Is Matt 24:40-42 Really Evidence For the "Rapture"?

Matt 24:40-42 says:

"Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned; two women will be grinding at the hand mill: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned. Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU do not know on what day YOUR Lord is coming."

Some have taken this passage to support the Rapture which is the belief that faithful Christians will be bodily caught up from the Earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is understood by some persons, but not by all, to be the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Concerning the expression “taken along"

"After Jesus had cited the examples of Noah and Lot to show the nature of his presence and revelation he then gave evidence to show that his manifestation must precede the execution of adverse judgment. He said: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned; two women will be grinding at the hand-mill: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned. Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Master is coming.” (Matt. 24:40-42; Luke 17:34, 35, NW)

"The word used here in the Greek for the expression “taken along” is also used when Joseph is said to have taken his wife home. It is also as when Jesus is said to have taken Peter, James and John along with him into the mount of transfiguration. Jesus used the word when he said: “I am coming again and will receive you home to myself, that where I am you also may be.” (John 14:3; Matt. 1:20, 24; 17:1, NW) Thus, those “taken along” receive a favorable standing with the Lord and are brought into a way of salvation. This corresponds to Noah’s being taken into the ark the day of the flood and to Lot’s being taken by the hand and led out of the city and therefore precedes the execution of judgment." - 6/15/54 Watchtower; Maintaining the Way of Favor, par. 3

Concerning the word "Abandon"

"To grasp the meaning of these words of Jesus we must know the setting of their utterance. In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus was discussing the composite sign that would indicate his second presence, and in Luke chapter 17 he was showing that this event would come suddenly and unexpectedly upon those not faithfully serving Jehovah, just as the flood of Noah’s day and the rain of fire and sulphur of Lot’s time caught unawares the opposers and scoffers and indifferent ones then living and they were abandoned to destruction." - 3/1/55 Watchtower; Questions From Readers

The Rapture - Not a Bible Teaching

The Rapture is the belief that faithful Christians will be BODILY caught up from the Earth, suddenly taken out of the world, to be united with the Lord “in the air.” The word “rapture” is understood by some persons, but not by all, to be the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

The word "rapture" does not occur in the Bible and the belief that faithful Christians will be BODILY caught up from the Earth is not found in the Bible.

The book of Revelation shows that the total number of those with the hope of going to heaven is a relatively small and limited number: 144,000. Along with Christ, they would be kings and priests in heaven. (Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-4; 20:6) Included among them would be individuals who had been associated with the congregations in Thessalonica. (Acts 10:34, 35)

The Bible shows that those who will go to heaven (those of the 144,000) will do so only after they have died and not in bodily form. In writing to Christians in Corinth, Paul stated: “This I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Look! I tell you a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep in death, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-52) So upon dying in faithfulness during Christ’s presence, each one with the heavenly hope will instantaneously receive his heavenly reward. “In the twinkling of an eye,” he is resurrected as a spirit creature and “caught away” to meet Jesus and to serve as a co-ruler in the Kingdom of the heavens.

After referring to the 144,000 Christians with the heavenly hope and who had died, Paul added: “Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (Thessalonians 4:17) “The living” would be those alive during Christ’s presence. They would be “caught away” to meet the Lord Jesus. As in the case of faithful early Christians, death as a human is necessary for them to be united with Christ in heaven. (Rom. 8:17, 35-39)

The Bible shows that God's original purpose was for mankind to live on Earth (Gen. 2:17) and that the vast majority of mankind would have the prospect of being resurrected in the future to life in Paradise on Earth. (See Ps. 37:1; Ps. 115:16; Isa. 45:18; Matt. 5:5; Matt. 6:9, 10; 2 Pet. 3:13)

For more, see:

Rapture - Links to Information (SFBT)

Do All Good People Go to Heaven? (WBTS)