Verses 40 and 41 say, “Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.” According to the context, “Then” here means “by that time.” It indicates that while the worldly people are befuddled by the material things, with no sense of the coming judgment, some of the sober and watchful believers will be taken away. To the befuddled people, this should be a sign of Christ’s coming.
The two men in verse 40 must be brothers in Christ, and the two women in verse 41 must be sisters in the Lord. This is indicated by verse 42, which tells us to watch because we do not know on what day our Lord comes. Both “watch therefore” and “your Lord” prove that the two men and the two women in verses 40 and 41 are believers. The Lord would not charge unsaved people to watch, nor is He the Lord of the unsaved.
To be taken means to be raptured before the great tribulation. This rapture is a sign of the Lord’s coming and a sign to the Jews. It is very interesting to see that the two men are working in the field and that the two women are grinding at the mill. Both working in the field and grinding are for eating. There is a difference between our eating and the eating of the worldly people. The worldly people study and work, and we also study and work. The worldly people, however, have been drugged. But we have not been drugged. Rather, we are simply fulfilling our duty to make a living. We are not for eating, drinking, and marriage; on the contrary, we maintain our existence in order to take the way of the cross to fulfill God’s purpose. Our concern is not for our education, employment, or business.
When some of the young people hear this, they may say, “How glad we are to hear this word! Let’s not care any more for study or for work. Let us spend all our time praying and having fellowship with one another.” Such an attitude is wrong. Remember, according to verse 40 the brothers were farming, and according to verse 41 the sisters were grinding. Grinding grain is very hard work. This indicates that we Christians should not take easy jobs. We need to work hard in order to make a living. The eating and drinking in verse 38 is worldly, but the farming and grinding in verses 40 and 41 are holy. If the ones taken were not doing something holy, they could not have been raptured. Do you realize that farming can be holy, but working as a pastor can be very worldly? A Bible teacher may be worldly; yet a sister who grinds grain may be holy. Many of the sisters who work at cooking the meals are holy sisters. It is not those who talk about holiness who are necessarily holy. Sometimes the more certain sisters talk about being holy, the less holy they are. It is better for such sisters to spend more time cooking to serve excellent food to their husbands, their children, and those to whom they give hospitality. The sisters who do this will be holy. Some sisters know how to have fellowship about being holy, but they do not know how to do a good job in their cooking. They always cook plain meals for their families, excusing themselves by saying that there is no need for them to waste time in cooking. But after a period of time, their husbands and children are discontent with such cooking. The more these sisters talk about being holy, the less holy their husbands and children become. They talk about holiness, but they do not take proper care of their families. We need more holy sisters to grind at the mill to produce fine flour. We are not drugged, but we do need to be properly nourished.
The principle is the same with the brothers in their jobs. A brother should not talk about holiness and neglect his job. If he does this, he will be fired. Notice, the rapture does not take place when the two brothers and the two sisters are praying, but when they are working. When I was young, I was told how wonderful it would be to be raptured while we were praying or reading the Bible. But the Lord Jesus does not speak this way. Instead, He says that two men were farming and that two women were grinding. They were not fasting, praying, or reading the Bible; they were doing their ordinary work.
The Lord Jesus certainly spoke this word with a definite purpose. He wanted to show us that as we wait for His coming and expect to be raptured, we must be very faithful in our daily duties. We need to do the best farming and the best grinding. We need a properly balanced human life, not the life of monks who devote themselves to spiritual things and expect others to take care of them. It is the brothers working in the field and the sisters grinding in the mill who will be raptured.
There used to be a proverb that anyone who becomes a preacher becomes useless. The reason for this proverb is that preachers do not need to work to earn a living. Rather, the burden for their living is placed upon others. It is a shame for us to be like this. We need to work diligently and do our duty in a proper way. When we are in the field or at the mill, we may be raptured. The sisters who are wives and mothers must do the best grinding and learn how to prepare the most healthy meals for their families. Sisters, if your husband and children are not healthy, you will be held responsible for this before the Lord. If you take care of this matter before the Lord, you will be truly holy. Do not spend your time in talking about holiness, but spend it in cooking healthy, digestible, delicious meals. You need to prepare good meals to preserve the life of your husband and to build up the health of your children. This matter is included in the Lord’s reference to grinding at the mill.
The brothers who are fathers and husbands also need to work diligently at their jobs to earn the money needed to take care of their families. Those who work simply to have a great deal of money in the bank are drugged. But we need to labor in order to provide the best things for our children. Otherwise, we are faithful neither to God nor to our children. As parents, we must do the best to educate our children. We should not have the attitude that it is good enough for them to graduate from high school and work in a menial job. To be in the field means that we care that our children are fed well and educated in the best way. We should not be those who love the world and work to make money for ourselves. But we should be those who work diligently to earn money for our family. As those with a fallen human nature, it is easy for us to excuse ourselves for not spending so much time in the field or at the grinding. If you do this, you will not be raptured. I repeat, you will be raptured while you are working in the field or grinding out the grain.
Of the two men in the field, one is taken and the other is left; and of the two women grinding at the mill, one is taken and the other left. The reason for this is that there is a difference between them in the matter of life. I believe that the one taken is mature and that the one left is immature. The life makes the difference. The rapture of the overcomers, those who are mature in life, will be a sign to those who are left. Suppose you are working in the field with a brother and he is suddenly taken away to the heavens. That would certainly be a sign to you. Suppose two sisters are grinding at the mill, and one is taken away to the Lord. Surely that would be a sign to the sister who was left!