Eschatology Kingdom Parables
The kingdom parable of the tares and wheat follows the parable of the sower. As in the former, we have both the parable and its application and meaning. The text is found in Matthew 13: 24-51. In the parable of the sower, the kingdom was likened to the sowing of seed. In this parable it is likened to the “growing” of the seed and the weed, no pun intended.
There are a few facts that should readily be apparent. Seed grows incrementally over time. It is important not to miss that part of the parable. Secondly, while seed is growing, it is usually hidden inside the shucks as with corn or wheat. During this time, it is obvious that it is growing, but it is not hidden from view.
Thirdly, the focus of this parable is the harvest. Seed is sown for a purpose, i.e. to produce a crop which may be harvested for use.
Fourthly, as the farmer does not plant weeds, they grow from a foreign source. Also, to the untrained, especially early on, some weeds are difficult to distinguish from the crop. When I was a young boy, I could not tell the difference between a corn plant and Johnson grass. It all looked the same until I became more familiar with it.
Basic Facts of the Parable.
The kingdom is like a man who sowed good seed into his field. During the course of time, as men slept, the farmer’s enemy sowed tares among the wheat and departed. As the grain grew and produced a crop the tares also appeared. The servants wanted to know whether they should gather up the tares to prevent damage to the crop. The owner, a wise farmer refused to allow them to do it, lest they destroy the good crop as well.
The Solution to the Problem of the Tares
Let both grow together until the time of the harvest. In other words, there would be no premature harvest of the tares or of the wheat until the harvest. Then at the time of the harvest, the tares would first be gathered and burned. The wheat would be placed into the barn.
Explain to Us the Parable of the Tares of the Field
In the explanation, the Lord says the field is the world. The disciples would more than likely have understood this to mean the Jewish world. The good seeds were sons of the kingdom. The tares were the children of Satan.
The harvest is the end of the age. Once again, the disciples understood this as meaning the end of the Jewish age. They asked the question about that very end in Matthew 24:3. Apparently, the interest in this parable lingered on in their minds.
At the end of that age, the tares would be gathered and burned in the fire (a symbol of the destruction of national Israel). See Matt. 3:10-12. The Son of Man would gather out of His kingdom all those who offend and practice lawlessness.
Rapture Teaching Out of Sync
Observe there is no time or place for a rapture. Besides, as said in the past, the wicked are taken and the righteous are left at the end of the age. That is 180 degrees opposite of a premillennial dispensational rapturist view. They offer that the righteous are raptured out of the world leaving the wicked behind beginning seven years before a millennium of a literal one thousand years begins. But, the righteous return from heaven with Christ after seven years to preach to the wicked during the millennium in hope of saving them.
So they get raptured up, and raptured back down so they can rap to the wicked about the gospel. That totally contradicts what Christ said about the parable. To repeat, the wicked would be gathered first, bound and burned. Thus, there is no second chance for them according to the parable.
The Righteous Shine in the Kingdom
At the time of the harvest, the righteous shine in the kingdom. Daniel 12:2, is fulfilled in this saying. There, in connection with resurrection the righteous are raised and shine as the firmament. They reflect Christ’s glory in His second coming. This text is also equivalent to the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15. See where inheriting the kingdom and coming forth as the spiritual body of glory versus the natural body.
It is more proof that the resurrection and the kingdom arrived at the fall of the Jewish nation in A.D. 70. This is why the disciples were so curious. They were no less curious than many are today who believe this world will come to an end. They want to know when. Many keep guessing and getting it wrong. The reasons they do are found in this very parable. It was not about our world, but theirs which came to an end.
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- Parables of the Kingdom (allthingsfulfilled.com)
