Gather First The Tares

"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.” ’ ” 

(Matthew 13: 30 NKJV)

There is to be a harvest of both the wheat and the tares (weeds), said the Lord in the above parable, and he said in his explanation of the parable, that the harvest occurs "at the end of the age." (Vs. 40)

"Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 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, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (40-42 nkjv)

This harvest is intended to separate out the godly from the ungodly prior to the Millennium so that the wheat only remain to be gathered into barn (or the place where harvested wheat goes). But, who is gathered first? And, is this gathering of wheat and tares a gathering of the dead wheat and tares? Or, only a gathering of the living, either of living believers or living unbelievers? In other words, does this gathering or harvest imply a resurrection? Is the gathering and harvesting of the wheat connected with the resurrection of the bodies of dead believers and the rapture and the transformation of living believers? 

According to Revelation chapter twenty, the resurrection of the righteous takes place a thousand years before the resurrection of the unrighteous. But, if the gathering or harvest of the parable includes the physical resurrection of both wheat and tares, then it seems either that the resurrection of the unjust occurs at or even before that of the just, for the command is specific and direct to the reaping angels - "gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them." So, how do we explain this seeming conundrum? 

There are several reasons why the division of wheat from weeds in the field of this world and age does not comprehend a separation of the righteous and unrighteous who have died. 

First, the dead, saved or unsaved, as disembodied spirits, are already separated in death and have lost all interaction and commingling with each other when they die, with the saved going to heaven in the intermediate state and the unsaved going to Hades in the same interim state. So, it cannot be that the harvest of people "at the end of the age" is for that purpose. 

Second, the weeds and the wheat are viewed in the parable as growing on earth at the end of the age when Christ returns and sends forth the angels to reap. It is living wheat and tares that are separated and not dead wheat or weeds. So, the division of wheat and weeds is teaching the same thing as the division of sheep peoples from goat peoples as we saw from Matthew chapter twenty five. 

Third, the souls of the wicked dead (representing tares) are not bundled together in bundles by angels when they die. 

Fourth, it is not true that all of the unsaved are gathered together in death before righteous people are gathered in death, for each day throughout the age this separation goes on with some from each group dying, and yet the text says all are harvested "at the end of the age," that is, all at the same time.

It is clear then that the harvest is a harvest of living peoples at the end of the age and that the gathering of the tares will be first, preceding the gathering of the wheat. These two facts are not easy for many to understand or reconcile with their ideas about the end time. 

Many believe that the resurrection of the righteous dead and the instant transformation of living saints via their rapture into the sky to meet the Lord occurs 1) before the great tribulation and day of destruction (generally believed to be seven years and described in the book of Revelation), and 2) before the harvest of the tares in that seven years and destroyed at its end. But, when Jesus says that the angels will "first gather" the tares and bind them in bundles he overthrows that order of things. Thus, the words "gather first the tares" is the death knell for the view that the rapture of believers occurs before the day of trial and great tribulation. Their view would have Christ rather saying "gather first the wheat." 

Wrote Dr. John Walvoord (See here):

"In a word, Matthew 13 does not discuss the doctrine of the rapture at all, and there is absolutely nothing in this passage which would contradict the pretribulational view." (POSTTRIBULATIONISM TODAY; 7. Do the Gospels Reveal a Posttribulational Rapture?)

This is one of the errors of Walvoord and other Dispensationalists. They handle the problem which the words "gather first the tares" gives for their view (that the wheat will be gathered first before the tribulation, judgment, and destruction of the tares) by saying that the parable of the wheat and tares says nothing about the rapture, as does Walvoord above. But, that is simply not the case. The rapture of living believers to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven is a harvest of them. This is, however, what Walvoord and other such Dispensationalists must deny or else give up their idea that the harvest or rapture precedes the rooting up of the wicked. 

But, there are still some incongruities to deal with. For instance, it seems that the harvesting and gathering of the wheat actually does involve both living and dead saints; But, on the other hand, the gathering of the tares in bundles for burning, occurring prior to that, does not involve the wicked dead, but only of the wicked who are yet living on earth. 

Further, it seems that the harvest is all one in the parable, occurring at once, although two different plants are cut down and reaped. These are not two separate harvests, but one harvest from one field, but having two manners of plants to be separated. It is also clear that the harvesting of the tares cannot involve the resurrection of the wicked dead, for that cannot occur before the resurrection of the saints. The wheat harvest does involve reaping the bodies out of the graves and joining them with their heavenly spirits. But, the weed harvest only involves living people at the time of the end, and no resurrection of the bodies of the wicked dead.

In summation, I think the harvest of wheat and tares concerns only the division of peoples who are alive at the end of the age. It does not even focus upon the resurrection of the dead. The fact that the resurrection of the bodies of the righteous dead are raised at the same time as the gathering or harvesting of saints in the rapture at the return of Christ does not disprove the fact that the separation of saved from unsaved is in regard to those who are alive on earth. 

So, what is involved in this harvesting, gathering, and bundling of the tares? We know it is not the time of the resurrection of the wicked dead, for that occurs after the Millennium and after the harvesting of the wheat. It is, and must be therefore, as we have seen, a harvesting of the wicked who are yet living on earth at the time of the Lord's coming. 

Some Reasons For Hesitancy

Though I believe that the rapture of living saints at the return of Christ occurs towards the end of the Apocalyptic judgments of the day of the Lord, or after "the great tribulation," and have argued that one of the reasons for that view is the affirmation of the words "gather first the tares," yet this argument is not by itself undeniable proof. It could be wrong to connect the word "first" with the gathering of tares alone. It could be that the orders given to the angels by their Commander has a list of many things for those angels to do and yet Christ says "of all the things I have ordered you to do, first harvest both the wheat and tares before you do the other things." In such a case the word "first" does not mean "first" in regard to the wheat, but in regard to the other unspecified things the angels will be charged with doing when Christ comes. 

Also, as we will see, the parable of the fish net seems to show that there is no single order to this harvesting of wheat and tares, and so this argument that the unsaved will be harvested before the saved is not the only possibility. I cannot therefore be too dogmatic on this argument for a post tribulation reaping of saints. 

It is a single harvest but a division in the way each is gathered or collected, or we would say it is a single harvest with two reapings. Further, just as there is both similarity and difference between the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the unjust, so too there is similarity and difference between the end time separation of the living when comes the day of the Lord, of separating the saved from the unsaved. In exploring that further, we will see what is involved in the harvest and gathering together of living saints at the return of Christ.

Paul, in beginning a series of revelations concerning end times in his Thessalonian epistles (which deal greatly with the doctrine of the second coming or eschatology), said this in his first epistle: 

"we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him..." (II Thess. 2: 1)

That "gathering together" is what occurs in I Thessalonians chapter four, as we have previously called attention to, where the apostle says that Christ will "descend from heaven with a shout of command and with the voice of the archangel and trump of God" at which time "the dead in Christ will rise first," and when the living saints will be "caught up" (or raptured) into the air along with the resurrected bodies of all dead saints, and when they themselves experience the same change in their physical bodies as did the resurrected bodies of saints. This is that "gathering together unto" Christ that he speaks about in the above text in his second epistle. The Greek word for "gathering together" is episynagōgē and is used twice in Hebrews 10: 25 in the words "the assembling of ourselves together." This is the bundling or gathering together (sheaves) of the harvest of the wheat. 

There is no doubt that we can speak of the resurrection of the dead bodies of saints as a kind of harvest. There is also no doubt that when a righteous person dies, his soul and spirit may be said to have been reaped when he is gathered in spirit into paradise. It is important to understand that the harvest of the wheat and tares is a prophecy of the reaping of those who are alive on earth at the time of the second coming and not of the dead. Therefore, those who espouse a pre-tribulation rapture will respond to the argument that the text says "gather first the tares" by saying the parable does not deal with the rapture at all. But, that is obviously a denial of the plain text. It speaks of the harvesting, reaping, and gathering of the wheat. We have seen that the rapture is such. 

Gather Out Of His Kingdom

"...and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire." (Matt. 13: 41)

Notice how the words above do not say "and they will gather out the wheat from among the inhabitants of the earth," which it ought to say if there is a rapture or snatching away of living end time believers prior to the time of great tribulation and the final gathering and destruction of the wicked (tares). The Greek word for "out" is "ek" and literally means "out from among." Those who practice lawlessness and offend will be gathered or taken out so that only the unoffensive and law abiding may remain. The gathering out of his kingdom such wicked people is identical with gathering out the tares from among the wheat so that only wheat is left. 

Years ago when I debated the question of "once saved always saved" or the doctrine of eternal security or perseverance of the chosen and called, the Arminian who denied it used the above verse to prove that people can lose salvation. He affirmed that "gathering out of his kingdom" meant gathering out from among the people of God those who had apostatized. They were in the kingdom (saved) and then, because of backsliding, were gathered out (lost salvation or membership in the kingdom of saints). But, that is not what the text is teaching. 

First, it is talking about what occurs at the end of the age, and not what is occurring daily throughout the two thousand years of the church age. Second, by "his kingdom" is meant "his wheat" or "children of the kingdom." That being so, the "gathering out from among his kingdom all the lawless" means the same thing as "gathering out from among his wheat all the tares." In this reading the kingdom of God is intertwined with the kingdom of Satan (his seed or children) as are the tares and the wheat. Third, none of the tares ever became wheat and none of the wheat ever became tares. 

Further, Jesus identified the wheat or "good seed" as "children of the kingdom" but the tares are "children of the wicked one." So, we may read the above verse in this manner - "gather out the children of the kingdom from among the children of the wicked one." Thus, there is no statement about a child in the kingdom becoming lost or turning into a tare. 

Another error on this parable is rather common among bible commentators. It is sometimes said that wheat and tares are to grow together within the church. But, that is a gross misinterpretation and has negative consequences for other clear bible teachings. If it were true, then it would be wrong for a church to ever exclude or excommunicate someone who proved to be a tare or of the kingdom of the lawless or children of the wicked one. Further, it is against the plain interpretation that the Savior gave to the parable wherein he says "the field is the world." He did not say "the field is the church." 

The main idea in the parable is prophetic, dealing with what occurs at the end of the age (although with the idea of how the king's children should interact with the children of the wicked one during the age is also of importance). That one fact overthrows several wrong interpretations on the parable. Yes, the growing of the wheat and weeds occurs linearly during the entire age, but not the reaping or harvesting. That occurs at the end of the age. Another leading idea in the parable is the idea of complete separation of righteous people from unrighteous people; And, though there is some separation that occurs in life on earth, between just and unjust, saved and lost, yet there is no complete separation. Wrote the apostle:

"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person." (I Cor. 5: 9-11 nkjv)

Believers should not "keep company with" certain people, should avoid the company and gatherings of certain people whose behavior is as the apostle described. But, Paul realized that it was not always possible or practical to have no dealings at all with such people, saying it was not realistic, "for then you must go out of the world." But, the idea is this; as much as possible avoid certain gatherings and practices of the lawless. So, Paul recognizes that wheat and tares will stay intertwined in each other's lives, and not fully separated, until the "end of the age." In the same epistle Paul also says: 

"Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” (II Cor. 6: 17 nkjv)

So, believers seek separation in some ways from unbelievers. But, they also want to teach unbelievers the gospel and to witness to them, and to warn them of the consequences of their immoralities in view of the coming day of judgment. But, there is coming a day when there will be a complete separation of saved from unsaved, of righteous from unrighteous. Also, keep in mind, as we have already stated, this separation at the end of the age is a separation of those who are alive at the end of the age, i.e. those who compose that generation that shall be last before the end. It is not a separation of the dead, for they are already separated in their disembodied spirits in the intermediate state, with the righteous in paradise and the lost in Hades. 

This final separation is affirmed by Christ in the prophecy of the judgment of sheep and goat peoples and by the parable of the wheat and weeds. It is also what John the Baptist said of Christ.

"...he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matt. 3: 11-2)

This "purging" involves the separation we have been focusing upon and which takes place at the end of the age. It is separating wheat from chaff (tares or weeds). In the case above, the separation occurs by a farming tool call the "fan," a winnowing fan that made use of the wind to do the separating of wheat from chaff, the wheat being heavier than the tares. However, in the parable of the wheat and tares, it is the angels who do the separating, and there is some order to the process, such as gathering the weeds first, and then bundling them, and then burning them. So too with the gathering of the wheat. In the prophecy of the sheep and goat peoples it is Christ's presence and word to each that separates the two kinds of people. It is also said that he "sets" the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

Companion Parable

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 13: 47-50 kjv)

This parable teaches the same thing as the prophecy of the sheep and goat nations and of the harvest of wheat and tares. It deals with that final separation that will occur among those who are alive when Christ comes at the end of the age and at the start of the Millennial age. 

There is a difference however between this parable and the parable of the wheat and tares. In the latter we saw how the tares were gathered first, and how it was the children of the wicked one who were gathered out from among the children of the kingdom but in the above the order is reversed it seems, for it says that "the good" are first gathered "into vessels" before the bad fish are "cast away." In that parable it does not even indicate that the bad fish were "gathered" at all. It was the good fish that were gathered out of the waters and then out of the net (wherein all fish were harvested at the same time) so that the net only had bad fish remaining to be cast away. 

The solution to this seeming conflict is to say that all three texts focus on how the righteous and the wicked will be forever separated from each other when Christ comes and this separation concerns those who are alive at the end of the age when Christ fully comes. Also, we cannot just cast aside the words "gather first the tares" as if they had no significance. We could say that at the very same time A was separated from B that B was separated from A.

There are problems either way as respects the order of the harvest of wheat and tares. If we say the wheat are gathered first, there are some problems. If we say the tares are gathered first, there are some problems. To go into this matter further would go beyond the scope of this series on the afterlife or hereafter. I do believe that in the rapture and translation of living believers at the time of the resurrection of the righteous dead that the resurrected and raptured believers do not leave this earth and its heavens, for the saints meet Christ in the clouds, in the lower air, as the bible shows. At the time of the rapture will come the final destruction of the wicked, and nearly every human being, and it is the wicked who are taken away or cast away so that they are no longer on earth. This is in keeping with the words of Solomon: 

"For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it." (Prov. 2: 21-22 nkjv) 

In the next article in this two chapter (posting) series, we will discuss what is involved in the end time "gathering" and "bundling" of the tares.