Short bible study: expounding the parable of the wheat and the tares from Isaiah 4:2-4

The bible shows us in this passage of scripture:

Isaiah 4:2-4 “In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”

Jesus tells us in John 15:5 that “I am the vine, and ye are the branches.” Only the ones who abide in him, and him in them, shall bring forth much fruit. In that, Jesus was referring to the church of the living God on earth. Isaiah tells us that there is a day coming, where the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for “them that are escaped of Israel,” the remnant, the church of the living God on earth. Jesus continues in John 15:6: “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered.” Those would be the ones who left the church of the living God for “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4). There is a day coming when the harvest of the Lord is ready to be reaped. According to the parable of the wheat and the tares:

Matthew 13:30 “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.”

There is a day coming, in the time of harvest, when the wheat are ready to be gathered into the barn. The bible identified for us in Isaiah 4:3 who the wheat are: “he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.” That also means that tares are the ones who used to be part of Zion, and of Jerusalem. Of course, it is not physical Zion and Jerusalem that Isaiah was referring to, but the spiritual kingdom of God on earth. The names of the tares are not written among the living in Jerusalem according to Isaiah 4:3. Psalms 69:28 further tells us that their names are not written with the righteous, but have been blotted out of the book of the living. That means that their names used to be written in the book of life, but have been blotted out because of a great transgression by which they are cut off from the spiritual kingdom of God on earth, the church of the living God. Paul covers Isaiah 4:2-4 in this passage of scripture:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Isaiah 4:2 tells us that there is a day coming, in the time of the harvest, when the fruit of the earth are ready to be reaped. Paul tells us about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the “day of Christ,” where the remnant of the Lord shall be gathered unto him. He goes on to say that that day shall not come, except there come a “falling away” (Greek: “apostasia”) first. Matthew 13:30 tells us “Gather ye together first the tares.” That goes to show that the gathering of the tares is the “falling away” that Paul was referring to. Furthermore, the “falling away” is accompanied by the appearance of that man of sin, the son of perdition, by whom the tares transgressed against the Lord, resulting in their names blotted out of the book of life. John warns the church in:

Revelation 14:9-11 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

John tells us in Revelation 20:15 that “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Those would be the tares who have received a mark in their foreheads, or in their hand. This is the same mark which John tells us in Revelation 13:16-17, where the false prophet causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive in the right hand or in their foreheads, so that no man might buy or sell, except he received that mark. Paul used the term “temple of God” in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 to refer to our physical body. Therefore, the “falling away” happens when the tares receive the mark of the beast in their physical body, so that that man of sin, the son of perdition could now sit in what used to be the “temple of God,” shewing himself that he is God.

Genesis 25:34 “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Just as Esau who traded his birthright for bread and pottage of lentiles, for food and drink, the tares too, would trade their names in the book of life for the right to buy and sell. The wheat, on the other hand, love the commandment of the Lord more than their own lives. That is how their names remain written in the book of life. The day shall come when the harvest is ready to be reaped, that the tares shall be gathered first in bundles to be burned, and then the wheat shall be gathered into the barn of the Lord. For the tares who despised their “birthrights,” they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb for ever and ever. For the wheat, the remnant whom the Lord has washed away their sins, and purged them of their iniquities by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning, they shall be called holy.