Timeline for Who is being "taken" in Matthew 24:40-41?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2021 at 23:13 | comment | added | Constantthin | I suppose that the big question is if the wheat field represents the world or the church? If the world then the story starts at the beginning of history, which is either the garden of eden or the flood. Otherwise if it is the church it would start sometime after the dispersal of the believers from Jerusalem. | |
| Oct 6, 2021 at 17:42 | comment | added | Bruce Alderman | @Constantthin If anything, intentional sabotage like that would normally necessitate starting earlier in order to get all the weeds. That's why, in the parable, the workers ask if they should start pulling weeds immediately. But since the weeds represent living human beings, the master wants to wait, to give them extra time to repent. But he can't wait forever. The weeds have to be pulled before the harvest can begin. | |
| Sep 30, 2021 at 0:08 | comment | added | Constantthin | So there is a normal amount of weeds growing in a wheat field year by year. But what about somebody (an enemy) purposely worsen the situation by walking through the field scattering massive amounts of weed seeds. Would that change the timing of cleansing the field from weeds? | |
| Sep 29, 2021 at 4:26 | comment | added | Bruce Alderman | Although, with modern farming equipment, pulling weeds is not as necessary unless you're planning to replant the grain the next year. | |
| Sep 29, 2021 at 4:25 | comment | added | Bruce Alderman | @Constantthin Generally, yes. The weeds can be pulled at any time after the plants are big enough to tell the difference between weeds and wheat. But pull them too early, and you're likely to have more weeds to pull later. Pull them too late, though, and you might have trouble getting through the field, since every plant fills more space as it grows. Another problem, if you wait until the wheat is ripe, is the grain can fall off if the plant is disturbed. So normally the weeds are gone before the wheat is fully ripe. | |
| Sep 27, 2021 at 23:55 | comment | added | Constantthin | Interesting to speak with somebody with experience. Are you saying that the normal procedure is to remove the weeds well before harvest time, rather than at harvest time? | |
| Sep 27, 2021 at 2:37 | comment | added | Bruce Alderman | @Constantthin I grew up on a farm and have actually pulled weeds from a wheat field. The weeds have to be taken away first. If you don't physically remove the weeds from the field, their seeds will get mixed in with the grain at harvest time. Then you'd be planting weeds with the wheat the next year. Burning the weeds could happen before or after harvest, because it's not done in the field. | |
| Sep 25, 2021 at 12:00 | comment | added | Constantthin | The logical order seems to be: 1. Gather together the weeds into bundles. 2. Gather the wheat into the barn. 3. Burn the weeds. To burn the weeds before gathering the wheat into the barn would jeopardize the wheat. It must therefore be taken away first. | |
| Sep 26, 2015 at 22:06 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| Sep 27, 2015 at 2:21 | |||||
| May 7, 2015 at 4:05 | comment | added | Joshua | Secret Rapture people wouldn't be too happy with this answer :P I've always read it more like @JonEricson connecting the same word Paul uses in Thessalonians. But I don't think any specific doctrine, one way or the other, should be taken from it as many try. | |
| Oct 14, 2011 at 19:49 | comment | added | Jon Ericson | Excellent parallel. That's a far simpler (and therefore better) answer than my own. ;-) | |
| Oct 14, 2011 at 18:17 | history | answered | Bruce Alderman | CC BY-SA 3.0 |