And One Shall Be Taken??

The Rapture Theory, Part 2 of 7

"But as the days of Noe 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 Noe 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. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matt 24:37-42; Lk 17:26).

From these verses, we can easily determine that Jesus is saying the last days will bear a marked similarity to the days in which Noah lived. They will be "as it was". Not different, not the opposite way, but as it was in the days of Noah. Many people will say these verses are evidence for some kind of an escape out of the earth (a rapture). However, what exactly happened in the days of Noah? Who was taken, and who was left? Friends, many preachers and teachers today are telling us to pray to be "taken when Jesus comes".. But this is not an accurate statement! It was the wicked who were taken in the day of Noah - taken in the floods of judgment. It was the righteous who were left behind to inherit the new earth. When the waters receded and the Ark landed, Noah and his family stepped out to the new earth, and it all belonged to them! The fat of the land was now theirs; the wicked had been taken away, and yet man has devised a "rapture theology" which states the exact opposite! How strange. Of course we believe in a "catching up" of the saints (the Bible declares it), but not to the extent, manner nor the timing that the rapture theory insists. I simply cannot believe that the "catching up" is to snatch a weak, poor, half-hearted and down-trodden people out from under the heel of Satan. Psalm 37 tells us that the wicked are the ones taken from the land, while the righteous are left to inherit it: "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land... For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" (Ps 37:3, 9-11).

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit" (Jn 15:1-2; Matt 15:13). Please notice that the one who was taken away was the one who wasn't bearing fruit. The wicked are the one's taken - those who are fruitless.. And what is their end? Hebrews gives us a glimpse: "that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned" (Heb 6:8). Friends, I don't want to be taken in that manner! I don't want to be rejected! Do you? I want to fulfill my purpose, and then be caught up! Not prematurely.

Over and over in Scripture, we read of being "taken"... And interestingly, it is most always in a negative context: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken" (Prov 3:25-26). Again Scripture tells us, "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness" (Prov 11:6)... "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself" (Prov 5:22).

John also tells us being taken: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (1 Jn 2:19). Dear reader, do you want to continue, or be taken? In John's Gospel, the one who is "lost", i.e taken away, is the son of perdition: "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled" (Jn 17:12)! Let's ask again, would you rather be kept or taken?

Job tells us, "In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand" (Job 34:20).

Jeremiah has said, "To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days... The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?" (Jer 6:10-11; 8:9).

Can we notice how "the taking" is perpetually associated with sin, reproach, and spiritual deficiency? Surprising isn't it?

To Be Continued...