 will take place at the end of the tribulation. This is written in Revelations 4:1 by John (who represents the assembly) going up to heaven, seeing "a door in heaven" before the judgment fell on earth (tribulation).
Finally, notice the title the Son of Man in verses 37, 39, and 44 of chapter 24 is always related to the Jewish. It denotes the second coming physically of Christ. The context of Matthew 24 is for the Jews and must not be taken for the assembly. Because if we do so, that would mean the assembly will be going through the tribulation, which is not true. Logically, it would be insane to think that the bride (the assembly) would receive chastisement from the Bridegroom (the Lord Jesus) during the period of tribulation which deals with the consequence of the sin of the world--a world that did not receive the Lord Jesus Christ as its personal Savior.
These two judgments, Noah's judgment and "[the] one [who] shall be taken [away]", are parallel to each other. In order to understand one, we must put the two together so that we, Christians, would clearly understand the caught up of the unsaved who will be "taken away" by force and will be thrown directly in hell.
Denominations believe that the assembly will go through the tribulation because they think that this caught up is for the assembly. This indicates one of the major problems of denominations--not reading contextually. Most of the time, they are always outside the context. They take the Bible like a soup wherein everything goes together. But mature Christians, who are always looking to find the context, will spend hours and hours to meticulously dissect every verse and every word, one at a time; and will always keep in mind that each letter in the New Covenant has an addressee and a thread to follow. Each word is not written carelessly just for the sake of writing, rather it has a purpose. Every word, I mean EVERY WORD, is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is like an awesome house built by a sharp architect who is very particular with details. The more one reads it, the more he will want to continually read such a precious book. Therefore, knowing who is behind the Bible, we, as believers, should not take it for granted.
So by saying this, Matthew 24:36-42 "ONE SHALL BE TAKEN" should be read contextually to clear the confusion and differentiate it from the caught up for the assembly (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
After all that's been said, it is important not to forget the KEY VERSE for this chapter, verse 3, "And as He was sitting upon the mount of Olivet, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the attesting miracle which will indicate your coming and the consummation of the age?" The disciples asked these with the future of Israel in view because the church period was not revealed to them yet. The end time for them was to establish the Jewish kingdom on earth. So to try to fit in the church in this chapter would be incoherent with the context. It would clearly indicate the lack of knowledge of the person who does so.
The reason I decided to explain this verse is because many denominations take this passage for the rapture of the church.