We will now look at the text of Matthew 13, for in it we find one of the most insightful discourses of the kingdom of heaven, specifically in regard to the last things of this age and the unfolding events leading into the next. We do not want to confuse the term ‘kingdom of heaven’ with the ‘kingdom of God’ by making them distinct descriptions, for they are synonymous. The Jewish expectation, even Jesus Himself (being a Jew) did not have the notion of a kingdom located solely in heaven, but rather a Davidic Kingdom on the earth. This was the mindset of that day – and rightly so. The doctrine of a ‘heavenly destiny’ was added later by the combining the true gospel and Greek philosophy, while also interpreting old testament prophecy of the millennial rule as allegorical.
Mat 13:24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
Mat 13:25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
Mat 13:26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
Mat 13:27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
Mat 13:28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
Mat 13:29 “But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”
We see several clear symbols drawn by way of agricultural description. After Jesus had taught the parable to the masses, the disciples came to him, as was their custom, and asked for the meaning of this parable:
Mat 13:36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
Mat 13:37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
Mat 13:38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
Mat 13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
Mat 13:40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
Mat 13:41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
Mat 13:42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
I wanted to point out several pungent points from this parable.
1.) The tares are gathered first for burning. Notice that they are gathered by angels through divine purpose. We see this corresponds perfectly with the sickle of Rev. 14:19, the armies gathered for Armageddon in 16:6, also Micah 4:12, Joel 3:3, 11 – through this gathering, judgment will be dealt to the wicked.
2) Juxtaposed to the gathering of judgment, we find the gathering of the believers into the kingdom of the Father. The righteous are brought to the Lord after the judgment of the wicked – not before as the pre-tribulational doctrine would have us believe. The righteousness that causes the believer to shine as a light before men in this age (Mt. 5:16) will be related to the outward shinning that will clothe believers in their resurrected bodies (1 Co 15:35-55). This ‘glorification’ and ‘putting on’ immortality happens after the wicked have been thrown into the furnace of fire.
3) The angels are the gatherers of the harvest both wicked (firstly) and righteous (secondly).
Mat 24:29-31 “Immediately after the tribulation …31 He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
For we see that the rapture is synonymous with transformation of the saints bodies. For at the last trumpet we shall both be changed and caught into the air to meet our Blessed Lord (1 Co 15, 1 Thess 4). Matthew 13 shows forth the truth of believers enduring the great tribulation, being gathered by angels at Christ’s Second Advent, and inheriting the glory of the Father’s kingdom.
To those who have found this site via search engine, link, disdain, random fate, etc. Hello.
Anyone with a computer could tell you that we are seeing a resurgence of interest in the end-times. From blogs, twitter, and CNN, articles on the “end of the world” are popping up like Chinese carry-out restaurants in shopping malls. Believers all across the earth are beginning to respond to the trumpet alarm of Matthew 25:6 “Behold the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!”
Christianity, as with any religion, believes in an ultimate reckoning for mankind. This reckoning (called eschatology) will sum up all things, bring an end to evil, and usher in a glorious age where God will dwell with man as He originally intended.
Now we make a quite large, non-conformist, leap ahead to an event of considerable division – the Rapture. The revelation of the rapture is an odd thing because the rapture isn’t in the book of Revelation – yes, that did sound like Willy Wonka. In fact, the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the inspired word of God. The meaning is derived from the Latin word “rapturo” meaning “caught up“. The rapture of the saints is an amazing revelation intended to instill hope in believers enduring persecution. The premier verse concerning the doctrine of the rapture, 1 Thess 4:14-18, was written to a church to whom Paul said a few verses prior, “[You] received the word in much affliction (1:5)…we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation…(3:4)” The believers in Thessalonica were undergoing significant persecution at the hands of both Jew and Gentile antagonists. Paul wrote them because he had concern for their faith lest his “labor [was] in vain” (3:5). He was giving them a hope of the things to come. The doctrine of the rapture was meant to enable believers undergoing persecution to fix their eyes on their ultimate glory in Christ, not give them a false escapism mentality.
If one were to look at church history, specifically the early church, one would see that there wasn’t a message of escaping the onslaught of wicked adversity, but rather, the message was to stay strong in adversity. The early church fathers, the martyrs of the Reformation, and the modern day martyrs in China and the Middle Eastern nations all bear witness to the deception of the pre-tribulational doctrine. This doctrine understands neither the mercy of the Lord, nor His wrath, but rather misconstrues it into a false hope. On top of that, it reassures believers that the teacher is infallible and that the flock need not fret or read their bibles. Corrie Ten Boom said in her letter addressing the rapture:
“In America, the churches sing, “Let the congregation escape tribulation”, but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.”
Beloved saints, we have been hoodwinked, taken for the lethargic, prayerless Christians we are. Out of touch with our suffering brethern. Out of sync with the Holy Spirit. Closed to the teaching of the apostles, Christ, and the church fathers. Useless to the kingdom of God. Susceptible to error. Instructed in comfort. Bred for deception. We are bent, but not broken. What will it take to awaken the church in America to the coming storm?
