Understanding the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven Part III
So far, we have looked at The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of The Wheat and Tares. In The Sower, we discovered God desires to establish His work in the human heart by way of sowing seed. His seed is good seed, but as soon as God begins a work, the enemy comes and does everything in his power to destroy the seed. We also learned, only a select few (remnant) would receive the seed in good soil (the human heart) and bear fruit, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred fold! All others who heard the word, will fall as victims to the schemes of the wicked one and never produce any fruit.
In the Parable of The Wheat and Tares, we learned, not only does the enemy attempt to destroy the good seed, he sows some of his own, corrupt seed right alongside the good seed. We discovered the corrupt seed looks very much like the good seed and it is hard to tell them apart, until the good seed begins to mature! We also discovered any bad seed left over at the end of the age, God will separate. We are not to attempt to separate the good from the bad because only God can do that, only God has the ability to know what is in the human heart.
These two parables are a prophetic picture of the first two phases of church history. We discovered, in The Sower, because the enemy wastes no time in his relentless attacks, trying to destroy what God is building, the church began to fall out of love rather quickly with her Bridegroom! The letter to the Church at Ephesus revealed this to us. In The Wheat and Tares, we saw as the enemy sowed his own, corrupt seed, they began to sprout corruption within the church, resulting in an age of intense persecution. As the enemy's seed began to mature the church dwindled down to just a select few (remnant) who would remain faithful under such intense persecution. We saw this confirmed in the letter to the Church at Smyrna.
Historically, this brings us to about 312 AD. So in three hundred short years, the church went from a powerful, Spirit led assembly of miracle working saints, to a small number of faithful saints who stood firm amidst the horrible persecution of the Roman government. The rest of the professing church was nothing more than a religious entity of rules, regulations, piety and corruption. At this point, the line between true saints and counterfeit saints is rather blurred. As we shall soon see, a vivid separation will become evident as Jesus cleanses and sanctifies His bride.
The Mustard Seed
The Mustard Seed
Now, the next two parables continue with this same prophetic format. We will see how the bad is mingled in with the good and both of them claim to be the church. Our next parable is The Mustard Seed.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." (Mt. 13:31, 32).
Notice the above words is bold italics, we see these "birds" again being used by Jesus to symbolize something very significant. If you will recall, just a few verses before this story, Jesus explained the Parable of The Sower to His disciples. When He explained the meaning of the seed which fell by the wayside (Mt. 13:4) and how it got snatched away by the "birds" of the air; He told His disciples this is the person who "hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." (Mt. 13:18, 19).
So, very clearly, Jesus tells us these birds are being used by Him to illustrate the presence of the "wicked one". The reason why I seem to belabor the point here is because I have heard this parable (and the next) misinterpreted many times. Many have interpreted these "birds of the air" as saints. Now, theologically, there is no problem with such an interpretation. There is nothing theologically incorrect with believing the church begins very small (mustard seed) and grows very large so the birds (saints) come to lodge in its branches (the church). However, there are two things I want to bring to your remembrance here. As I posted some "rules for proper biblical interpretation" in my post titled: "Understanding the Prophetic Word," I explained how we must consider the context and the subject matter shortly before and after where we are reading.
In this context, we are reading about how the kingdom of heaven may be established. The subject of birds was used in the first parable, The Sower, which Jesus took the time to interpret for His disciples. As He did so, He told us the birds were used to illustrate the presence of the "wicked one." Furthermore, the subject matter of bad being mingled in with the good remains evident here. Jesus is telling us here, He is planting a church and many who participate in the membership of that church will be children of the "wicked one." They may look and sound like the others, but they are under the control of the enemy.
As I stated above, historically, this brings us to around 312 AD. It was at this time in history that the Roman Emperor, Constantine claimed to have a spiritual vision which compelled him to convert to Christianity. As a result, he put an end to the horrible persecution against the church. He also commanded his armies to be converted, resulting in a sudden influx of pagans into the church. This is seen in the symbolism of the mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, grows rapidly into a great tree; so the birds of the air come to lodge in its branches. This can be confirmed in the third letter to the churches found in Rev. 2:12-17.
This letter was written to the church of Pergamos. Some translations use the word, Pergamum; which means to marry. So, here we have a prophetic picture of the church becoming married to the world. Constantine brought the world into the church. It is here the church becomes dedicated to compromise. Many pagan rituals were incorporated into the church service during this phase of church history. It was also in this phase of church history we see a change in the strategy of Satan. After discovering he could not kill the church via persecution; he decided to join her! After all, his goal has been to steal the glory from God. The adversary has desired to be worshiped since the beginning. Satan saw that even death and torture was not going stop the remnant from believing and overcoming, so he decided to join the church.
Next we move into the Dark Ages of church history. This brings us to the fourth parable in Matthew Chapter 13, The Leaven. This parable is very similar to the parable of the Mustard Seed. It continues with the same prophetic format and warning of the bad being mingled in with the good. Let's take a quick look at it now.
"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." (Mt. 13:33).
Again, like the Mustard Seed, many preachers misinterpret this parable by using the leaven as a symbol of the word of God. However, if we are going to consider the context of this entire chapter; which is the establishing of the kingdom of heaven, then we must remain true to the prophetic format which has consistently shown us there will be bad mingled in with the good. Likewise, if we look at the subject matter of leaven, we will discover it is used elsewhere in the New Testament by Jesus, as a symbol of corruption. Notice how He uses leaven as a metaphor here: "...beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Lk. 12:1). It is very clear here, leaven is used as a symbol of hypocrisy.
The apostle Paul used the same metaphor as a symbol for corruption in his epistle to the church at Galatia. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." (Gal. 5:9). He is rebuking the church for allowing herself to be "hindered from obeying the truth." He then notes this "persuasion does not come from Him who calls you." Finally, again, the apostle Paul uses leaven as a metaphor to the church at Corinth. "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (I Cor.5:7, 8). This takes us back to the Old Testament, when God gave the Passover Feast to the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. During the Passover, the Hebrews were commanded by God to purge their homes of all leaven. This is because the Passover Lamb was a type of Christ's pure, shed blood and was not to be mingled with sin. "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven..." (Ex. 34:25).
I think you are getting the picture here, leaven is used metaphorically as a symbol of corruption; just as the birds are used metaphorically as a symbol of corruption. This is the prophetic pattern we see in Matthew Chapter 13, it is the context of this chapter and it would be wrong to take this subject matter and use in the opposite way Jesus intended. As you can see, it is not my intention to give an exhaustive interpretation of any of these parables, I am not going to go into the "woman" used as an illustration in this parable. I am merely trying to show you a prophetic pattern here, established by Jesus as He speaks these mysteries. He is showing us something very profound and very mysterious here. He is showing us how His kingdom will be established here on earth, how it will be polluted by the enemy, and how He will always preserve a remnant through every phase of church history for His glory and for His purposes.
Historically, this brings us to the fourth phase of church history. If we go now to the fourth letter to the churches in Revelation we will gain even more insight to this mystery. The third letter was written to a "compromising church," now this letter is addressed to the "corrupt church." This is what compromise will always lead to...corruption! Thyatira is the church which represents the church during the Dark Ages. Once Constantine introduced the world into the church, it was just a matter of time before she would see corruption on such a grand scale, it would nearly be the end for her. The spirit of Jezebel had full control of the church and corruption had reached peak levels. Yet, still, we see there was a small remnant of believers who did not "know the depths of Satan, as they say..." They are told by the Risen Christ: "...hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations." (Rev. 2:25).
So, we've now looked at four parables and four letters to the churches. In the parables, we see a principle of bad being mingled in with the good. In the letters to the churches, we see a progression of corruption which continues to grow, while at the same time, God preserves a remnant of true and faithful over-comers. Next week we will take a look at the first of the last four parables in Matthew Chapter 13; these last four Jesus spoke privately to His disciples. What we will discover in those parables is the immense love He has for His church and the limitless bounds He is willing to go to in order to preserve her and equip her with power from on high.
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." (Mt. 13:31, 32).
Notice the above words is bold italics, we see these "birds" again being used by Jesus to symbolize something very significant. If you will recall, just a few verses before this story, Jesus explained the Parable of The Sower to His disciples. When He explained the meaning of the seed which fell by the wayside (Mt. 13:4) and how it got snatched away by the "birds" of the air; He told His disciples this is the person who "hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." (Mt. 13:18, 19).
So, very clearly, Jesus tells us these birds are being used by Him to illustrate the presence of the "wicked one". The reason why I seem to belabor the point here is because I have heard this parable (and the next) misinterpreted many times. Many have interpreted these "birds of the air" as saints. Now, theologically, there is no problem with such an interpretation. There is nothing theologically incorrect with believing the church begins very small (mustard seed) and grows very large so the birds (saints) come to lodge in its branches (the church). However, there are two things I want to bring to your remembrance here. As I posted some "rules for proper biblical interpretation" in my post titled: "Understanding the Prophetic Word," I explained how we must consider the context and the subject matter shortly before and after where we are reading.
In this context, we are reading about how the kingdom of heaven may be established. The subject of birds was used in the first parable, The Sower, which Jesus took the time to interpret for His disciples. As He did so, He told us the birds were used to illustrate the presence of the "wicked one." Furthermore, the subject matter of bad being mingled in with the good remains evident here. Jesus is telling us here, He is planting a church and many who participate in the membership of that church will be children of the "wicked one." They may look and sound like the others, but they are under the control of the enemy.
As I stated above, historically, this brings us to around 312 AD. It was at this time in history that the Roman Emperor, Constantine claimed to have a spiritual vision which compelled him to convert to Christianity. As a result, he put an end to the horrible persecution against the church. He also commanded his armies to be converted, resulting in a sudden influx of pagans into the church. This is seen in the symbolism of the mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, grows rapidly into a great tree; so the birds of the air come to lodge in its branches. This can be confirmed in the third letter to the churches found in Rev. 2:12-17.
This letter was written to the church of Pergamos. Some translations use the word, Pergamum; which means to marry. So, here we have a prophetic picture of the church becoming married to the world. Constantine brought the world into the church. It is here the church becomes dedicated to compromise. Many pagan rituals were incorporated into the church service during this phase of church history. It was also in this phase of church history we see a change in the strategy of Satan. After discovering he could not kill the church via persecution; he decided to join her! After all, his goal has been to steal the glory from God. The adversary has desired to be worshiped since the beginning. Satan saw that even death and torture was not going stop the remnant from believing and overcoming, so he decided to join the church.
The Leaven
Next we move into the Dark Ages of church history. This brings us to the fourth parable in Matthew Chapter 13, The Leaven. This parable is very similar to the parable of the Mustard Seed. It continues with the same prophetic format and warning of the bad being mingled in with the good. Let's take a quick look at it now.
"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." (Mt. 13:33).
Again, like the Mustard Seed, many preachers misinterpret this parable by using the leaven as a symbol of the word of God. However, if we are going to consider the context of this entire chapter; which is the establishing of the kingdom of heaven, then we must remain true to the prophetic format which has consistently shown us there will be bad mingled in with the good. Likewise, if we look at the subject matter of leaven, we will discover it is used elsewhere in the New Testament by Jesus, as a symbol of corruption. Notice how He uses leaven as a metaphor here: "...beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Lk. 12:1). It is very clear here, leaven is used as a symbol of hypocrisy.
The apostle Paul used the same metaphor as a symbol for corruption in his epistle to the church at Galatia. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." (Gal. 5:9). He is rebuking the church for allowing herself to be "hindered from obeying the truth." He then notes this "persuasion does not come from Him who calls you." Finally, again, the apostle Paul uses leaven as a metaphor to the church at Corinth. "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (I Cor.5:7, 8). This takes us back to the Old Testament, when God gave the Passover Feast to the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. During the Passover, the Hebrews were commanded by God to purge their homes of all leaven. This is because the Passover Lamb was a type of Christ's pure, shed blood and was not to be mingled with sin. "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven..." (Ex. 34:25).
I think you are getting the picture here, leaven is used metaphorically as a symbol of corruption; just as the birds are used metaphorically as a symbol of corruption. This is the prophetic pattern we see in Matthew Chapter 13, it is the context of this chapter and it would be wrong to take this subject matter and use in the opposite way Jesus intended. As you can see, it is not my intention to give an exhaustive interpretation of any of these parables, I am not going to go into the "woman" used as an illustration in this parable. I am merely trying to show you a prophetic pattern here, established by Jesus as He speaks these mysteries. He is showing us something very profound and very mysterious here. He is showing us how His kingdom will be established here on earth, how it will be polluted by the enemy, and how He will always preserve a remnant through every phase of church history for His glory and for His purposes.
Historically, this brings us to the fourth phase of church history. If we go now to the fourth letter to the churches in Revelation we will gain even more insight to this mystery. The third letter was written to a "compromising church," now this letter is addressed to the "corrupt church." This is what compromise will always lead to...corruption! Thyatira is the church which represents the church during the Dark Ages. Once Constantine introduced the world into the church, it was just a matter of time before she would see corruption on such a grand scale, it would nearly be the end for her. The spirit of Jezebel had full control of the church and corruption had reached peak levels. Yet, still, we see there was a small remnant of believers who did not "know the depths of Satan, as they say..." They are told by the Risen Christ: "...hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations." (Rev. 2:25).
So, we've now looked at four parables and four letters to the churches. In the parables, we see a principle of bad being mingled in with the good. In the letters to the churches, we see a progression of corruption which continues to grow, while at the same time, God preserves a remnant of true and faithful over-comers. Next week we will take a look at the first of the last four parables in Matthew Chapter 13; these last four Jesus spoke privately to His disciples. What we will discover in those parables is the immense love He has for His church and the limitless bounds He is willing to go to in order to preserve her and equip her with power from on high.
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