This next section is primarily from Matthew 24 with some influence from Mark 13:
But no man knows concerning of that day and of that hour, not even those messengers of the sky in (the) sky neither the Son but only my Father. But like the days of Noach (Noah) [were], in the same way will be also the Revealing of the Son of Man:
For like they in those same days that [were] before the Flood were munching and guzzling, marrying and arranging marriages, until that day Noach (Noah) entered into the ark, and were not aware until the Flood came and swept absolutely all away, so the Revealing of the Son of Man shall also be the same way. Then two shall be in the field: the one shall be received near and the other shall be sent forth. Two shall be grinding at the mill house: one (feminine) shall be received near and one (feminine) shall be sent forth.
Here, Yeshua` Himself said that, at the time He was prophesying, He didn't know the day or the hour. He said, no one knew, not the messengers of the sky, nor the Son. Only the Father knew when The Son of Man would return.
Some will claim, "Yes, but one can know the month or the year!" I don't think so. I believe that the intent of this statement was that no one would know the TIME of the Return. Even though I don't believe in a pretribulational rapture, I still believe that the Return cannot be anticipated to any precise degree. Just as a pregnant woman can know approximately when the child she is carrying will be born but cannot know the precise moment of the birth, so we can know an approximate time when Yeshua` will return, but cannot know the precise moment of His return. So, one doesn't know if the child will come sooner than expected, later than expected, or right on time, nor does one know how much sooner or how much later the child will be born! There's a wide range, from 23 weeks to 42 weeks (any later than that a doctor would probably order a C-section) for a baby to be born, even though the gestation period is normally 40 weeks.
Then, He likened the time of the Son-of-Man's Revealing to the days before the Flood during Noach's time. Life was going on as normal, and the general public went on their merry way until the Flood came and swept them all away!
As is the typical Hebrew mindset, Mattityahuw's (Matthew's) account then goes from the general statement into the particulars:
Two persons, probably men because the gender of "one" (Greek: "heis") is masculine singular, would be in the field. One would be received near (Greek: paralambanetai), and the other would be sent forth (i.e. to his doom, Greek: afietai).
Two persons, probably women because the gender of "one" (Greek: "mia") is feminine singular, would be grinding grain into flour by which to make bread. One would be received near (Greek: paralambanetai), and the other would be sent forth (i.e. to her doom, Greek: afietai).
However, this is NOT the "Rapture," as the Pretribulational Rapturists say, for it happens AT THE SECOND COMING, the Parousia, the REVEALING of the Son of Man! Some make the point that the word paralambanetai, coming from paralambanoo, is usually a positive, comforting word, while afietai, coming from afieemi, is usually a negative, indifferent word. Consequently, Pretribbers will claim that this proves that Yeshua` was speaking about the Rapture. However, the word pictures that these two words invoke are reminiscent of the last scene in Matthew 25, the King separating between the sheep and the goats:
Matt 25:31-34, 41
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
...
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
KJV
So, the first group, the "blessed of my Father," are called along side of Him with the word "Come" while the second group are ordered to "Depart." Thus, although the same words are not used here, the activities are descriptions of these words.
In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter
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