Where were they taken?

SavedByGrace3 said:

Luke 17:26-27 KJV
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Matthew 24:39-41 KJV
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Luke 17:34-37 KJV
34 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.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 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.
*vultures

Luke 17:28-30 KJV
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Click to expand...

We have to remember that the Bible was not written in English. There was a time when I equated the flood taking "them all away" with the ones being taken and not the ones who are left, but I no longer believe that is accurate. The Greek word translated as "took...away" in Matthew 24:39 is a different Greek word translated as "shall be taken" in the verses that talk about one being taken and one left.

The Greek word translated as "took...away" in Matthew 24:39 is airō, which means just how it is translated in English. It means to be taken away from something. In this case it's talking about people being taken away and killed by the flood.

The Greek word translated as "shall be taken" is paralambanō and that has a different meaning than airō. It means "to take to, to take with one's self, to join to one's self". So, I believe it refers to those who will be taken up to Christ to meet Him in the air when He comes. Those who are left behind are then destroyed just as those left behind off the ark were all destroyed and those who were left behind in Sodom after Lot went out of it were all destroyed. Those who are left behind do not survive as those who believe in a pre-trib rapture teach.

As for the question "Where, Lord" I don't believe they were asking Him where those who are taken are taken to. I used to think that, too, but no longer do. I believe the question they were asking is where will it take place that one is taken and one is left? And Jesus's answer is that it will take place wherever dead bodies are found that the eagles or vultures are feasting on. Which will be everywhere on the earth since His second coming is a global event.

SavedByGrace3 said:

Luke 17:26-27 KJV
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Matthew 24:39-41 KJV
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Luke 17:34-37 KJV
34 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.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 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.
*vultures

Luke 17:28-30 KJV
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Click to expand...

Paralambano and Airo both mean "taken" in English, and refer to different aspects of being "taken." But that does not mean the notion of being "taken" requires a different meaning. It just means that word has slight variations. We have many synonyms in English that are either exactly meaning the same or have slight variations in meaning, all without indicating a huge difference in the basic meaning.

So those "taken in the Flood" were taken away to destruction. And those taken to where "eagles" or "vultures" gather are assembled into Jerusalem where the Roman Army would gather. The Romans worshiped eagles, and held them on their military standards. So it was a picture Jesus' disciples would understand well.

The Romans came and destroyed those who locked themselves into the city of Jerusalem, within its gates. The Romans got in, killed many of the Jews, and then took away many into captivity.

I'm aware that many in my generation have viewed this "taken" as the Rapture of the Church. There is no evidence in the passage itself to indicate that. The context was judgment. Both those who were "taken" and those who were "left" were being judged. Jesus was prophesying judgment upon the unbelieving, ungodly Jews.

Those who were "taken" were taken away into captivity. Those who were "left" were left as servants to till the ground for the Romans. They would all be slaves, with many scattered into other nations, later called the 'Jewish Diaspora." It was the "Great Tribulation" or "Great Punishment" Jesus said would befall the Jewish People in his generation.

In case there is any doubt, one need only recognize the OT pattern of judgment against the Jewish People that took place by the Babylonian Army. In the same circumstance false Jewish prophets anticipated God's deliverance because they denied they were in sin. They thought any judgment being prophesied was far off, if at all.

But Ezekiel was told the time had come--that very generation would be judged. It was imminent.

And so, the Babylonian Army got into Jerusalem and massacred the people. Many were hauled away into captivity to serve the Babylonians in other countries. The thing Jesus spoke of was a repeat of the same thing in his own generation.

It was the "abomination of desolation," just as Antiochus 4 earlier had desolated the Jewish People in his own time. There should be no confusion about what Jesus meant in the Olivet Discourse if one studies the OT pattern of Israel's judgment.

I should have selected this: "To a place where dead bodies are laying around."

I don't believe it means removed from the earth. Others have already touched on the fact that there are multiple Greek words for taken when utilized in different verses.

I'll touch on two that I believe are relevant as well-

Matthew 9:15 "And Jesus said unto them, "Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."

Taken in this verse is Greek word apairo- It literally means to lift off, i.e. remove -take away

But when we look at this verse, it's an entirely different Greek word-

Matthew 24:40 "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left."

As others have mentioned it's Greek word 3880 paralambano- to receive near i.e. associate oneself with (in any familiar or intimae act or relation) by anal, to assume an office, fig -to learn, receive, take (unto with)

To me, it's very similar to the verse below in that in a spiritual sense, they will receive him as their savior, thus taking that spiritual mark. And fits with the flood that the Satan will bring.


Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:"


So I believe the first are taken by Satan/Antichrist in the flood he will bring. Christ states if they say "Christ is here or there, believe it not, etc". The ones left are the ones that endured, are left standing waiting for their redemption. As Christ states when one sees all of those things come to pass, one can lift their heads and know it's near.

So I believe the analogy of Noah fits in that the flood "took" them all away and Noah's family remained. But in the end times it will be Satan's flood of lies. That's why one needs to the full gospel armor on to "be able to stand in the evil day" as Paul states. To fight the wiles (trickery) of the devil.


Revelation 12:15 "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood."

Most of the world will be carried away in his flood- first ones taken.