Hi Roy,
"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." (Matt.24:40,41). This Scripture has been a headache for me for sometime, and I didn't have a clue till I read the discussion between you and Kat.
Ray went over this Scripture and it's meaning in a Bible study about foundational truths. Here are some excerpts from that study that should help you with this
The Scripture that Joe gave will fit right in with this.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6452.0.html -----------
Mark 4:11 …Unto YOU it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Well wait a minute we have just learned something all over there again. What are the parables about? The called and the chosen, the many and the few. Now what did He say there? He just told us that, did you get it or did you just read over it and you missed it? Read it again. How many times have you read that and you missed it. YOU are the few chosen, YOU will understand these things. "Without" I teach in parables, the many hear Me, but THEY don’t get it.
Mark 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
So there is your two groups. This is not talking about the same person being split down the middle or something. This is talking about the called and the chosen.
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Haven’t you read the one about the dragnet? You bring in the net, right and those that are without, are those thrown out. The good fish and see we have the good ground. The word going to the good ground and what is the good ground? The good people, you have the good fish, those that you take in the basket and keep.
Now I’m not going to go through all the parables today, I have another point in mind. But the principle fits here and that’s why I want to start off with the parables. There are about 40 parables in the New Testament. It starts off with the lamp under the bushel/basket, then you have the wise man, the two men in the bed.
It doesn’t mean there are just these two, it’s just two categories.
One builds his house upon the rock and the other one builds his house on the sand. This is not the same man, presented by the two men. Now it’s true that we can go from one to the other, but most of the parables present them at the same time. You can’t do it at the same time, there is a transition where you repent and you are converted and you become the new person and you leave the other one behind. The other one does not follow with equal stature from then on. If it does you are not producing fruit and you are not going anywhere.
So there are two different groups throughout the parables. You have the new wine and the old wine skins. The sower, that we just went through with the sower. You have the tares and the wheat. The tares and the wheat are growing together, but they are not the same. Because those that are the tares will be thrown into fire. You can not be gathered into the barn and thrown into the fire at the same time. People will not be in the kingdom of God and in the fire at the same time. There comes a part where you separate these two and that happens at resurrection. Those that enter the kingdom and those that are without and are going to be judged.
Sometimes a parable will emphasize the Elect, sometimes it puts emphasis on the many. But the opposite is always in view. They talk about the bad, but that doesn’t negate the fact that this is the opposite of those that are good.
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The parables are all talking about the same thing. If you understand that, you should understand that the two in the field and the two women grinding at the mill can not be one and the same person. I mean we are getting into a kind of trinity here.
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mercy, peace and love
Kat