Replies

“You make it too difficult. My question is, How can these two passages be talking about the same event?”
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They are the same because they describe the same timeline but from different perspectives; one from an earthly perspective, and the other from a heavenly perspective. In Matthew’s account, Jesus laid out a sequence of events starting with 1. the Abomination of Desolation, 2. the Great Distress, 3. the sun/moon/star event and then 4. the Gathering concluding in Matthew 24:31.

The section after this up to Mt 25:31, Jesus extrapolates upon the gathering. In His extrapolation (up to the parables starting in 24:45), the first example is of the fig tree. It is possible to know when the fruit is ripe. Indeed, this very passage (Mt 24:15-31) allows us to place that gathering after the midweek point of Daniel 9:27. It also allows us to tie the Seal chronology of Revelation to Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven’ for the first time based on the unique sun/moon/star event. So we the believing Church can know IT is near.
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“Mattew 24:38-40 says that the days will be like the days of Noah. You might argue that Noah was taken away by the flood, but it is hard to argue that he did not know what was going on. Therefore, those taken, were taken in judgement. In Rev.14, those that were left behind, were judged.”
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This is part of the extrapolation. The warning to the Church is NOT to be caught unaware. The sinful of Noah’s time were unaware. The sinful of the end time are likewise ignorant of what is going on. They do not even know that when the Day of the Lord comes that it is NOT for them. They think it is their end. It is not. That is what Revelation 6:15-17 is all about. The Lord’s wrath does not come at that time. More than one commentator has made the assumption that is when the Day of the Lord’s Wrath comes because it is the first mention of it in Revelation. However, to put it into context you have to look to whom John says is saying it. They are the unsaved, and they are mistaken.

Remember also, that this is part of the explanation of the “gathering of the elect.” They are not going into Judgment like the world will be judged (although the saints will be judged as well, it is not like how the goats will be judged because the believers have the saving grace of Christ Jesus to wash their robes clean). Matthew has an added section when compared to Mark and Luke with one of two being taken. This word comes from the Greek in its transliteration: paralambano.

The compound has such senses as “to take over,” e.g., a position, and “to inherit,” especially intellectual things, e.g., a student from a teacher…With a personal object the term is used for the reception of Christ by the world (Jn 1:11) and for acceptance into the kingdom of Christ (Jn 14:3; Mt. 24:40-41).—Theological Dictionary of the New Testament p.496-7.

Jesus gives us this discourse a glimpse of how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, in Matthew’s account with this definition of the Greek it would also be safe to say that he typifies it as being taken over, where the Church will inherit their portion of the Kingdom of Heaven.

P.S. How do you italize, bold face and change color and font size on this board?

"P.S. How do you italize, bold face and change color and font size on this board?"

BTW, welcome to FR. I don't get to fancy with html. Here is a link to try for help.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1011945/posts

Thanks for the post, I'll look at it more after work.

Seven

I do not understand your argument. Treating these passages as the same event does not work for me.

In the Matthew 13, passage the bad guys are taken away and the good guys are left behind. In the Revelation 14 passage, the good guys are taken away and the bad guys are left behind.

Where are you addressing this reversal?