Posted by Steven Benjamin on April 11, 2009, 6:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Shepherds Rod: TRACT No. 3 (pt 13)"
mere professors, those who are not doers of the Word, and who were granted membership "while men slept" -- "are gathered and burned in the fire" (Matt. 13:40), after the wheat is bound into sheaves. But
Who Are The Reapers?
"The reapers are the angels" who "shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. " Matt. 13:39, 49. These angels are not those who shall "come" with Christ at His second coming, but rather those whom He "shall send forth. '' They are like the three angels of Revelation 14:6-11. Indeed, the third angel "is to select the wheat from the tares and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. " -- Early Writings, p. 118. Therefore the angels, the reapers, whom Christ sends forth, include both him who does the sealing, or binding, and those who follow on to do the destroying (Ezek. 9:2, 5 6), first in the church, then in the world. Thus is the
Separation In Two Sections.
The command, "Gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity," does not mean to gather His saints from the earth into heaven; neither does it mean to destroy the wicked from the earth; for the former are to be gathered, not directly to heaven, but first into "the barn," the kingdom on earth; and the latter are not to be destroyed immediately "in the time of harvest," but first are to be gathered into bundles, and then destroyed, as is further illustrated in the parable of the net:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. " Matt. 13:47, 48.
This parable also shows the separation of the wicked from among God's people in the church ("the net"), this being the first section of the work of separation, the beginning of the harvest. The subsequent section follows in the world, as the earth is lightened with the glory of the "Loud Cry" angel, and as "another voice from heaven," says: "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. " Rev. 18:4.
Note that in the first section of the separation the one in the church, the wicked are taken away from among the just, whereas in the second, the one in Babylon, the just are called from among the wicked.
As the field is "the world" (Matt. 13:38), the parable of the wheat and the tares necessarily comprehends both sections of the harvest. As, by contrast, the "net" hauls in the "fish," the converts made by the gospel church, the parable of the net therefore is limited to the separation in the church. Together they distinguish the
Relation Of First Fruits To Second.
Isaiah also was given a view of this two-fold harvest. "For by fire and by His sword," he prophesies, "will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. " Isa. 66:16, 17.
The slain of the Lord, in this scripture are those who profess to be in the faith, who claim sanctification and purification, but who do so on the merits of their own righteousness, -- of "themselves," -- not on the merits of Christ's righteousness. They walk, that is, in their own ways, not in obedience to the truth. Wrapped about with these spurious habiliments of sanctification and purification, they pose as reformers, yet all the while indulging in the abominations of the heathen; doing so in secret -- "behind one tree," or, as the margin says, following in the lead "one after another. " And the food (swine's flesh, the mouse, and the abomination, -- whatever that may be wherever these paganistic Christians may be, -- foods used respectively only in certain parts of the world, among different classes and races) with which they are gratifying their appetites, shows that the consequent destruction among these selfsanctified and self-purified ones is in the church world-wide.
That it was not among the Gentiles, who knew not of the truth of God and of His great power is clearly shown by the Lord's words: "I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan [the Gentile nations today as called by their ancient names], to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. " Isa. 66:19.
Since these escaped ones (the first fruits, the 144,000 servants of God -- Rev. 7:3) "shall bring all your brethren" (the second fruits the great multitude -- Rev. 7:9) "for an offering. . . out of all nations" (Isa. 66:20, first part), this great ingathering necessarily therefore, is the closing work of the gospel -- the second section of the harvest.
And since, furthermore, these escaped ones are to bring all their brethren "to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord," "in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord" (Isa. 66:20, last part), the fact is fully evident that the destruction of the wicked results in the purification of the church. The "clean vessel" is therefore the purified church, composed of the escaped ones the first fruits, the 144,000 -- who, free from the wicked (the tares) shall then, as "the servants of our God," bring in the second fruits, the great multitude which no man can number, out of all nations.
The second section of the separation thus being completed, Probationary time is closed. Whereupon from the wicked will be heard the horrible wail of doom: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. " Jer. 8:20.
This being the dreadful experience of the tares in Babylon, in the second section of the harvest, there must, as a type, be a similar and precedent experience for the tares in the Laodicean church, in the first section of the harvest, a parallel which shows conclusively that
The Church Is Not Babylon.
The reason that the church is figuratively not "Babylon" is that it is called Jerusalem (Ezek. 9:4,8), and from among the good therein, the wicked (the tares) are destroyed, taken out, by the six men with the slaughter weapons (Ezek. 9:6-9), and then afterward the good (the wheat) are gathered in "the barn;" while from among the wicked in Babylon, the just ("My people") are called out and gathered into the barn, and then the seven angels pour out the seven last plagues, and the remaining wicked are destroyed.
Thus in the first section of the harvest, the separation in the church, the wicked are destroyed by six men with slaughter weapons, before the good are taken out; and in the second section, the separation among the churches in Babylon, the wicked are destroyed by seven angels with the seven last plagues, after the good are taken out. There are therefore two separations and two fruits: the former gives the first fruits, the 144 000, who are not defiled with women (Rev. 14:4). That is, they are those whom the sealing message finds in the church of God, not in the heathen churches. And the second gives the second fruits, the great multitude from all nations, some of whom also may be undefiled with women -- heathen churches.
Having to this point studied the judgment, the harvest, in the light of the testimonies of the prophets and the parables of Christ, we shall now examine it
In the Light of the Ceremonial Service.
Just as the Spirit of Prophecy declares that "the whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption" (The Acts of the Apostles p. 14), just so the plan of salvation is unfolded not only in the testimonies of the prophets and in the parables of Christ but also in the types and symbols of the earthly sanctuary. In addition to this, the experiences of the people in the typical period "happened unto them," we are told, "for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. " 1 Cor. 10:11. So we are logically bound at the very outset to attend to God's instruction to Moses:
"On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement:. . . make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among His people. " "Make an atonement for the children of Israel. . . once a year. " Lev. 23:27-29; 16:34.
(CONTD)
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