Mark 4:26-29--The Parable of the Seed Growing

Mark 4:26-29
English Standard Version
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The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

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Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a farmer waiting for his crop to grow.  The farmer plants the seeds and night and day he watches and waits.  He sees the seed sprout and grow, but there is no visible work being done to make the seed mature--it just happens naturally.  Then one day the crop has reached full maturity and "ripens" so that we have gone from blade to ear and then full grain on the ear.  At that time, the farmer and all of his workers immediately go out and harvest the crop.  They do not delay at all.  So it will be with the coming of the Son of Man.  When the number of the souls that belong to Him which have been written in the Lamb's Book of Life since before the foundations of the world is complete, then the Father will send an angel to tell the Son that it is time (not even the Son knows the day or the hour), and He will come on the clouds with power and authority both to rescue His Bride and to judge His enemies.  John also uses this metaphor of the Son using His sickle to reap the harvest of good souls in Revelation 14:14-16.  Immediately following that, John talks about the harvest of the wicked for judgment (notice the Son harvests the righteous that belong to Him, but He sends His angels to harvest the unrighteous for judgment).  You can read more about that in Revelation 14:17-20.  So it will be in the last days that in the fullness of time (at just the right time and not a moment too early or too late), Jesus will return for the righteous and what is salvation for those that are in Christ is judgment and destruction for those who are outside of Christ (just like the Ark and the 10th Plague/Passover).