In regards to the Greek in Matthew 24:41, where the word “aphiemi” is translated into “Left” ( Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.), can you elaborate on the verb-tense of the word? Transliterated, it shows the word as aphietai. The ending etai means that the verb is a present-passive-indicative in the 3rd-person singular. It’s also the same tense as the preceding verb, “taken”.
Of course, I know nothing of what that means, but I feel it’s important. Can you elaborate on the meaning of the PPI 3rd tense of the verb aphemi?
Because, according to Strong’s, the word can mean sent or it also can mean left. And I think that the tense would give us a clue as to which it means.
According to Strong’s’ the present tense represents a simple statement of fact or reality viewed as occurring in actual time. In most cases this corresponds directly with the English present tense. The passive voice represents the subject as being the recipient of the action. The indicative mood means that it’s a simple statement of fact. And, as it is in English, use of the 3rd person means it doesn’t apply to the people Jesus was speaking to.
In the context of the passage the Lord is comparing events of the second coming with events of Noah’s flood. He said that at the time of the Flood people were going about their business, knowing nothing of what was going to happen to them right up to the day Noah entered the Ark. Then the flood came and took them all away. The flood didn’t just leave them in place, it sent them away to their destruction.
So it will be at the 2nd coming. There will be some who will be going about their business, knowing nothing of what is going to happen to them right up to the day the Lord returns. Then the Lord will come and take them all away. He won’t just leave them in place but will send some into the Kingdom and others to their destruction. While alphemi can mean “left” it’s not a proper use given the context.
But you don’t have to be an expert in Biblical Greek to understand the Lord’s intent. Notice the order of events in the comparison. In Noah’s day, the Flood came first and then it took them all away. Their destruction was the result of the Flood’s occurrence. Noah’s family had already entered the Ark to be preserved through the Flood, and by the way, sometime previous to that Enoch had been taken live into Heaven to escape the Flood altogether.
At the End of the Age the Lord comes first and then disposition of Tribulation survivors occurs as a result of His Coming. In this case some are received into the Kingdom and some are sent away to destruction. Believing Jews will have previously escaped into the desert to be preserved through the Great Tribulation (Rev. 12:14) and sometime prior to that the Church will have been taken live into heaven to escape it altogether. Placing these events in any other order violates the Lord’s comparison with the Flood.