[Jim W N]

You need to look at the whole context. Noah and his family being lifted in the ark out of the deadly flood on the earth and now, God’s people being lifted up to meet Jesus in the air from the deadly tribulation on the earth. All because of God’s love and mercy towards his own (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

Don’t split hairs and strive over words (which the flesh loves to do) like the word “take”, missing the overall context. Unbelievers were taken and destroyed by the flood. Noah and his family were taken in the ark above the flood.

Don’t be like those described in 1 Timothy, “doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof comes envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings” (1 Tim 6:4).

Walk after the life and peace of the Spirit not after the strivings of the flesh which is death (Rom. 8:6-8).

[Seven_0]

You need to look at the whole context.

If you don’t get the details right, you will not get the big picture right either. The Bible is the most complex book ever written. We expect perfection and precision in a book written by the creator of all things. Splitting hairs is not prohibited. It is what we are doing here. The unbelievers did not know about the flood but Noah knew. It is why he built a boat.

You say that the unbelievers were taken away and Noah was taken away. This renders the analogy of Matthew 24:37 useless since in the days of the coming of the Son of man, only one is taken and one is left. How can we determine which is taken? Perhaps Christ was not speaking of the rapture.

Your argument has not persuaded me to change my mind. I have been at this a long time and I have heard a lot if different explanations. For me, splitting hairs has become second nature. I have a lifetime debate with relatives who are Seventh Day Adventist. Every passage of scripture that I think supports my argument has a different interpretation that supports their doctrine. I search for a verse or passage that will end the debate but there is none that I have found. However I have found that details are reliable and incredible. We have found one tiebreaker concerning Israel but it won’t occur till after the rapture.