“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.“~Matthew 13:24-30
This is one of my favorite parables because it’s one of the KEY parables in unlocking the book of Revelations. You have all these people, wolves in sheep’s clothing, who make up these fairytale “feel good” ear-tickling myths lies about how before The Wrath Of The Lamb OR that before The Tribulation begins He ‘s gonna fly in like some superhero to scoop up His people and carry them to a place afar off somewheres in safety. And I am here to tell you now, that is NOT true! And all it takes is a few words from Jesus to prove my point 🙂
“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” ~Matthew 13:36-43
He will let both His Seed and The Seed Of The Enemy grow together until The Harvest and then He will say to His Reapers…Gather FIRST the TARES! The Tares (or weeds) being The Seed Of The Enemy…it’s as plain as day, right there, in your face. I mean you really can’t get more certain than the very words of Jesus Himself.
Case Closed.
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Joel 3:13
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” ~Revelation 14:13-20
Interesting thing, how the one angel comes out that had Power Over Fire….and in the parable Jesus says that the Tares will be burned. Now I haven’t fully figured out why the symbols have changed here, from wheat and tares to grapes but my best guess is that it has something to do with the imagery of The Blood. Tares (weeds) don’t bleed when you pull them out of the ground but grapes do “bleed”.
And so there is this imagery of The Reaper putting in his sickle and pulling the bodies up into the clouds and then throwing them into The Great Winepress of The Wrath Of God.
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” ~Matthew 24:37 -42
Now, WHO did The Flood take away?? The Children of The Enemy!!! And so shall also the coming of The Son Of Man be….hey, The Bible said it, not me…it’s right there…read it for yourself. One is taken and the other left…and where is the one taken?? To be trodden in The Winepress of The Wrath Of God, no doubt.
There is NO Pre-Tribulation or Pre-Wrath “Rapture”….at least not one that any normal sane person would want to be apart of! The Earth is meant for His Seed and NOT for The Seed Of The Enemy…He is going to remove them and then restore the earth and we shall live for 1,000 years at PEACE with Him and He will teaches us of His Ways and show us the right way to live upon this earth.
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” ~Amos 9:11-15
Musings Of A Mountain Mama 
The parable you highlight cannot be applied to unlock ALL of Revelation, when it only unlocks the latter part. You are, after all, applying it to Rev 14… but there’s a first resurrection in Rev 7:9-13. Not to mention that John the Revelator is specific about there being a ‘first’ and ‘latter’ resurrection. Unless you skip around Revelation to try to make everything fit, and it’s illogical and doesn’t fit with other scripture, either.
You’re right – the tares will be taken out in the end – after the wrath, and those who ‘endured to the end’ will reign with Him. HOWEVER, you’re throwing out the baby with the bathwater. As if a first resurrection (in Rev 7) implies there won’t be any believers from that point until the end? John also is clear that the wrath ‘is shortened’ for the sake of those who come to Messiah during that latter time AFTER the first resurrection.
I don’t believe in a pre-Trib rapture (obviously, since I believe we’re already past the seal judgments). But Paul said we are not appointed to the wrath that is to come. If Paul is a liar, then he contradicts scripture, and he cannot do that. Sorry, but while you’re right, you’re also wrong. Revelations doesn’t start with wheat/tare judgment of the Great White Throne. Scripture also speaks of an earlier judgment at the Seat of the Lamb. Two different thrones, that – one for the redeemed only, the other for the lambs/goats (or wheat/tares… depending on your preference).
I read Rev 7:9-13 and to me it seems to speak of all the saints throughout the history of the whole world who were killed…from Abel till right before the 7th seal is opened. I don’t really see it as a resurrection as in a “rapture” in the popular view, as in Jesus is just gonna whisk us all away…I do believe in a transfiguration, in that we will be transformed at His Coming into incorruptible bodies just like His and with His Coming comes The Wrath that at that same time takes out The Seed Of The Enemy (ie. the tares and the grapes pressed in the winepress of His Wrath) while at the same time we are transformed. We are not appointed to the wrath that is to come, it is not for us, He will protect us in the same way that He supernaturally protected Noah in The Ark and the Israelites in Egypt…guiding and protecting them through it…and we will fight with Him and for Him…see the whole chapter of Joel 2…and then I believe Joel 3 talks about the final battle at Armageddon. And also The Harvest only happens once…there cannot be multiple harvests of wheat in one season…it grows up and is cut and finished, done.
Except that they can’t appear before the throne unless it’s a judgment, and that implies a resurrection… not to mention that the dead in Christ don’t rise until we do. If they’re changed incorruptible in Rev 9, so are we, or 1 Cor 15 is contradictory to scripture.