The parable of the tares and wheat, found in Matthew 13:24-30 with an explanation by the Saviour himself in 13:36-43, is understood by certain teachers to indicate that the Church will pass throught the Tribulation and be raptured at the Second Coming of Christ.

The gist of the parable is as follows: a man sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemies sowed tares in it. The tares sprang up and grew among the wheat. The servants of the man discovered the presence of the tares with the wheat. They asked him if they should then pull up he tares. His reply was no, let them grow together until the harvest, assuring them that he would instruct the reapers to bind the tares in bundles to be burned and to gather the wheat into his barn.

In the explanation which Jesus gave, the one sowing the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy sowing the tares is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world—or the consummation of the Age. The reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man will send forth angels who will gather out of the kingdom all things that cause stumbling and them that do iniquity. Then the tares shall be cast into the furnace of fire. At that time the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father.

In this explanation the tares (the wicked) are gathered out first. Then the wheat (the righteous ones) is stored in the barn. From these statements we see that the wicked are destroyed first—during the Tribulation. Then the good ones (the wheat) are gathered together at the end of the Tribulation, that is at the Second Coming of Christ. The position that the church is raptured before the Tribulation assert those holding the post-Tribulation rapture theory, goes contrary to the plain instructions that Jesus gave in this parable and His explanation of the same.

We shall probably arrive at an accurate conclusion by looking at the last of the seven parables in the series, recorded in Matthew, chapter 13. In verses 47-50 we have the illustration of the dragnet. The gist of this parable is as follows: the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea, and that gathered of every kind. Finally, it was drawn upon the beach. The fishermen sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. In like manner, said Jesus, "shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: There shall be weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (vv. 47-50). In this parable Jesus spoke first of the gathering of the good and then the casting away of the bad. If we are to emphasize the order of events mentioned in this parable, the good are gathered out first; then the bad are cast away. But this order is contrary to that which is presented in the parable of the tares and wheat. It is preposterous to think that Jesus would teach a given order in the parable of the tares and exactly the opposite in that of the dragnet. If we take each parable separately and emphasize the order as given, we shall have Jesus contradicting Himself. In the parable of the tares and the wheat the tares are gathered up first; then the wheat is garnered. If the gathering of he wheat refers to the rapture of the saints, then undoubtedly that rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation. On the other hand, if in the parable of the dragnet, we interpret the fisherman's gathering the good fish out of the net first and then casting the bad aside, and if the gathering of the good is the rapture of he saints, then we have the catching away of the saints occurring first—before the Tribulation. But we cannot think for a moment that Jesus would teach such contradictory views. What therefore does he mean? In the parable of the tares and the wheat, the tares are gathered and bound for burning during the period of the harvest—the Tribulation. From different passages we learn that the wicked are destroyed from the earth during the Tribulation, which culminates with the Second Coming of Christ and the slaughter of the armies of the world (Rev. 19:19-21). One of he purposes of he Tribulation is to destroy the wicked out of the earth. Christ will, according to Matthew 25:31-46, gather those peoples of the various nations who survive the Tribulation before him and will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Those put on the right side will be allowed to enter the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world—the millennial kingdom. Those put on the left side will be told to depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

When we look at all the facts of the different passages bearing on the subject, we are driven irresistibly to the conclusion that Jesus was not, in these parables laying down the exact chronological order of events of the end time, but was speaking simply in a general way of what will take place. The parable of the tares has no bearing on the time of the Rapture.

The Olivet Discourse

In the Olivet Discourse, recorded in Matthew, chapter 24 and 25, we see the Tribulation described in (Matt. 24:9-28). In this block of Scripture there are references to the disciples of Jesus as being upon the earth during the Tribulation. This fact is set forth very clearly in these verses. No one who wants truth and facts will question this position.

But the assumption is made by many that these disciples are the Chruch saints. This is mere guesswork. There is absolutely no proof in the Scriptures which identify these saints as members of the Church, the body of Christ. A number of passages of Scripture show that the gospel will be preached during the Tribulation and many—yes, the majority of the earth's population—will be led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the Apostle John, in Revelation, chapter 7, shows that a vast number which no man can count will come out of the Great Tribulation, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. These people then are the Tribulation saints. This fact we must recognize if we are to arrive at the truth in regard to the Rapture of the Church, which according to the Apostle Paul (I Thess. 1:9,10; 4:13-5:11) will occur before the Tribulation takes place. Since the Apostle, in these Scriptures, showed that the Church saints will be raptured out of the earth before the Tribulation begins, we know that these saints, mentioned in the Olivet Discourse, living on earth during the Tribulation are not the Chruch, but are the Tribulation saints, those who turn to the Lord during the Tribulation.

The Resurrection of the Just

"And he said to him also that had bidden him, When though makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just" (Lk. 14:12-14). According to this passage our Lord instructed His disciples to invite the poor, the lame, the blind, and the crippled when they make a feast. If they heed this exhortation, said He, they "shall be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just." In the light of this passage emphasis is laid upon the thought that people will be rewarded and recompensed "in the resurrection of the just." By those who hold the position that the church goes through the Tribulation, it is assumed that the resurrection of the just occurs at the very end of the Tribulation and that all the just are raised at that particular time. To assert that the resurrection of the just occurs only at the end of the Tribulation is pure assumption.

Such a thesis cannot be maintained in the light of the information which we are given in Revelation 20:4, 5, 6: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshiped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." In verse 4, we have the statement, "and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them …" The ones here referred to are undoubtedly the ones who are called in Revelation 19:14 the armies of heaven that follow Jesus at His return. They are thought of as a single group. In the second place, we see another group in the next statement: "And I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God …" Obviously, this group consists of the ones who are martyred in the first part of the Tribulation, as we see in Revelation 6:1-11. A third group is referred to in the last statement of the verse: "and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years." This second company of martyrs is different from the ones just mentioned, for they are martyred during the second half of the Tribulation. They are not executed for their testimony and the word of God, as are the first contingent; rather they are beheaded because they refuse to worship the beast and his image. It is only in the middle of the Tribulation that an edict is issued by the Antichrist that all will have to worship him and his image. Thus this second group of martyrs is slain in the latter half of the Tribulation. Concerning the second and third groups, all of whom are martyrs, we are told that they, having been put to death, literally come to life—and reign with Christ a thousand years.

All the people mentioned in this verse, who reign with Christ are clearly distinguished and differentiated. We are told that, though they are beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for refusal to worship the beast and his image, they come to life and reign with Christ a thousand years. Nothing is said about the first group's coming to life at the time of Christ's Second Coming. The implication is that they have already been raised before the second and third groups are raised at the Second Coming of Christ.

In keeping with this necessary inference that the Church saints, who are not here considered as martyrs, are raised before the coming of the martyrs of the Tribulation to life. We find from other passages of Scripture, as stated above, that the Church is raptured before the Tribulation takes place. This fact adequately accounts for the statement that the two latter groups come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. These martyrs come to life at the end of the Tribulation which is also the beginning of the Millennium. According to verse 5 the rest of the dead—the unsaved—are not raised until the thousand years of Christ's reign are finished. But these three groups mentioned in verse 4 constitute the first resurrection. The first resurrection started, as a matter of fact, with those who were raised with Christ when He was raised, from the dead. "But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power" (I Cor. 15:23,24).

It is to be noted carefully that there are two resurrections: the first before the thousand years; the second at the conclusion of this period. But, as stated above the first resurrection consists of three installments: the first of these consists of those who are raised when Christ was raised from the dead; the second group is composed of those who are raptured out of the world when Christ comes for His church before the Tribulation begins; and the third company are those—the Tribulation saints who are martyred—at the very end of the Tribulation. Though there are three installments, they constitute, according to John, the first resurrection—the resurrection of the just.

In keeping with what Luke says regarding the rewarding of the righteous at the resurrection of just, we see that Luke is in perfect alignment with what John says in Revelation 20.

There are other passages which are misunderstood, and which are claimed to teach that the Church goes through the Tribulation; but, when all the facts are known and properly evaluated in the light of each context and in the light of related passages, it is impossible for one to find scriptural authority for the rapture of the Church at the end of the Tribulation.

We praise God for the blessed hope that Jesus will come before the Tribulation and deliver His people from the horrors of that time of judgment.