[THEUPMAN]

Matthew 24:37-42

37 But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 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,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

[Mamzelle]

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.)))

Yes, but what is the nature of the one who is taken, and the one left behind?

[ppaul]

And the angels go out and gather up WHAT first in the last day?
The tares.
And they get burned.

[Ptaz]

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

You should research the greek for the word taken. It all depends upon the original greek context. It presents some interesting possibilities for study.

[aruanan]

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

You left out the part where the disciples ask where they are taken and the Lord replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather." (Luke 17:37)

The ones taken are those who are taken in judgment. The righteous are left behind. This is again explicitly stated by the Lord in Matthew 13 in his parable about the end of the age. His disciples asked him to explain the parable. He did as follows:

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Left Behind interpretation ignores virtually every scriptural reference to the subject of the end of the world, the return of Jesus, and the judgment of the world. Too bad they don't heed the admonition of Jesus in the last sentence of the quote above.

[Delbert]

If Jesus said it, thats good enough for me.