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.
The verse belongs to a warning that likens the coming of the day of the Lord to the days of Noah and of Lot. It pictures two people in one bed in that night, with one taken and the other left, without defining what being taken or left means. It warns that the day of the Lord, Christ's coming, will arrive unexpectedly and suddenly, coming as a thief in the night to all who are not watching, and dividing people from one another. That coming is sudden and dividing to those who are not watching and praying and also working.
It places that separation at the Lord's coming within the time of trouble, when the saints flee from cities and villages while the wicked pursue them. It therefore calls those who have the light to watchfulness, prayer, and faithful work. The great necessity laid upon them is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. That call presses especially upon men placed in positions of responsibility in this time of peril.
The verse belongs to a warning that likens the coming of the day of the Lord to the days of Noah and of Lot. It pictures two people in one bed in that night, with one taken and the other left, without defining what being taken or left means. It warns that the day of the Lord, Christ's coming, will arrive unexpectedly and suddenly, coming as a thief in the night to all who are not watching, and dividing people from one another. That coming is sudden and dividing to those who are not watching and praying and also working.
It places that separation at the Lord's coming within the time of trouble, when the saints flee from cities and villages while the wicked pursue them. It therefore calls those who have the light to watchfulness, prayer, and faithful work. The great necessity laid upon them is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. That call presses especially upon men placed in positions of responsibility in this time of peril.