Verse 41
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity.
Here again, in Jesus' explanation, are the words "out of his kingdom," indicating the area under consideration to be primarily the church, but on a world-wide scale. The burden of teaching in the parable seems to be that God and his angels, rather than men and their devices, are to separate the wicked from the just.
As to how evil persons get into the kingdom, it is stated in Matthew 13:25, above, that an enemy, the devil, planted them there. Significantly, this was done only "while men slept" (Matthew 13:25), and shows the limitation upon Satan's activity in this endeavor. Most of the sorrows and shortcomings in the church occur when men are asleep, failing to keep watch as the Master commanded.
Be the first to react on this!