| Matthew 24:40
| Then shall two be in the field: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
| Then of two men, who shall think of nothing less than of going to appear before God, one shall be taken to be placed among the number of the elect, and the other shall be left condemned to eternal fire with the damned, on account of his crimes. (Bible de Vence) --- This example of the men in the field, and of the condition and disposition of men at the period of the deluge, strongly expresses how unexpectedly these evils will rush in upon mankind; and the subsequent account of the two women grinding in the mill, shews how little they were solicitous for their salvation. We are, moreover, taught by these examples, that some of all states and conditions will be saved, whether rich or poor, in ease or labour, or decorated with all the various degrees of worldly honour. The same is mentioned in Exodus 11:5. From the first-born of Pharao, who sitteth on his throne, even to the first-born of the handmaid that is at the mill, ... every first-born shall die. (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxxviii.)
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