[Mat 24:40-41 KJV] 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.
This verse is not about the rapture.
When Jesus returns he will take the wicked in judgement, but the righteous will enter the kingdom.
[Mat 13:30 KJV] 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
This is illustrated by the parable of the wheat and the tares.
[Mat 13:40-41 KJV] 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
The wicked tares will not enter the kingdom. They will be cast into hell.
'Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.'
(Mat 24:29-31)
'But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ's at His coming.
Then cometh the end,
when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.'
(1Cor. 15:23-24)
'For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:'
(1Thess. 4:15-16)
Hello
@Doug & Marks,
The hope of Matthew 24:29-30 and the hope of 1 Cor. 15: 22-23, and 1 Thess. 4:15-16 is, t
he coming of the Lord. All three are the subject of Old Testament Prophecy, so are not new to Scripture (
'For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord' -1Th 4:15) . For Paul states categorically, when making his defence before King Agrippa in Acts 26:-
'Having therefore obtained help of God,
I continue unto this day,
witnessing both to small and great,
saying NONE OTHER THINGS
than those which the prophets and Moses did say
should come:'
(Act 26:22)
This includes the epistles written by Paul during the period covered by the book of Acts. For He, as with the other Apostles of the New Testament had received a revelation from God concerning
'The Mystery of Christ' (Eph. 3:4-5), which,
though the subject of the Old Testament Prophets, required the revelation of God for it to be seen and understood. This is what Paul and the other Apostles of the Lord made known throughout the approx. 40yrs of the Acts period in ( 1 & 2 Thess, 1 & 2 Cor. Gal. Rom. and Heb.)
It was only in the prison epistles, written by Paul, that the truth concerning
'The Mystery' (Eph.3:6-13) that was revealed to Him alone, was revealed. In which the truth concerning the church which is the Body of Christ is made known, specifically in ( Eph., Phil. and Col, but also in 2 Tim. Titus and Phile.), in which their hope is also revealed in Col. 3:4.
'When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.'
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris