Does the expression “one taken and the other left” in Luke 17 prove the pre-tribulation Rapture theory to be true?
A close look at these Bible verses will help us to better understand their meaning:
“‘I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.’ And they answered and said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ So, He said to them, ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’” Luke 17:34–37
There are two groups of people described in this text—those who are taken and those who are left. What happens to both these groups? The answer is found within the context. In both Matthew 24 and in Luke 17, the differentiation between the “taken” and the “left” comes within the context of the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot. Both passages are communicating a negative connotation. The connection that Christ is making in both passages is in relation to the destruction of the wicked.
Consider this passage in Matthew (emphasis supplied throughout):
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:37–42
As you can see, the subject of this passage is the wicked who will be “taken” at the Second Coming of Jesus, like those whose lives were “taken” by the flood in Noah’s day. The same language is used in Luke 17, within the same context:
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Luke 17:26–30
The same details are expressed here in Luke 17, only that where Matthew says the flood “took” them all away, Luke says the flood “destroyed” the wicked. In addition, Luke compares the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming of Jesus to that of the destruction of the wicked in the days of Sodom. The context is clear. These passages are not about the righteous. They’re about the destruction of the wicked at Christ’s Second Coming.
So, who is “left” and who is “taken?” As we have already confirmed, we can understand this within the context of “the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37, Luke 17:26). Matthew confirms that the flood came and “took” the lives of the unrighteous. This mean that the “taken” Jesus is speaking of are the unrighteous wicked who will be slain at the Second Coming of Jesus. By default, the righteous are left alive at the return of Christ.
Support for this idea can also be found in Genesis 7:
“So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained [were left] alive.” Genesis 7:23
There’s even more clarification within the question the disciples ask at the end of Luke 17:
“‘I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.’ And they answered and said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ So, He said to them, ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’” Luke 17:34–37
Jesus has just repeated over and over “one will be taken and the other left,” and immediately following these words, the disciples ask, “Where, Lord?” The grammatical structure of this question clearly shows that it is in regard to where the one group will be “taken,” and Jesus’ response reveals the ugly truth when He says, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Luke 17:37.
Why are the eagles gathered? The equivalent verse in Matthew 24 gives us the answer:
“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Matthew 24:28
Notice that where Luke uses the word “body,” Matthew uses the word “carcass.” Obviously, a carcass is a dead body; and therefore, we can conclude that while the righteous are left alive at the presence of Christ return, the lives of the unrighteous are taken, meaning they are dead—not alive. Even Job shows the illustration of the eagles gathered for the slain:
“Does the eagle mount up at your command, and make its nest on high? On the rock it dwells and resides, on the crag of the rock and the stronghold. From there it spies out the prey; its eyes observe from afar. Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.” Job 39:27–30
Those who believe in the pre-tribulation Rapture theory teach that when Christ returns to collect the saints, there will be many people left behind who will live through tribulation. This is simply not in harmony with what the Bible teaches. Paul was shown that the wicked would be destroyed and consumed by the brightness and glory of Christ’s return (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8). The wicked will be destroyed at the appearing of Christ, and the eagles will linger to feast on whatever remains are scattered over the earth (Revelation 19:11–21). Paul confirms this same truth when he says:
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
May we seek Christ today so we are not to be found among those whose lives are taken by that destruction.