the wrong side of the bed
"Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; whoever loses it will keep it." —Luke 17:33
At the very end of the world, two people will be "in one bed; one will be taken and the other left" (Lk 17:34). Two women will be working together; "one will be taken and the other left" (Lk 17:35). What determines whether a person is taken to meet Jesus or left for destruction?
Jesus answered: "Wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures gather" (Lk 17:37). A carcass is a dead body. Thus Jesus is saying that, where there is death, there the vultures of the end-time destruction will gather. He is referring to the spiritual death due to sin (see Rm 6:23). So those repentant of their sins will fly away, and those left behind are earthbound because of the weight of their unrepented sins.
To escape the end times, we must be living bodies, not dead carcasses. We should be pro-life in the fullest sense of the word. We must not only be against abortion but against sins of violence, hatred, racism, unforgiveness, injustice, and pornography. The death at the world's end will only destroy those already among the living dead (1 Jn 3:14). At the world's end, the spiritually dead will be destroyed physically, and the spiritually alive will meet Jesus (1 Thes 4:17).
Prayer: Father, "subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one" (Mt 6:13).
Promise: "Anyone who is so 'progressive' that he does not remain rooted in the teaching of Christ does not possess God, while anyone who remains rooted in the teaching possesses both the Father and the Son." —2 Jn 9
Praise: Foreseeing his own death, St. Josaphat spent his last moments pleading clemency for others.
Reference: (For related teaching, order our tape The Remnant on audio AV 79-3 or video V-79.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, March 30, 2004
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 1, 2004