The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a
Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)
The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.
# 6 The Dragnet Matt.
13:47-50
Matthew
13:47-50 (NKJV) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was
cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full,
they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but
threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will
come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the
furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
At the close of this
age, God will have three peoples: the Jews, the hidden treasurer, the church,
the pearl, and the saved Gentile nations who will enter into the kingdom, the
dragnet. Let’s consider the THIRD people group.
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| At the End - God Separates Good from Bad |
THIRD: The net (vv.
47–50). The
preaching of the Gospel in the world does not convert the world. It is like a
huge dragnet that gathers all kinds of fish, some good and some bad. The
professing church today has in it both true and false believers (the Parable of
the Tares) and good and bad. At the end of the age, God will separate the true
believers from the false and the good from the bad. When Jesus Christ returns
to earth, to fight the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11ff), He will separate
believers and unbelievers already on the
earth. These are living people who are not a part of the church (which was
already in heaven) or Israel. These Gentiles will be dealt with in
righteousness: The saved will enter into the kingdom, but the unsaved will be
cast into the furnace of fire. The same idea is found in the “sheep and goats”
parable (Matt. 25:31ff).
Twice in this series of
parables Jesus used the phrase “the end of the world” (Matt. 13:39, 49). He was
not referring to the end of this “Church Age,” because the truth about the
church was not shared with the disciples until later (Matt. 16:18). The “age”
He referred to is the Jewish age at the close of the great Tribulation
described in Matthew 24:1–31 and Revelation 6–19. We must be careful not to
“read into” these passages in Matthew the truths later given through Paul and
the other apostles.
When Jesus had completed
this series of parables, He asked His disciples if they understood them, and
they confidently replied, “Yes, Lord.” Understanding involves responsibility.
To explain this, the Lord added a final parable (Matt. 13:51–52) to remind them
of their responsibilities.[1]
Matthew 25:46
(NKJV) And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life."
Wrapping up this series
regarding the kingdom has been refreshing and faith building to me, I trust it
was the same for you!
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