How DC Talk, (and probably you) get it wrong.

THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD BIBLE VERSES EVER!

Starting this week, I've decided to do something that I've wanted to do for many years, address some of the most misused and twisted passages in Scripture.  As a first installment, we'll look at Matthew 24:40-42 which reads, 

"Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."

When I was a young believer in youth group, I remember listening to DC Talk, one of the most if not the most popular Christian band at the time. A song that I heard many times was "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" which was based upon these very verses in Matthew. It's a song that paints a picture of the rapture of the Christians and it laments the fact that there were those who were not ready for the rapture and were "Left Behind" (just like in the movies).   

Here's a sample verse, 

Two men walking up a hill,

One disappears and one left standing still

I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind

The Son has come and you've been left behind. 

It is a very good song with a catchy tune, peaceful instrumentals and rich content. If you'd like to listen to it, you can click HERE.  The only problem with the song is really the fact that it rips the Bible verses out of context and communicates the exact opposite of what Jesus actually said.  Yes, the exact opposite. It's not like they came close to understanding what Jesus said and got it wrong, but they, along with millions of Christians, understand these verses to mean the exact opposite of what Jesus said. 

In order to fully understand the verses in question we have to go back and listen to all of what Jesus said. 

If we start at the beginning of the passage, we find that Jesus is answering a question that his disciples asked him, namely, "what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" 

In verse 36, Jesus begins to answer that question saying, 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

So, here's Jesus' answer to the question, "what will be the sign of your coming?"

1. No one knows.

2. It will be just like the day Noah's flood began.

3. People will be marrying and having parties and living life and be completely unaware. 

4. Some will be taken away (by the flood and destroyed) and some will be left to live.

And immediately Jesus says, "and so it will be with the coming of the Son of Man... one will be taken away, and one will be left."  

Notice that Jesus is directly comparing the day of his return with the day of judgment of the flood of Noah. In Noah's day, those who were judged were "taken away" while those who survived the judgment were "left behind."

The pattern is all too clear. In the day of Noah God sent his judgment and "took away" all of the unbelievers and "left behind" those who believed (Noah and his family).  In the day of my return and judgement, Jesus says, it will be the same, sinners will be taken away and the believers will be left behind.  

So instead of teaching a rapture of the church, Jesus is teaching a destruction of the unbelievers. 

If we could go back and change the lyrics to "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" would would have to say,
"there's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind taken away"

Here in Matthew 24, we find no evidence of some secret rapture of the church, but we see the removal of God's enemies from the earth and the permanency of his bride. 

Next week, we'll look at the most important Bible verse concerning "the rapture" and see how the church has misunderstood that one as well. In fact, it's the very verse that led men to invent the word rapture. 

A more detailed argument of Matthew 24 is offered below for those who like to get into the details. 

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When Jesus speaks of those "taken" in the day of Noah, he uses the word airó which literally means to be taken away. However, when Jesus  speaks of those "taken away" on the day of his return he uses the word Paralambano  which means, "to be taken away to be with someone."  

This has led some to contend that since Paralambano means to be taken to be with someone that Jesus must be saying that those who are taken away at Jesus' return are "taken away to be with Jesus" and and those who are left behind are those who are unbelievers. They point to the fact that the word paralambano is often used to refer to Jesus "taking" his disciples to be with him. For example, in John 14:3 Jesus tells his disciples, "and if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again and receive (paralambano) you unto myself that where I am, you may be also." So it would seem that those who are paralambano'ed (isn't that the past tense of paralambano?)  are taken to be with Jesus. 

However, those who make that argument ignore two very important points.

First, the word Paralambano has many meanings. It is commonly used to mean taken away to be with a friend, and it is also commonly used to mean taken away to be judged and punished. For example, in Matthew 27:27, Jesus is paralambano'ed to be with the soldiers who beat him. Or in John 19:16, the soldiers paralambano'ed  Jesus to be crucified.

So we see that paralambano can mean either to take to be with a friend or lover, or it can mean to take away to be punished. Which definition fits best with the context of Matthew 24:40?  

This leads us to the second most important point that the pro-rapture group usually ignores, context. In the context of the passage Jesus clearly says that his return will be just like the days of Noah. Let's read it again, just so that it's fresh in our minds. 

"and they were unaware until the flood came and took them away, and so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left."

OK. Let's read it again. This time, I'm going to take out the phrase, "two men will be in the field."

"and they were unaware until the flood came and took them away, and so will be the coming of the Son of Man...  one will be taken and one left."  

So in the immediate context, Jesus is showing that those who are taken are those who are being judged and punished and those who are left, are those who are being spared from the punishment. Thus, the understanding of paralambano that we should have is not "taken to be with a friend" but instead, "taken to be punished," just like those taken in the flood.  

But what about the broader context?  If we take the context out to it's broader level then we'll remember what question Jesus is answering in the first place. In verse 3, Jesus' disciples ask him, "what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?" 

This should immediately indicate to us that Jesus is not talking about what happens shortly before the end of the age (like some sort of secret rapture). Instead, he is answering the question, what happens on the very last day? ("the day of your coming and the end of the age")  When we understand this, we must recognize that again, Jesus is not speaking of taking friends to be with him, but instead taking unbelievers to be judged. Of course we know that on the very last day, Jesus will judge and punish all unbelievers. So using the broad context, we see that the understanding of paralambano that we should have is again, "taken to be judged." 

Both the immediate context and the broader context point to the fact that paralambano is used in the sense of being punished, not in the sense of being brought together with a friend. 

Thus, all points of context agree with one another and with the Biblical narrative as a whole. On the day of the end of the age, Jesus will return to be with his bride (which was left behind) and those who are not believers are taken away to be punished. 

Now we can see why Jesus finishes the way that he does. 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"

This is most certainly a picture of the last day when sinners are destroyed.