Wheat and tares | Dr. Conrad Vine

The Two Signs of Christ’s Coming:

Matthew 24:14: “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”
Mark 4:29: “But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle because the harvest has come.”

The Call to Holiness:

Leviticus 20:26: “You shall be holy to me for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares:

The Harvest of the Wicked:

Joel 3:13: “Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Go in tread for the wine press is full. The vats overflow for their wickedness is great.”
Revelation 14:18-19: “Then another angel… called… ‘Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle… and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.”

The Character of God’s Mercy:

Psalm 145:8: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”
Micah 7:18-19: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

The Unforgivable Sin:

Luke 12:10: “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

The Work of the Holy Spirit:

John 15:26: The Spirit will testify of Christ.
John 16:8: The Spirit will reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
John 16:13: The Spirit will guide you into all truth.
Romans 5:5: God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18: We are transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit.
Ezekiel 36:26-27: God gives a new heart and puts His Spirit within us.
Romans 8:26: The Spirit helps us in prayer.
2 Peter 1:20-21: Scripture is given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Examples of the Unforgivable Sin:

1 Samuel 16:14: “The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.”
John 13:27: “Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him [Judas].”

The Close of Probation:

Genesis 7:16: “And the Lord shut him [Noah] in.”
Revelation 22:11: “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
Hosea 4:17: “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.”

God’s Keeping Power:

Jude 1:24-25: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

The Time of Trouble:

Jeremiah 30:6-7: “Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale? Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.”

The Second Coming:

Luke 21:25-28: “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

On the Tares within the Church:

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 74: “Sinners who make a pretension of piety mingle for a time with the true followers of Christ, and the semblance of Christianity is calculated to deceive many. But in the harvest of the world there will be no likeness between good and evil. Then those who have joined the church, but have not joined Christ, will be manifest.”

On the Incurable Wickedness before the Flood:

Signs of the Times, 1899: “The judgments which God brought upon the antediluvian world declared it incurable.”

On Christ’s Silence before Herod:

The Desire of Ages, p. 730: “Christ’s silence was the severest rebuke that He could have given. Herod had rejected the truth spoken to him by the greatest of the prophets, and no other message was he to receive.”

On the Jewish Leaders’ Rejection of Truth:

Review and Herald: “They persistently rejected the light and stifled the convictions of the Holy Spirit. The malignity of their rebellion was intensified by each successive act of rebellion against God. Every day, in their refusal to repent, the Jewish leaders took up their rebellion afresh, preparing to reap what they had sown.”

On the Final Conflict within the Church:

Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 136: “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light… When the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.”

On Standing for Truth:

Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 136 (cont’d): “To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason.”

On the Close of Probation:

The Great Controversy, p. 490: “When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.”

On the Final Crisis and Satan’s Fury:

The Great Controversy, p. 608 (Prologue): “All the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed during the struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear upon God’s people in the final conflict.”