按上下文看，这里的“那时”意即到那时候。这指明当世人沉迷于物质的事物，对要来的审判毫无感觉的时候，有些清明、儆醒的信徒要被取去。对沉迷、麻木的人，这该是基督来临的一个兆头。四十节的两个人必是在基督里的弟兄，四十一节的两个女人也必是在主里的姊妹。这由四十二节所指明；这节告诉我们要儆醒，因为不知道我们的主那一天要来。“所以你们要儆醒”和“你们的主，”证明四十至四十一节的两个男人和两个女人，都是信徒。
取去的意思是在大灾难之前被提，这是主来临的兆头，也是给犹太人的兆头。看见两个人在田里工作，以及两个女人在磨坊推磨，是十分有趣的。在田里工作和推磨，都是为着吃。我们的吃和世人的吃有区别。世人读书、工作，我们也读书、工作。然而，世人已被麻醉了，我们却没有被麻醉。我们不过是尽我们的本分以谋生。我们不是为着吃喝、嫁娶；反之，我们维持我们的生存，为要走十字架的道路，成就神的定旨。我们所关心的不是我们的教育、职业或事业。
主耶稣说这话的确有明确的目的。祂要给我们看见，当我们等候祂来，并期望被提时，我们必须在每天的职责上非常忠信。我们需要尽力种田，尽力推磨。我们需要正确平衡的为人生活，不是奉献自己作属灵的事，而期望别人照顾的修士生活。那要被提的，乃是在田里工作的弟兄，以及在磨坊推磨的姊妹。我们需要殷勤工作，正确的尽我们的本分。
作妻子和母亲的姊妹，必须尽力推磨，学习如何为家人豫备最健康的膳食。姊妹们，你们的丈夫、儿女若不健康，你们要在主面前负此责任。作父亲和丈夫的弟兄们，也需要在职业上殷勤工作，赚取所需要的钱照顾家人。那些仅仅为了在银行里有巨款而工作的人，都被麻醉了。但我们需要劳苦，好为我们的儿女豫备最好的东西。否则，我们对神或对儿女就不忠信。
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One Being Taken and the Other Left – Matt. 24:40-41
According to the context in Matthew 24:40-41, “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.
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 so do we. 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.
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. Thus, we need to work diligently and do our duty in a proper way.
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. 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.