Expert: Marvin Howard - 4/17/2007

Question
QUESTION: In Matt. 24:37-41 (parallel Luke 17:26-30) Christ compares the days of Noah (and Lot in the parallel) to the coming of the Son of man.  My question is, in the days of Noah and the days of Lot, who were taken (Luke says destroyed) and who were left, and how does this compare to the two in the field, bed, and at the mill at the coming of the Son of Man?
ANSWER: Hi!

Ernie, thank you for the chance to answer this for you. When you place these in their context, it becomes simple to handle these. The problem in understanding these is that they have been falsely applied to the wrong event, in the wrong period of time. Let’s look at the two passages in question. However, we are going to take in a few more of the surrounding verses. Once we do this, there will be other passages that will help us pinpoint the proper event more accurately. Once the proper event is identified, it becomes easier to understand the difference between “taken” and “left.”

Matthew 24:34-41, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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.”

Luke 17:22-37, “And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

Matthew gives us the biggest clue in this whole scenario as he began his rendition; “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

Each of the events which Jesus is about to describe will occur before all of the living adults died. Thus, we see, the event being described here as, “the coming of the son of Man,” is something that would occur within the first century. Luke gives us another clue.

“In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.”

This event was something from which people would flee, and Jesus gave this warning specifically to the disciples according to Luke 17:22. Looking back would slow the flight, and bring destruction as with Lot’s wife. Stopping to gather belongings would do the same. Even earlier, we find the following statement.

Matthew 24:15-22, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

In this we see that having children would slow the flight, and cause death. We see that stopping would do the same. Winter would also be a hindrance. We know that most of the world does not practice the sabbath, so what is the import of this warning?

Matthew 24:21 speaks of this event as the tribulation. People want to say this is a yet future event. It cannot be. Here is why. There was to be none greater. People were commanded to flee from it. The flight was to be immediate, as it would happen quickly. If they followed instructions, the flight would remove them from the threat. According to the false doctrine, this tribulation will affect everyone save the ones “raptured.” Their vision of a “rapture” involves the Lord doing the saving rather than the scriptural use of one’s own feet. It would be hard for pregnant women to run. It would be hard for anyone to make an emergency trip in the winter. It would be impossible to run on the sabbath, as the city gates were always shut. There is only one such region where this condition could possibly occur. The region is specifically named; Judea! The “great tribulation” is not a world wide event like the second coming where “every eye shall see Him.” It was confined to a small region of the world. Besides this, even in this region, the impossibility of sabbath flight no longer exists, as the city no longer has walls and gates to trap those who would flee. This event has already happened, or scripture gave people a condition for a command needlessly. I don’t think God wasted His words.

Now, having identified the event as the destruction of Jerusalem, let us turn to the meaning of “taken” and “left.” Clearly they are opposites. What happened to the one group would not happen to the other.

Those who are “left” are those who remain in the city as it falls. It is likely with the violence of the siege (as recorded in history) that those left would have died as promised. Therefore, those “taken” should receive the opposite. Does the Greek support the idea of staying alive? Here is the Greek for “taken.”

παραλαμβάνω
paralambanō
par-al-am-ban'-o
From G3844 and G2983; to receive near, that is, associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by analogy to assume an office; figuratively to learn: - receive, take (unto, with).

The people who are “taken” are the ones who learn. They heed the warning to flee. Also, they are associated with God because of their obedience.

That both men and women of various occupations, or at any time of day or night, are mentioned is just showing that it did not matter who you were. Status would not save you. Those working in the field would be just as dead as those working in buildings, if they did not heed the warning. Those who were asleep would be just as dead as those who were awake, if they did not heed the warning. They that went about their lives as if nothing wwere going to happen were destroyed.

In the days of Noah (and in the days of Lot), those who heeded the warning were “taken,” or kept alive. Those who were left faced the destruction of fire and flood.

While this event specifically speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, like many other prophecies, has a dual purpose. This is also typical of our coming to the judgment, whether at our death or at the second coming. Again, status will not matter, and neither will activity. When our appointed time comes, it will happen. We can either heed the warning and be safe, or disregard it and be destroyed.

Ernie, once again, I thank you for the opportunity to share with you. I pray I have settled the matter for you. If not, I will be happy to see if I can clarify it.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962
http://360.yahoo.com/preacherman_1962

P.S.
I have just posted my first, ever video sermon on Google. The title is, “The 70 Weeks of Daniel.” Our passages (specifically Matthew 24:15) dealt with, “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.” Therefore, it is related to this. Should you wish to see it, and I hope you have a high-speed connection; you may view it at the following URL (just copy and paste):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8199353444780537918

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Please note, CAPS for emphasis, not yelling.

You stated that "those taken" = "the ones who learn; heed the warning to flee; were kept alive".

You stated that "those left" = "those who remain in the city as it falls"

In Matthew 24, Matthew writes that in the days of Noah, those going about their daily lives "until the flood came and TOOK them all away..."

The parallel in Luke 17 states "...the flood came, and destroyed them all."

So "took (taken)" is = destroyed.

Would it not be more accurate to say that those who were taken at the coming of the Son of man (the destruction of Jerusalem) were the wicked, taken (ESV says "swept") from the earth and those left, were the righteous left on the earth after God's judgement?

I do appreciate the answer though.  Except for that one minor distinction, we are in agreement. :)

In Truth and Love,

Ernie

Answer
Hi!

Ernie, I am sorry that it took so long for me to respond. I have been experimenting with a new video program.

It all depends on the point of view. One can be "taken to the cleaners," and "left for broke" by the same catalyst, at the same time.

I stand by the Greek definition for taken, as rendered in this passage.

In His service,
Marvin Howard
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962
http://360.yahoo.com/preacherman_1962