As the days of Noah were: They did not realize
Summary
How can it be that shortly before the return of Christ people live carefree, although they are hit by the heaviest judgements of God?
Problem
Matthew 24 and Luke 17 describe an untroubled, carefree life before the return of Christ. It will be as it was in the days of Noah and as it was in the days of Lot: They ate, drank, married, bought, sold, planted and built ... until suddenly and unexpectedly judgment came and destroyed them all.
According to the pre-tribulation doctrine (pre-tribulational rapture), people live relatively carefree lives shortly before the Second Coming of the Lord - as described in Mat 24 and Luk 17 - and at the same time they live in the terrible wrath judgements of God (e.g. third bowl: destruction of all waters).
How is this supposed to fit together: carefree living during the worst of God's judgments?
The advocates of the doctrine of the pretribulational rapture teach that the Rapture happens at least 7 years before the visible return of Christ and consequently the carefree life described in Matthew 24 and Luke 17, similar to the times of Noah, does NOT refer to the time before the rapture.
And so the verse in Mat 24,40 "two will be in the field, one will be taken and one left" – also refers NOT to the rapture, but to the visible return.
Answer
----> The bowl judgements of Revelation 16 can not - as is claimed - be before the return of Christ, but only afterwards. See also:
----> But if the carefree life in Mat 24 and Luk 17 refers to the time BEFORE the Rapture, as in the diagram below, then it fits and the contradictions are removed.
The days before the Second Coming are described in the Bible as follows:
Mat 24:37-41 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
39 and they did not realize until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then two will be in the field: one is taken and one is left.
41 Two ‹women› will be grinding at the mill: one is taken and one is left.
Luk 17:28-36 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built;
29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 Even in the same way will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
…
34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.
35 Two ‹women› will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.
36 Two will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left. *)
*) Luk 17:36 is found only in one part of the Greek manuscripts, namely in the Textus Receptus
The time of the bowl judgments, on the other hand, is described in the Bible as a time of most terrible plagues, where people have terrible boils and where the sea, the rivers and the springs of water turn to blood and all living creatures in them die, and much more (see below for complete Bible text of the bowl judgments).
Thus, according to the pre-tribulation doctrine, people live before the visible Second Coming:
- on the one hand carefree and unaware of a judgment
- and on the other hand they are already in the wrath judgements of God (bowl judgements)
----> How does this fit together?
How, for example, are people supposed to eat, drink and celebrate weddings when there is not a drop of water left on earth (3rd bowl) and in addition people are scorched with fire (4th bowl)?
But this is NEVER talked about by most advocates of the pre-tribulation doctrine.
They do mention the two situations, but only individually and never together: One time they mention that people live carelessly before the Second Coming, another time that people will be struck by terrible judgments of God before the Second Coming.
And so most listeners do not notice what is actually believed.
Basic Argument: Shaking of the Universe
----> The contradiction is removed with the following diagram, which is advocated on this website:
In the great tribulation (orange) the saints are persecuted - while the unbelievers live rather carefree. Only after that comes the judgment of God. Before the rapture, it will be as it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot:
---------------------
Judge for yourself whether the unbelievers would not notice anything of the wrath of God according to the pre-tribulation doctrine:
| Comment | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6th seal Rev 6:12-17 | 12 And I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and ‹every› island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand? | and they did not realize? |
| 1st bowl Rev 16:1-2 | 1 And I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God onto the earth. 2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a bad and evil sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who did homage to his image. | and they did not realize? |
| 2nd bowl Rev 16:3 | 3 And the second angel poured out his bowl onto the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul in the sea died. | and they did not realize? |
| 3rd bowl Rev 16:4-7 | 4 And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was, because You have judged these things, 6 for they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, for they deserve it. | and they did not realize? |
| 4th bowl Rev 16:8-9 | 8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl onto the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has authority over these plagues; and they did not repent to give Him glory. | and they did not realize? |
| 5th bowl Rev 16:10-11 | 10 And the fifth angel poured out his bowl onto the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 And they blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. | and they did not realize? |
| 6th bowl Rev 16:12-16 | 12 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl onto the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, that he not walk naked and they see his shame. 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. | and they did not realize? |
| 7th bowl Rev 16:17-21 | 17 And the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is finished! 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men came to be on the earth. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the anger of His wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent [ca. 35 kg]. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the plague is exceedingly great. | and they did not realize? |
Bible commentaries on the carefree life and the terrible bowls
In the following, three renowned Bible commentaries are quoted to explain what the proponents of the pre-tribulation doctrine actually believe.
Please read the table lines from left to right.
Marked in yellow: Conditions before the return of the Lord
(according to these Bible commentaries)
Marking in light blue: The coming of Christ in power and glory
(In all these passages, these Bible commentaries are NOT about the Rapture!)
| Matthew 24 / Luke 17: Carefree living before the return | Revelation 16: Terrible bowl judgments before the return |
|---|---|
| The Bible Knowledge Commentary, John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, 1983/1985 (John Walvoord was president of the Dallas Theological Seminary 1952-1986) | |
Regarding Mat 24:36-41 (quote) … But the period before His coming will be like the time in the days of Noah. People then were enjoying the normal pursuits of life, with no awareness of imminent judgment. Life continued normally for the people of Noah’s day for they were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. But the Flood came and took them all away. It was sudden and they were unprepared. As it was in Noah’s day, so it will be before the glorious coming of the Lord. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. … Clearly the church, the body of Christ, cannot be in view in these statements. The Lord was not describing the Rapture, for the removal of the church will not be a judgment on the church. If this were the Rapture, as some commentators affirm, the Rapture would have to be posttribulational, for this event occurs immediately before the Lord’s return in glory. … | Regarding Rev 16 (quote): Chronologically this chapter is close to the time of the second coming of Christ, and the judgments described fall in rapid succession. … Regarding Rev 16:21 (quote): … With the final destruction coming from the seventh bowl of the wrath of God, the stage will then be set for the dramatic and climactic second coming of Christ, revealed in chapter 19. … |
| John MacArthur Studybible 2006 | |
Regarding Mat 24:37 (quote): like the days of Noah. Jesus’ emphasis here is not so much on the extreme wickedness of Noah’s day (Ge 6:5), but on the people’s preoccupation with mundane matters of everyday life (“eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” — v. 38), when judgment fell suddenly. They had received warnings, in the form of Noah’s preaching (2Pe 2:5) — and the ark itself, which was a testimony to the judgment that was to come. But they were unconcerned about such matters and therefore were swept away unexpectedly in the midst of their daily activities. Regarding Mat 24:40-41 (quote): one will be taken. I.e., taken in judgment (cf. v. 39) just as in Noah’s day (“took them”; v. 39). This is clearly not a reference to the catching away of believers described in 1Th. 4:16, 17. | Regarding Rev 16:17 (quote): seventh … bowl … “It is done.” This bowl will complete God’s wrath (except for final judgment on the rebellion at the end of the Millennium; 20:7–10) and immediately precedes the second coming of Christ. It will usher in the worst calamity in the history of the world. The voice from the temple in heaven is undoubtedly that of God Himself. “It is done” is best translated, “It has been and will remain done” (cf. Jn 19:30). God will punctuate the completion of His wrath with a devastating earthquake — the most powerful in earth’s history (cf. vv. 19–21). |
| William MacDonald, The Believer’s Bible Commentary 1995 | |
Regarding Mat 24:37-41 (quotes): 24:37-39 In those days, however, most people will be indifferent, just as in the days of Noah. Although the days before the flood were terribly wicked, that is not the feature emphasized here. The people ate, drank, married, gave in marriage; in other words, they went through the routines of life as if they were going to live forever. Thoug+h warned that a flood was coming, they lived as if they were flood-proof. When it came, they were unprepared, outside the only place of safety. That is just the way it will be when Christ returns. Only those who are in Christ, the ark of safety, will be delivered. 24:40, 41 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken away in judgment, the other will be left to enter the Millennium. Two women will be grinding at the mill; they will be instantly separated. One will be swept away by the flood of judgment; the other left to enjoy the blessings of Christ’s reign. (Vv. 40 and 41 are often used as a warning to the unsaved, in reference to the Rapture — the first phase of Christ’s coming when He takes all believers to heaven and leaves all unbelievers behind for judgment. While that might be a valid application of the passage, the context makes it clear that the interpretation has to do with Christ’s coming to reign.) Regarding Luk 17:28-30 (quote): Again, the Lord said that the days preceding His Second Advent would be similar to those of Lot. Civilization had advanced somewhat by that time; men not only ate and drank, but they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. It was man’s effort to bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity without God. … | Regarding Rev 16:17-18 (quotes): 16:17 That this is the final bowl judgment is indicated by the seventh angel’s announcement, “It is done!” The wrath of God is finished as far as the Tribulation Period is concerned. 16:18 When the last bowl is poured out, there are violent convulsions of nature: explosions, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake of unprecedented proportions. Regarding 2 Thes 1:7 - THE RAPTURE AND REVELATION (quote): … In Revelation 19:11, Christ returns to earth to subdue His foes and to set up His kingdom — at the close of the Tribulation Period. … |
Newer variant of the doctrine of Pre-Tribulation Rapture
According to some proponents of a more recent variant of the pre-tribulation doctrine, the end-time discourse (Olivet Discourse) from Mat 24:36 onwards is about the Rapture, which takes place at least 7 years before the Second Coming. That is, the conditions as in the days of Noah refer to the time before the Rapture; and "one is taken and one is left" also refers to the Rapture.
However, this variant also leads to contradictions within the pre-tribulation doctrine; this will be explained later.