This article – an excerpt from my book “Left Behind Deconstructed: Why I Left Pre-Tribulation Rapture Behind” – is meant to help you disprove, refute, and debunk the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory (aka “Left Behind”)
One of the most commonly cited passages in support of the pre-tribulation rapture view is found in Luke 17:26–37, which has a parallel account in Matthew 24:36–41. The imagery is dramatic: “two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34). For many readers, especially those already steeped in rapture theology, this conjures images of sudden disappearance—a believer lifted to heaven, leaving behind confused family, friends, and global chaos.
But is that truly what Jesus is describing?
A close reading of the passage—and more importantly, of its contextual and theological grounding—reveals something entirely different. Rather than supporting the idea of a secret rapture, this text actually speaks of judgment, not salvation. It is a warning of sudden destruction, not a promise of evacuation:
26“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32“Remember Lot’s wife. 33“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35“There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 36“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.” 37And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
(Luke 17:26-37)
As in the Days of Noah and Lot: Who Was Taken—and Why?
Jesus begins His teaching in Luke 17:26–30 by drawing comparisons between the days of His return and two familiar Old Testament narratives: the days of Noah and the days of Lot. These comparisons are critical, not only because of what they reveal about the suddenness of judgment, but because of who is judged and who is spared.
In both cases:
Noah remained. The wicked were swept away by the Flood.
Lot was preserved. The sinners of Sodom were removed.
Jesus uses these examples to highlight that, just as people were caught off guard by judgment in those times, so too will many be caught off guard at His return. But here is the central issue: if Jesus is following the pattern of Noah and Lot, then the ones who are “taken” are not the righteous, who were kept, but those swept away in judgment.
This reading is confirmed when Jesus’ disciples ask Him in Luke 17:37, “Where, Lord?”—referring to the destination of those taken. His answer is chilling: “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” This metaphor is not about ascension into heaven—it’s a picture of carnage, corpses, and divine judgment.
The ones “taken” are not rescued—they are removed in wrath.
The Flood Wasn’t Unexpected—Just Ignored
Some pre-tribulation rapture defenders acknowledge this difficulty, and instead pivot the argument: “It’s not about who is taken or left—it’s about how suddenly it happens.” They claim Jesus is emphasizing the element of surprise, like the sudden outbreak of the Flood.
But even this angle falls short.
The Flood may have surprised the wicked emotionally, but it wasn’t a surprise logically. According to Genesis 6–7, Noah spent over a century building the Ark, an act that itself would have been a cultural and prophetic sign. Scripture even calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), implying that he not only built the Ark but also warned others repeatedly about what was coming.
In this sense, the timing was not unknown in the way pre-trib advocates suggest. While no one knew the exact day or hour—just as Jesus says of His own return in Matthew 24:36—the nearness of judgment would have been apparent. The people of Noah’s day weren’t surprised because the warning was absent; they were surprised because they heard and knew yet chose to ignore it in disbelief.
This theme is picked up again in Matthew 24:38, where Jesus notes that “in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” The point isn’t that these actions are sinful—but that life continued as if nothing were wrong, as if God’s warning through Noah was irrelevant.
Likewise, in the time preceding the return of Christ, people will mock those who sound the alarm. They will laugh at prophetic warnings, dismiss divine judgment as outdated mythology, and carry on with business as usual—right up until the moment it’s too late.
What Jesus Actually Meant
Putting all this together, the full picture in Luke 17 and Matthew 24 is strikingly different from what pre-tribulation rapture theology claims:
The “one taken” is not the blessed believer, but the judged transgressor.
The suddenness described is not about rapture rescue, but inescapable reckoning.
The days of Noah and Lot serve not as a template for a two-stage Second Coming, but as a warning of God’s judgment that comes while the world sleeps.
The pattern, once again, is this: God does not remove His people from the earth before judgment. He preserves them through it, shielding, sustaining, and walking with them in the fire. Just as He did with Noah, just as He did with Lot, just as He did with the Israelites in Goshen during the plagues of Egypt, and just as He often does.
This article was a short excerpt from my book “Left Behind Deconstructed: Why I Left Pre-Tribulation Rapture Behind“
