This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 24:37–41
Not only does Jesus promise that He will return, but He knows it will be a day of great surprise and sorrow for His enemies.
For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 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. (Matthew 24:37-39)
We learn about Noah and the flood in Genesis 6:1-7:10. At the time, only Noah and his family were faithful to God while wickedness filled the rest of the world. For a hundred years, everyone around Noah was aware that he was preparing for God’s judgment on the earth, yet no one responded. The flood didn’t catch people by surprise, but the reality of their sin set in when God’s judgment arrived. They were so preoccupied with living according to their desires that they ignored God until it was too late, and they were swept away by God’s wrath.
This is a sobering reminder that God keeps His promises, whether for our benefit or His enemies’ destruction. However, the context of the flood helps us better understand a passage that is often misused. In this story, people ignored the reality of God’s holiness and His impending wrath until it was too late. From this, Jesus launches right into another warning.
Then there will be two in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding grain at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. (Matthew 24:40-41)
This passage is often applied to the Rapture, when Christ brings Christians to Heaven before seven years of Tribulation. However, the timing just doesn’t work for the Rapture since Christ is warning about what will happen at the end of this terrible time. He’s saying that, just as God’s wrath killed people through the flood, Jesus will likewise remove His enemies from the world when He returns.
This is a callback to His teaching in Matthew 13:24-43. In the parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus reveals that He allows His enemies to remain on the earth until the Second Coming. At that point, He will send out His angels to “reap” the weeds from the world, leaving only the desired wheat.
In other words, Jesus will collect His enemies from around the world and make them stand before Him before being cast into Hell. Two will be in the field, but the one who remains is the “wheat” who will enter Christ’s kingdom. Just as in the days of Noah, people will carry on as though God’s wrath isn’t about to sweep them away until it’s too late.
Stop and think: No one can guarantee their next moment. The most important thing we can do is ask Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. From there, we must live as though we’ll meet Jesus when we die. If you had to meet Jesus today, ask yourself whether you’d meet Him with the excitement of Noah or the dread of His enemies.
—
Click below to order your own copy of the book and read about all 40 moments!
