Matthew 13:47-50
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and
when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish
into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. So, it will be at the
end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the
righteous, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth” (CSB).
This allegory is allusive to the
rapture of the body of Christ. Some say it is not. They believe it refers to
the end of the Tribulation Period when the sheep nations will be separated from
the goat nations (Matt. 25:31-46). I say it is an indirect allusion to the
rapture of those faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the church
age.
Jesus said that the kingdom of
heaven is like a large σαγήνη (sagēnē) net. A sagēnē is a dragnet used for
fishing. It drags the bottom of the water to catch as many fish as possible. Sagēnē
can be translated as net, trawl, or seine. The Darby Bible translates sagēnē as
seine, to give a clear picture of what kind of net Jesus was referring to.
Merriam-Webster describes a seine as: “A large net with sinkers on one edge and
floats on the other that hangs vertically in the water and is used to enclose
and catch fish when its ends are pulled together or are drawn ashore.”[1]
Fishing with a seine will not only catch fish that are useful, but also fish
that are not.
Throughout the church age there
have been people who have received the word of truth and let it grow, allowing
their faith to increase (Matt. 13:23). There have been people who have received
the word of truth but have let the evil ones snatch it out their heart (Matt. 13:19).
Some have received the word of truth making them happy but do not let the word
of truth take root (Matt. 13:20-21). When persecution or trouble comes, they
fall away from the faith (2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:3-4). Some who
have received the word of truth end up with no faith at all; they
become unfruitful, because of the cares and riches of this world (Matt. 13:22).
The sagēnē that Jesus talked
about in this teaching is the divine seine/dragnet that the angels have cast upon
the earth during the church age. The divine seine/dragnet gathers all kinds
into the church, but at the end of the church age, the harvester angels (Matt.
13:30, 39c-41) will separate the wicked from the righteous. At the rapture, the
angels will separate those who love the world and love the things in the world
from those who have been faithful to seek the kingdom of God and his
righteousness. They will separate those who hate their brother from those who
love and pray for those who hate them. In short, the angels will separate those
who have walked in righteousness and been faithful from those who have not. The
evil people will be cast into the κάμινον τοῦ πυρός (káminon toú pyrós)
“furnace of fire.” The furnace of fire is the place of exóteros skótos (outer darkness)
mentioned in the Matthew 8:11-12 commentary above. The furnace of fire and the
place of outer darkness is “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
It is the Tribulation Period/70th week of Israel. As I have written,
‘Scripture prophesies that these seven years will be the worst time any man
will ever have to endure’ (Dan. 12:1b; Jer. 30:7; Matt. 24:21). It will be a
place that feels like a blazing furnace. It will be a place where darkness
reigns completely. In the káminon toú pyrós (furnace of fire), people will have
one last chance to repent as they weep and gnash their teeth. Many will repent
during that time (Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9-14).
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