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I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

The Luke 17:34 verse is a popular verse that many explain is the rapture. However, if you look closely at the remainder of the chapter, it is not the righteous who are being taken, but the wicked! The disciples ask plainly, "To where"? Jesus answers by taking a prophecy from Ezekiel 39:17. The wicked will be taken away to be fed to the birds of prey.

The Last Will Be First

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard... So the last will be first, and the first last.”

So here we have one of the Elders speaking about those who are clothed in white. The answer is that they have died in the great tribulation and here they are standing before the throne! They have received a double honor, not only do they stand before the Lord before anyone else, they will also reign with Him for a thousand years before the rest of the dead are brought back to life and judged. They and only they are of the first resurrection! All those who died before the tribulation, the righteous and the wicked, will be raised in the second resurrection and judged according to our works. The works of these who died in the tribulation follow them (Revelation 14:13). Make no mistake that these who are dying in the tribulation are the last of the believers.

Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word... They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of the Messiah, and they will reign with Him for 1,000 years.

So now we see the illustration of the last becoming the first. They come in at the end of the age, and receive their pay before anyone else! Back in the Matthew verse Jesus made sure to say, "pay them starting with the last." So now we see those who suffered in the tribulation getting their pay before the rest of us. It is they who are among the first resurrection, not any other group! Let's look further at what Jesus had to say about this particular group as opposed to the rest of the dead. First let's see what He says about these who were beheaded for their testimony:

“I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

Here you see that He is distinctly speaking about only those who hear. This is the first resurrection. The first resurrection only belongs to those who were beheaded during the tribulation. Now let's see what He says about the second resurrection:

Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.

Notice the distinction here! This is the second resurrection, notice that in the second resurrection there are both the righteous and the wicked! This is when the separation of the sheep and the goats take place.

The Wicked and Righteous Waiting for the Harvest

He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field... Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’ ”

Before we continue on to the explanation provided by Jesus, I want to point out that the first action is to gather (rapture) the weeds first! Take note that this does not happen until the end (harvest time). Also, notice the second action is to "store the wheat in my barn" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This is the righteous being caught up to meet with the Lord in the air as He is descending to execute judgement.

Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.” He replied: “...just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness... Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears should listen!

Notice that the wicked will be gathered (raptured) from His kingdom.

Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will Be Done in Earth, as It Is in Heaven.

The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.

We were never meant to leave the earth. The earth is our inheritance. Just as in the time of the old testament when Israel could not inhabit the promised land until the wicked people who occupied it were removed, so we await the removal (rapture) of the wicked so that we can enjoy our inheritance. I will leave you with some scriptures to study. God Bless you, my brothers and sisters!