“Then shall two be in the field [on earth]; the one shall be taken, and the other left [on earth]. ⁴¹ Two women shall be grinding at the mill [on earth]; the one shall be taken, and the other left [on earth]. ⁴² Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matthew 24:40-42 (KJV)

Most Christians recognize my titled phrase taken from Matthew 24.

Yet, the above passage has been mis-interpreted by most all the neo-evangelical church organizations of man to apply to our Lord’s coming for the members of His Body at the Rapture!

They typically say, at the Rapture of the Church, two will be working in the field, when One Will Be Taken To Heaven and the other LEFT To Go Through The Day of God’s Wrath, and that the two women who may be grinding side by side at the mill: one will be caught up to be with the Lord and the other left behind to suffer the Tribulation judgments.  There is not a whiff of truth in this interpretation.

Actually, this passage cannot have anything to do with the Rapture of “the Body of Christ” to be with Christ in heaven.

First, we must recognize who Jesus is addressing. Jesus of Nazareth came unto Israel and He is addressing Israel concerning Israel only as “the minister of the Circumcision (Israel).”

“But he [Jesus] answered and said, I am not sent but [except] unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24 (KJV)

“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision [Israel] for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” (Romans 15:8 (KJV)

By contrast, the truth of our Lord’s coming for the members of “the Church, which is His Body” at the Rapture was a secret and unrevealed at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The truth of the Rapture was first revealed by the glorified Lord to Paul (1 Cor.15:51-58; I Thes. 4:15-18).

The truth of the Rapture is only mentioned in the Bible in Paul’s epistles. This because Paul alone is “The Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13), those who will make up the Raptured “body of Christ” to heaven. Paul wrote:

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

But from Matthew 24 itself it is still more evident that the passage cannot refer to the rapture of the Gentile “body of Christ.” (Matt 24:41)

It is true that the Matt. 24 passage says: “The one shall be taken, and the other left,” but where and how will the one be taken, and what will be the lot of the one who is left behind?

From the verses immediately preceding Matt 24:40, it is evident that Christ 2^nd coming to earth to judge and reign on earthly Millennial Kingdom is what is in view. Thus, we have a context established. We should note that His 2^nd coming to earth is likened to what happened in “the days of Noah.” At that the people ate and drank, married and gave away again in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, “and knew not until the flood came and TOOK THEM ALL AWAY.”

“But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ³⁸ For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,” (Matthew 24:37-38 (KJV)

These people in Noah’s day were NOT “taken away” to glory; they were “taken away” in judgment... they all died! Thus, it is not a good thing to be taken.

Since verses 40 and 41 are a continuation of Jesus’ illustration, it’s evident that the two “taken away” are taken away in judgment at our Lord’s return to reign on earth, while The Two Who Are “Left” Are His Kingdom Gospel Believers Who Will Survive The Tribulation Judgment … to ENTER INTO HIS MILLENNIAL KINGDOM ON EARTH. This interpretation alone is consistent with the whole context in which we find this passage.