Dragnet

The Dragnet Part 1

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach, and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
“So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from the righteous, and will throw them in the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 13:47-50

There are seven parables listed in Mathew 13. The sower, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the dragnet. The parables reveal the workings of the kingdom of God. They also have prophetic insight and reveal end time scenarios.
The parable of the dragnet has all of these and more. The KJV says “The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net.” The word “net” there is sufficient but “dragnet” is more accurate. The Greek word there is sagene. This word appears only once in the Greek text of the scriptures. Looking at this word translators had no other biblical phrase to compare it to. Ancient Greek writings speaking of the Persian conquest of the islands of the sea would use this word to describe how they would lock arms and march the length of the isle so no one would escape their grasp. The Latin word seine derives from this word. The idea of the dragnet was that it was not a one man operation. But rather a huge net that multiple men would have to pull to shore. These nets were meant to capture every thing, both “good and bad.” Other parables also reveal a harvesting of everything, both good and bad. I believe in an end time harvest.

In 2000 I was standing in the back of our church. The Spirit of the Lord had been visiting us for weeks on end. Our prayer meetings had been inflamed by the presence of God. As I was standing there I asked the Lord what he was doing. This word came to me. “I’m mending my nets.” There is an elaborate networking that God is orchestrating in this great end time harvest. He is mending his nets and He is positioning us. The word “Global positioning” comes to mind. God has a strategic plan for maximum harvest. If your listening to what the “Spirit is saying to the church” maybe you are picking up on that.
A few years ago I saw something in the Spirit while in a prayer meeting. I saw a man standing in a boat on what looked to be a very wide place on a river. The river was so wide at this point that the water seemed very still. The man seemed to be Latin American and appeared to be a fisherman. All of the sudden a large school of fish appeared and was headed straight for the boat. The fish seemed to be reacting out of fear as if something was driving them toward this fisherman’s boat.
I believe God is going to fill His house in this last hour. There is yet a harvest like we’ve never seen before. Remember harvest doesn’t always look like revival. There are two predominant methods God uses in harvesting. Appealing to our sensitivity or appealing to our fear. Jude 22,23. The Lord of the harvest is going to engage the masses. There is going to be a driving of fish into His nets. Just like when Jesus told Peter to cast his net on the right side of the boat. If you feel the Lord has been given you special instructions of late, remember the Lord is positioning us because He knows what is around the corner. Peter was not expecting the harvest of fish he caught. His nets began to break. He called for other fisherman to help bring in the catch, both of their boats were filled. I’m not sure we are expecting what’s going to happen. The Lord is going to drive fish into the nets.
After 911 there was a 25% spike in church attendance across this nation. I’m not talking about church attendance, but you can see the concept of being moved by fear. Now being moved with fear is not harvesting. The idea is to harvest those being moved with fear.
I’m not sure the churches are prepared for the influx of souls the Lord is going to drive their way. I long for the day when we call for our neighbor to help us with these fish, for there is more than we can handle.