By David Turner

The Olivet Discourse or The Chronology of Matthew 24

 Internal Considerations for a Chiastic Arrangement in Matthew 24

             Proponents of a pre-tribulation rapture have traditionally explained Matthew 24:38-40 as the taking away of the non-believer at the end of the tribulation. According to this view the flood of Noah suggests that those “taken” in verses 41 and 42 are removed unto judgment and those remaining enter the millennium kingdom. This is logical if the sequence of verses 4-51 correspond with the order of the three questions proposed by the disciples in verse 3.

            A better explanation of this passage is that Jesus is not following the exact sequence in answering the disciple’s questions, but has reversed the order into a chiastic arrangement. This is consistent with Matthew’s use of chiasms in the gospel (1:1-17; 4:1-11, 5-7; 8:18-9:34). Jesus answers the third question in verses 4-28, the second question in verses 29-35 and the first question in verses 36-44.

            The objection to this view is often posited that because the term “taken” in verse 39 refers to judgment of unbelievers in the Noah account, the term as it is used in verses 41 and 42 must also have in mind judgment. A pre-tribulation rapture then, is not in view. However, this objection does not take into account that the author uses different terms for “taken” in the two accounts. Concerning the Noah account, the author uses the word airw and does refer to judgment. In verses 41-42 paralambanw is chosen. The later term is never used in the New Testament in the context of judgment, and in Matthew it its best understood to mean “taken along with”. The emphasis in the illustration of Noah is not on impending judgment but on “when” these things will take place (verse 3 and 36). Jesus does not tell them exactly the time but only the conditions prior to the time of the event, “as in those days which where before the flood they were eating and drinking … until the Day that Noah entered the ark …” Jesus is stressing the normalcy of the period prior to the event.

Evidence From other Biblical Passages for a Chiastic Arrangement in Matthew 24.

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

            There is a corresponding relationship between First Thessalonians 5:1-11 and Matthew 24. The first question in Matthew 24:3  asks, “When will these be?” In First Thessalonians 5:1 the author begins by making reference to the “times and epochs”. There are also several very strong parallels between the two passages:

 

Thief in the night	Matthew 24:43-44	1 Thessalonians 5:2
Normalcy “peace, safety”	Matthew 24:38-39	1 Thessalonians 5:3
Being ready	Matthew 24:44	1 Thessalonians 5:6
Unconcern “drinking”	Matthew 24:38	1 Thessalonians 5:7

             Paul appears to be making reference to the Matthew passage when he says, “for you yourselves know full well that the Day of the Lord …”  The key element here is that Paul relates this passage to “when will these things be” rather than to “signs of the end of the age”.  This again gives strong support for Matthew’s chiastic arrangement. The emphasis in this passage is the same as in Matthew. Both are stressing the normalcy of the circumstances prior to the event/s. The phrase “and they shall not escape” corresponds with the majority reading of Luke 21:34-36 where believers are told to “pray that they may escape all  these things …” “All” stresses the judgments of the tribulation and not just the final judgment.

            First Thessalonians 5:9 states, “for God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation.”  This correlates perfectly with the illustrations of the deliverance of Noah and Lot in Luke and Matthew who are said to be delivered from wrath prior to the destruction of the wicked.

Luke 17:22-37

            Luke uses the same illustration of Noah and adds also an illustration of Lot to answer the same question of “when” that we saw in Matthew 24. The emphasis again is on “normalcy”, “they were eating, they were drinking …” (verses 27-28, compare with Matthew 24:28 and 1 Thessalonians 5:3). Normalcy is not a characteristic of the pre-judgment at the end of the tribulation. Normalcy is characteristic of pre-tribulation events.

            Further, the illustrations of normalcy preview the salvation from wrath of both Noah and Lot. Jesus uses these illustrations to lay our a general order: Normalcy----then deliverance of the righteous----then judgment of the unrighteous.

            Luke 17:34-37 explains the rapture of the righteous. The ones left behind are not the righteous who enter the Kingdom but the unrighteous that are entrapped and condemned (1 Thessalonians 5:3). This is evidenced by Christ’s final statement in verse 37, “where the body is there also will the vultures be gathered. The “body” refers to the deterioration of the flesh left behind for the consumption by the birds of prey.

            When this passage is understood in light of Matthew 24 a pre-tribulation rapture is strongly favored. Both authors are referring to the same accounts. Luke identifies the “taking our” as the rapture of believers. Thus, we affirm that Matthew speaks of the same.

Luke 21:34-36

           This passage can favor either a post-tribulation or a pre-tribulation rapture, depending on ones choice of variant readings. The two textual variants under consideration are ws pagix. epeiseleuseiai gar and ws pagis eteis eleuseiai.  External evidence favors the first reading which is from the Alexandrian family and posits a late second century ancestor, as compared to the late third century for the second reading. Both geographical distribution and genealogical solidarity solidly favor the second reading. As far as internal evidence is concerned the second reading is favored. In every eschatological passage that speaks of “escape” or “entrapment” in the New Testament the trap is in regards to the wicked and not the righteous.

            Thus, on the basis of both internal and external evidence the second reading is preferred. The readings are as follows:

First reading (Alexandrian) – “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.”

Second reading (Byzantine) – “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly. For like a trap it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.”

The theme of normalcy is again seen in these verses. “Dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life” speak of the lack of concern and general normalcy surrounding this entrapment. Is this the condition found in the tribulation? By comparing this passage with the ones we have previously studied it seems logical that these circumstances favor the second reading. This passage favors the chronology we have proposed for Matthew 24 earlier.

Conclusion

          Proponents of a Pre-tribulation rapture often perceive Matthew 24 to be a thorn in the flesh to the pre-tribulation view. Proponents of a post-tribulation rapture have defended their view that Matthew 24:37-39 refers to the rapture occurring at the end of the tribulation. Pre-tribulationalists  have often conceded that if this is the rapture then it must be post-tribulation and thus conflicts with other passages  which they believe does teach a pre-tribulation rapture. They therefore reject that this refers to the rapture:

“Analogous to Noah’s day, the individuals who will be “taken” are the wicked whom the Lord will take away in judgment (cf. Luke 17:37). The individuals “left” are believers who will be privileged to be on the earth to populate the kingdom of Jesus Christ in physical bodies. As the wicked were taken away in judgment and Noah was left on the earth, so the wicked will be judged and removed when Christ returns and the righteous will be left behind to become His subjects in the kingdom.

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 b a judgment on the church. If this were the Rapture, as some commentators affirm, the Rapture would have to be post-tribulational, for this event occurs immediately before the Lord’s return in glory.[1]

            In light of our previous arguments it seems far better to agree with proponents of a post-tribulation rapture that this passage does indeed teach the rapture, but that it is Pre-tribulation and not a post-tribulation in view. Note the disciples questions in verse three and where Jesus begins to answer each one:

 

When will this happen, …?	“No one knows about that day or hour not even the angels …? Verse 36
“… what will be the sign of your coming?	“Immediately after the distress of those days … At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear …” verses 29,30
“when (will be) … the end of the age?”	“for many will come in my name, …, but the end is still to come.” Verses 5,6

            Matthew was written to Jews who were very accustomed to the use of chiasms. This is a general structural form found throughout the Old Testament. It is also used elsewhere in the New Testament, especially in Matthew.

            Rather than take defense every time one comes to Matthew 24, the proponent of a pre-tribulation Rapture can turn to this passage to find his greatest support for a Pre-tribulation rapture. An understanding of structural form has made an apparent inconsistency a strong support for a biblical interpretation of the Rapture occurring prior to the tribulation.