In Matthew 13, the last kingdom parable deals with separating those accountable to the judgment seat of Christ. In a process similar to separating the wheat from the tares, the reapers (angels) draw the net to shore and “gather the good into vessels, but cast the bad away” (Matt. 13:47-49).
The net is full
Jesus states the net is drawn to shore “when it was full.” He uses the Greek word pleroma which signifies that “the contents are complete.” Does this imply that there is a specific number of people who will be saved for ruling the kingdom? Several passages might lead one to that conclusion — 144,000 is given as the number of the redeemed in Revelation 7:4 and 14:1; 153 is the number of fish filling the net in John 21:11; if “the very hairs of your head are numbered,” we might think that surely the Lord knows how many will be saved.
Counteracting any such conclusion, however, is the statement of Revelation 7:9 that the redeemed are “a great multitude, which no man could number.” Also arguing against being concerned about a specific number are the promises which compare the seed of Abraham to the stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore. In truth, God does know what is to happen but, upon examination, we find far more stress placed upon the time when the judgment takes place rather than on the number to be saved.
Alluding to Joel 3:12-14, the apostle John states a time is coming when the earth will be ready for divine intervention: “Thrust in thy sickle and reap… for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (Rev. 14:15-19). In the Olivet prophecy, Jesus says, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times (GK. kairos, ‘set or proper time’) of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24). And Paul writes, “…blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in” (Rom. 11:25).
The time of His Son’s appearing is linked directly by God with certain world events at the close of this age and with the relationship of the nations with the Jews. At precisely the right moment, the Lord Jesus will make his appearance with his immortalized followers to deliver Israel and start establishing the kingdom of God over all the earth.
Severing the wicked
In the parable of the tares, the rejected are inexorably linked with the accepted. The linkage is such that nothing can be done by the reapers to skillfully separate them until the last day. In the parable of the net, all of the fish are in one net until the last day, only then is distinction made plain between the two.
Certain conclusions are evident. The good and the bad will be judged at the same time when wheat shall be separated from tares and good fish from bad. Until then, both are found together in the field or in the net.
Emphasis is placed on our individual eternal outcome and not on that of those who are in the same field or the same net. Does this mean that “fellowship” decisions are unimportant? Not really! Other passages in the New Testament indicate that those teaching false doctrine or wantonly living in sin are to be excluded from the ecclesia (Rev. 2:14, 20). But the parables do underscore a point of emphasis. We are to concentrate on making our own calling and election sure.
Wailing and gnashing of teeth
For the rejected, there shall be “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:50). When looking at comparable passages, it is interesting to note that “wailing” and “weeping” are from the same Greek root word (Strong’s Concordance).
The phrase, “wailing (weeping) and gnashing of teeth” is found four other places in Matthew. In Matthew 8:12, it is used in connection with the healing of the centurion’s servant. On that occasion, Jesus stated that “…the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The gentile had shown more faith than the Jews who regarded themselves as God’s kingdom.
The phrase is found again in Matthew 22:13 where it is used in connection with the parable of the wedding garment. The individual cast from the dinner is not wearing the proper apparel. The king’s servants bind him, “casting him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called but few are chosen.” Among those who come from the highways and byways (the gentiles) is found someone who has not prepared himself.
In Matthew’s record of the Olivet prophecy, Jesus speaks of someone “who shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken…the lord of that servant shall come…and cut him asunder…and appoint him …[where] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Because someone has declared himself a servant of God does not prevent him from pursuing this same course and receiving the same fate as those who have openly defied God.
In another parable, Jesus speaks of the division of talents among his servants. At the judgment, when the servants come forward to give their reckoning, Jesus finds that one has been unfaithful in his use of the talents he was given. As an “unprofitable servant,” he is “cast…into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
In each of these occurrences, the rejected are consigned to a place where they feel the ultimate horror of their situation. They have lost the opportunity for the kingdom of God.
The furnace of fire
In three of the above passages, those rejected are cast into “outer darkness.” (Gk. exotos skotos) conveying the idea of “shade or shadows, for the outside exterior.” Those rejected will be an nothing, having no substance, being outside the kingdom and companionship of our Lord. Ultimately, they will cease to be.
In Matthew 13, however, the angels cast the wicked into the furnace of fire perhaps the same fiery judgment that awaits “the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The “enemy and his tares” (Matt. 13) are very much like the “devil and his angels.” The leaders and followers of the apostasy, no matter how respectable and immovable they may appear, shall be firmly and finally deal with. The fire of God’s wrath will ultimately consume those who rebel against the words of Jesus Christ. They will all be as kindling as “the Lord shall consume them with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy [them] with the brightness of his coming.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One