Claim: “Only the wicked are taken in the rapture.”
1. Luke 17:34–37 is not about the rapture of the wicked
Luke 17:34–35 – “I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”
Many assume being “taken” means taken to judgment. But in Matthew 24:40–41, the parallel account, Jesus ties it to the days of Noah, saying:
Matthew 24:39 – “…the flood came and took them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Those taken by the flood were the wicked.
Those “taken” at the rapture are the righteous.
To clarify:
•In Noah’s day, the wicked were taken in judgment, the righteous were left behind to live.
•In the rapture, the righteous are taken to be with the Lord, and the wicked are left for judgment.
Jesus is using contrasting imagery: in one instance, “taken” is judgment (Noah’s day); in another, “taken” is salvation (the rapture).
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2. The Rapture is for the righteous—clearly stated in Scripture
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 –
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command… and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”
This is not evil people being taken—it’s the dead in Christ and the living believers.
John 14:3 – “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Jesus promises to take His followers to Himself, not leave them.
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3. Luke 17:37 doesn’t prove evil are raptured—it’s about judgment at Armageddon
Luke 17:37 – “Where, Lord?” They asked. He said, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’”
This imagery is used again in Revelation 19:17–18, where birds gorge on the flesh of kings and warriors after Christ’s Second Coming at Armageddon:
Revelation 19:21 – “And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.”
This is not the rapture. It’s post-Second Coming judgment on the wicked.
So Jesus uses apocalyptic imagery to describe where the wicked are judged, not where the raptured go. This proves the opposite of the claim.
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4. The “Rapture” doctrine is not escapism but a Blessed Hope
Titus 2:13 – “…waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…”
Philippians 3:20–21 – “…we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body…”
Far from promoting spiritual laziness, the rapture is the motivation for holy living:
1 John 3:2–3 – “…when He appears, we shall be like Him… and everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”
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5. God’s Work to Restore the Kingdom Still Continues
The Church doesn’t “go AWOL”—God has different roles in His prophetic plan:
•Before the rapture: The Church evangelizes the world (Matthew 28:19–20).
•After the rapture: God raises up 144,000 Jewish witnesses (Revelation 7), Two Witnesses (Revelation 11), and multitudes are saved during the Tribulation (Revelation 7:9–14).
•At Christ’s return: Jesus sets up His Millennial Kingdom on Earth (Revelation 20:1–6; Zechariah 14:4, 9).
God hasn’t abandoned the earth—He fulfills His plan in stages.