The “Olivet Discourse” found in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 has been one of the most debated eschatological passages of scripture in church history. In these passages we find Jesus teaching His disciples about His return from the Mount of Olives. One of the topics within the text that I find muddy is the concept of the rapture of the saints. Was Jesus referring only to the Jews or was He also speaking to the Gentiles? Is the passage where two men are in a field and one is taken while the other left standing 1 referring to a secret rapture? Popular belief considers those that are left behind as the wicked and unrighteous, was this really what Jesus was relaying to His disciples? These are a few questions that I wanted to get to the bottom of and find clarity on in my research.
Unfortunately the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the bible at all. The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines the rapture as “the final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end-time according to Christian theology”2 This is expounded on in Mark 13:27 and Matthew 24:31, “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to the farthest part of heaven.” Also, Paul writes about the gathering of the elect in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Gundry argues that the rapture in this context is referring solely to the nation of Israel 3 based on Revelation 7 where the four angels who were holding the four winds of the earth were commanded to seal the 144,000 children of Israel. 4 However, he fails to mention verses 9 and 10 describing the multitude containing people of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. According to Strong’s Concordance, the greek word for the elect who were gathered from the four winds is εκλεκτοσ, meaning chosen by God, to obtain salvation from God, Christians are called the chosen or elect of God and in some cases the Messiah or “Chosen One” was referred to as the elect. 5 Therefore, the elect who were taken up were not only the people of Israel, rather, all who have obtained salvation from God.
I think one of the most important thing to focus on is the context of Jesus’ conversation on the mount and the purpose of His message. Jesus is merely responding to questions asked by His disciples in the beginning of His discourse.6 When will these things be and what will be the signs? In the discourse, He is describing the signs of the end of the age 7 and using the parable of the fig tree, the days of Noah, the parable of the servant and His master. Jesus’ point was not to indicate a secret rapture or to tell the disciples the date and time of His return, rather, to promote an urgency to be watchful and ready at all times 8 because no one knows the day or the hour 9. The scripture lays out a roadmap of signs 10 to watch for as indicators of the soon return of Christ so we won’t be caught off guard like the foolish virgins in Matthew 25. We see this message repeated throughout the New Testament countless times, 1 Peter 4 talks about the end being near and follows with a list of instructions for preparedness.11
If we look back to the days of Noah, we see a corrupt generation of people who were only capable of doing evil.12 Jesus referenced that time as comparable to the days leading up to His return, just as in the days of Noah, people will go about their lives seeking their own gain. 13 This is where we see the men in the field and the women at the mill come into play,14 contrary to popular belief, I assert that the reference to those taken is to a negative end. I believe that Jesus is using this imagery to describe another perspective on the scenario in Matthew 13, where we find the parable of the wheat and the tares.15 At the end of the age, the tares that have been growing with the wheat are bundled up and burned, the wheat are those who are saved and the tares refer to the unsaved who are sent to the lake of fire. Although I don’t agree entirely with his conclusions, Penney affirms this perspective in his article,
“Matthew 24:40–41 cannot be the Rapture of the Church since the comparison Christ gave was a taking away in judgment and Christ says the judgment at His return will occur “just like the days of Noah.” If this were the Rapture He would have said it will be just the opposite of the days of Noah. This is confirmed in the parallel passage in Luke 17:34–37 which explicitly states that they will be taken in judgment and their carcasses be fed to the vultures.”16
Therefore, I believe that there are two gatherings of those who remain on the earth after the great tribulation portrayed within the Olivet Discourse, the gathering of the saints who will
meet the Lord in the air 17 and the gathering of the wicked into final judgment and eternal damnation 18. Many scholars would lump these two instances into one event, but I believe that Jesus in the Olivet Discourse was clearly laying out a map portraying two different scenarios.
1 Matthew 24:40-41
2“Merriam-Webster Dictionary.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rapture (accessed March 1, 2012).
3 Robert H. Gundry, Church and the Tribulation: A Biblical Examination of Posttribulationism (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1973), page 152.
4 Revelation 7:1-10
5 Goodrick, Edward W., and John R. Kohlberger III. 2004. The strongest NASB exhaustive concordance. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
6 Matthew 24:3, Mark 13:3-4
7 Mark 13:5-25, Matthew 24:4-30
8 Revelation 16:15, Luke 12:37,Matthew 22:8, Matthew 25:10, Revelation 19:7
9 Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32-37, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
10 Matthew 24:3-30, Mark 13:5-27, Revelation 5-20, Daniel 7, Daniel 9, Daniel 12
11 1 Peter 4:7-11
12 Genesis 6
13 Matthew 24:38-39
14 Matthew 24:40-42
15 Matthew 13:37-43
16 Russell L. Penney, “Why the Church Is Not Referenced in the Olivet Discourse,” Conservative Theological Journal 1, no. 1 (Apr 1997): 60.
17 Mark 13:27, Matthew 24:31
18 Matthew 24:40-42, Revelation 19:17-21
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