Two Points for Understanding End Times Prophecy
I see this often on social media: “God is separating the wheat from the tares!” Some talk about false believers within a church. Others go political: “The left are showing themselves to be tares.” And I’ve seen many other interesting parallels.
But what is Jesus’ context?
I invite you to pause and pray the Holy Spirit would cause His Word to be understood.
The Parable
Now let’s read it:
Matthew 13:24-30 (NKJV)
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Explanation
We’re particularly blessed because Jesus explained this parable to the disciples and also ordained for it to be included for us in the Scripture.
Matthew 13:36-43 (NKJV)
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
So, He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. Makes sense.
The field is the world. So, the scope is worldwide—not just the Church. It includes the people who know they’re followers of Christ, the people who know they aren’t, and everyone in between. (Truly, at any given moment, we’re either one or the other, and Jesus knows.)
The good seeds are sons of the kingdom—followers of Christ. The tares are the sons of the wicked one—they follow the god of the world to their destruction.
The harvest is the end of the age.
What’s the meat of this parable? I see two points.
Let Both Grow Together Until the Harvest
“Let both grow together until the harvest” (Mt 13:30). In verse 39, Jesus tells us the harvest is the end of the age. So, believers and unbelievers are to grow together on the earth until the end of the age. This by itself contradicts the idea that Christians would be gathered before the end of the Tribulation.
Some people will say we’re in the “Church Age” or the “Age of Grace” now, and the Tribulation is afterwards. These terms come from a theological framework called Dispensationalism, which took root in the 1800s and quickly spread.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Jesus gave us the work of making disciples of all nations, and promised to be with us, even to the end of the age. Our word translated “nations” is the Greek word “ethnos”, which is where we get our word “ethnic”. It means a people group with its own language and culture. There are many such groups today who have been identified, but they have not yet been reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If your heart is burdened for the unreached people groups, there are some ministries who focus on reaching them, such as The Jesus Film Project and Advancing Native Missions.
Why would the end of the age precede the fulfillment of disciples of all nations?
Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3). He framed His answer accordingly: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Mt 24:6). After describing severe persecution and widespread apostasy (to abandon obedience and/or renounce faith in Christ), He says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14).
Dispensationalism teaches a gathering of believers before the tribulation described in Matthew 24:4-29, which would be before the end as He defines it.
If a winemaker wants to decide whether its time to harvest, the first thing she will test is the sugar content (called Brix) of the grapes. Yeast eats sugar, and the byproduct is alcohol. Underripe grapes will produce a weak wine. She wants to maximize Brix, while balancing other factors such as acidity, and the weather forecast, etc. Look at the Scriptural equivalent to Brix:
Joel 3:13 (NKJV)
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
Revelation 14:14-20 speak about harvesting the earth in the same vein—when wickedness is prevalent and has climaxed.
Again, to summarize, “Let both grow until the harvest [end of the age]” means believers will not be gathered before the end of the Tribulation.
First Gather Together the Tares
Matthew 13:30b (NKJV)
…and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
“First gather together the tares” teaches us the sons of the evil one will be gathered first, before the sons of the kingdom. In other words, there will be a post-wrath gathering of the believers.
You may be saying, “Does it really mean that?” Remember what He says in His explanation of the parable:
Matthew 13:40-43 (NKJV)
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Proverbs 2 speaks of the same:
Proverbs 2:21-22 (NKJV)
For the upright will dwell in the land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
After God separates the tares from the wheat, the righteous will have rest in the presence of the Lord.
Closing Challenge
Whether you die today or remain alive until the coming of the Lord, what kind of harvest are you sowing? “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Ro 8:13-14).
We can only live by the Spirit of God if we have been born again. Jesus said many people will say, “Lord, Lord!” and He will tell them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Mt 7:21-23). Mere intellectual assent to the facts of the gospel won’t save us (Ja 2:19). 1 John is a great book for self-evaluation. If we have truly been born again, let us abide in Him and not turn aside to destruction.
How can a person be born again? Living according to the flesh comes natural for us, yet it separates us from our Creator (Is 59). It wasn’t always this way. Our first father and mother, Adam and Eve, had a perfect relationship with God originally. They rebelled against Him when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which God commanded them not to eat. Immediately the closeness they enjoyed with God was shattered. Shame and separation took its place. When they heard His voice, they hid. Yet God pursued them, making the first move towards reconciliation. The LORD promised a Savior, the Seed of the woman, to destroy the work of the serpent, who had deceived Eve. He said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Ge 3:15). In making them clothes of skin (Ge 3:21), the LORD also offered the first blood sacrifice on their behalf, demonstrating from the beginning that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Le 17:11, He 9:22). As Adam’s offspring, every one of us rebel against our Creator as he did (Ro 5:12, 1 Cor 15:21-22), and we earn eternal death. The Creator Himself took on flesh (Jn 1:1-3, 14; Lk 1:35) in the body of Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Being made like us in humanity, but without sin, He alone was able to be an acceptable blood sacrifice for Adam’s race. Jesus willingly died for us, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day, proving His power over the grave. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Being born again is not a matter of simple intellectual assent to the facts of Christ’s life, death, burial, resurrection, and our sinfulness as a human, but an earnest desire to leave our way of rebellion and follow Jesus as our Lord. Repentance is a lifelong practice for all those who are adopted through faith as sons of God. Peter preached (Ac 2:38): “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Christ sends the Holy Spirit to dwell inside every child of God, and He’s the one who gives us the power to walk in obedience to Christ. Paul preached everywhere, “that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Ac 26:20).
As the LORD pursued Adam, He is also pursuing each one of us. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Re 3:19-20).
I see this often on social media: “God is separating the wheat from the tares!” Some talk about false believers within a church. Others go political: “The left are showing themselves to be tares.” And I’ve seen many other interesting parallels.
But what is Jesus’ context?
I invite you to pause and pray the Holy Spirit would cause His Word to be understood.
The Parable
Now let’s read it:
Matthew 13:24-30 (NKJV)
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Explanation
We’re particularly blessed because Jesus explained this parable to the disciples and also ordained for it to be included for us in the Scripture.
Matthew 13:36-43 (NKJV)
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
So, He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. Makes sense.
The field is the world. So, the scope is worldwide—not just the Church. It includes the people who know they’re followers of Christ, the people who know they aren’t, and everyone in between. (Truly, at any given moment, we’re either one or the other, and Jesus knows.)
The good seeds are sons of the kingdom—followers of Christ. The tares are the sons of the wicked one—they follow the god of the world to their destruction.
The harvest is the end of the age.
What’s the meat of this parable? I see two points.
Let Both Grow Together Until the Harvest
“Let both grow together until the harvest” (Mt 13:30). In verse 39, Jesus tells us the harvest is the end of the age. So, believers and unbelievers are to grow together on the earth until the end of the age. This by itself contradicts the idea that Christians would be gathered before the end of the Tribulation.
Some people will say we’re in the “Church Age” or the “Age of Grace” now, and the Tribulation is afterwards. These terms come from a theological framework called Dispensationalism, which took root in the 1800s and quickly spread.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Jesus gave us the work of making disciples of all nations, and promised to be with us, even to the end of the age. Our word translated “nations” is the Greek word “ethnos”, which is where we get our word “ethnic”. It means a people group with its own language and culture. There are many such groups today who have been identified, but they have not yet been reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If your heart is burdened for the unreached people groups, there are some ministries who focus on reaching them, such as The Jesus Film Project and Advancing Native Missions.
Why would the end of the age precede the fulfillment of disciples of all nations?
Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3). He framed His answer accordingly: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Mt 24:6). After describing severe persecution and widespread apostasy (to abandon obedience and/or renounce faith in Christ), He says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Mt 24:14).
Dispensationalism teaches a gathering of believers before the tribulation described in Matthew 24:4-29, which would be before the end as He defines it.
If a winemaker wants to decide whether its time to harvest, the first thing she will test is the sugar content (called Brix) of the grapes. Yeast eats sugar, and the byproduct is alcohol. Underripe grapes will produce a weak wine. She wants to maximize Brix, while balancing other factors such as acidity, and the weather forecast, etc. Look at the Scriptural equivalent to Brix:
Joel 3:13 (NKJV)
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
Revelation 14:14-20 speak about harvesting the earth in the same vein—when wickedness is prevalent and has climaxed.
Again, to summarize, “Let both grow until the harvest [end of the age]” means believers will not be gathered before the end of the Tribulation.
First Gather Together the Tares
Matthew 13:30b (NKJV)
…and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
“First gather together the tares” teaches us the sons of the evil one will be gathered first, before the sons of the kingdom. In other words, there will be a post-wrath gathering of the believers.
You may be saying, “Does it really mean that?” Remember what He says in His explanation of the parable:
Matthew 13:40-43 (NKJV)
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Proverbs 2 speaks of the same:
Proverbs 2:21-22 (NKJV)
For the upright will dwell in the land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
After God separates the tares from the wheat, the righteous will have rest in the presence of the Lord.
Closing Challenge
Whether you die today or remain alive until the coming of the Lord, what kind of harvest are you sowing? “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Ro 8:13-14).
We can only live by the Spirit of God if we have been born again. Jesus said many people will say, “Lord, Lord!” and He will tell them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Mt 7:21-23). Mere intellectual assent to the facts of the gospel won’t save us (Ja 2:19). 1 John is a great book for self-evaluation. If we have truly been born again, let us abide in Him and not turn aside to destruction.
How can a person be born again? Living according to the flesh comes natural for us, yet it separates us from our Creator (Is 59). It wasn’t always this way. Our first father and mother, Adam and Eve, had a perfect relationship with God originally. They rebelled against Him when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which God commanded them not to eat. Immediately the closeness they enjoyed with God was shattered. Shame and separation took its place. When they heard His voice, they hid. Yet God pursued them, making the first move towards reconciliation. The LORD promised a Savior, the Seed of the woman, to destroy the work of the serpent, who had deceived Eve. He said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Ge 3:15). In making them clothes of skin (Ge 3:21), the LORD also offered the first blood sacrifice on their behalf, demonstrating from the beginning that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Le 17:11, He 9:22). As Adam’s offspring, every one of us rebel against our Creator as he did (Ro 5:12, 1 Cor 15:21-22), and we earn eternal death. The Creator Himself took on flesh (Jn 1:1-3, 14; Lk 1:35) in the body of Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Being made like us in humanity, but without sin, He alone was able to be an acceptable blood sacrifice for Adam’s race. Jesus willingly died for us, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day, proving His power over the grave. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Being born again is not a matter of simple intellectual assent to the facts of Christ’s life, death, burial, resurrection, and our sinfulness as a human, but an earnest desire to leave our way of rebellion and follow Jesus as our Lord. Repentance is a lifelong practice for all those who are adopted through faith as sons of God. Peter preached (Ac 2:38): “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Christ sends the Holy Spirit to dwell inside every child of God, and He’s the one who gives us the power to walk in obedience to Christ. Paul preached everywhere, “that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Ac 26:20).
As the LORD pursued Adam, He is also pursuing each one of us. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Re 3:19-20).
