Luke 17:34

By the two who are in one bed, he seems to hint at those who live in rest and plenty. They are equal to one another, as far as being possessed of worldly affluence. The bed is the symbol of rest. He says, "One of them will be taken, and one will be left." How is one taken? Not all those who are possessed of wealth and ease in this world are wicked and merciless.

For by the two men in one bed, He seems to denote the rich who repose themselves in worldly pleasures, for a bed is a sign of rest. But not all who abound in riches are wicked, but if one is good and elect in the faith, he will be taken, but another who is not so will be left. For when our Lord descends to judgment, He will send His Angels, who while they leave behind on the earth the rest to suffer punishment, will bring the holy and righteous men to Him; according to the Apostle's words, We shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet Christ in the air. (1 Thess 4:17.)

He rightly says, night, for Antichrist is the hour of darkness, because he pours a dark cloud over the minds of men while he declares himself to be Christ. But Christ as lightning shines brightly, that we may be able to see in that night the glory of the resurrection.

I say to you: In that night, etc. After he has described the manner of escaping, here he describes the state of those who escape, which he describes as threefold, namely of contemplatives, actives, and prelates, according to that passage in Ezekiel 14: "If these …

And from this we learn that the coming of the Lord will follow unexpectedly and suddenly. For the saying that "two... will be... in one bed" shows the carefree state of people. Likewise the grinding indicates the unexpectedness of the coming. We also learn that …

I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed. The Lord had said above that he who is in the field should not turn back, so that you would not think that it was said only about those who openly intend …

One will be taken, and the other left. It is not as if it was said about two men, but about two kinds of affections. For he who has strived for continence for the sake of God, so that living without anxiety he may consider …

Or He teaches us the suddenness of Christ's coming, which we are told will be in the night. And having said that the rich can scarcely be saved, He shows that not all the rich perish, nor all the poor are saved.

When God's judgments are laying all waste, he will take an effectual course to preserve those that are his, by remarkable providences distinguishing between them and others that were nearest to them: two in a bed, one taken and the other left; one snatched out of the burning and taken into a place of safety, while the other is left to perish in the common ruin.

9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. That the giving of offences is a great sin, and that which we should every one of us avoid and carefully watch against,

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:30w-of-67

On the subject of these verses see Mat 24:40, Mat 24:41 (note). The 36th verse is, without doubt, an interpolation. It was probably borrowed from Mat 24:40. The whole verse is wanting in - ABEGHKLQS, more than fifty others, the Coptic, Ethiopic, Gothic, Slavonic, and many of the fathers: Griesbach has left it out of the text. Well might our translators say in the margin, This 36th verse is wanting in most of the Greek copies.

Awful truth! realized before the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Christians found themselves forced by their Lord's directions (Lu 21:21) at once and for ever away from their old associates; but most of all when the second coming of Christ shall burst upon a heedless world.

The subject of these verses is one of particular solemnity. It is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it — are here described by our Lord's own lips. We should observe, for one thing, in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord gives of the state of the professing Church at His second coming. We are told that as it was in the days of Noah, and in the days of Lot — so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

The subject of these verses is one of particular solemnity. It is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great event, and the things immediately connected with it — are here described by our Lord's own lips. We should observe, for one thing, in these verses — what a fearful picture our Lord gives of the state of the professing Church at His second coming. We are told that as it was in the days of Noah, and in the days of Lot — so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. We are not left to conjecture the character of those days. We are told distinctly, that men were entirely taken up with eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building — and would attend to nothing else. The flood came at last in Noah's day, and drowned all except those who were in the ark! The fire fell from Heaven at last in Lot's day — and destroyed all except Lot, his wife, and his daughters. And our Lord declares most plainly, that similar things will happen when He comes again at the end of the world. "When they shall say, Peace and safety — then sudden destruction comes upon them!" (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) It is hard to imagine a passage of Scripture which more completely overthrows the common notions that prevail among men about Christ's return. The world will not be converted when Jesus comes again. The earth will not be full of the knowledge of the Lord. The reign of peace will not have been established. The millennium will not have begun. These glorious things will come to pass after the second coming, but not before. If words have any meaning, the verses before us show that the earth will be full of wickedness and worldliness in the day of Christ's appearing. The unbelievers and the unconverted will be found to be very many. The believers and the godly, as in the days of Noah and Lot, will be found to be very few.