THE REAPERS ARE THE ANGELS.
By E. P. D.
“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.” Matt. 13: 30. In verses 37 to 44 the explanation of the above parable is given. Christ is the sower; the righteous are the good seed; the field is the world; the tares are the wicked, and the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. The whole is a figurative summary of the work of redemption; and, as such, it fills an important place in the present message of truth, standing out in bold opposition to the doctrines of the age to come and the temporal millennium. John, the banished prophet, is rapt in vision. He beholds a white cloud, and seated upon it the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle, a symbol of husbandry. Thus he holds in his hand the ensign of his authority as the householder of the parable; and the crown denotes the termination of priestly ministration and redemption. The harvest is come, and from his exalted throne he views the scene. It presents a sad appearance. The tares have overgrown the wheat and threaten to destroy the entire field. “The time is come to reap.” And thus we read, “I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them.” “And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. . . . And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.” Rev. 15: 1, 6. “And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.” Chap. 16: 1, 2. From the opening to the close of this remarkable chapter, seven angels are represented as engaged in pouring out upon the wicked the vials of wrath. Like bundles of tares, they are bound with the bands of death, to be burned in the great conflagration, at the consummation of the general Judgment. The wheat now remains to be gathered into the barn; and so we read: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; . . . and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Glorious consummation! Ministered to by angels in the hour of temptation; shielded by angels in the day of wrath; gathered by angels as golden grain into the garner of the Lord. Thus the work of the harvest is over. The field is reaped; and though the yield was small, none were lost, but all were safely deposited in the world of glory. The gathered tares only remain to be burned, when the once blighted field shall spread its rich mantle of foliage, and lay again its carpet of living green; when the glory from the temple of the Lord shall cap the hills with gold, and fill the verdant valleys with noontide light! Then shall the precious seed of the Lord flourish, with no tares to choke it round. To this end we sing:— “Come, come, thou conquering One;
Reign thou upon thy throne
In glory bright.
Then shall the ransomed raise
Unceasing songs of praise
Throughout eternal days
In realms of light.”