Here's another leavened fragment the doctrines of men of the Pre-trib school tries to use to prove our gathering to Christ is before the tribulation...
Luke 17:26-37
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
"Noe" is Greek put for Noah. Our Lord Jesus is comparing the time of Noah and the flood to the days leading up to Christ's coming to gather us.
Luke 17:27 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.
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.
It really is not difficult to understand just which ones our Lord Jesus is describing there as being 'destroyed'. It's those who were busy living and enjoying themselves and not aware of what was coming. Noah and his family, Lot and his family, were all protected through those periods of destruction. The Pre-trib school wrongly uses that idea to compare with their doctrine of the saints being raptured prior to the tribulation. Some of them even now use that about Christ's return with His raptured saints after the tribulation. The old Pre-trib doctrine used to simply use Noah as an example of being raptured prior to the tribulation, because of His being protected. The modern leaven pre-trib school now evidently sees how that old view doesn't really fit our Lord's description here as they once thought.
Our Lord Jesus is making comparison to events that happen on "the day of the Lord" with that 'destruction' idea, and His being revealed.
Luke 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
On that day, if you're on the housetop, don't go back down to gather your stuff. If you're out in the field, don't go back to your house to gather belongings. Remember how Lot's wife turned back and was turned to a pillar of salt. That right there is indeed about the time of Christ's coming and our gathering getting ready to happen. The symbol of one on the "housetop" is about the 'watchman'. Houses then had a wall structure on the roof so you could go up and walk around and not fall off. That's where the watchman would serve as a lookout. It's a pointer to our Lord's and His Apostle's warnings for us to remain 'sober' and 'watch'.
The Pre-trib school assumes that is about their being raptured prior to the tribulation, with everyone else left-behind. It's where they have begun to get the idea of being the first one 'taken' means being raptured to Christ prior to the start of the tribulation. But that's not the idea there, because Christ was speaking of what getting ready to come "In that day"? A day of destruction, pointing to the events to occur on "the day of the Lord", which of course only will occur at the end of the tribulation. So our Lord's warning here is a warning to His saints about the coming day of destruction, which is what ENDS the great tribulation upon His saints, not begins it.
Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Our Lord Jesus is speaking of the days of the tribulation with that. Those who seek to save their life will lose it, while those who lose their life (for Him) will have preserved it. That is about Christ's saints remaining Faithful even unto to death during the great tribulation. It is the direct opposite idea of wanting to escape the tribulation in order to try to save your life. Like Paul said, "...we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22).
Luke 17:34 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.
The above verses are quoted all the time by those on the Pre-trib rapture doctrines, pointing they think to a rapture by Christ prior to the tribulation. Got to be very careful with that "in the night" time marker our Lord Jesus gave there, for what was the subject He was just covering in the prior verse? He was speaking of tribulation timing in the verse just prior to this, and that's the subject line still here, the tribulation time. We are children of the day per Paul, not children of darkness that are drunken in the night (1 Thess.5).
These first ones 'taken' are put for those who seek to save their lives during the tribulation. The last verse of this Luke 17 chapter is rarely covered along with those verses of the first one being 'taken'. It's one of the most important verses about timing that our Lord Jesus revealed here...
Luke 17:37 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."
(KJV)
Christ's disciples asked Him about those first one's taken. They asked Him, "Where, Lord?" They wanted to know just where those were going to be taken to. That's when our Lord Jesus told them that wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." What's that about? First, look at the Matthew 24:28 version of that which Jesus gave...
Matt 24:28
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
(KJV)
That "carcase" means a dead body in the Greek, literally a corpse. Why would those first ones taken there be compared to a dead carcase?
This is where OT Bible study of the prophets helps, along with using simple common sense. In nature, eagles do not go after what is already dead, it instead kills it prey. That's common sense and public knowledge. Vultures or buzzards do go after what is already laying dead, which is their job as scavengers that God created them for, to cleanse the earth.
So why is that "eagles" symbol being used for vultures then? The eagle was used in the OT compared to the king of Babylon when God punished him, his hairs growing like eagles' feathers, and his nails like bird's claws (Dan.4). God compared Himself as an eagle in Deut.32:11 in how He protected Israel by overspreading His wings. In Ezek.17, God compares the king of Babylon once again to a "great eagle with great wings". Per Dan.7, the eagle was a symbol used by the kingdom of Babylon. In Obadiah 1, God shows how Edom exalted itself as an eagle with its nest set among the stars. In Rev.12:14, God uses the eagle's wings as a symbol for His people flying into the wilderness for protection during a 3.5 years period from the face of the serpent, but how does that relate to the idea of a dead "carcase"?
It points to the 'eagle' as a symbol for the fake, or for the true. What determines the fake is HOW it is applied. With birds that go after a dead "carcase", it can only be applied in the fake eagle sense, as Satan's host trying to pass themselves off as good eagles. We were warned how Satan disguises himself as an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11.
That's who our Lord Jesus was pointing to with that "carcase" symbol for the first one's taken. They will be 'taken' to where the FALSE eagles are, i.e., the vultures that go after what is dead. It is all about those first ones taken as a dead carcase, going in deception by Satan's host and gathered where Satan's host will be.
Luke 17:26-37
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
"Noe" is Greek put for Noah. Our Lord Jesus is comparing the time of Noah and the flood to the days leading up to Christ's coming to gather us.
Luke 17:27 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.
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.
It really is not difficult to understand just which ones our Lord Jesus is describing there as being 'destroyed'. It's those who were busy living and enjoying themselves and not aware of what was coming. Noah and his family, Lot and his family, were all protected through those periods of destruction. The Pre-trib school wrongly uses that idea to compare with their doctrine of the saints being raptured prior to the tribulation. Some of them even now use that about Christ's return with His raptured saints after the tribulation. The old Pre-trib doctrine used to simply use Noah as an example of being raptured prior to the tribulation, because of His being protected. The modern leaven pre-trib school now evidently sees how that old view doesn't really fit our Lord's description here as they once thought.
Our Lord Jesus is making comparison to events that happen on "the day of the Lord" with that 'destruction' idea, and His being revealed.
Luke 17:31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
On that day, if you're on the housetop, don't go back down to gather your stuff. If you're out in the field, don't go back to your house to gather belongings. Remember how Lot's wife turned back and was turned to a pillar of salt. That right there is indeed about the time of Christ's coming and our gathering getting ready to happen. The symbol of one on the "housetop" is about the 'watchman'. Houses then had a wall structure on the roof so you could go up and walk around and not fall off. That's where the watchman would serve as a lookout. It's a pointer to our Lord's and His Apostle's warnings for us to remain 'sober' and 'watch'.
The Pre-trib school assumes that is about their being raptured prior to the tribulation, with everyone else left-behind. It's where they have begun to get the idea of being the first one 'taken' means being raptured to Christ prior to the start of the tribulation. But that's not the idea there, because Christ was speaking of what getting ready to come "In that day"? A day of destruction, pointing to the events to occur on "the day of the Lord", which of course only will occur at the end of the tribulation. So our Lord's warning here is a warning to His saints about the coming day of destruction, which is what ENDS the great tribulation upon His saints, not begins it.
Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Our Lord Jesus is speaking of the days of the tribulation with that. Those who seek to save their life will lose it, while those who lose their life (for Him) will have preserved it. That is about Christ's saints remaining Faithful even unto to death during the great tribulation. It is the direct opposite idea of wanting to escape the tribulation in order to try to save your life. Like Paul said, "...we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22).
Luke 17:34 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.
The above verses are quoted all the time by those on the Pre-trib rapture doctrines, pointing they think to a rapture by Christ prior to the tribulation. Got to be very careful with that "in the night" time marker our Lord Jesus gave there, for what was the subject He was just covering in the prior verse? He was speaking of tribulation timing in the verse just prior to this, and that's the subject line still here, the tribulation time. We are children of the day per Paul, not children of darkness that are drunken in the night (1 Thess.5).
These first ones 'taken' are put for those who seek to save their lives during the tribulation. The last verse of this Luke 17 chapter is rarely covered along with those verses of the first one being 'taken'. It's one of the most important verses about timing that our Lord Jesus revealed here...
Luke 17:37 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."
(KJV)
Christ's disciples asked Him about those first one's taken. They asked Him, "Where, Lord?" They wanted to know just where those were going to be taken to. That's when our Lord Jesus told them that wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." What's that about? First, look at the Matthew 24:28 version of that which Jesus gave...
Matt 24:28
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
(KJV)
That "carcase" means a dead body in the Greek, literally a corpse. Why would those first ones taken there be compared to a dead carcase?
This is where OT Bible study of the prophets helps, along with using simple common sense. In nature, eagles do not go after what is already dead, it instead kills it prey. That's common sense and public knowledge. Vultures or buzzards do go after what is already laying dead, which is their job as scavengers that God created them for, to cleanse the earth.
So why is that "eagles" symbol being used for vultures then? The eagle was used in the OT compared to the king of Babylon when God punished him, his hairs growing like eagles' feathers, and his nails like bird's claws (Dan.4). God compared Himself as an eagle in Deut.32:11 in how He protected Israel by overspreading His wings. In Ezek.17, God compares the king of Babylon once again to a "great eagle with great wings". Per Dan.7, the eagle was a symbol used by the kingdom of Babylon. In Obadiah 1, God shows how Edom exalted itself as an eagle with its nest set among the stars. In Rev.12:14, God uses the eagle's wings as a symbol for His people flying into the wilderness for protection during a 3.5 years period from the face of the serpent, but how does that relate to the idea of a dead "carcase"?
It points to the 'eagle' as a symbol for the fake, or for the true. What determines the fake is HOW it is applied. With birds that go after a dead "carcase", it can only be applied in the fake eagle sense, as Satan's host trying to pass themselves off as good eagles. We were warned how Satan disguises himself as an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11.
That's who our Lord Jesus was pointing to with that "carcase" symbol for the first one's taken. They will be 'taken' to where the FALSE eagles are, i.e., the vultures that go after what is dead. It is all about those first ones taken as a dead carcase, going in deception by Satan's host and gathered where Satan's host will be.
