The latter part of Chapter 14 reminds us of the harvest. When I read 14-20, I can’t help but think of Matthew 13. There are some similarities in the two. Look at Matthew 13:24-20.
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. Let both 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. Now, lets begin to dissect it.
It should be clear to us from verse 37, that the man who sowed good seed is God, and verse 39 tells us the enemy is the Devil. The problem in interpreting this chapter now comes in here. Many people read this scripture as a future event. What if it wasn’t? What if this has already happened? I believe that it has, and I can prove it with the Bible.
Who then is the good seed? The children of the Kingdom. That would be Israel. Not the New Testament Church. Notice something about them. The bible says, while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. We should clearly be able to see that Israel slept, and the enemy came in. Tares began to grow with the wheat. When the servants asked if they should pull out the tares, the householder, or God, said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. People would ask then, why can this not be the New Testament Church? The answer should be obvious. There are NO TARES AMONG THE WHEAT. In other words, the Church is a separated, holy, undefiled and unblemished Church. No where in the Church of the Living God will you find a tare. Jesus Christ gave his life to purify the Church. You may find tares in the local bodies, but not in the Kingdom of God! Ephesians 5:25-27 says, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. The Church is pure. So this was a picture of when Christ came and removed the things that offended the Church. To preach or teach Matthew 13 as a future harvest, would be saying that Christ did not purify his Church.
That should shine a different light on Chapter 14. Look at 14:16. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle ON the earth; and the earth was reaped. ON the earth. The seed that fell by the wayside, on stony places, and among the thorns. This were the things that never got rooted in the good and honest ground. The TARES! But it doesn’t end there. The next angel is told in verse 18 to, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. Gather in the clusters or the grapes. The fruit of the vine. What is the fruit? Isaiah 5:1-2, 7 says, Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. What is the vineyard and the grapes? For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel. Israel was the grapes. Israel was the harvest. When the harvest was reaped, you first had to offer the first fruits to God. If he accepted them, the rest of the harvest would be approved by God. Israel was the first fruit. Jeremiah 2:3 says, Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase. This angel was told to gather the first fruit or Israel. Remember they were WILD GRAPES. God would not except wild grapes. Thank God for verse 19 though. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the VINE of the earth. God would not except the wild grapes alone, but he did except them when presented with the VINE. In John 15:1 Jesus said, I am the true vine! 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. By themselves, Israel was unholy. But when you add the vine, the first fruit, they were presented to God Holy! Romans 11:6-For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. The vine was placed in the winepress and trodden without the city. Hebrews 13:12 says, Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. When it was crushed in the press, blood came out of the press. And by the way, there is only one vine that I know of that blood flows through, and that’s Jesus.
