Then Two Men Will Be in the Field, One Will Be Taken, and One Left

The language of the second part of Matthew 24 is arresting to us. It seems so extreme and cosmic that many people can't imagine it relating to anything other than the destruction of the entire universe on the last day. If we look in the Old Testament, and we're familiar with Old Testament language, we'll see many examples of this sort of cosmic language being used to speak of events in history. In Isaiah 13 verses 6, 9-11 and 19 we read, Wail for the day of the Lord is near, as destruction from the Almighty it will come. Behold, the day ofthe Lord comes, cruel and with wrath and fierce anger to make the land a desolation and