REVISED EDITION
POSTED 02 OCTOBER, 2005

Is Being "Taken" Always a Good Thing?

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

What is truly meant in the Scriptures by “one will be taken, and one will be left” in what many consider to be “rapture” passages? Is this being “taken” a good thing, or a bad thing? Is it a being “taken” into the clouds to meet the Lord, or is it a being “taken” to judgment?

The Verses Under Discussion

The primary verses under discussion in relation to “one will be taken, one will be left” are Matthew 24:37-42 and Luke 17:34-37. These verses are translated differently among Bibles, and are most notably different between the 1995 New American Standard Update (NASU) and the King James Version (KJV), the latter of which because of its long usage throughout the centuries has helped set many of the “interpretative standards.” For the interest of fairness in this discussion, we now quote the Scripture texts under discussion, first from the KJV and then from the NASU:

Matthew 24:37-42

KJV: “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

NASU: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

Luke 17:34-37

KJV: “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. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 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.”

NASU: “‘I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.’ And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.’” 

Based on a surface reading of the KJV text, we can see how some believe that being “taken” is a good thing. But on the basis of reading the NASU text, being “taken” appears to be a bad thing. So which rendering is correct? KJV-Only proponents would no doubt argue that the KJV is correct and the NASU, or other modern translations, are being manipulative. But let us do a more thorough analysis of the text, based on the best available scholarship to us at our disposal—including Greek definitions and comparative studies that were not available at the time the KJV was translated in 1611.

What is the debate, specifically?

The debate, as stated before, is whether or not when Messiah Yeshua says “one will be taken, one will be left,” it is speaking of people being taken into the clouds to meet Him at His return or it is speaking of people being taken to judgment. The first time I ever heard His admonition of “one will be taken, one will be left” being used, was at my Baptist elementary school many years ago. This school, which was ardently pre-tribulational and KJV-Only, held the position that the Messiah was speaking of the rapture of the saints in these verses. It was not until I became part of the Messianic movement in the 1990s, which is largely post-tribulational, that I was presented with the idea that Yeshua might be speaking of people being “taken” in a negative context.

However, it should be noted that the debate about what these verses really mean is not limited to pre-tribulationists arguing that when Yeshua says, “one will be taken, one will be left” He is speaking of “the rapture.” I personally found it quite shocking when I read a statement in a booklet called The Post-Tribulation Rapture: “Pre-tribulationists have claimed that those who are ‘taken’ are killed in judgment.”[1] I found this shocking because as a former pre-tribulationist, I was never taught this. I had always believed that pre-tribulationists thought that the Messiah spoke of those “taken” as being “raptured,” and post-tribulationists thought that those “taken” are judged and killed. Obviously, in this assessment I have been wrong.

There are pre-tribulationists who agree with us that those “taken” are taken to destruction, just as there are pre-tribulationists and post-tribulationists who believe that those “taken” are taken up to be with the Lord. This issue is not necessarily one of pre- versus post-trib, because there are pre- and post-tribulationists who agree and disagree among themselves on the proper handling of these verses. Although our position is post-tribulational, there are pre-tribulationists who agree with us on “one will be taken, one will be left,” and post-tribulationists who disagree with us.

Defending a Position of Judgment

We believe that those taken in Matthew 24:37-42 and in Luke 17:34-37 are taken in the context of them being judged by God. We now support our interpretation by an analysis of the verses at hand:

Matthew 24:37-42

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

Yeshua plainly tells us that the days before His return will be like the days of Noah. In order to properly understand this we must have a basis for His words in the account of the Noahdic Flood of Genesis 6-8. The Messiah says, “For as in those days which were before the flood…they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.” Who is Yeshua talking about here? He is specifically talking about those who “were eating and drinking…marrying and giving in marriage.” He is speaking about those of the world.

We know that the Messiah is talking about those of the world here, and not Believers, because later in Matthew 24:48-51 in the parable of the evil slave, Yeshua talks about the slave who says “‘My master is not coming for a long time.’” The Lord tells us that this slave “shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards.” Then He says of this slave, “the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:50-51). This admonition comes shortly after He tells us that the Flood came and “took away” those who were “eating and drinking.”

The Greek verb translated as “took them all away” in Matthew 24:39 is airō (airw). BDAG defines it as “to take away, remove, or seize control without suggestion of lifting up, take away, remove. By force, even by killing.”[2] AMG says that it means “To take away, remove, with the idea of lifting away from, usually with the idea of violence and authority.”[3] Those “taken away” by the Flood in Matthew 24:39 are not taken into the clouds to meet the Lord. The Greek verb airō makes it clear that they are to be taken away in judgment. We are told, “Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood[4]” (Genesis 7:7, NIV). Noah and his family went into the ark so they would not be “taken away.”

With this backdrop, Yeshua further tells us, “Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Obviously, when the Scripture is kept in its appropriate context, those being “taken” in this passage are not “taken” up to the air to meet the Lord. Those being “taken” are obviously taken in judgment; they are killed.

We run into an exegetical issue here because there is a different Greek verb translated as “taken” in Matthew 24:40-41. It is paralambanō (paralambanw). I believe that the correct interpretation of “taken” in this passage is one of judgment and complete ruin, not of some “rapture” to Heaven. A more thorough explanation and analysis of paralambanō is given later in this article.

Luke 17:34-37

“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left. And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.’”

This second passage is Luke’s account of Messiah Yeshua’s words. Luke is less specific than Matthew, but we have to also read this Scripture in the context of the Olivet Discourse and the Messiah telling us that the Last Days will be like the days of Noah. The Messiah says that one will be taken, paralambanō, and one will be left. The Greek verb translated “left” is aphiēmi (afihmi), which has a variety of possible meanings, including: “cancel; forgive, remit (of sin or debts); allow, let me, tolerate…leave; leave behind, forsake, neglect; let go, dismiss, divorce” (CGEDNT).[5] Each one of these different applications is contingent on context, obviously.

Understanding varied definitions of aphiēmi can change our perspective of this text. In the context of us believing that those “taken,” paralambanōed if you will, to judgment—those who are “left” are simply left alone.

Is this speaking of Believers or non-Believers? I believe it is speaking of Believers who have put their trust in the Messiah because in this case it would mean that God is allowing them to be spared from judgment. In this case, He is letting them “go free.” This position is supported by Vine’s definition of aphiēmi where it tells us it means, “to send forth, let go, forgive.”[6]

What does paralambano mean?

As stated earlier, the debate surrounding “one will be taken, one will be left” involves the correct handling of the Greek verb paralambanō (paralambanw) and what it really means. Paralambanō is a combination of the prefix para- (para), generally meaning “from the side of, from beside, from” (LS),[7] and the verb lamabanō (lambanw), meaning “to take” or “to take hold of, grasp, seize” (LS).[8]

In this case, it is obvious that the verb paralambanō can be complicated. Para- denotes something beside something, and lambanō can mean to “take” in a manner dependent on the context of the action, or possibly even to receive something. Obviously, things being “taken” could be good or bad. In the case of Scriptural interpretation, especially with Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-37, we cannot divorce the usage of paralambanō from its context in the passage.

It is notable concerning this controversy as to whether or not paralambanō, “taken,” implies a “being taken” to be with Yeshua, to consider what Acts 1:1-2 tells us: “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” The Greek verb translated “taken up” here is not paralambanō, but analambanō (analambanw), specifically meaning “to take up, take into one's hands” (LS).[9] It is a construct of the prefix ana- (ana), “up,” and lambanō or “take.” If “one will be taken, one will be left” is speaking of people being taken up to meet the Messiah in the air, then the verb analambanō and not paralambanō would have been used in the text.

Uses of paralambanō in the New Testament

It has been said by some that paralambanō is a very positive Greek verb, only speaking of positive actions on the account of God. Some have actually indicated things along the lines of, “The Holy Spirit, inspiring all Scripture, would never use the verb in a negative context as it is used in a positive context in many verses.” Of course, as you will see, no one can deny the fact that paralambanō is used in a positive context in many verses. But, are we justified in making blanket statements in assuming that every time this verb is used it is in a positive context? No, we are not. At best, that is bad exegesis.

We now offer a selection of passages of where paralambanō appears in the Greek Apostolic Scriptures. These verses are quoted from the NASU, although I have chosen to alter the translation slightly and render paralambanō by its literal meaning, “to take alongside.” When “taken” appears in the Biblical text, it is rendered as “taken alongside.” This list of verses from the Gospels may be somewhat extensive, but we believe that when you have finished reading you will see that saying that paralambanō is always a positive verb is a very inappropriate assessment to make.

“But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take alongside Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit’…And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary alongside as his wife” (Matthew 1:20, 24).

“Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take alongside the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’ So Joseph got up and took alongside the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt…‘Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead.’ So Joseph got up, took alongside the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel” (Matthew 2:13-14, 20-21).

“Then the devil took Him alongside into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple…Again, the devil took Him alongside to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:5, 8).

“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43-45).

“Six days later Jesus took alongside with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves” (Matthew 17:1).

“But if he does not listen to you, take alongside one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed [Deuteronomy 19:15]” (Matthew 18:16).

“As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took alongside the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them” (Matthew 20:17).

“Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken alongside and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken alongside and one will be left” (Matthew 24:40-41).

“And He took alongside with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed” (Matthew 26:36).

“Then the soldiers of the governor took alongside Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him” (Matthew 27:27).

“Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him” (Mark 4:36).

“They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was” (Mark 5:40).

“and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have taken alongside [received] in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, ‘Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?’ And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me [Isaiah 29:13]”’” (Mark 7:4-6).

“Six days later, Jesus took alongside with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them” (Mark 9:2).

“They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took alongside the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him” (Mark 10:32).

“And He took alongside with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled” (Mark 14:33).

“When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them alongside with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida” (Luke 9:10).

“Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray” (Luke 9:28).

“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first” (Luke 11:25-26).

“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken alongside and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken alongside and the other will be left” (Luke 17:34-35).

“Then He took alongside the twelve {aside} and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished’” (Luke 18:31).

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not take alongside [receive] Him” (John 1:11).

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take alongside [receive] you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

An examination of the uses of paralambanō in the Gospels with reveal that there are positive and negative uses of this verb. The most obvious of the places that are negative are Matthew 12:43-45 and Luke 11:25-26:

“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along [paralambanei, paralambanei] with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43-45).

“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along [paralambanei] seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first” (Luke 11:25-26).

The context of these uses of paralambanō for “take” are obviously not positive. In these verses Yeshua the Messiah tells us what can happen when an evil spirit, or a demon, leaves a person. It can go to a “waterless place,” seeking rest, and then not finding it decides to go back to its host and takes with it seven additional demons more powerful and terrible than itself. It finds the person previously possessed still open to habitation, and the now eight demons inhabit the person and he becomes worse than he was prior to his deliverance. Obviously, this context of paralambanō is by no means positive. Those who would try to say that paralambanō in this case is good are implying that a demon taking with itself seven additional demons to re-possess a person is a positive thing!

Is paralambanō always used in a positive context? No. Usages of paralambanō, “to take alongside,” are purely dependent on how the verb is used. No one should use a “blanket” understanding of paralambanō as being good, because if we do, then we are asserting that a demonic spirit taking with itself seven other demonic spirits to re-inhabit someone is a good thing. We cannot accept this by any means.

What does the Tanach tell us about “taken”?

In the Hebrew Bible, a specific verb that is translated “taken” in many passages is laqach (xql), a verb that has a wide variety of meanings, including, but basically meaning “take, lay hold of, seize” (CHALOT).[10] AMG indicates that “Its exact meaning must be discerned from its context.”[11] Just like paralambanō, the meanings of laqach are dependent on the context of the verse. In modern Hebrew translations of the New Testament like UBSHNT, paralambanō is rendered in Matthew 24:40-41 and Luke 17:34-37 as laqach.

We examine a few Scriptures in the Tanach that use the Hebrew verb laqach. We specifically do so because when Messiah Yeshua was audibly speaking the admonition of “one will be taken, one will be left,” to His Disciples, He was probably using laqach to communicate the idea of “taken.” When His sayings were finally written down, paralambanō was used in the Greek transcription.

“When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry all of them up, and a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me shall inherit the land, and shall possess My holy mountain” (Isaiah 57:13).

Laqach is used here in a negative context, as the Lord says of man’s idols, “They shall all be borne off by the wind, snatched away by a breeze” (NJPS).

“And a sword will come upon Egypt, and anguish will be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt, they take away her wealth, and her foundations are torn down” (Ezekiel 30:4).

Laqach is used in this verse to speak of Egypt’s wealth being taken away.

“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman; and he sees the sword coming upon the land, and he blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head’” (Ezekiel 33:2-4).

Laqach is used here to speak of one who does not warn others being taken away by the sword unto death.

Laqach, which is also used in modern Hebrew translations of the New Testament, can most certainly be used of people and things being taken away in a negative context, as is obvious by these Old Testament examples. Laqach is probably the Hebrew verb used by the Messiah in His oral account with the Disciples, rendered in the Greek New Testament as paralambanō, “to take alongside.” The “taking” can most certainly be negative, and not positive.

Eagles and the “Body”

The debate does not end there. Some, on the basis of Luke 17:34-37, have said that the “taking away” is a good thing, not only on the basis of “taken,” as we have demonstrated to be misguided, but because of what is involved with this “being taken.” As translated in the KJV,

“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. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 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.”

The NKJV renders v. 37 as, “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.’”

In this passage, Yeshua tells His Disciples that “one will be taken, and one will be left.” They ask Him where they will be taken. Those who believe that the ones who are “taken” are taken up to meet the Lord tell us that “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered” is speaking of the Body of Messiah being gathered together by angels. However, this interpretation has some serious problems.

First of all, the parallel passage in Matthew 24:28 tells us, “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (KJV). The Greek term for “carcass” is ptōma (ptwma), “a dead body: animal or human, (dead) body, corpse” (BDAG).[12] In Matthew 24:28, where the eagles are gathered together is a place where there are dead bodies.

It is, of course, notable that the word for “body” in Luke 17:37 is not ptōma, but sōma (swma). While sōma is used in the Apostolic Scriptures to represent the Body of Messiah, it can also be representative of individual “bodies” of human flesh as well. AMG indicates that sōma can be used “Specifically of creatures, living or dead.”[13] It is not a far-fetched conclusion at all to believe that where the eagles are gathered together, they are gathered around a location of dead sōmas.

But then there are those who assert that the “eagles” in these passages are God’s holy angels. Certainly, there are passages in Scripture that speak favorably of eagles, such as the ever-popular Isaiah 40:31: “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”[14] But can we justifiably conclude that every time an eagle is talked about it is in a good context? Consider the fact that Yeshua tells us, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Are serpents always good? Obviously, the Bible speaks against serpents, especially as Satan himself was manifest as one in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-2, 4, 13; cf. Revelation 20:2). Again, it is a contextual issue.

The idea that the “eagles” who are gathered together are good is no doubt influenced by American perceptions of eagles. The eagle is the United States’ national bird. It is on the Great Seal of the United States, and one of the mottos of the U.S. Air Force is to “fly high like an eagle.” Few Americans know that the eagle was almost not the national bird. In fact, Benjamin Franklin wanted our national symbol to be the wild turkey. Franklin was against the eagle because the eagle was a ravenous bird of prey. But, the eagle became our national symbol.

There is no significant justification to conclude that the “eagles” in Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37 are God’s angels. Consider what the Tanach tells us about eagles:

“And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray” (Leviticus 11:13, KJV).

The eagle or nesher (rvn) is Biblically considered to be an abomination among the fowls. Young’s Literal Translation tells us, “And these ye do abominate of the fowl.” In the Septuagint, nesher was rendered as aetos (aetoß), the same word translated in the KJV as “eagle” in Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37. Aetos means “An eagle or vulture, a species of rapacious birds represented as preying on dead bodies where some species of vulture is probably intended” (AMG).[15]

The comparison of God’s angels being “eagles” is entirely unwarranted—unless His angels are rapturous beasts who prey on dead human flesh.

The NASU translations of Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37 are much better than the KJV renderings. They both attest to the fact that vultures hover around these bodies, and these bodies “taken” are certainly not taken up to be with the Lord at His Second Coming:

“Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (Matthew 24:28, NASU).

“And answering they said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ And He said to them, ‘Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered’” (Luke 17:37, NASU).

It is unjustified to believe that the “body” spoken of in these verses is the Body of Messiah, and that the “eagles”—or better yet, vultures—are God’s holy angels. On the contrary, these Scriptures plainly attest to the fact of people being killed and ravenous birds of prey being gathered around them. This is easily understood when we read Revelation 19:17, 21:

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God…And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed why we believe “one will be taken, one will be left” is speaking of God’s judgment on mankind at the Messiah’s Second Coming, and not His “taking” people to be with Him. This is obvious when we place the verses in their proper context, we understand that there are both positive and negative uses of the Greek verb paralambanō and its Hebrew equivalent laqach, and we comprehend the fact that the body cannot be the Body of Messiah and the eagles gathered around it can in no way be God’s angels.

This analysis may upset some people who have been taught for many years that “one will be taken, one will be left” is a good thing. However, the Word of God says otherwise. While this is not an issue to get divided over, place this matter before the Lord and pray about it. Read the Scriptures several times over and over in a larger context, in multiple Bible translations, and if I have been wrong, please let me know. Most importantly, when reading, be sure to ask yourself the question: Is being “taken” always a good thing?

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is author of several books, including: The New Testament Validates Torah, Torah In the Balance, Volume I, and When Will the Messiah Return?. He has also written many articles on the Two Houses of Israel and Biblical theology, and is presently focusing on Messianic commentaries on various books of the Bible.

NOTES

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard, Updated Edition (NASU), © 1995, published by The Lockman Foundation.

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