"I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."

Secret rapture advocates take this text as evidence of a secret coming of Christ to snatch away His saints. But to get the whole picture, begin reading in verse 26. Jesus described Noah's day and Lot's day and said: "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Verse 30. Then He added, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left .... "

How was it in the days of Noah and Lot? Some were taken and some were left. Those taken were taken to safety, and those left were left dead. Jesus said, "This is the way it will be when I come. Some will be taken and some will be left." In fact, verses 36 and 37 make it very plain what Jesus meant: "Two men shall be in the field! the one shall be taken, and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together."

The disciples wanted to know where the others would be left, and Christ asserted they would be left dead. In one other text Jesus used similar language: "For wheresoever the carcass [dead body] is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Matthew 24:28. Some may object and say that eagles are not known to gather in flocks and feed on dead bodies, but here's what the Bible says concerning them: "Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?... Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she." Job 39:27-30.

The obvious meaning of Christ's words is that, just as in Noah's day and Lot's day, the righteous will be taken to safety and the wicked slain (by the brightness of His coming). The bodies of the wicked will be scattered over the earth for the birds of prey.

There is no secret rapture here. The term is unknown in the Bible, and so is the doctrine.