Page 46 - Gods Plan of the Ages

compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his
enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat
sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner
came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have
tares?' And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, ‘Do you
want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up
the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the
harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares
and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn...'" Then
He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." And He said, "The one who sows the
good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are
the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who
sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the
age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom
all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the
furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the
righteous will shine forth as the Sun the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him
hear."

In the book of Revelation, John also is shown images of angels reaping the earth,
symbolizing the gathering to God of mankind.

Revelation 14:14-16
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of
man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another
angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud,
"Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the
earth is ripe." Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth
was reaped.

What is there on the earth that God desires to reap? Yahweh is not raising barley, or
wheat, or grapes. He is raising up sons who will share His image and likeness. Christ
compared men to wheat in the parable above. In another place, Christ compared men to fish
that are drawn up in a net out of the sea. Yahweh harvests both that which is on the land
and in the sea. (One sense in which this is to be understood is that God will save both the
living - those on the land; and the dead - those in the sea. Compare to Revelation 20:13)
These illustrations are employed by Christ as symbols of both salvation and resurrection.
There is a very significant event in the Old Testament that combines the image of
passing through water, and the imagery of harvest, into the same account. The event also
marks an extremely important moment in the history of God's chosen people. We can
accurately infer that it was intended as a parallel to equally important events in the
kingdom of God.
After Israel spent forty years in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses, Yahweh
raised up a new leader. Moses died and was buried without ever having set foot in the land
of promise. Joshua was Yahweh's chosen leader to guide the people of Israel across the
Jordan and into the land of their inheritance. The choice of Joshua was one of great design.
This man bore the same name as the Messiah who would one day come and lead God's