“He spoke many things unto them in parables.” – Matt 13:3.

The following lesson comes from an article from The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom dated February, 1956 and compliments our study on Mystic Babylon its rise and fall as well as providing some needful insight into several of our Lord’s parables concerning the kingdom. We have also added some additional excerpts taken from some other articles on the same subject. There may be some editing done, but nothing to detract from the original piece.

“In the following paragraphs we would like to examine that little group of parables recorded in the Matthew Chapter 13. These parables are seven in number and, for reasons which will appear as we proceed, are very generally termed “The Parables of the Kingdom.”

They were spoken by the Master in Galilee and, if we understand them correctly, they contain not only an abundant supply of general ethical instruction, practical applications of the principles of truth and righteousness to one’s every-day life teaching which mankind in general could and would appreciate-but they were uttered also for another purpose, namely, to forewarn his followers of, and thus to forearm them against, the dangers which would be their continual portion throughout the entire Gospel Age.

The primary purpose of these parables, (in the view of the author as well as many others), was prediction — not general ethical teaching for the masses of mankind, but special, prophetic instruction for his footstep followers. Here, in these parables, the Master, for the benefit of those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, and for them only, foretells things to come. He foreshadows the varying conditions which would transpire throughout the Gospel Age, between his first and second advents. He unfolds the conditions under which those who shall hereafter reign with him (the true Church), would be developed and fitted for so high and honorable a calling. And what he foretells for these is not exactly a bed of roses! for them, to use a phrase of Churchill’s, he predicts nothing but “blood, sweat, and tears.”

And the main lesson of these parables, the one which underlies them all, was the identical lesson which the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord, confirmed from heaven some sixty years later when, to the beloved Apostle John, he sent his angel with a seven-fold message to the Church-which John has recorded for us in Chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation.

And what was that main lesson?

It was this: That whatever may be the glories of the Age to come, the Church, during the Gospel Age, would be continually liable to become clogged and corrupted by admixtures of evil; that it would be interpenetrated, surrounded, and even altogether concealed, by a far greater multitude, who would profess to belong to it, while being, in reality, the children of the Wicked One. (Tares)

Now the whole of this great mixed multitude of Christendom, is, for the time being, called the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of the Heavens, because it would hold within it — and so entangled that none but God could separate them, the true heirs of the Kingdom. Hence each of the seven parables appears to portray some characteristic of the nominal church especially prominent at a particular time. And these parables seem to be arranged in chronological order; for, to pass by details which we hope to touch on a little later, they begin with the sowing, or first preaching of the Word of the Kingdom, and end with separation of good and evil at the close of the Age. Let us now proceed to examine them separately.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

First comes the great Parable of the Sower. (This parable is discussed in detail here). Thus, for this reason, we will not linger on it now, except to remind you that there has never been any other method of becoming an heir of the Kingdom, but in this one way, namely, by acceptance of the Kingdom message -with all that that implies of repentance, faith, and consecration to the Lord, even unto death. From the chronological viewpoint, it is not difficult to see that this “First of the Kingdom Parables” had reference to the earliest stage of the Church’s history, when first our Lord, and then his chosen Apostles, began to preach repentance and the Gospel of the Kingdom. (Matt. 4:17, 23.) In general, it covered the Ephesus epoch (or age) of Church history — the Apostolic Age.

THE PARABLE OF THE TARES

Next in order comes the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. Here, too, there is a Sower of good seed, but he is followed by an enemy who sows tares amongst the wheat.

“In the land of Israel there are many kinds of tares, but the worst among them is a so-called ‘bearded tare.’ This ‘bearded tare,’ when it is growing, is very similar to wheat until it ripens, as our Lord mentioned in the parable.

In the fifth chapter of Galatians, the apostle Paul shows a sharp contrast between the ‘fruits of the spirit’ and the works of the flesh. In Verse 22 he tells us what character traits we should have. In Verses 19-21 he outlines certain sins and states that those who ‘do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.’ Botanically speaking, wheat and tares are different because they belong to different family groups. The similarity exists only for a time, until the plant ripens. Later the wheat class develops the ‘fruits of the spirit’ and the tare class brings forth the works of ‘the evil one.’”

This parable, like the preceding one, is interpreted by our Lord himself, who explains that the enemy who sowed the tares is the Devil. However, the meaning of the seed is not the same as in the first parable. It no longer signifies doctrine-the pure message or Word of God respecting the Kingdom. Instead, it represents people. Not the seed sown, but the crop resulting from the sowing, is in evidence here.

This is made clear when in explaining the parable (Verse 38) he states, ‘the good seed are the children of the kingdom’; that is to say, the effect of the message in the hearts of those who receive it, would be to transform their hearts and lives, and thus make them heirs. The tares are the children of the Wicked One. Tares are people who are not really Christians, whatever they may profess, but who mingle with Christians, and who, whether by deliberate intention or otherwise, further the deep-laid and sinister designs of the Adversary, by spreading corruption in doctrine, or conduct, or both.

Many such men crept into the Church even in the Apostolic Age, but it is in the second and third centuries, in the Age of Pagan persecution, when the primitive purity of the Church began to decline — it is here that we find the most complete proof of our Lord’s unerring ability to forecast coming events. It is the Smyrna epoch that is to be seen here. During that Smyrna period, multitudes of grievous wolves entered stealthily into the fold not sparing the flock, just as the apostle Paul said would be the case after his departure, and many more arose, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Everywhere the Church became corrupt, and the effect, or influence, of this over-seeding of the wheat-field with tares, has continued, even to the end of the Age, that is to say, even to our own times.

We’ll take a look at the next parable related to the kingdom in our next post.