July 1, 2011
“Again,
the Kingdom of Heaven is LIKE a
dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind
which, when it was full they drew to shore; and they gathered the
good into vessels, but threw the bad away.”
(Matthew 13:47-48).
“The Dragnet”
Continued from April 29, 2011; May 6, 2011; May 13, 2011; May 20, 2011; May 20, 2011; May 27, 2011; June 3, 2011; June 10; 2011; June 17, 2011
Dear Brethren,
The last Parable of the series that began with the Sower of the Seed has to do with that of the Dragnet. As we have seen all of these parables inter-connect with each other in one way or another, both the good and the bad, and have intended lessons for God’s true people.
In this concluding series of the seven parables that began with Jesus Christ speaking the Parable of the Sower to the crowds and His disciples, He ends them with His speaking directly to His disciples the Parable of the Dragnet.
T
hough
the explanation of the Parable of the Tares has already been given in
a previous writing, it is necessary to write about it in connection
with the Parable of the Dragnet for they connect with one another.
They are intended by Jesus Christ to be understood by His Elect members of His Church of God for it was after sending the crowds away that Jesus Christ gave the meaning of the Tares and then spoke of the Dragnet.
In between the two Parables, Christ spoke the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price to encourage those of His true people who are planted in the Good Earth to keep our eyes on the BIG PICTURE of what really matters instead of earthy goals that have no lasting substance and will soon fade away (Psalm 37:1-40).
They make known that all anyone seeks for in human life cannot be remotely compared to the treasures that await those who value the calling and selection from God our Father through Jesus Christ that will be bestowed upon them when He returns to this earth.
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul (potential for eternal life)? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:25-26).
The Parable of the Dragnet
M
atthew
13:47-50 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a DRAGNET that
was CAST into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which WHEN it
was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and GATHERED THE GOOD
into vessels, BUT threw the bad away.
Verse
49 “So it will be at THE END OF THE AGE. The angels will come
forth, separate the WICKED from the JUST,
Verse 50 “And CAST THEM into the FURNACE OF FIRE. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
The Tares and the Dragnet
Now it becomes necessary for an in-depth understanding of the Dragnet, to compare it with the lessons taught about the Tares for both teach the same lessons to the Elect people of God.
Matthew 13:30 “Let both GROW TOGETHER (Wheat and Tares) UNTIL the harvest and IN THE TIME of the [beginning of the ] harvest, I will say to the reapers (angels, verses 41, 49), FIRST gather together the Tares and bind them in bundles to BURN them, but gather the Wheat in My barn.”
Matthew 13:40 “Therefore as the Tares are gathered and BURNED in the Fire, so will it be at the end of this age.”
Matthew 13:41-42 “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will GATHER OUT of His Kingdom (The Church of God in Embryo—context reveals no sinners will be in the Kingdom of God) all things that OFFEND and those who PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS, and will CAST THEM into the Furnace of Fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them
Jesus Christ makes known how the more apparent Tares can be recognized while others will not be until the time of the separation of the Wheat and the Tares shortly before the Wheat planted in the good ground will leave for the Place of Safety.
M
atthew
7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets (proclaiming
themselves as prophets- also having the meaning of false ministers)
who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but INWARDLY they are
ravenous wolves. You will KNOW THEM by their fruits (conduct
and erroneous teachings) . . .”
These are the ministers of the corporate churches of God who have gone off-track in some or all of the true doctrinal teachings that Jesus Christ restored within His true Church of God.
They retain enough of the true doctrinal teachings to keep their members believing they are the ones Christ is using. Though they were used to support the Work for many years— in time to come they are going to be incredibly shocked to find they never did really know Jesus Christ! They only had a superficial academic knowledge of the true teachings that did reach their hearts in part, but they never had a real heart-felt LOVE for Christ and His true teachings.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall ENTER the Kingdom of Heaven (literal), BUT he who DOES the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say [or cry out] to Me in that day (at the separation of the beginning of the harvest), ‘Lord, Lord’ have we NOT prophesied (preached) in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name, and done MANY wonders in Your Name?’ And THEN I will declare to them [not literally answering -- but by not delivering them from the Furnace of Fire), I NEVER KNEW YOU (Tares – never converted), depart from Me (the bad separated from the good in the dragnet and Tares gathered in bundles), YOU who PRACTICE lawlessness.”
Verse 49 “So it will be at THE END OF THE AGE. The angels will come forth, separate the WICKED from the JUST,
Verse 50 “And CAST THEM into the FURNACE OF FIRE. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
“And then I (Jesus Christ) will declare to them I NEVER KNEW YOU . . .”
This excerpt has the meaning, except for the recalcitrant, that all of these false ministers NEVER having known Christ, along with their unconverted members, will have the blessing of being resurrected in the second resurrection. They will then have the opportunity of really coming to know God and Jesus Christ and become His children.
The Seed by the Wayside
S
ince
Jesus Christ said “He NEVER knew them”,
they must be the seed sown by the wayside.
Matthew 13:3 Then He (Christ) spoke many things to them (the crowds and the disciples) in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
Jesus Christ then explained the meaning of those sown on the wayside:
Matthew 13:18-19 “Therefore hear the Parable of the Sower: When anyone HEARS the Word of the Kingdom (the true Gospel being preached), and does NOT understand it (the seed not taking root with in-depth comprehension), THEN the Wicked One (the Devil) comes and snatches away what was SOWN IN HIS HEART. This is he who received SEED by the wayside.”
Though they received the true teachings in their heart there was no real lasting and enduring love for them; it was fleeting.
“The coming of the lawless one (this will be the Pope for it is he who will perform signs and lying wonders, but in proto-type it was Mr. Tkach) is according to the work of Satan, with all power (complete authority as Pastor General over the Worldwide Church of God) . . . because they did NOT receive the LOVE OF THE TRUTH, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send STRONG DELUSION, that they should believe THE LIE, that they all may be condemned who did NOT believe the TRUTH but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thessalonians 2:10-12).
The Parable of the Dragnet
The parable of the Dragnet makes known the bad will be carefully removed from the catch of the good and thrown away.
Once again this ties in with the unconverted Tares for they are basically one and the same and will be gathered up in bundles and burned just as Jesus said they would.
When putting together related Scriptures it can be realized that for the most part this only applies to the end of this age and the Great Tribulation.
E
xcept
for those who have God’s Holy Spirit and then knowingly turn
against God and repudiate all that He wants to do for them in the age
to come will then come back to life in the
3rd
resurrection to be judged and burned to ashes
(Malachi
4:1, 3; Hebrews 6:4-8).
Otherwise they will come back to life in the second resurrection with the opportunity of an eternal future before them of Spirit Life.
Understanding the Parables
After concluding His speaking the seven parables, Jesus asked His disciples:
Matthew 13:51-52 Then Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
I wonder how many of God’s true people really grasp with understanding the lessons Jesus Christ is teaching us through these parables that began with the Sower sowing His seed in this world.
Those who do grasp the understanding of the explanations that Jesus Christ gave of them will have a better comprehension of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus Christ from both the Old and New Testaments; each one that speak of the blessings held in store for all who choose and live God’s way of life in contrast to those who choose the wrong way.
Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe (a scholar or disciple) instructed concerning the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Proverbs 2:1-9; II Peter 3:18.
Hopefully all of us have now a better understanding of these parables after having studied each one in the Pastor’s Comments. I know that I do after having devoted the time to delve deeply into them while asking Jesus Christ to grace me with the understanding of them.
At the same time I realize there is much more to learn from them which I pray Christ will bless you and me with the additional understanding needed in time to come while keeping our eyes on the BIG PICTURE.
May our good and wonderful God and Jesus Christ bless each of us with growth and stability as the Apostle Peter admonished each of us His people in his time:
“. . . We according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless; . . .beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked, BUT GROW in the GRACE and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (II Peter 3:10-18).
Your
servant and friend,
Don
Billingsley
"Entire contents copyrighted. The Church of God. All Rights Reserved. The copyright subsisting in material quoted in this publication and trademarks appearing in this publication belong to the respective owners thereof and no claim of ownership therein is made by The Church of God."
http://bodyofchristonline.us/ http://cog-ff.com http://www.ezekielwatchman.org/
Brought to you by the Church of God Faithful Flock