In Matthew 13:25-30 & 37-43 is presented the parable of the wheat and tares. We read in verse 30 that they are to both grow together until the harvest, and then, Jesus says, "I will say to the reapers, ‘Gather ye first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. In verses 37 through 40 is a deeper explanation of how this is to come about; "so shall it be in the end of this world." (verse 40)

• The Son of Man shall send forth his angels.
• They shall gather out of His kingdom all that offend and do iniquity.
• They shall cast them into a furnace of fire.
• There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Who is taken? – "…all that offend and do iniquity." Who is left? The wheat, which represents God’s people. The first act of carrying out His judgment, which is executed at the Second Coming of Christ, is the gathering of the tares, not the gathering of the saints. After the gathering of the tares in bundles to be burned, those who are asleep (dead) in Christ are called forth from their graves and then, the righteous living are caught up to ascend together with those who are asleep in Jesus. They all ascend with Christ "to be with Him in the air." 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

This agrees with the promise of Christ in John 14:2 & 3, wherein is recorded,

The Next Coming of Christ is not when He has promised to return to the Earth and set up His Kingdom. It is a time when Jesus comes "in the clouds" to receive his saints unto Himself. As is stated in Revelation 20:4-6,

"…I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

Twice here, we are told that God’s people (souls that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus) and priests of God and of Christ" will reign with Christ for a thousand years. It may seem odd to consider that God’s people will be living and reigning with Him for a thousand years, when in fact, they have been promised eternal life. Surely, eternal life is longer that 1000 years. So, when does this 1000 year period begin?

In 2Thessalonians 2:7-10 we are told that just before the Second Coming of Christ,

Notice: It is at this time that the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father (verse 43). Consider also, Daniel 12:1-4 & 10.

In Matthew 13:47, Jesus says,

Who is severed from among whom and who is left? God’s people are left – it is always God’s people who are left.

There are those that teach that, at some time in the future, there will a "rapture" of God’s people and the wicked (or those not yet saved) will be left behind to suffer through a thousand years of second chances.

God does not teach that there will be a choice between eternal life and a second chance. Nor does He teach that there are two different Eternal lives – One in Heaven and on in hell. These is merely and wholly a teaching of man. God says that there is a choice between eternal life and eternal death.

Verses 51 and 52: "Have ye understood all these things?…Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."

In Matthew and Luke is presented a parable of those who are taken and those who are left at the time of the end (see Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26). Included within this same context is the passage concerning Noah, those who entered the ark, and those who did not. Who was taken away when the floods came? Who was left? And again, in verses 28 & 29 Jesus speaks of Sodom and the day it was destroyed. After Sodom was destroyed, who was left?

Read Matthew 24:37-46 and Luke 17:26-36. In these passages this principle is clearly stated, so that each of us might determine, for ourselves, the truth of the matter.

In Matthew 24:28 we find what many consider a strange sentence, flowing from the lips of Jesus,

What was it the disciples were trying to determine when they asked, "Where, Lord?"

For a better understanding, let’s look at Matthew 24:27, and we see that the Lord is speaking of His Second Coming. He first tells them that His Coming will not be secret, but rather, that,

"…as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

In verse 26 He tells us, in yet another way, about the openness of His coming, when He says,

At the Next Coming of Christ, He will not plant His feet upon the Earth. He comes in the clouds and calls his people into the air. Read 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 again and this is what you will find to be true. At the Second Coming of Christ, the Bible does teach that God’s people will be caught up, but it also teaches that it is at this time that the Wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. And then, we are told in Revelation 20:5 that,

For further consideration. read Ezekiel 9:1-8. Who is taken and who is left in this instance?

Two points to consider: 1) Who was taken? 2) To where were they taken?

See also Ecclesiastics 9:12 and Matthew 13:47.

There are many more passages and texts of Scripture that could be cited here, but as each of us continue to study our Bible and, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing it to interpret itself, this principle will become more and more clear.