The One Taken and The One Left: Which One is Which and Where Do They End Up?

Hi Folks. I hope you are doing well today.

A question has come up repeatedly from interested readers and listeners concerning some verses in the famous 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew – Jesus’ Olivet Discourse - which deals with His return and with the end of the age.

Let’s read those verses:

Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

And please note that there is very helpful passage, a parallel passage, from Luke’s gospel and let’s read that:

Luke 17:34-37 (NKJV) I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. [35] Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. [36] Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." [37] And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

We’ll talk about this Luke passage shortly, but getting back to the two verses in Matthew’s gospel, the question that has come up repeatedly is this: “Regarding the two men in the field, and the two women grinding at the mill, where are the ones who will be taken, that’s one man and one woman, taken to?

Before I attempt to answer that question let’s take a look at a verse that I believe sets the time frame for this passage in Matthew, these two verses, Matthew 24:40 and 41, that we read a moment ago. The verse that sets the time frame is also in Matthew 24 and it is verse 29. We’ll read it now”

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

So, verse 29 sets the time frame for what happens next and that includes the two verses which describe the man and woman who are taken away (verses 40-41). The man and woman who are taken away, are taken away after the Tribulation.

Now in my opinion, there are three possible ways to explain verses 40 and 41 of Matthew 24 and only one is correct. Here are the three possibilities:

1. These verses are talking about the second coming of Christ and the post-tribulation rapture. The one taken is raptured. If this interpretation is correct, it could support a post-tribulation rapture.

2. These verses are talking about a time before the tribulation has started. The one taken is raptured. The one left behind will enter the Tribulation to be judged. People who believe this therefore believe Jesus to be talking about the pre-tribulation rapture in these verses.

3. These verses are talking about the second coming of Christ to the earth. The one taken is taken away to judgement. The one left is righteous. No rapture is pictured here.

How can we arrive at the correct interpretation, and does it matter? Let’s look at the verses that come immediately before the two verses we’ve been considering:

Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

This passage is talking about the time of the Genesis flood. God judged the world then. Only eight people were saved, Noah and his family. They entered the ark. Those who were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark” cannot be Noah and his family. This group of people must be those who were taken away by the flood. Lets read verse [39] in its entirety again: [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. And this verse is immediately followed by verses 40 and 41:

Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

The first word of verse 24:40 is Then. That is important! Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left”. Then is an adverb that has to do with sequence and timing. Then tells us what happens next. So, let’s read all these verses now in sequence and see if we can get a clear picture:

Matthew 24:37-41 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [40] Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Now Folks, in order for these verses to make sense, the man taken and the woman taken must be comparable to those described by the clause in verse 29 that reads “the flood came and took them all away”. Those taken away by the flood were taken away to judgement. There is no question about that. Therefore, those taken in connection with the return of Jesus must also be taken away to judgement. Otherwise, the grammar and structure of these sentences makes no sense.

Does this help us? Yes. It means that Possibility 1 is wrong:

1. These verses are talking about the second coming and the post-tribulation rapture. The one taken is raptured. The one left remains on earth. If this interpretation is correct, it could support a post-tribulation rapture.

Folks, the one takenis NOT raptured. I hope that I have been able to make that clear to you. Therefore verses 40 and 41 in Matthew 24 do not support a post-tribulation rapture. Possibility 1 is incorrect.

Let’s move on to Possibility 2 which says:

2. These verses are talking about a time before the tribulation has started. The one taken is raptured. The one left behind is to be judged. People who believe this therefore believe Jesus to be talking about the pre-tribulation rapture in these verses.

Now in order to assess this opinion, we need to answer this question: in verse 24:37, what does the coming of the Son of Man refer to? Let’s read the verse again:

Matthew 24:37 (NKJV) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

When does this occur? Matthew 24:29 tells us. It is immediately after the Tribulation:

Matthew 24:29 (NKJV) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

So, verse 29 tells us that the coming of the Son of Man here is after the Tribulation. Verses 40-41, about the man and the woman who are taken away, come after this and in this chapter of Matthew there is no reason to see an interrupted chronology; so the chronological location of the men in the field and the women grinding at the mill is after the Tribulation. Does this help us? Yes, because this means that Possibility 2 is wrong also. Let’s look at that possibility again; it says:

2. These verses are talking about a time beforethe tribulation has started. The one taken is raptured. The one left is to be judged. People who believe this believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.

I believe that it’s now clear that this possibility is also wrong: The verses, Matthew 24:40-41, are not pre-tribulation, they are post-tribulation. So, the one taken cannot indicate someone taken in the pre-tribulation rapture.

So, what is happening in these two verses? Where is the man in the field who is taken, taken to? and where is the woman grinding at the mill who is taken, taken to? We now know that they are not raptured. Therefore, it seems logical that they are taken to judgment. Can we get confirmation on this? I believe that we can. Let’s look again at Luke 17:

Luke 17:34-37 (NKJV) I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. [35] Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. [36] Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." [37] And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Folks, eagles is in my opinion not the correct translation. The correct translation and one which makes more sense, is vultures. We’ve already established from our study of Matthew 24 that those taken are taken to judgement and when we realize that a better translation for eaglesin Luke 17:37 is vultures, it seems logical that this verse is speaking of judgement and death: wherever the body is, there the vultures will be gathered together. You’re all familiar, perhaps from a scene in a western movie, of vultures circling in the sky over a dead body lying on the ground below. In Luke 17:37, "Wherever the body is, there the vultures will be gathered together." probably figuratively indicates a dead body composed of unbelievers who are shown to be dead or dying by the circling vultures overhead.

Now let’s go back to Matthew 24 and read verses 27 and 28:

Matthew 24:27-28 (NKJV) For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [28] For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles (better:vultures) will be gathered together.

I believe that verse 27 clearly speaks of the return of Jesus to the earth – the second coming – and that is in judgement. The next verse reinforces that. The carcass, or dead body, and the vultures speak of death.

Let’s sum things up now, draw some conclusions, and make application. We started out looking at Matthew 24:40-41. I’m going to read those verses once again:

Matthew 24:40-41 (NKJV) Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

We can now conclude that the man and the woman who are taken are taken to judgement. No rapture is pictured here.

So of what value is this study that we’ve just done? We’ve learned that rightly dividing the word of God is profitable. Doing so has enabled us to see that Matthew 24 and Luke 17 are not talking about a rapture. In fact, the rapture is not in the synoptic gospels. We’ve been able to make sense of a difficult passage by using the Bible itself. We have a great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ and He has given us a Bible that is robust and able to be subjected to critical study which provides correct answers. That is valuable! And that increases our faith! Praise You, Lord, for giving us understanding and blessing us so much!