The Kingdom of Heaven
The Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
PART
ONE
By
Pastor F. M. Riley
October 15, 2013
“Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yea, Lord.
Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of
his treasure things new and old.”
Matthew
13:51-52
Introduction
I have taught
and preached on these parables many times over the years in the Lord’s
ministry, and have been asked many times to write out an exposition of them. However, until now I have had neither the time
nor the inclination to do so. But in the
last few days I have been made to realize that I am to write out an exposition
of these parables. The truths set forth
in these parables have never been more timely, relevant, and needed than they
are today. By God’s grace I willingly
obey what I believe to be the leadership of God’s Holy Spirit. Pray for me as we study together.
Let’s begin this exposition by defining the subject…..
THE KINGDOM…..In God’s Word
there are several kingdoms mentioned, but in this study we will only deal with
those kingdoms which are relevant to the study.
There is the literal Kingdom
of God in heaven, which “flesh and blood” cannot enter into or
inherit, 1 Corinthians 15:50. But there is also the spiritual
Kingdom of God upon earth, which every true believer is “born” into by the “new birth,” John
3:3-8. So there is both a
spiritual and a literal aspect to the Kingdom of God.
In similar manner there is also the Kingdom
of Satan, Matthew 12:26. Satan
rules over a literal kingdom of “principalities and powers…..in the
heavenlies,” Ephesians 6:11-12. Yet Satan also directs a spiritual
kingdom in this present evil world, which seeks to attack and destroy the
minds, hearts, and souls of men, and bring upon mankind eternal destruction, 2
Corinthians 4:4.
The term, “the kingdom of heaven,” literally
means “the kingdom from heaven,” or “the kingdom bestowed upon mankind from Heaven.” It refers to the kingdom of God which true believers were instructed to
pray for in the model prayer, Matthew 6:10. It is the promised Kingdom to come
prophesied in Daniel 2:44, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other peoples, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
However, keep in mind that there are also two aspects to this promised
kingdom. Like the kingdom of God, the “kingdom of heaven” is both spiritual and literal At the first coming of Christ, only the spiritual
aspect of this promised kingdom was established, Colossians 1:13. At the
second coming of Christ the literal kingdom will be established on the
earth. In the four gospels there are
Scriptures where “the kingdom of heaven” and “the kingdom of God” are
obviously used synonymously, but there are also other Scriptures where the two
kingdoms are quite distinct from each other. How does one tell the
difference? A true believer tells the difference in the two kingdoms by
prayer and STUDY, 2 Timothy 2:15. The two kingdoms are sometimes distinct
because the King who is to reign and rule over this kingdom was rejected and
crucified by His subjects to whom the Kingdom was promised, Luke
19:12-14. Therefore He ascended
back to Heaven to receive authority from Father God Himself to return and take
the promised kingdom by force, Luke 19:12; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation
19:11-21. The parables which
we will be studying speak about the spiritual aspect of “the
kingdom of heaven” during this present dispensation. These parables give to us a good prophetic
1
view of what would occur in the kingdom
on earth during the Lord’s absence.
I would also point out that these parables are related to one another in
the order of cause and effect. In other
words, one set of events predicted in a parable leads up to another set of
events occurring as described in the next parable, etc.
THE CHURCH…..There are some
today who teach that the “church” and the “kingdom” are one and the same
thing. This is absolutely not
Scriptural truth! The Lord’s church
is in the kingdom, but it is not the kingdom, just as the Lord’s
church is also in the world, but not of the world, John 15:18-19. The Lord’s New Covenant churches are
promised to reign with Christ over the kingdom, Matthew 25:19-21; Luke 19:15-19;
Revelation 1:6; 5:8-10; 20:4. In
fact the inspired Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for reigning as
kings before the appointed time, 1 Corinthians 4:8. Because the Lord’s churches are in
the kingdom during this present dispensation, there are similarities
between “the kingdom of heaven” parables and the letters to the seven
churches in Revelation 2 – 3. To get
the full picture of what was predicted to occur on the earth during this
present dispensation while our Lord is bodily absent from the earth, our
readers should study both the parables and the church letters together.
There are seven of these parables set forth in Matthew
13, then there is one more parable which applies to those who
claim to have understood all of the parables, making a total of eight parables
in the whole chapter. All of these parables, according to 13:1-3, were spoken to
the multitudes on the shore of the sea of Galilee. These “multitudes” are obviously typical of the masses of
humanity, as confirmed by the parables. The Gospel of Christ Jesus is for all
humanity. It is God’s way of revealing
His mercy and way of salvation to all of mankind, “not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance,” 2 Peter 3:9. But keep
in mind that the Lord’s disciples were present as the Lord spoke these parables
to the multitudes, therefore true
believers are also to learn Scriptural truth from these parables. Carefully
notice that Christ Himself “interpreted” or explained the symbolism of five
of these parables. It is obvious that
Christ Jesus had a fervent desire for people to understand what He was teaching
them. Shouldn’t we who “profess” to be “true believers” have just as
fervent a desire to understand these parables in order that we might use them
to witness to and warn the lost? Think
about it!
Now having made these introductory remarks, let’s turn our attention to
an in-depth, diligent study of each of “The Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The
Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1-9; 13:18-23……
This parable is the first of “the kingdom of heaven” parables, as
it rightly should be for this parable deals with “the way of salvation.” Any genuine relationship with God has to
begin with being saved; salvation in Christ.
Compare John 3:3-5 and 14:6.
The importance of this parable is emphasized by being repeated three times in the Scriptures.
See the other two accounts in Mark 4:1-9 and Luke 8:4-8.
Four
Hearts
What this parable sets forth is
four kinds or types of heart that beat within the breast [or soul] of every human being.
The Lord clearly stated in His explanation of this parable, that the
ground in which the “seed” is being sown is “the heart,” Matthew 13:19. It is still true that God looks upon what is
in the heart of men and women, boys and girls, rather than being impressed with
their outward appearance, 1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 11:20; 17:9-10.
[1] The incorrigible indifferent sinner…..
“Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when He sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came
and devoured them up:,” 13:4. See also Mark 4:15 and Luke
8:12.
When Christ Jesus Himself explained this parable in 13:19,
He equated the “hearing of the Word” with the “seed” that was sown “in
the heart.” In other words, the heart of man is “the ground” in which the
“seed”
of the Word is being sown. In 13:37 Christ explicitly
states that He is the One “who
2
soweth the good seed.” When some reader
gets “puffed up” about the “great work” they are doing for God, perhaps they
need to read again John 15:5. Without the
presence and leadership of Christ, through His Holy Spirit, no believer can
accomplish “diddly squat” in the work of the Lord. Hello!
The person hearing the Word in this instance is the one who is totally indifferent
to the things of God. They hear the Word
with their ears, but it never penetrates
into their heart, because their heart is totally indifferent to the things of
God. Even though the Word is sown in
their heart, they pay no attention to it, for they don’t consider it important
enough to bother with. Then the demons [birds of the air] or Satan himself comes and steals out of their minds and hearts
even what they have heard. This parable
is speaking of lost people who are confronted with the Word of God, but who
have no concern whatsoever about the knowledge of God, Christ, His Word, or the
way of salvation. They are lost in their
sin and, barring the direct intervention of God, will remain incorrigible
sinners to the day they die. Take
heed!
[2] The hard hearted incorrigible sinner…..
“Some
fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away,” 13:5-6. See also Mark
4:16-17 and Luke
When the Lord Himself explained this, He explicitly
stated that this person hears the Word and suddenly and joyfully, [emotionally] receives this “good news,”
yet there is no depth at all to their “profession” and no root connecting them
to the Lord God. These are the kind of
hard hearted “professing” Christians who having heard the Word, emotionally reason
in their own minds that “joining the church” and/or being baptized will solve
all their problems and assure them of a home in Heaven in the hereafter. They
reason that having made a “profession” and “joined the church” they can then float
into Heaven on a flowery bed of ease.
But the Lord pointed out that when trials and tribulations arise because
of the Word these kinds of people suddenly become offended and are gone, 13:20-21. See also Mark 4:16-17 and Luke
8:13. The winds of trials and
tribulations just blow them away. They
remain still lost and on their way to eternal damnation.
Folks, no one gets saved and floats into Heaven on a flowery bed of
ease. Christ Jesus Himself clearly
stated, “And He said to them all, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow Me,” Luke 9:23. Christ
also told His disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you, that
in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye
shall have tribulation [trouble]: but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” John 16:33. Folks, there is only one purpose for a
cross, and that is to suffer and die on.
Notice that the Lord said “daily.”
This means that every morning when you awake, as a true believer your life is to be
consecrated to whatever the Lord’s will is for you for the day. If that means suffering, or even dying, for
Christ, then “self” is to be abandoned into the hands of the Lord. This gets down to the “nitty gritty” of real
Bible believing Christianity, and many who want to be identified as
“Christians” today have neither the “guts” nor the “grace” to receive this
truth.
Folks, joining some church in an emotional “high” and making a
“profession” is not salvation.
The Lord made it quite clear when speaking of this hard hearted
individual, that they had no “root” connection with God. In essence, regardless of their “profession,”
made in an emotional “high,” such people are still lost in their sin and on the
road to hell. While a true salvation
experience does touch the heart and emotions of a true believer, there is more to salvation than just an
emotional experience. This is exactly
why 2
Corinthians 13:5 and 2 Peter 1:10 is in the Bible. Take heed!
[3] “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns
sprung up, and choked them,” 13:7.
When the Lord
Himself explained this in 13:22, He explicitly related the “thorns”
to “the care of this world,” “the
deceitfulness of riches,” “lusts of other things,” and “pleasures
of this life.” See Mark
4:18-19 and Luke 8:14. In other
words, these are “gods” that are in the heart of this person, and although the
person makes a “profession” of being saved, they really value these things more
than they value “salvation in Christ.”
Notice that the Lord explicitly states that these “thorns” in their heart
spring up and “choke out the Word” so that “the Word” never brings
forth “fruit.” No matter how hard some expositors try to get around
the exact wording of these Scriptures, these kinds of people are still lost in
their sin and are on the way to hell.
The “gods” of this present evil world, which they have
3
erected in their heart, mean more to
them than the true God of Heaven.
I fully realize and teach that New Covenant believers are not living
under the Law of God given to Old Covenant Israel, yet God has not changed His
mind in regards to Exodus 20:3-4. This is
clearly
seen in the
statement of the Lord Jesus Himself when during His personal ministry He
explicitly stated,
“…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” Matthew
22:37. See also Mark
12:30. Folks, salvation is a
total commitment to Christ, receiving Him as your own personal Savior and
the Lord of your life, and placing Him above and before anything or anyone in
this present evil world. If that was not
what was in your heart when you made a “profession,” then you do not have
salvation. You are still lost in
your sin and on the way to hell, regardless of all your outward show of
“religion.” Take heed!
[4] “But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some
a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,” 13:8-9. See also Mark
4:20 and Luke 8:15.
When the Lord Jesus explained this, He explicitly
stated,
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the
Word, and understandeth it, which
also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty,” 13:23.
Notice that in
Luke’s account the Lord specifically stated that this person having “heard
the Word, keeps it.”
Compare James 1:21-25. This sets
forth the difference between this person being described, and the former three
persons. The Greek word translated as “keep”
in this Scripture is the word, “katecho.” This word literally means, “to hold fast; to possess; to be bound by;
to be held by; to keep in memory; to take hold on.” See Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, pages
339-340, Strong’s No. 2722. In other
words this believer readily receives the Word and embraces it in faith,
refusing to let it slip away. Christ
Jesus also added in Luke’s account, that “with patience” this true
believer “brings forth fruit.” Glory
to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! This gives wonderful assurance that a life
lived in the Word and for Christ will never be lived in vain. There will indeed be “fruit” produced by such
a life, and it will be present when we stand before our Lord to give account, 2
Corinthians 5:10; Psalm 126:5-6.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord,” 1 Corinthians 15:58. See also Galatians
6:9 and 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
The
Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
PART
TWO
By
Pastor F. M. Riley
October 22, 2013
“And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them
in parables?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more
abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he
hath,” Matthew 13:10-12.
Introduction
My introduction to these parables was set forth in Part One. The Lord spoke these parables to the “multitude”
of people gathered together by the sea side, 13:1-3. The Lord’s disciples were present,
but the parables were spoken to the masses of unbelievers who were gathered
together on that occasion.
After giving the first parable, the disciples of the Lord ask Him why He
was speaking to the multitudes in parables.
His complete answer is contained in 13:10-17.
Our readers should carefully study this whole passage. The Lord made it quite plain in these
Scriptures that unbelievers do not receive nor understand spiritual truth. Compare 1 Corinthians 2:14, Mark 4:10-12, and
Luke
8:9-10. If one wants
understanding of God’s Word, then they MUST first believe what
God’s Word has to say about Christ and the way of salvation, and receive Christ
as their own personal Savior. There is no other way to come to spiritual
understanding of God’s Word!
PERIOD!
It is not that Christ Jesus did not want the multitudes to be saved, but
rather that they refused to hear and believe that they might be
saved. The Lord explicitly stated that
they closed their own eyes and shut their own ears, for they didn’t even want
to risk becoming convinced that Christ was the promised Messiah and Savior of
Israel. In essence, by their own choice
of refusing to see and hear, they sealed their own doom and eternal damnation. Those who spend eternity in the lake of fire
will be there by having made their own choice to reject the Lord Jesus Christ
as their Savior, Romans 10:17; John 14:6; Acts 4:12.
But notice that Christ pronounced a blessing upon the eyes and ears of
His disciples who had chosen to see and hear and believe, 13:16. Christ also made it clear that the
prophets and righteous men of Israel had desired for centuries to see and hear what
they were hearing and seeing at that time, 13:17.
But now the “appointed time” had come for Christ to appear in
person and speak forth these wonderful truths, and the disciples were blessed
in their seeing and hearing.
For those readers who are really serious
about wanting to know and learn the truths of God’s Word,
I
would point out that the next three parables are all connected by subject. All three of them have to do
with
Satan’s infiltration of the Lord’s churches and the ranks of Christianity. A good understanding of
these
next three parables will tell our readers exactly how Satan infiltrated the
churches and the ranks
of
Christianity.
As we go into this second, and
following parables, keep in mind that the Lord set forth the parables in the exact chronological order
in which He foreknew events would occur during this present dispensation, with
one event preparing the way for the next event to follow. This inspired chronological order in these
parables extends right on through to the seventh parable which deals with the
Tribulation period which follows this present dispensation of grace.
Now let’s turn our attention to the second parable given by the Lord in
this chapter…..
The
Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
1
“Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven
is likened to a man which sowed good seed in His field:
But while men slept, His enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared
the tares also.
So the servants of the householder came and said unto Him, Sir, didst
not Thou sow good seed in
Thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto Him, Wilt Thou then
that we go and gather them up?
But He said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the
wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, Gather up together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn,” Matthew 13:24-30.
The first parable was The Parable
of the Sower. Then it is perfectly
logical that the next parable in order would deal with the crop which is
produced by the seed sown. And so it is
here in Matthew 13. This second
parable is also explained by the Lord Himself to the disciples. See 13:34-43.
In 13:34-35 it is explicitly stated that Christ
setting forth these parables was a fulfillment of what had been desired by the
prophets and righteous men of Israel for centuries, as predicted in Psalm
49:1-4 and 78:1-2. It was predicted
by the Psalmist some 1,000 years in advance that Christ would speak to the lost
world in parables, and at His first coming, in these Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is exactly what He did.
However, carefully note that each of these parables are prophetic. In other words, what was predicted in each of
the parables was not fulfilled at the time Christ gave the parables, but
the events predicted in each parable awaited a future fulfillment. Events in each of these seven parables prophesied
events to be fulfilled at some point during this present dispensation of grace,
and during the coming Tribulation period to follow this dispensation. It is more than “coincidence” that the Lord
God first called for the attention of the whole world in the 49th
Psalm, which Psalm correlates with 1949, the year
Israel won their war of independence and took their place as a sovereign nation
among the nations of the world. But now
let’s carefully examine this parable…..
The symbols…..In this parable
of The Wheat and the Tares the “man”
who sowed the “good seed” is Christ Jesus Himself, 13:37.
The “field” in which the good seed is sown “is the world,” 13:38. Compare this statement with Psalm
24:1. Therefore, by virtue of
being “the last Adam” and the “heir of God,” this world rightfully
belongs to Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 8:17.
The earth and the world upon it is “His field.”
The “good seed” in this parable are “the children of the kingdom,”
13:38.
The “enemy” is “the devil” [Satan], 13:39.
The “tares” are “the children of the wicked one,”
13:38.
The “servants” are the true Christian
believers during the early centuries of Christianity, who soon spotted the
difference between true believers
and those “religionists” who simply made a “profession.”
The
Exposition…..
The
Sowing of the Tares
Our readers
need to keep in mind that Satan has never forgotten the “curse” placed upon him
by the Lord God in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed; it [He]
shall
bruise [crush] thy
head, and thou shalt bruise [crush] His
heel.” Satan, that old [ancient] serpent and the devil [Revelation 12:9; 20:2], knew that the
Lord God always keeps His Word, therefore “the seed of the woman” would be the
end of him forever. He then tried for centuries to prevent “the
seed of the woman” from even being born. Every attempt on Satan’s part failed, and
Christ Jesus came into the world as the virgin born son of Mary; literally “the
seed of the woman.” At the time
appointed for Christ to begin His public ministry, immediately Satan tempted [tested] Him in every area of His humanity
to see how best He could be defeated.
Satan knew that if
2
he could defeat Christ, then he could
deliver himself from the curse placed upon him in Eden so long ago, Matthew
4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13. Gloriously,
Christ passed every test and retained
His integrity as “the seed of the woman.”
From that time forward Satan instigated the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and others to oppose Christ at every
opportunity. But our Lord always
prevailed. Finally, Satan instigated the
unbelieving Jewish priests to have the Lord put to death. Satan, originally created as “the
anointed cherub,” was endowed with great wisdom and knowledge, Ezekiel
28:11-19. But in rebelling
against his Creator, his wisdom was “corrupted,” 28:17. While Satan still possesses great
wisdom, yet he didn’t really believe that Christ was “the Son of God,” Matthew 4:3;
4:6. Satan apparently reasoned
that since Christ was prophesied to be “the seed of the woman,” he was just
a man like all other men. Satan obviously believed that if Christ was
killed, then He could not fulfill Genesis 3:15. Satan, and those whom Satan
instigated to kill Christ, were so “dumb” that they didn’t realize that in killing
Christ, they were fulfilling God’s plan for the justification of fallen mankind
and sealing their own eternal doom and
damnation, 1 Corinthians 2:7-8. Isn’t
the wisdom of our Lord wonderful? 1
Corinthians 1:25. Praise His
Holy Name!
After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ,
Satan realized that the crucifixion actually spelled his own defeat. But he refused to give up! Satan then set out to defeat the gospel of
Christ in an attempt to make it impossible for the Lord to fulfill His
Word. In order to accomplish this, Satan
set out to sow “tares” among the “wheat” in the Lord’s church. .
At the beginning of the Christian
era, the Lord’s church could not be infiltrated. Why?
Because the entire church was in such perfect agreement in Christ that
there was no way for any lost person to slip into their ranks. Read it for yourself. It is explicitly recorded eight times
in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts that the Lord’s church
was “in
one accord,”and of “one heart,” “one mind,” and “one soul” on everything, Acts
1:14; 2:1; 2:42; 2:46; 2:46; 4:24; 4:32; 5:12. In other words, there
was not a single lost person [religionist]
in the ranks of the Lord’s church in these opening chapters of the Book
of Acts, and the entire church was in perfect agreement and harmony on
God’s Word. This made an
invincible wall around the church which Satan could not penetrate. Nevertheless Satan tried!
The account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 was nothing but an
attempt on Satan’s part to place two wicked unbelievers in the Lord’s church to
disrupt the Lord’s work. That first
attempt to “sow tares among the wheat” totally failed!
Yet Satan refused to give up. If
our readers carefully study these parables, it is obvious that Satan’s
reasoning was “if we can’t defeat them
from without, we will join their ranks and work for their defeat from within.”
Ultimately, he succeeded. In this
parable the Lord Jesus Christ Himself pointed out that “tares” would be sown
among the “wheat” due to some of God’s people sleeping on the job.
The Lord Jesus explicitly stated that the tares were
sown “while
men slept,” 13:25. It is a
historical and Scriptural truth that after Christ ascended back to the
Father in Heaven, the early fervent love for Him that His disciples had
exhibited for Him while He was bodily present with them during His personal
ministry began to wane. This is clearly
seen by comparing the Lord’s letter to His church in Ephesus, Revelation
2:4. In other words, without the
Lord’s personal bodily presence, the true church of the Lord began sleeping on
the job, 13:25. This lack of diligent devotion on the part of the early
believers gave Satan the opportunity to slip “his men” into the ranks of
Christianity, thereby sowing “tares among the wheat,” 13:25. That such actually happened is
evident from such passages as 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 4:1-4, 2
Peter 2:1-2, Jude 3 and many other similar
passages.
As a literal plant, the tares are noxious, worthless,
weeds, but when first beginning to grow, the tares look exactly like the
wheat. It is only after a bit of growth,
when the blade or stem of the tares puts forth, that it becomes apparent that the
tares are really not wheat. While the
wheat turns golden color when it begins to mature and ripen, the tares turn
dark or black. While the golden wheat is
lovely to look at when it matures or ripens, when the tares mature or ripen
they become black and ugly.
So it was with the spiritual tares that Satan sowed in the ranks
of Christianity. At the time some make a
“profession” of faith, who can tell if their “profession” is genuine or phony? When a person first “professes” Christ as
their Savior, they look like any other true believer. But with the passing of
3
time it becomes apparent whether the
person’s “profession” is genuine, or whether Satan is merely sowing “tares
among the wheat.” Who says so? The Lord Jesus Christ said so! Read it for yourself in
Matthew 7:15-20. A corrupt tree cannot
bring forth good fruit, and a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, 7:17-18.
The Lord explicitly said that we
believers can identify the false “by their fruits,” Matthew 7:20. The true
believer, by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling him [or her], subdues the flesh and grows in
the Lord producing “the fruit of the Spirit,” Galatians 5:22-25. The true believer is also given the indwelling presence of the
Holy Spirit enabling them to discern God’s Word, and thereby the difference
between “the clean and the unclean,” John 14:16-17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1
Thessalonians 5:21. On the
other hand, the phony “professing religionist” never gets free of “the
works of the flesh,” Galatians 5:19-21. Take heed!
When it became apparent
that many false “religionists” were infiltrating the ranks of Christianity, the
early Christian believers then ask the Lord if they were to “gather
up” the tares, 13:27-28.
The Lord’s reply is quite clear that “gathering up the tares” is
not our job. It literally is not
possible for even true Christian believers to carry out such a task, for while
we might “think” that some person is a tare by their conduct at or over a given
time, they might really be a true
believer that is struggling with some temptation or testing, while
trying to come to real spiritual understanding, growth, and maturity in the
Lord. Keep in mind that it is only
the Lord God who has the ability to look upon the heart, Jeremiah 17:9-10. We
believers can look upon the outward appearance and judge men’s works [or fruits] as good or evil, but due to
still living in a body of flesh with a “sin nature,” we are not yet infallible
in our ability to judge. Therefore the
Lord forbade His disciples from attempting to “gather the tares” out of
His kingdom. That task is reserved for
the Lord’s angels to perform at the appointed time, 13:40-41. Remember this the next time you are tempted to
consign someone to hell, Matthew 7:1-5. The Lord did say that we believers can
identify wicked “false prophets” “by their fruits,” [works] Matthew 7:15-16. However, this is not an instant identification
based on a solitary work, but rather an identification based on a consistent
pattern of habitual evil over a period of time. Take heed!
The Lord made it quite clear in explaining this parable to His
disciples, that at the end of this age His angels will come forth, first “gathering
the tares into bundles” in preparation for burning them, 13:30;
14:40. Dear readers, I truly
believe that we today are living very close to the end of this age, and that
this gathering of the tares into bundles has been going on now for some 60
years or more. Right after the end of
the Second World War, and continually since then, it seems like every kind of
organization has sprung up for those with a “common interest.” While some of these organizations are
“morally” good, many others have highly questionable moral values and worth. Today
there are organizations for recovering alcoholics [?], drug addicts, sexual
addicts, pornographers, child molesters, prostitutes, ex-convicts, lesbians,
homo-sexuals, divorcees, juveniles with behavioral problems, people who are too
fat, those with eating disorders, environmentalists, and on and on and on. One can almost think of any problem in our
society today, and there is an organization whose purpose is to bring together
all those who are concerned with that problem.
In view of what the Lord explicitly stated in this parable, I am made to
wonder if the Lord’s presently unseen angels have had some influence in the
formation of all of these organizations bringing these “tares” among mankind
together in preparation for the swiftly approaching judgment, Malachi
4:1? Think about it!
Don’t fail to notice that while the tares are being gathered into
bundles for burning, the “wheat” is also being gathered into
the Lord’s barn. Glory to God! Does this speak of the resurrection and
rapture of true believers
occurring at or near the same time
that the bundles of tares are brought to the burning? Think about it!
Conclusion
Dear readers, it is obvious to any true
believer that we are living right at the end of this present age or
dispensation. The time is fast
approaching for “the wheat” to be gathered into the Lord’s barn. It is glaringly obvious that terrible
judgment is staring the whole world in the face right now, and could
begin at any minute. Therefore, the time
for the burning of “the tares” is also imminent.
My question to every reader is then, have you made your “calling
and election sure?” Do you have
absolute assurance that you are truly saved and ready to meet the Lord? Read 2 Corinthians
4
13:5, 2
Peter 1:10, and 1 John 5:13. Spiritually speaking, are you “wheat”
or are you “a tare?” Do you have the perfect “peace” in your heart
that you are truly saved and bound for glory, or are you troubled by doubts and
fears? Folks, our wonderful Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, imparts “love, joy, and peace” to every
truly repentant believer whom He saves, Galatians 5:22. Do you have “Christ Jesus” as your
Savior, or do you just have “church membership and baptism?” What difference does it make? It makes the difference between spending
eternity in glory with the Lord and His redeemed saints, and spending eternity
in hell-fire and damnation!
I would like so much to meet every reader in glory when our Lord comes
REAL SOON to call us all “home” to glory.
Please don’t disappoint me!
The
Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
PART
THREE
By
Pastor F. M. Riley
November 12, 2013
“Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven
is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in
his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but, when it is grown, it
is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the
birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof,” Matthew
13:31-32.
Introduction
The first parable, The Parable of
the Sower, had to do with the sowing of the “seed” of God’s precious
Word, during and following the first coming of Christ. The second parable, The Parable of the Wheat and Tares, had to do with the crop that
resulted from the sowing of the “seed” of the Word, and also revealed that Satan began sowing “tares”
among the “wheat” in order to defeat and nullify the effects of true
Bible believing Christianity. The Lord explicitly stated that “the
tares are the children of the wicked,” 13:38.
Now let’s turn our attention to the third
parable in the series…..
The
Parable of the Mustard Seed
This is the third parable in the series.
“3” is the Bible number signifying “resurrection
and/or rapture.” That this parable
reveals a resurrection occurring is often overlooked or ignored by most
commentators and Bible students. I will
explain this statement as we study the parable.
But now let’s turn our attention to…..
The symbols…..
Caution…..The “man”
in this parable is not Christ Jesus, and “the field” is not
the world.
The “man” in this parable is the Roman Emperor, Constantine.
The man’s “field” was the Roman Empire.
The “mustard seed” in this parable is not the gospel of
Christ, but rather the odious false teachings from which the false
religious system springs forth and grows.
The crop produced by this “mustard seed” grows up into a “tree”
with many “branches.”
The “tree” is the ancient Babylonian
religious system resurrected in the Roman Empire.
The “birds” are demonic spirits and
fallen angels. Compare 13:4 and
13:19.
The “branches” are the many divisions
which have come forth from the Roman whore false religious system.
The Exposition…..
Let’s begin by
noticing the exact wording that the Lord used in relating this parable; “a
mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field.” From
this statement we know that the “mustard seed” was already in
existence, and in someone’s possession.
The “man” in this parable “took” the seed from whomever
possessed it, and sowed it in “his field.” Now let’s carefully
review Biblical and secular history to identify the “man” and “the
seed” which he “took” to plant in “his
field.”
Our readers should turn back in their Bibles and
carefully study Daniel 4, noticing especially 4:19-23. Notice that the exact same
description of the “tree” in Matthew 13:32 is first
found here in Daniel 4:20-21. Coincidence? Not hardly!
The ancient Babylonian religious system was established in the earth after
the flood by Nimrod, Genesis 10:8-10; 11:1-9. Significantly, every pagan religious
system on earth today can be traced right back to the idolatrous religious
system founded by Nimrod in the city of Babylon after the flood.
1
But let’s “fast forward” to the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, the ruling autocrat over the city and kingdom of Babylon in the
time of Daniel. As the ruling autocrat
over Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar was also considered to be the “head” or “leader”
of the Babylonian religious system, just as Nimrod had been centuries
previously. Notice that Daniel
explicitly referred to Nebuchadnezzar as “the tree,” Daniel 4:20; 4:22. Daniel
also said that “the tree” was to be “cut down,” 4:23.
While the immediate application of Daniel’s
interpretation most certainly applied to Nebuchadnezzar, the long term
prophetic application was to be fulfilled after Nebuchadnezzar had
passed from the scene. Now go to Daniel
5. In this chapter
Nebuchadnezzar had been dead a number of years and his grandson, Belshazzar,
had become the ruler of Babylon.
It was at this point that secular and Scriptural history reveals that
Cyrus the Mede, surrounded the city of Babylon with his armies. To show his defiance of Cyrus, Belshazzar
shut up the city of Babylon and had a drunken party with his military officers. Belshazzar was so defiant that he took the
sacred vessels that the armies of Babylon had previously taken from the Jewish
Temple and mis-used them by serving liquors in them to his officers.
For those readers who have never seriously studied the prophecies of Daniel,
the ancient city of Babylon had a double wall surrounding the entire city that
was 300 feet high. The massive
gates in the city wall could be closed and barred, so that no one could enter
or leave the city. This appeared to make
the city “invincible” and unconquerable.
When the army of Cyrus then surrounded the city, Belshazzar in his
wicked pride simply shut up the city and threw a drunken party for his
officers.
But the Lord God was so incensed by Belshazzar’s wicked pride and the
mis-use of the vessels from the Jewish Temple which had been “sanctified” for
the worship of God, that He caused the handwriting to appear on the wall of
Belshazzar’s palace, pronouncing Belshazzar’s doom, and the doom of the Kingdom
of Babylon. That same night the city of
Babylon was conquered by Cyrus and Belshazzar was put to death, Daniel
5:30.
But now let’s get the rest of the story…..
Cyrus, for whatever his reason, had a bitter hatred for the Babylonian
religion. Cyrus issued an order to his
soldiers that all of the Babylonian priests were to be immediately put to death
without mercy. Thus, that very night the Babylonian religious system was
destroyed, with one small exception. When the word spread that the
priests were being slaughtered, one of the priests escaped by fleeing in the
night. He fled to the city of Pergamos [at that time a city-state], where the
king of Pergamos gave him “sanctuary” and ultimately re-established and adopted
his pagan religion as the official religion of the kingdom of Pergamos. In other words, a “seed” of the ancient
Babylonian religious system had been preserved and was received into the
possession of the King of Pergamos.
Since only one of the Babylonian priests had escaped, this made
that ancient religion “the least” of all the pagan
religions on the earth, just as “the mustard seed” is “the
least of all seeds.”
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in the first century
of Christianity, verified this truth in His letter to the church at Pergamos, Revelation
1:12-17. In verse 13
of this letter the Lord explicitly stated, “I know thy works, and where thou
dwellest, even where Satan’s seat [throne] is: and
thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days
wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among
you, where Satan dwelleth.” Christ
clearly states twice in this Scripture that Satan’s throne and dwelling
place at that time in history was located in the city of Pergamos. Was this just an idle statement? Not hardly!
Then during the latter part of the second century of the Christian era,
one of the Roman Emperors made a trip to the city of Pergamos. While there, he observed how the Babylonian
priests were able to gain total devotion and control over the adherents to their
religion. The Roman Emperor reasoned
that this “religion” was exactly what was needed in Rome to wield together and
control the citizens of the Roman Empire.
Therefore, when he returned to Rome, he took two or three of the
Babylonian priests back to Rome with him and encouraged them to establish their
religion in the city of Rome. If our
readers are paying close attention, this tells us exactly how the “seed”
of the ancient Babylonian religion was transferred from the city of
Babylon to the city of Pergamos, and then later brought to the city of Rome,
Italy. But this is not yet all the
story…..
Enter Emperor Constantine. After
Constantine had become the Roman Emperor, in 313 A.D. he
2
convened a “church council” in the city
of Nicaea. Constantine invited and urged
every head of a “religious” group in the Roman Empire to come to the
council. According to the history of
Eusebius, many “Christian” [?]
pastors went to the council. But not all! Some Christian pastors living
at that time had enough true Godliness and spiritual sense that they refused to
have anything to do with Constantine’s council.
Eusebius, in his history, refers to those pastors who refused to attend
the council as “the pure.” Take note! The history of Eusebius proves
that not all Christian churches came out of, or descended from, the Roman Catholic
religion as the Catholic priests today like to claim. Their claim is simply not so! There have always been true believers who took the inspired Word seriously for what
it actually and literally says, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be
ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you, And will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty,” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18.
At that council Constantine
related how that he had been given a “vision” of a great cross in the sky with
words written in the latin language, saying, “By this sign conquer.” Constantine took this to mean that he was
to embrace “Christianity” as the official “religion” of the Roman Empire. At that council Constantine established a Hierarchy,
laying the foundation for what would ultimately develop into the Roman
Universal [Catholic] “Christian” [Sic!] religion. Constantine then gave
government grants out of the Roman treasury to the pastors who were willing to
compromise their “professed” faith in order to be a part of Constantine’s new
Hierarchy. These government grants
enabled the compromising pastors to begin building huge church buildings for
their congregations and exercising “religious” authority, backed by the power
and authority of the Roman Empire, over those pastors and churches who refused
to have anything to do with Constantine’s newly established Hierarchy. The “Dark Ages” had begun, and it lasted for
a 1,000 years until the time of the Protestant Reformation. Prior to this time almost all Christian
churches still met in private homes, in fields, by the river sides, in caves, and
various other places due to their extreme poverty and sacrificial lifestyle. Constantine, at that time, made himself the
official “head” or “papa” of the Roman Catholic [universal] ”Christian” Heirarchy. [Sic!]
Of course, the pagan Babylonian priests in Rome welcomed the opportunity
to add “Christianity” to their paganism [?],
which they did by changing the names of their pagan gods, simply giving their
gods “Christian” names, and kept right
on worshiping the same way they had worshipped since the days of Nimrod. More about this when we study the next
parable.
Conclusion
What we see in this parable is how “the mustard seed” of the pagan
Babylonian religious system, which had been almost totally destroyed during the
reign of Cyrus and the Media-Persian Empire, was preserved and resurrected
back to life by Emperor Constantine in the third century of Christianity.
The Lord Himself predicted that this odious “mustard seed” sowed by Constantine in the Roman Empire
would grow into a great monstrosity of a tree with
many “branches,”
to the extent that the “birds of the air” [demons
and fallen angels, 13:4; 13:19] would
“come
and lodge in the branches thereof,” 13:32. We believers
living today can look back at Christian and secular history and see how this
literally came to pass. Today, the world headquarters of all “false religion” [Satan’s throne] is still located in the
Vatican in Rome, Italy. Let this exposition be a warning to every
reader. “Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try [test] the
spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world,” 1 John 4:1.
No reader should take this study as a blanket
condemnation of the Catholic people, for it is not. My heart goes out and my prayers go up to the
Lord God for the poor, deceived Catholic people. The wicked priests know what a “religious”
scam they are running, but they deliberately keep the people deceived and in
heathen darkness. Nevertheless, by the
grace of God, many have been delivered from the clutches of “Jezebel,”
the whore religion of Babylon, Revelation 2:20-23. Look to Christ and live!
Dear readers,
you can trust the inspired Word of God implicitly for your salvation, Romans
10:17; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31. The inspired Word of God will
never fail you or betray you, but you
3
cannot trust the opinions and theories of even well intentioned “religious” men about the
Word. “…try the spirits…” and “prove
all things,” 1 Thessalonians 5:21. Study
the Word for yourself and accept it at face value for what it actually and
literally says and teaches. Take
heed!
PART
FOUR
By Pastor F. M. Riley
November 19, 2013
“Another parable spake He unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto
leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures
of meal, till the whole was leavened,” Matthew 13:33.
Introduction
I have now posted Bible study
expositions of the first three Kingdom of
Heaven parables; The Parable of the
Sower, The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, and The Parable of the Mustard Seed.
This morning [November 18th]
I posted an article, Binding the Bundles
for Burning, which I hope sets forth the connection between these first three
parables. Any reader who has not
received these Bible studies need only request them.
There is yet one more parable necessary to complete the subject being
set forth in the first four parables given by the Lord in Matthew 13. Thus far we have pointed out…..
[1] The sowing of the “seed”
of the gospel of Christ in The
Parable of the Sower.
[2] The crop that the “seed”
of the gospel produced; “wheat,” in The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. But this second parable also reveals Satan’s
attempt to dilute and destroy the effects of the gospel of Christ by sowing “tares”
in the “field” among the “wheat.”
[3] The Parable of the Mustard Seed sets forth
the history of how the “seed” of Satan’s false religion [the tares] was moved from ancient
Babylon to the city of Pergamos, and then from Pergamos to Rome, Italy, where
it was “sown” in the Roman Empire in the religious Hierarchy
established by Emperor Constantine.
[4] Now let’s turn our attention to the fourth parable
which completes the prophetic picture Christ was setting forth in the first
four Kingdom of Heaven parables…..
The
Parable of the Hidden Leaven
This is the fourth parable in the Kingdom
of Heaven parables given by the Lord in Matthew 13. This parable completes the account of
Satan’s infiltration of Christianity with the “tares” of the ancient
Babylonian religious system.
The Symbols…..
The “leaven”
in this parable, and throughout the Scriptures, is symbolic of SIN. It is a ridiculous, silly, false teaching
that attempts to make leaven represent the gospel of Christ. No place in the Scriptures does leaven ever
represent anything other than SIN. Read 1
Corinthians 5:6-9.
The “woman” in this parable symbolizes
wicked old “Jezebel,” the whore Queen of ancient Babylon. Compare the Lord’s statement to His church in
Thyatira in Revelation 2:20-23.
The “three measures” are symbolic of the
the third century of the Christian era.
The “meal” is symbolic of true Bible believing Christians and Christianity,
who at the beginning of the third century had been crushed and ground by the
persecutions heaped upon them by the Roman Empire during the previous three
centuries.
The Exposition…..
Most Christian
believers today never give any serious thought to the fact that Satan began to
sow “tares”
among the “wheat” just as soon as the “weakness of the flesh” among
true believers made it
possible, Revelation 2:4-5. Before the New Testament had been written,
several “professing” Christians had already turned away from their “profession”
and gone back into the world. Those
specifically mentioned by name in the New Testament are Demas, [2 Timothy 4:10], Hymenaeus and
1
Alexander [1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 4:14-15], Philetus [2 Timothy 2:17-18], and Diotrephes [3 John 9-10].
Also, before the New Testament had been written, there had
already been at least two serious “splits” or divisions in the ranks of the
Christian movement.
Paul records in Acts 15:1-2 how that certain men in
the church at Jerusalem had come down to Antioch and began teaching the
disciples that they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to
be saved. Paul adds that him and Barnabas
“had
no small dissension and disputation” with these “false brethren,” Galatians
2:4. This resulted in the first
genuine church council being convened as recorded in Acts 15. Our readers should notice that during
the course of this council, there was “a sect of the Pharisees which believed,” yet
insisted “That it was needful to circumcise them [Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and the church at
Antioch], and command them to keep the law of Moses,” Acts 15:6. This resulted in “much disputing” at that
council. Nevertheless, the Apostles
settled the matter by commending the work and teachings of Paul and Barnabas
and writing a letter to the church at Antioch verifying the truth of the gospel. Every reader should study the account of this
church council carefully. It is a sad
truth that after that church council, this “sect of the Pharisees” who insisted
that salvation was by being circumcised and keeping the law, is never mentioned
again anywhere in the New Testament. It appears that they separated themselves
from the Lord’s churches.
That there was such a division or split in the ranks of Christianity before
the New Testament was completed is made glaringly clear in 1 John 2:18-19, “Little children,
it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist [singular] shall come, even now are
there many antichrists [plural];
whereby we know that it is the last time.
They went out from us [separated themselves; split off], but they were not of us: for if
they had been of us, they would no
doubt have continued with us: but they
went out, that they might be made
manifest that they were not all of us.” Don’t
fail to notice that by Divine Inspiration, John refers to those early
“professors” who split off from Bible believing Christianity as “antichrists.”
These inspired Scriptures plainly establish that
there were two or more “splits” in the ranks of Christianity before the
New Testament had even been completed.
But this split is not the point I want to make! Rather, the important
point is that those religious “antichrists” who apostatized, and
left Bible believing Christianity continued to refer to themselves and
represent themselves as “Christians.”
This made it glaringly easy, after Constantine convened his council, for
a Hierarchy to be set up which called itself “Christian,” even though it
obviously was filled with unscriptural pagan practices and teachings.
What an opportunity this presented for the old Babylonian whore religious
system to infiltrate the ranks of Christianity.
In the third century of Christianity, after Constantine had established
his religious Hierarchy, the old Babylonian whore religious system joined the
Hierarchy, hiding their idolatry, false teachings, and wicked practices
by disguising them as “Christianity.” Now some 2,000 years later, the old
Babylonian-Roman whore religion is still claiming to be ”Christian.” Sic!
If our readers will obtain a copy of the book written by Charles
Chiniquy entitled Fifty Years in the
“Church” of Rome,” and carefully read it, they will gain insight into the inner workings of the Roman whore
religious system far beyond anything even imagined by the average
Christian. Charles Chiniquy was a
Catholic priest for fifty years before receiving Christ as his
Savior. He held a number of high
positions in the Roman Hierarchy, and shared his intimate knowledge of the
whole wicked system in his book. I do
not sell the book, but it can be obtained at any good Christian bookstore,
or by contacting Chick Publications, P. O. Box 3500, Ontario, California
91761-1019.
Through the so-called “Christian” Hierarchy
system established by Constantine in 313 A.D., thereby the “counterfeit” church
was brought into existence. This
counterfeit church grew in power and wealth until it literally controlled the
whole religious world for a thousand years.
313 A.D. to the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s. The Lord sternly rebuked His church at
Thyatira for allowing “that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a
prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat
things sacrificed unto idols,” Revelation 2:20.
During that 1,000 year period, the old whore of Babylon bitterly
persecuted the Lord’s true churches, torturing, raping, murdering, burning, and crucifying millions of true believers.
2
Remember that the Lord told His “servants” to allow the “tares”
to continue to grow with the “wheat” in the Kingdom of Heaven
until “the end of the world [age]. Notice that in this parable the “leaven”
keeps right on working “till the whole was leavened,” 13:33. Dear readers, we have reached that
point in human history. The entire world
society today has been permeated with the “leaven” of the old Babylonian whore
religion, which for the past 1,700 years has been flowing forth out of the
putrid fountain of paganism established in Rome, Italy by Constantine in 313
A.D. When one carefully looks today,
they can see how the “leaven” hidden by the “woman”
has permeated every strata of human society. We can see it in the ranks of Christianity,
but also in commerce and business, in politics, in education, in medicine, in
the military, in morals, in gangsterism, especially in the so-called
“entertainment” industry such as movies and TV, and even in social relations
such as marriage, family, and the home. Why
is it that Catholicism is always portrayed in movies and on TV as “holy, pure,
and good,” while all other religious systems and characters are portrayed as evil
idiots, and as sources of foolishness, greed, crime, and perversion? Well…???
The Lord Jesus said that the “leaven” hidden by the “woman”
in or among the “meal” would ultimately leaven the
whole kingdom, and it has! Exactly as the Lord predicted that it
would! Hello!
Conclusion
This spreading of the “leaven” through every strata of
human society today, should again impress upon true believers that we are living right at the very end of
this present age, and the coming of our Lord Jesus to resurrect and rapture His
true New Covenant believers to glory is at the door. The Lord’s “wheat” is ready to be
gathered into the Lord’s “barn,” Matthew 13:30; 13:43. If our readers will carefully study The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
again, it is obvious that the gathering of the “tares” for the burning
and the gathering of the “wheat” into the Lord’s barn takes
place in very close proximity.
Hallelujah! Glory to God! Praise the Lord!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as I write the “tares” are being
gathered together into “bundles” in preparation for their “burning.” Therefore, we who are true New Covenant believers should be expecting our “gathering
into the Lord’s barn” to occur at any minute now. O praise the Lord!
If you know and have assurance that you are a true believer, then lift up your heart and voice and give
the Lord praise! If you have any doubts
about your salvation, then seek the Lord in earnest and sincere prayer right
now for salvation or assurance. If
any reader needs spiritual help, contact me at once. By the grace of God, I do know the way,
John
14:6. I will study with you,
pray with you, and help you in any way I can to find salvation in Christ, or
the assurance of salvation and peace in Christ.
Read Galatians 5:22-25 and 1 John 5:13.
I would like to meet every reader in Heaven when our Lord comes
to take us home to glory. Please don’t
disappoint me!
The
Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
PART
FIVE
By
Pastor F. M. Riley
November 22, 2013
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in
a field; the which when a man hath found, He hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that He hath, and buyeth that
field,” Matthew 13:44.
Introduction
In the first four parables in this chapter the Lord set forth a
prophetic picture of how the gospel of Christ would be sown in the world and
would produce “wheat,” and how
Satan would oppose it by sowing “tares” among the “wheat.”
The third and fourth parables zero in on how Satan set up a
“counterfeit church” [a pagan religion]
in opposition to the true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of these first four parables need to be
studied carefully as a unit in order to get the full picture of the
establishment and development of the “counterfeit church” that Christ Jesus was
warning His people about.
In this fifth parable the Lord turns His attention to a different
matter. This fifth parable concerns His ancient chosen covenanted people during
this present dispensation of grace.
Let’s see…..
The
Parable of the Hidden Treasure
Like each of these parables, this parable
contains symbolic language, setting forth spiritual truth for those with “seeing
eyes and hearing ears,” 13:16.
The Symbols…..
The “treasure”
in this parable is a reference to Israel and the Jewish people.
The “field” in which this treasure is hid has already been defined
by the Lord Himself as “the world,” 13:38.
The “man” who finds the treasure, then
hides it again, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who sold all that He had,
including His own life’s blood, to pay “the wages of sin” [Romans 6:23] for Israel and for all
of lost humanity as He suffered, and bled, and died on Calvary’s old rugged
cross, and to pay the redemption price for the earth itself.
The Exposition…..
That Israel and
the Jewish people are the “treasure” in this parable is beyond
question. In “the third month” after “the
children of Israel” had left Egypt some 3,500 years ago, the Lord God
explicitly told Moses, “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice
indeed, and keep My commandments, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure
unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine,” Exodus 19:1-5. The sad truth is that Israel as a
nation and a people did not obey the voice of the Lord nor keep His
commandments. Yet the Lord God graciously
regarded them as His “peculiar treasure.” Because of their disobedience and rebellion
the Lord God finally removed them from out of their land, causing them to be
carried away as captives by both the Assyrians and the Babylonians, from whose
lands they were then scattered into and buried [hidden] among all the nations of the earth. Study Ezekiel 37, the entire chapter,
where we find Israel and the Jewish people [spiritually
dead] buried among the Gentile nations of the earth. Yet most of this chapter in Ezekiel
is prophetic of the Lord God resurrecting them from the “cemetery of the
nations” and bringing them back to their own land, and ultimately to
Himself. Glory to God!
At the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord explicitly
stated, “For the Son of man
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is come to seek and to save that which was
lost,” Luke 19:10. In
Matthew’s gospel the Lord said, “…I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of
the house of Israel,” Matthew 15:24. Folks,
it was the children of Israel who were lost among the nations, and it was “the
lost sheep of the house of Israel” whom the Lord was seeking at His
first coming. Read again the parable of
the lost sheep spoken by the Lord in Luke 15:3-7.
In this Parable of the
Hidden Treasure the Lord makes it quite clear that He “found”
the hidden “treasure” He was searching for at His first coming.
However, there was a “legal” problem involved with the Lord’s discovery. Keep in mind that the inspired Scriptures
repeatedly state that the God whom we believers serve is “a God of judgment and
justice.” As the Creator and
Supreme Law Giver of the whole Universe, the Lord God will not violate
His own laws. At the first coming of
Christ, the “field” was in the possession of Satan and his followers. It had become Satan’s possession clear back
in the Garden of Eden, when through Satan’s deception of Eve, Adam had
disobeyed God and lost “legal” possession of the earth and everything in it, 2
Peter 2:19. This is why the
inspired Word explicitly states that Satan is “the god of this world” [aion…age], 2 Corinthians 4:4. This present wicked world system is
in the hands of, and under the control of, Satan and his fallen angels and
demon powers. He has possession of it
all, 1
John 2:15-17.
Therefore, there was no way that Christ could “legally” take “the
hidden treasure” to Himself at His first coming. The “field” in which it was hidden
“legally” belonged to Satan, and therefore anything hidden in it likewise
belonged to Satan. However, keep in mind
that the Lord Jesus Christ is explicitly stated to be “the last Adam,” 1 Corinthians
15:45. In other words, Christ, being
born into this world as “the seed of the woman” was a
true human and therefore a “kinsman” to “the first Adam.” As such Christ then had the “legal”
right to redeem the earth and everything in it which Adam had lost.
See the Law of Redemption for the land in Leviticus 25. Glory to God!
So just as the Lord set forth in this parable, He hid the “treasure”
back in the “field” again, and then went to Calvary and sold all that He
had and paid the redemption price to buy back the “field” that Adam had
lost by his disobedience. Seriously
think about this for a moment…..
When Adam disobeyed the Lord, the earth itself was placed under a curse,
“And
unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and
hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns
also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb
of the field,” Genesis 3:17-18. We living today know that this curse is
still in effect on the earth even as I write.
However, the redemption price to redeem the earth and remove the
curse from it has already been paid.
What do I mean?
Let’s look again at the suffering of our precious Savior as He was being
prepared for crucifixion. The Scriptures
tell us that He was arrested, given three trials, that according to both Jewish
and Roman Law, were “illegal.” He was
then mocked, whipped, and beaten. Read
the accounts for yourself in each of the four gospels. Notice that Matthew 27:29 explicitly
states that the Roman soldiers “plaited a crown of thorns,
and placed it on the head of the Lord Jesus.
See also Mark 15:17 and John 19:5. A careful study of the
Scriptures reveals that while Christ was stripped of His robe, yet He continued
to wear the “crown of thorns” as He was crucified and died on Calvary’s
cross, thereby not only paying the redemption price for the sins of fallen humanity,
but also paying the redemption price to remove the curse from the earth
itself. Glory to God! Praise the Lord! Thank you Lord Jesus!
So the redemption price has already been paid for all of mankind, but
also for the earth itself. At the “appointed
time” [Acts 17:26] this entire earth
will then be set free from “the bondage of corruption” under
the possession of Satan, and delivered into “the glorious liberty of the
children of God,” Romans 8:18-23. This
whole “legal” process is set forth from Revelation 5:1 through 11:15. During the first half of the
Tribulation, Christ Jesus, our beloved “Kinsman-Redeemer” will open the
Title Deed [the little book; Rev. 5:1]
to this earth, and fulfill every requirement necessary for bringing the earth
back into the “legal” possession of mankind to whom it was originally given by
God in Genesis 1:26-28. Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord Jesus our wonderful “Kinsman-Redeemer” and Savior.
This parable then assures us that presently unbelieving Israel and the
Jewish people; the Lord God’s “hidden treasure,” are going to be
redeemed, for the redemption price has already been paid.
However, the “hidden treasure” is not
all that is presently “hidden” in this world, and for
which
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the Lord God paid the redemption
price. Read on…..
The
Pearl of Great Price
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when He had found one pearl of great price, went and
sold all that He had, and bought it,” Matthew 13:45-46.
Introduction
This parable is the sixth parable in the The Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 13. Due to the short length of these two
parables, The Parable of the Hidden
Treasure, and The Parable of the
Pearl of Great Price, I decided to expound on them both in this one Bible
study. Read on for an expositon of The Pearl of Great Price…..
The Symbols…..
The “merchant
man” in this parable is Christ Jesus the Savior and Lord, who purchased
salvation with His own precious blood for all who will believe, John
3:16; 3:36.
The “goodly pearls” which the Lord is seeking are “churches” which
are true and righteous in relation to the Lord God and His Word.
The “one pearl” is His own blood bought church which He established
and left in the earth some 2,000 years ago.
The term, “great price,” literally means “priceless.” In other words,
so valuable to Christ that no price can be set on its value in His sight. Compare
Proverbs
31:10.
The Exposition…..
Many of God’s
people today [true believers] do not
realize that, just as the “treasure” was hidden among the
nations in the previous parable, so the Lord’s true church is hidden
today among the Laodicean “false
churches” that characterize apostate “Christianity,” Revelation 3:14-22. This should be glaringly obvious to
any true believer who
seriously studies the Lord’s letter to the church at Laodicea in Revelation
3:14-22. This parable could just as easily have been titled, The Hidden Pearl, as the title commonly
assigned to it. I want to briefly
comment on this truth…..
The letter to the church at Laodicea is the
final church letter, and as such represents the final period of “the church age”
at the end of this present dispensation. It is glaringly obvious in reading the
letter, that the Lord is so sickened by apostate Laodicean “Christianity” [?] today that He bluntly told the
Laodicean church, “I will spue thee out of My mouth,” Revelation 3:16. The Greek word translated as “spue”
in this Scripture literally means “to
vomit out.” Look it up for yourself
in your own Concordance, Strong’s No. 1692.
The Lord did not say that He might, or that He should. He explicitly stated that He “will.” Therefore, this is absolutely
certain. These apostate Laodicean
churches today, mostly made up of “unsaved religionists” who are only “playing
church,” are as certain to be vomited into the
Tribulation period as if they were already there. Take heed!
This parable, The Pearl of Great Price, looks both
back into the past and forward into the future.
When Christ came into the world at His first coming, He was “seeking
goodly pearls.” Another way of putting this is that the Lord was
seeking for a true faith among
mankind. At His first coming, humanity upon the earth
had gone so far away from God that it was steeped in religious “heathen”
paganism and idolatry. Among this
religious mess, Christ was seeking those whose desire was to live in “righteousness”
and true faith towards God, Matthew
5:4. This parable indicates that
He found such men and women, and from them established His
Church upon the earth, and delivered unto them “the faith,” John
1:11-13; Jude 3. Carefully
notice “faith” is not simply limited to the true believer, but is an entire doctrinal system of “faith”
which has been delivered to the Lord’s true churches to uphold,
proclaim, and pass on to others, Acts 2:42.
Christ then went to Calvary and bought this “pearl of great price” with
His own precious blood, Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20;
7:22-23. This obviously verifies
Christ Jesus as being the “merchant man” who came into the
world seeking “goodly pearls.” He
found only one such “pearl,” which He Himself chose, John 15:16; 15:19.
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That the Lord’s church is “the pearl of great price” is
verified by a careful study of the word “pearl” in the Bible. The word “pearl” occurs only ten times
in the entire Bible. The last time
theword occurs in Scripture is in Revelation 21:21, where the word is
used in speaking of and describing New Jerusalem, the future eternal home of
the Lord’s church; His own blood bought bride, Revelation 21:1-2.
Remember that in John 14:1-3 the Lord
promised His church that He was going back to His Father’s house to “prepare
a place” for His church [His
bride]. New Jerusalem is that
special place that Christ has prepared for His bride. But don’t forget that in this passage in John
14, Christ also promised to return and take His church unto Himself, John
14:3.
In the parable of The Hidden Treasure, it is specifically stated that the “treasure,”
having been found was hidden again. Such is not the case in this
parable! The clear implication is that
after purchasing “the pearl of great price” the Lord then took the pearl unto
Himself. But when? That is the unanswered question. We are not told in the Scriptures when
Christ is coming for His bride; His church, other than at the end of this
present dispensation and before the terrible Tribulation begins, Revelation
3:10. Rather, we are told to “be
watching” and to “be ready.”
Are our readers paying attention to the Lord’s admonition and warning?
I mentioned at the beginning of this exposition that
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
is the sixth parable in the Kingdom of Heaven parables. This obviously harmonizes with the prophetic
Word which teaches that the Pre-tribulation rapture of the Lord’s New Covenant
believing church will occur at the end of 6,000 years of human history.
Consider the Lord Gods own timeline as set forth in 2 Peter 3:8. Hello!
Folks, we are there! We
have arrived! It is then obviously time
for the Lord to come and take His blood bought “pearl;” His precious
church bride to Himself, and “home” to glory.
When this occurs, the Lord’s church will then spend the next
seven years in seclusion with the Lord, fulfilling to the letter the type set forth in the normal
Jewish wedding. Praise the Lord!
Conclusion
Dear readers, it is time for Christ to come for His blood bought “pearl
of great price” and take her home to glory. Are YOU a part of the blood bought
church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or…are
you just a “religious” Laodicean, playing silly little church games? What do I mean?
I mean what I said! Today many
“professing” Christians have substituted baptism and church membership in place
of a genuine born-again experience of saving grace with the Lord. Ditto for doing “good works” and “keeping the
Ten Commandments.” These “works
of the flesh” are not what saves and delivers one’s soul from eternal
damnation, Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5. A
person is saved only by genuine “repentance towards God, and faith towards
our Lord Jesus Christ,” Acts 20:21. If
any reader wants to escape from Laodicea, and become a true disciple of the
Lord Jesus Christ, then get serious about studying and listening to His Word, Romans
10:17. Hear His voice
speaking to you as He gently knocks at the door of your soul, Revelation
3:19-20. Ask Him in prayer to
give to you the “faith” to believe on Him.
If you are honest and sincere, He will hear your prayer and
answer, and you will be truly saved.
The “love, joy, and peace” that passes all [human] understanding will flood your soul, and you will know
that you have been saved, Galatians 5:22-23. You will immediately realize that you
are no longer a part of Laodicea, but have “passed from death unto life,” John 5:24. If you really want to escape Laodicea, and
find true salvation in Christ then put this counsel to the test for
yourself. I’d like to meet you in glory
in New Jerusalem, for that is where I am going any day now. Please don’t disappoint me! Glory to God!
TO BE
CONTINUED…..
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Permission is granted to any true
believer or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study
to share with others, or to quote from it in
context as written.
Thank you dear friends for the response to this series of studies. I am glad that these studies have
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blessed the lives of some of God’s
people, and hopefully, of lost seeking souls.
More to come…..
Please address all comments, questions,
and correspondence to: Pastor F. M.
Riley, Last Call Gospel Ministry, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg, Missouri
65256, or I can be contacted by email at:
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