I believe you are referring to Luke 17:34-36. That says, “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”

To understand what this is speaking of, let’s back up and read Luke 17:20-21, “Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” The Pharisees wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would come. The Lord answered that the kingdom was in their midst, or among them. The KJV translates this as “the kingdom of God is WITHIN you.” However, that translation is not accurate. The kingdom of God was in their midst because their king was in their midst…but they rejected Him. The Lord then goes on to speak of His second coming. It’s important that we realize that He is speaking of when He will return in full view of all to establish His kingdom on the earth.

In Matthew, we have the disciples asking the Lord about His second coming. Matthew 24:3 says, “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Space prohibits us from reading this entire chapter, but I do encourage you to read it. The Lord speaks of events that will precede His coming to establish His kingdom on the earth. In verse 21, the Lord says, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” He speaks of a time of great tribulation. Then, He says in verses 29-30, “Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Could this be any clearer? It is AFTER the Tribulation Period that the Lord returns to the earth. He goes on to say in verses 40-42, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

Matthew 25 speaks of this time when the Lord returns. He judges the nations to determine who will enter His kingdom and who will not. He says in verses 32-34, “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The sheep are set on the Lord’s right hand and they stay on the earth and “inherit the kingdom.” Verse 41 tells us, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” The goats are set on the Lord’s left and are taken out for judgment. The Lord says to them, “Depart from me.”

In the rapture of the church, the saved ones are ‘taken out’ to be with the Lord, while the unsaved are left behind to face God’s wrath in the Tribulation Period. (Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). In the judgment of the nations at the end of the Tribulation Period, the saved ones are left on the earth and enter the Lord’s millennial kingdom. The lost ones are ‘taken out’ to face God’s judgment because of their rejection of Him. In both the rapture and in the Lord’s return to the earth, there are those who are taken and those who are left behind. However, in the Lord’s return to the earth, it is the lost who are taken out…just the opposite of what happens in the rapture of the Church. The truth of the rapture was a mystery that was revealed to us by the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote of the rapture in 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Behold, I shew you a MYSTERY; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Until Paul came on the scene, the rapture was not mentioned. With that in mind, we can understand that every time the Lord spoke of his return, He was not speaking of the rapture; He was speaking of His physical return to the earth to set up his millennial kingdom on the earth. (269.2)