Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Genesis 27-31
     New Testament Reading: Luke 17

I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left (Luke 17: 34-35).

How tragic are these words of Jesus? At the Second Coming, a husband and wife will be sleeping in bed and one taken but the other left. Two friends working together, and one taken while the other is left. When the Son of Man appears, the ensuing calamity will be sure and sudden.

Jesus used two Old Testament events to illustrate the certainty and suddenness of His coming; the Flood and the destruction of Sodom. In both examples, the people of the world were caught unprepared as they engaged in their everyday activities of eating and drinking, marrying, buying and selling, planning and building. Both Noah and Lot lived in days of religious compromise and moral decline. During the days of Noah, population growth was significant, lawlessness was on the increase, and the earth was given over to violence. In Lot’s day, the unnatural lust of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was so detestable to God that He completely and utterly destroyed the cities.

When Jesus returns, it will be sudden, there will be no warning. There will be no time to get ready. The Apostle Paul wrote we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (1 Cor. 15:51-52) It will be as sudden as a flash of lightning across the sky.

It is night in verse 34 but day in verse 35 indicates that the entire world will be involved in the return of Jesus Christ in Glory. Whether it is night or day, whether people are sleeping or working, separation and judgment will come. Those who are saved will be taken away to enter the glorious kingdom of God. While those who are lost will be left.

Remember Lot’s wife! (Luke 17:32) She is a powerful example of what will happen to those who hesitate to follow God. Those who look longingly toward sin, rather than focus on Jesus, will perish. Jesus’ advice to those who desire to save their lives is to don’t look back. The world wants to seduce people with many distractions. Instead of longing for what the world offers, one needs to turn to Jesus.

Jesus may return at any moment; how important it is for us to be ready for His return. The only way to save your life is to lose it for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. We know His return is nearing. Are you ready? Are you looking for His return?