In the seventh parable in Matthew 13 the Lord said that the kingdom of the heavens is like a net cast into the sea and gathering from every species (v. 47). This shows that there is not only the pearl in the sea but also every species. Every species refers to every tribe, signifying all the nations, all the Gentiles. The net in this parable signifies the eternal gospel preached to the Gentile world during the great tribulation (Rev. 14:6). It is unlike the gospel we preach and hear today, which is the gospel of grace, or the gospel of forgiveness.
Let us compare the gospel of grace and the eternal gospel. The gospel of grace is preached by the saved ones. Angels are not qualified to preach the gospel of grace. Hence, the angel asked Cornelius to send for Peter to preach the gospel (Acts 10:1-8). The requirement of this gospel is that man would repent and believe. The content of the gospel of grace is the eternal life so that man would have God’s life and live forever. The time period during which this gospel is preached is the dispensation of grace. The eternal gospel, on the other hand, is preached by an angel (Rev. 14:6-7). The requirement of this gospel is that man would fear and worship God. The content of the eternal gospel is the future eternity, in which the creatures will exist forever. The time period during which it is preached is the great tribulation, which is at the end of the dispensation of grace and before the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
During the great tribulation, when the church age is near its end but the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens has not yet come, God will preach the eternal gospel, which is signified by the net spoken of in Matthew 13:47. This gospel will bring onto the shore collectively all men who are in the sea, that is, in the world usurped by Satan. In contrast, the gospel of grace does not save people collectively but one by one. Those who are saved by the gospel of grace are regenerated, have God’s life, and are transformed into a being of two natures, as signified by the pearl. The eternal gospel brings people from the sea onto the shore; these people are the many species, the many nations, who have not been regenerated, who do not have the eternal life, and who have not been transformed. The parables in Matthew 13 show that the Lord first saves a group of people from the Satan-usurped world by the gospel of grace that they may become the pearl that He treasures, and then He deals with every tribe and nation that remains in the Satan-usurped world by His eternal gospel.
This will occur at the end of the dispensation of grace before the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, that is, when the Lord comes to judge the living. The world today is a vast sea that is corrupted and usurped by Satan. Every tribe and nation lives in this vast sea. In the age of grace the Lord gains a small number of people through the gospel of grace; these are regenerated and become the pearl. However, the majority of men remain in the sea until the Lord comes; at that time, He will deal with those who have not been gained through the gospel of grace. During the great tribulation, the Lord will send an angel to preach the eternal gospel to charge men to fear God and worship God. Those who receive this gospel are the species of the good; those who do not receive it are the species of the foul (Matt. 13:47-48). When the Lord appears, He will charge the angels to bring before Him those who are still living on the earth, and He will judge them according to the eternal gospel. The foul will perish, but the good will be the people in the millennial kingdom (25:32-34, 41). The great tribulation will last three and a half years. Before the great tribulation the overcoming believers will be raptured, but those who are weak and defeated will remain on the earth.
The law ended when John the Baptist came forth; in the future the gospel of grace will likewise end when the two witnesses—Moses and Elijah—come forth. The time of John the Baptist and the thirty-three and a half years when the Lord was on earth was the transition period from the age of the law to the age of grace. In the future the three and a half years of the great tribulation will likewise be the transition period from the end of the age of grace to the commencement of the kingdom age. The preaching of the eternal gospel will take place after the rapture of the hundred and forty-four thousand overcomers (Rev. 14:3, 6). At that time Antichrist will set up his image on the earth for man to worship. Those who do not worship him will be killed; these include the remaining Christians and the Jews (13:1-18). Antichrist will kill them during the great tribulation. Just before this persecution God will send an angel to preach the eternal gospel to charge man to fear God and worship God (14:6-7). After the preaching of this gospel, the harvest will be ripe, and the remaining believers will all be reaped (vv. 14-16). Following this, an angel will gather the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the fury of God (vv. 17-20). The vine here refers to the evil ones.
Without the seventh parable, the prophecy in Matthew 13 would not be complete, and we would not be shown how the Lord will deal with the unbelievers who are still living on the earth when He comes in His kingdom to rule. Hence, the Lord spoke the seventh parable to show that He will deal with these living ones based on the eternal gospel. This is the Lord’s wisdom.
When the two witnesses come, perhaps at the time when the harvest is reaped, they will be the last ones who uphold God’s interests on the earth. The three and a half years of the great tribulation cannot be considered the age of grace or the age of the kingdom but a transition period. During this transition period two witnesses will come forth to prophesy (Rev. 11:3). John the Baptist preached the word but not the gospel of life; it was the Lord who preached the gospel of life. In the Old Testament there is the law, in the New Testament there is the word of life, and between the two is the gospel of repentance preached by John the Baptist. In the same way, in the age of grace there is the gospel of grace, and in the transition period between the age of grace and the age of the kingdom there is the eternal gospel.