The Wheat, the Tares, and the End of the World: Part 2

In the last post, we saw that the Harvest of the Wheat and Tares:

1. Was a singular event
2. Took place at the end of "this" world
3. Took place prior to the Kingdom of Christ on earth
4. Was comprised of the angels gathering the lost together, the angels gathering the saved to Christ, and then the angels gathering the lost into fire/destruction

I'd like to focus on #2, the Harvest of the Wheat and the Tares occurs at the "end of the world."

The Lord Jesus told his disciples that he would be with them "even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Comparing scripture with scripture, that means that he would be with them right up unto this Harvest where the saints are gathered to meet him in the air, and the lost are gathered to be destroyed.

The Gospel is to be preached right up until this Harvest, right up until the end. The Lord Jesus said, " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come.” The Gospel that Jesus preached - "this gospel" - is the same one that we preach, and will preach, right up until the "end of this world."

Look for a moment at Matthew 24:29-31:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days (v. 29)...then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

This is yet another description of the same Harvest, but these verses specifically focus on the gathering of the Wheat, i.e. the elect. Notice the timing, it is immediately after the tribulation. (More on this later.)

If the Wheat were raptured out SEVEN years before the Tares were gathered to be burned, could it be said that they grew together unto the end?

No, it could not.

Don't forget our earlier posts. They all complement each other. Jesus is with the believers right up until the "last day" which marks the "end of this world." On that day, the last trump will sound to signal the first resurrection. The unbelievers will have been gathered together at Armageddon in preparation for the final battle. The believers will then be gathered to meet the Lord in the air, and escort him the final stage of his journey. The Lord's enemies will be destroyed, being gathered until fire and destruction. Then the Millennial reign of Christ with his saints begins, and the Lord rewards his servants for their faithfulness.

The Wheat, the Tares, and the End of the World: Part 1

We have already examined the last day, the end, the first resurrection and the last trump. So far, everything points to the Rapture occurring AT the Revelation.

In this post, we will more closely examine the Harvest at the End of the World.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. But let them grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matthew 13:24-30)

This passage from Matthew 13 gives us several clues concerning the timing of the Rapture. Note that the Lord Jesus said that believers (the wheat) and nonbelievers (the tares) would grow together until the harvest. He did NOT say that they grow together until SEVEN years before the harvest, or any other such thing.

He explained the parable in verses 38-43:

1. The field is the world
2. The good seed are the children of the kingdom (the saved)
   
3. The tares are the children of the wicked one (the unbelievers)
4. The enemy that sowed them is the devil
5. The harvest is the end of the world
6. The reapers are the angels.

"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Now this is fairly straight forward stuff unless you've been taught to believe that the Rapture does not occur at the Revelation. All he is saying is that the saved and unsaved will continue together until he returns. At his return several things will happen, and they will happen in a very specific order:

1. Christ will send out his angels to first gather together the UNSAVED into ONE LOCATION - This is for the battle of Armageddon.
2. Then, before the battle starts, Christ will have his angels gather together the saints - This is the meeting in the air (1 Thess. 4)
3. Then, the tares will be gathered into the fire - The enemies of Christ who fight against him will be destroyed

All of this gathering of wheat and tares is known as the Harvest at the End of THIS World, and marks the completion of this age in preparation for the start of the Kingdom Age - "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."


A problem arises: The scholar who believes in a pre-tribulation Rapture reads into this passage that Christ will allow believers and non-believers to live together until the end of the Millennium, which they believe is the “end of this world.” They do this by making the ‘kingdom of heaven’ a reference to the thousand year reign of Christ.

But this passage says that AFTER the destruction of the tares, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." The destruction of the tare precedes the Millennium, and therefore so does this Harvest.

That is, this passage is teaching the premillennial destruction of the Lord’s enemies in preparation to establishing a global, righteous kingdom (cf. Dan. 12:1).

And besides, this cannot be a reference to life in the Millennium. The devil will not be sowing anything in the Millennium; he will be bound for a thousand years!

This passage clearly teaches that the "end of this world" takes place before the Millennium. (Please read that last sentence again!)



More to come next time!

Chart: The Last Day

We have already looked briefly at the Lord's use of the phrase "the end" or, as the Great Commission verse has it, "the end of the world." Jesus states that at 'the end' (at the consummation of this age) the gospel will cease to be preached, the saints will be gathered to him, and his enemies will be put down. (see Matthew 24)

I would like to also address the phrase "at the last day."

In John chapter 6, when discussing the bread of life that came down from heaven, Jesus states FOUR times that the the resurrection of the saints will be "at the last day."

John 6:39 "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

John 6:40 "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. "

John 6:44 "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."

John 6:54 "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

The Lord Jesus states this FOUR times! The resurrection of the saints is NOT seven years before the last day of this age, nor is it 3 1/2 years before the last day of this age, IT WILL BE AT THE LAST DAY!

Martha understood it. At the tomb of Lazarus, she said, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." (John 11:24)


We must not try to avoid the plain teaching of Scripture by making this 'day' refer to a 'period of time' or to an 'epoch.' Very simply put, it is the final day of this age. It is the consummation day, the last day, the end. After this day, the reign of Christ on earth will begin.

On this last day, we will see many of the great events of the future occur. It is the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

And it is one, single Day.

Enduring Unto the End

Matthew 10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

This is the first post of a new blog which will look at the end times. For this first post, I would like to address a very common misconception which has to do with enduring unto the end.

The question must be asked: enduring unto the end of what?

The majority of Christianity will say, 'Enduring unto the end of your life.' They teach that salvation is by works plus faith, and that anyone who denies Christ under persecution will lose their salvation. But, they say, anyone who endures persecution to the point of death without denying Christ will be saved.

But is that what the Bible says?

What is the end? The end is a very specific reference to a very specific day. Let's look at three verse from Matthew 24 which is a chapter that deals with prophecy and end time events (the context is NOT salvation):

The first verse is talking about the end of this age when Christ shall return. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. " (Matthew 24:6)

And verse 14 is also talking about the end of this age when Christ comes back. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. " (Matthew 24:14 )

And nestled right between those two verses is verse 13, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. "

Do you see how the phrase "the end" does NOT refer to a believer's death, but rather to the end of this age?

The same idea is reiterated in Mark 13 verses 7 and 13, and Luke 21:9.

Here is 1 Corinthians 15:23-24:

"But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. [That's us!] Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. "

Now of course, the Bible uses the phrase 'the end' in other ways (i.e. figuratively, metaphorically, etc), but very often it is used to refer to a specific date/time/event that marks the end of this age when Christ receives his own and puts down his enemies.

And, by the way, just as Matthew 24:14 talks about the gospel being preached to the entire world before 'the end' coming, so does the Great Commission verse of Matthew 28:20.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. "

SO, we see that 'the end' refers to a specific day/time/event that is at the consummation of this age. We see that the gospel of the kingdom is preached up until this day/time/event. And, we see that at 'the end' Christ will gather his saints and put down his enemies.

I have jumped ahead a little bit, but all this will be made much clearer as this blog progresses.

I hope you enjoy!!