Faith Like a Mustard Seed
I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left. Luke 17:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus says that night, two people will be in the same bed — one will be taken and the other left. Even being close to someone doesn't mean you share their destiny.
The separation is total and personal. It happens between people who are literally next to each other. Your response to God is your own.
Jesus describes the personal nature of judgment with an image that's both intimate and sobering.
Same bed, different destinies. Proximity to other believers doesn't substitute for your own relationship with God.
Jesus describes the separation at His coming: 'two in one bed' (dyo epi klinēs mias) — one taken (paralēmphthēsetai) and one left (aphethēsetai). The nighttime setting indicates the parousia can occur at any hour.
The taken/left language is debated: 'taken' may mean taken in judgment (as in the flood) or taken for salvation. The point is the separation of those in intimate proximity.
Jesus describes the discriminating nature of the eschatological judgment — closeness in life does not guarantee shared destiny.
Jesus describes a nighttime scene: two people in the same bed — one will be taken, one left behind. The judgment separates even the closest companions.
32Remember Lot’s wife!
33Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
34I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: one will be taken and the other left.
35Two women will be grinding grain together: one will be taken and the other left.”
Read all of Luke 17 — Ten lepers are cleansed, but only one returns to say thank you — and he's the outsider. Jesus teaches that the kingdom comes without warning.
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