The term “synoptic” means “presenting or taking the same point of view.” The Synoptic Gospels consist of Matthew, Mark, and Luke because a significant portion of their information can be located in parallel passages of each other, sometimes with more or less detail. One example, found only in the pages of Matthew and Luke, is the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew, it begins with chapter 5 and continues through to the end of chapter 7. Three whole chapters! But in Luke, it begins in chapter 6 with verse 20 and continues through to the end of verse 49. A second example is Jesus’ parables by the sea. You can find them in Matthew 13:1-35; Mark 4:1-34; and Luke 8:4-18.
The first proof text that we shall examine in connection with the Rapture is Matthew 24:40-41. Certain individuals will quote this in support of the Rapture, but they fail to connect it to both its immediate context, from verses 37-39, and its parallel passage in Luke 17:34-37. It reads: “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Concerning these verses, William Hendriksen has incorrectly wrote, “Of the two men engaged in the same kind of work, probably even toiling next to each other in the field, one is taken. By the angels he is gathered to be forever with the Lord. The other is left behind, assigned to everlasting perdition.”1
If we examine the parallel passage, Luke adds a question that the disciples had asked. It reads: “I tell you, on that night there will be two [people] in one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other will be left. And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered.’” Concerning these verses, Mr. Hendriksen has also incorrectly wrote, “What does ‘taken’ mean? The answer is found in I Thess. 4:17, ‘They shall be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air.’ And what does ‘left behind’ signify? It signifies ‘left to their doom.’”2 The question “Where, Lord?” makes little sense if you try to apply it to those “left.”
Brothers and sisters, the word translated “left” is the Greek aphiemi (αφιημι), which, in one of its three chief meanings, means “to send forth, let go, forgive, or pardon.” If two people are in a field, and one is taken and the other left, do you really have to ask “Where?” regarding the one that was left? Obviously he is still in the field where he was in the first place. The word translated “taken” is the Greek paralambano (παραλαμβνω), which means “taken violently in judgment,” as can be seen in Matthew 27:27 of the “taking” of Jesus by the soldiers to be scourged, and in John 19:16 of the “taking” of Jesus to be crucified. It does have the meaning “to receive” (see Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament), but in what sense? The disciples asked, “Where, Lord?” This hardly makes sense if you apply it to those who are left. That answer would seem obvious. It makes sense in the question of “Taken where?” or “Received where?” to which Jesus gives His reply. Those taken are taken in death—not the Rapture. You will notice that verse 37 of Luke accords with Revelation 19:17, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God,’” and 19:21b, “and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-30 also illustrates the reality that those taken are taken in death. It reads:
Concerning verse 38, Matthew Poole has said, “By the good seed he meant the children of the kingdom; such as had a true change wrought in their hearts, were truly regenerated and converted. By the tares he meant the children of the wicked one, that is, of the devil; such as did the works of the devil, John viii. 44.”4 Concerning this same verse, William Hendriksen has said, “the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, meaning that the sons of the kingdom, those who gladly own Jesus as their Lord and King, are those in whom the good seed of the gospel bears fruit.”5 Jesus said “the good seed, these are (eisi, εισι – present indicative) the children of the kingdom,” (Literal translation, emphasis supplied.)—not “they will be.”
Brothers and sisters, we are in that kingdom now. It has been inaugurated, but it has not yet been fully consummated. Dispensationalists will argue that we cannot be in the kingdom because it was supposedly postponed. I want you to notice one more thing in Jesus’ own interpretation of His parable. In verse 41 Jesus says, “…they will gather out of his kingdom…” (emphasis supplied). If the kingdom is not inaugurated now, how can anything wicked be taken out of it at the end of this present evil age? Remember, Jesus is telling us “the kingdom is like…” This is known as a simile. A simile is a figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two essentially unlike things, usually using like, as or than. Jesus is giving us illustrations of what the kingdom is like, and what He can liken it to for us to understand it. You cannot say that this is speaking about any time after Jesus’ return because once He has judged the world, there will be no more sin remaining in it. It will have all been purged out. Righteousness shall reign.
Listen to what Matthew Henry has to say: “The tares will then be gathered out: The reapers (whose primary work it is to gather in the corn) shall be charged first to gather out the tares. Note, Though good and bad are together in this world, undistinguished, yet at the great day they shall be parted; no tares shall then be among the wheat; no sinners among the saints: then you shall plainly discern between the righteous and the wicked, which here sometimes it is hard to do, Mal. 3:18; 4:1.”6 Matthew Henry is correct. Let us look at an example of what he is speaking about in regard to the great day and the parting of the wheat and the tares. It is found in Matthew 25:31-46:
Now, when we opened up this section, we said that those individuals who quote Matthew 24:40-41 in support of the so-called Rapture have failed to keep it in its immediate context. Let us examine the full context of these verses and see what Jesus is telling us.
Notice that when speaking about the end times, Jesus, when relating what the coming of the Son of Man will be like, uses the days of Noah as an example (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27) and the days of Lot as an example (Luke 17:28-30). He never uses Enoch (Gen. 5:24) or Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) as examples. If the Rapture were true, one would think this would be the case.
1 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:870.
2 Ibid, 3:809.
3 J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, 4:75.
4 Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Whole Bible, 3:64.
5 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:571.
6 Mathew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, 5:153-154.
7 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:860-870.
The first proof text that we shall examine in connection with the Rapture is Matthew 24:40-41. Certain individuals will quote this in support of the Rapture, but they fail to connect it to both its immediate context, from verses 37-39, and its parallel passage in Luke 17:34-37. It reads: “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Concerning these verses, William Hendriksen has incorrectly wrote, “Of the two men engaged in the same kind of work, probably even toiling next to each other in the field, one is taken. By the angels he is gathered to be forever with the Lord. The other is left behind, assigned to everlasting perdition.”1
If we examine the parallel passage, Luke adds a question that the disciples had asked. It reads: “I tell you, on that night there will be two [people] in one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other will be left. And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered.’” Concerning these verses, Mr. Hendriksen has also incorrectly wrote, “What does ‘taken’ mean? The answer is found in I Thess. 4:17, ‘They shall be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air.’ And what does ‘left behind’ signify? It signifies ‘left to their doom.’”2 The question “Where, Lord?” makes little sense if you try to apply it to those “left.”
Brothers and sisters, the word translated “left” is the Greek aphiemi (αφιημι), which, in one of its three chief meanings, means “to send forth, let go, forgive, or pardon.” If two people are in a field, and one is taken and the other left, do you really have to ask “Where?” regarding the one that was left? Obviously he is still in the field where he was in the first place. The word translated “taken” is the Greek paralambano (παραλαμβνω), which means “taken violently in judgment,” as can be seen in Matthew 27:27 of the “taking” of Jesus by the soldiers to be scourged, and in John 19:16 of the “taking” of Jesus to be crucified. It does have the meaning “to receive” (see Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New Testament), but in what sense? The disciples asked, “Where, Lord?” This hardly makes sense if you apply it to those who are left. That answer would seem obvious. It makes sense in the question of “Taken where?” or “Received where?” to which Jesus gives His reply. Those taken are taken in death—not the Rapture. You will notice that verse 37 of Luke accords with Revelation 19:17, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God,’” and 19:21b, “and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-30 also illustrates the reality that those taken are taken in death. It reads:
He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ And the slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”In his commentary, Thru the Bible, J. Vernon McGee says in regard to this passage: “Satan is the enemy, and he sows tares among the wheat. The tares are false doctrine. As wheat and tares first begin to grow, it is difficult to distinguish between them. Frankly, a lot of cults and ‘isms’ also sound good at first. You cannot tell them from the real thing until about the twelfth or thirteenth lesson. Those are the lessons in which they introduce their false doctrine. Someone once said to me, ‘Dr. McGee, you should not criticize so-and-so. I listened to him, and he preached the gospel.’ Well, he does preach the gospel every now and then. But it is the other things he says that are in error. You see, he sows tares among the wheat.”3 Brothers and sisters, I want you to notice the interpretation that Jesus gives for His own parable:
And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”Brothers and sisters, it is so important that we let the Bible speak for itself without any added imagination from us. If you do not pay close attention to what the Bible says, you are more than likely to veer off into many wild and speculative fantasies that cannot be substantiated in or by Scripture. I have no doubt that Mr. McGee was a very godly man, and I respect him dearly. However, he was wrong in his interpretation. Jesus interpreted the “tares” as being the “sons of the evil one”—not false doctrine. It was His parable, so I am sure He knows the illustration He is painting for His listeners. He also interpreted the wheat as being the “children of the kingdom.”
Concerning verse 38, Matthew Poole has said, “By the good seed he meant the children of the kingdom; such as had a true change wrought in their hearts, were truly regenerated and converted. By the tares he meant the children of the wicked one, that is, of the devil; such as did the works of the devil, John viii. 44.”4 Concerning this same verse, William Hendriksen has said, “the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, meaning that the sons of the kingdom, those who gladly own Jesus as their Lord and King, are those in whom the good seed of the gospel bears fruit.”5 Jesus said “the good seed, these are (eisi, εισι – present indicative) the children of the kingdom,” (Literal translation, emphasis supplied.)—not “they will be.”
Brothers and sisters, we are in that kingdom now. It has been inaugurated, but it has not yet been fully consummated. Dispensationalists will argue that we cannot be in the kingdom because it was supposedly postponed. I want you to notice one more thing in Jesus’ own interpretation of His parable. In verse 41 Jesus says, “…they will gather out of his kingdom…” (emphasis supplied). If the kingdom is not inaugurated now, how can anything wicked be taken out of it at the end of this present evil age? Remember, Jesus is telling us “the kingdom is like…” This is known as a simile. A simile is a figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two essentially unlike things, usually using like, as or than. Jesus is giving us illustrations of what the kingdom is like, and what He can liken it to for us to understand it. You cannot say that this is speaking about any time after Jesus’ return because once He has judged the world, there will be no more sin remaining in it. It will have all been purged out. Righteousness shall reign.
Listen to what Matthew Henry has to say: “The tares will then be gathered out: The reapers (whose primary work it is to gather in the corn) shall be charged first to gather out the tares. Note, Though good and bad are together in this world, undistinguished, yet at the great day they shall be parted; no tares shall then be among the wheat; no sinners among the saints: then you shall plainly discern between the righteous and the wicked, which here sometimes it is hard to do, Mal. 3:18; 4:1.”6 Matthew Henry is correct. Let us look at an example of what he is speaking about in regard to the great day and the parting of the wheat and the tares. It is found in Matthew 25:31-46:
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ … Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’”It should be noted that in an attempt to contradict what Scripture says in regard to those who are taken as being taken in death, some have cited the parable of the net, where the good fish are sorted into containers (Matt. 13:48). However, these individuals have failed to read verse 49. The passage reads:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”There can be no doubt about what Jesus is teaching us. But this brings us to another issue. Concerning the phrase “the end of the age,” Dispensationalists teach that this refers to the end of the Mosaic Law. Does the above passage sound like it took place at the end of the Mosaic Law? Re-read Jesus’ interpretation of His parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:37-43 and you tell me if that sounds like the end of the Mosaic Law. Or, how about this verse: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20). Moments before His ascension into heaven, we are to believe, according to Dispensationalists, that Jesus said He will be with us until the end of the Mosaic Law? So… He will not be with us after the Mosaic Law? For individuals who claim to interpret the Scriptures literally, this sure is an awful mangling of the phrase’s true meaning.
Now, when we opened up this section, we said that those individuals who quote Matthew 24:40-41 in support of the so-called Rapture have failed to keep it in its immediate context. Let us examine the full context of these verses and see what Jesus is telling us.
“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”Do you see that? Jesus said that “the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah” (v.37). During Noah’s days, the flood came in like a storm (no pun intended) and destroyed everyone who was not found in the ark. There was nobody left behind except for the eight righteous upon the ark. At the coming of the Son of Man there will be nobody left behind except for the righteous that will inherit the kingdom. This is a literal interpretation of what the text says. “The very suddenness of the coming points up the necessity to guard against unpreparedness and carelessness. During the days of Noah – that is, when this ‘preacher of righteousness’ was building the ark (Gen. 5:32-7:5) and warning the people (II Peter 2:5) – they refused to take to heart what he was doing and saying. They were unconcerned. They continued to live ‘as always,’ eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.”7
Notice that when speaking about the end times, Jesus, when relating what the coming of the Son of Man will be like, uses the days of Noah as an example (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-27) and the days of Lot as an example (Luke 17:28-30). He never uses Enoch (Gen. 5:24) or Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) as examples. If the Rapture were true, one would think this would be the case.
1 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:870.
2 Ibid, 3:809.
3 J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, 4:75.
4 Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Whole Bible, 3:64.
5 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:571.
6 Mathew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary, 5:153-154.
7 Hendriksen and Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, 1:860-870.