"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 in
the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Insights: The conclusion of the parable on judgment is
completed with today’s verses and last explanations. For those who are weeds, children of Satan,
they will be harvested and cast into the furnace of fire where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. People think
they're going to be in hell and everything is going to be fine. They're going
to be with their friends and they'll love it down there and this verse tells us
that not only is hell a fire, but it tells us what the reaction is going to be –
grinding teeth and piercing shrieks. In
other words, hell is going to be painful, eternal, inevitable, and inescapable
judgment. It is not going to be a party
at all and the love of God, along with His mercy and grace, will be removed
from those who will reside there for all eternity. There is, however, a different ending for the
wheat of this parable. Those who are
children of the kingdom, those born again, those who are redeemed by the blood
of Jesus Christ, will be harvested to shine forth with His righteousness as
brilliant as the sun. The last part of
verse forty-three gives us the application point of this parable. It simply means you had better listen up and ask
yourself the question, “Am I wheat?” Are
you a child of the kingdom, or are you a child of the enemy? If you're a child
of the enemy, then listen. This mysterious church age is a time of patience,
this is a time of grace, but judgment is inevitable, eternal, and painful. You better check yourself and you had better
listen to the warning of the parable. You
may be saying, “But I'm not a weed, I'm wheat.”
Then you had also better listen to this parable. You're to coexist in
this world and you're to influence the world for good, and not be influenced by
it. You are not to be the judge, but you
are to personally share the gospel with the lost.
Questions:
- Will you be one who is burned up at the harvest?
- Will you shine like the sun with His righteousness?
Prayer: Father, give me
an ear to hear what Your Spirit has to say to me. Let my life truly shine forth like the sun
and may many weeds be turned into wheat as a result of Your work in me. Amen.
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