[pbiwolski]

It's always a blessing to get alone with God and "dive" right into the water of the word. Undistracted, it's easy to lose yourself (and this world) while drinking in the pure words of God and feasting on His smorgasbord of truth.

Occasionally while reading, it seems as if God the Holy Spirit within you quietly stops you and urges you to back up and read again. It's not that you were skimming or weren't paying attention to what you were reading, but rather He decided it's time to show you something! Certainly you've read here before, maybe even studied in the passage, but today, for some blessed reason, God decides that He wants to communicate with you. He sees your hungry heart and inquiring mind and purposes to enlighted the eyes of your understanding by shedding some light on the Scriptures.

These times of blessing, no matter how rare or frequent, are invaluable to your fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They're shoutin' times; they're crying times; they're times that make you love Him more and seek to verbalize (if possible) to Him just how good He is. I thank God for these sweet personal incites He bestows upon you and I, the reader.

Recently, the Lord has unveiled some truth to me through the words of the King James Bible (not Version of the Bible, it is THE BIBLE!). It was a thread on this website that I found myself posting in that brought a passage of scripture into question.

I stated to a poster in regards to the Rapture of the Church...

"Be careful as to what you use as your "proof text" for the rapture. Your quoting of Matt. 24 won't help prove this "catching away," for the rapture is not found anywhere in the chapter.

Having an understanding of the theme of the book of Matthew (a Jewish theme with Christ, King of the Jews, and His future Kingdom), as well as the context of chapter 24 (the tribulation and Second Coming of Christ), I was perfectly confident in my statement.

Well, some perusor found my comments to be in error and joined the site to add his thoughts and straighted me out. His one and only post on this forum was in response to my above statement.

http://av1611.com/forums/showpost.ph...6&postcount=29

I looked up the verses mentioned, and I must admit, I was befuddled.

Matt 24:40-44
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.
43. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Could this really be a reference to a Church Age Rapture? No way, it just doesn't match the book/chapter. Could it be a brief sidenote for Christians today? I picked up a commentary for some potential insight. "Possibly," said the commentator. My mind was flooded with the messages of preachers I've heard quoting the above verses while preaching on the Rapture of the Church.

"Huh!?!" was my reaction. It was not settled to say the least, but I had no reply for the poster to back up my remarks of Matt. 24.


...Time passed, and then comes the Holy Spirit and the subtle, quiet nudge to "go back and read again." It was here that God was going to show me something for which I had been uncertain. My God was going to give me an answer of peace. Here it is...

The following will prove that there is no rapture mentioned in Matt. 24. It is in the plain English, so plain, that I'm suprised I and so many others have not seen this before (certainly not at all to say that I'm the first to notice this).

Let's "back up" a few verses...

Matt. 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.

Those taken away in the flood were certainly not raptured, but rather destroyed.

Luke 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Therefore, quite plainly, those mentioned as being "taken" in verse 40 and 41 are being destroyed at Christ's Second Coming (context) and not caught up in the Church Rapture. So we're back to..."the rapture is not found anywhere in the chapter," AMEN!

Praise God for His Holy Spirit and perfect Book. If only we weren't so stupid most of the time, how much more we would see and understand!

Prov. 8:8-9
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.