Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
The verse warns of the coming day of the Lord, which will come as a thief in the night and will catch unprepared all who are not watching and praying and working. It pictures two people living and working closely together, as the two women grinding together, who are then separated from each other. That separation takes place at Christ's coming, in the judgment.
The separation is made by the Lord according to character and obedience to His commandments, though to human observers there may appear to be no difference between those who are together. The one taken is the righteous, taken to belong to Christ and marked as God's own, while the one left is the wicked, left to eternal separation from God. Those taken have their names remain in the book of life, enter the city with the saints, and have access to the tree of life. At that time no one can acquire another person's character or readiness.
The separation is placed in the setting of the time of trouble, in connection with flight from cities and villages when the wicked pursue the saints. Those who have the light must therefore follow Jesus, walking in His footsteps, and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. This urgency is because it is a time of peril, when men placed in positions of responsibility do not understand their own defects of character and are blinded by officiousness to the work to be done.
The verse warns of the coming day of the Lord, which will come as a thief in the night and will catch unprepared all who are not watching and praying and working. It pictures two people living and working closely together, as the two women grinding together, who are then separated from each other. That separation takes place at Christ's coming, in the judgment.
The separation is made by the Lord according to character and obedience to His commandments, though to human observers there may appear to be no difference between those who are together. The one taken is the righteous, taken to belong to Christ and marked as God's own, while the one left is the wicked, left to eternal separation from God. Those taken have their names remain in the book of life, enter the city with the saints, and have access to the tree of life. At that time no one can acquire another person's character or readiness.
The separation is placed in the setting of the time of trouble, in connection with flight from cities and villages when the wicked pursue the saints. Those who have the light must therefore follow Jesus, walking in His footsteps, and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. This urgency is because it is a time of peril, when men placed in positions of responsibility do not understand their own defects of character and are blinded by officiousness to the work to be done.