Children of the Evil One?

I sure am glad that I'm not preaching this Sunday. The Wheat and the Tares is such a messy parable. If one reads the text at face value it sounds like some people were created to always be destined for hell. They even get a name, Children of the Evil One.

It all feels very Calvin-y to me.

As I reread the parable, letting the shock of my first read wear off (every time I read it, it shocks me) I began to wonder who the Children of the Evil One are. If the Creed is to be believed, then God created everything, seen and unseen, in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth. So, did God create children of the evil one, destined for hell, and hell bent on taking the rest of humanity with them?

Or, are the evil one's children a separate creation? Does the devil have such power? Are these children fellow humans? Are they demons? Are they evil powers? Are they principalities?

I feel like this has to be addressed on Sunday morning. I feel like this is all people will hear. We skirt the issue of good vs. evil, of heaven and hell, to our detriment. So, dear reader, how will you preach this text?