June 3, 2011

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed Good Seed in his field; but while men SLEPT, his enemy came and sowed TARES among the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-25).

“The Tares”

Continued from April 29, 2011; May 6, 2011; May 13, 2011; May 20, 2011; May 20, 2011; May 27, 2011

Dear Brethren,

Having written about the Parable of the Sower, the seed sown upon the wayside, rocky or stony places of the field, the thorny ground, and more recently the Good Earth, I will now focus on the TARES sown among the wheat.

Though the Parable of the Sower does not include the TARES, they nevertheless have a direct connection and bearing on the health of the wheat sown by the Sower. They can be deadly to the wheat if not recognized for what they are as instruments of Satan the devil who planted them within the Church of God.

For all appearance in their growth stage it is almost impossible to discern the difference between the wheat and the tares. That is why they can be deadly dangerous to the wheat.

Many thousands were baptized in our time and had hands laid on them for the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit, but they had not been chosen by our Father to be among His Elect people. But until they appear as Tares in their growth stage there is no discernible difference between them and the Wheat for they appear to believe and practice the same teachings.

The Need for Understanding the Parables

Jesus Christ wants us to learn vital lessons from these parables so that we might remain VIRGINS preparing for our wedding when the Bridegroom returns to this earth (Revelation 14:4-5).

Not to profit from these intended lessons is to lose our virginity and become sexually immoral by associating with corporate churches that are off-track in doctrinal teachings as were restored by Jesus Christ within His Church through His late apostle, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong (Revelation 2:20,14).

Remember— there is only ONE true Church of God; and no other! (Matthew 16:18).

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

For good reason Jesus Christ spoke this parable right after the Parable of the Sower, but did not reveal the meaning of it until after speaking two other parables.

Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable He put forth to them saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven (The Church of God in embyro) is like a man who sowed GOOD SEED in his field; but while men slept (Mr. Armstrong: ‘in regard to not seeing with understanding’), his enemy came and SOWED TARES among the wheat and went his way.

Verse 26 “But WHEN the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, THEN the TARES also appeared (in their true state). So the servants of the owner came and said to him, “Sir, did you not sow GOOD SEED in your field? How then does it have TARES?”

Verse 28 “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’

Verse 29 “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the TARES you also UPROOT the WHEAT with them.’

As the Tares begin to mature they begin to be discerned as people who do not belong, but unless they begin creating real problems to the true membership, they are to be left alone due to the close relationships between them.

Verse 30 “Let both grow together UNTIL the harvest (subject context shows just before the beginning of the harvest), and AT the time of the (beginning of the) harvest I will say to the REAPERS, ‘First gather together THE TARES and bind them in bundles to BURN them (in the Great Tribulation), but GATHER the WHEAT into my barn (Place of Safety).” ’ ’’

Gather Tares in Bundles

Before the death of Mr. Armstrong the Church was full of Tares. At times he realized this more than he did at other times. He would often speak of those who were not getting it; he had said as few as 10 percent of the membership.

Speaking of the ministers who failed to show up for Bible study one Friday night, he said he would rather have five true ministers than 500 prophets of Baal.

While taking into consideration the approximate 700 corporate churches of God that developed since his death appears to have the meaning of the bundles (the unrepentant) to be burned in the Great Tribulation (verse 30).

Tares

This plant is the bearded darnel or rye grass, and resembles wheat so closely that it can prosper in the cornfields and be almost indistinguishable until fully grown. It flourishes in quantities in countries along the Mediterranean Sea. To the farmer it is one of the most destructive of all weeds, and in Eastern countries women and children are employed to pick out these tares before they can ruin the good crop. As soon as the ears are formed, it is possible to recognize them, but both the wheat and the tares are usually left intermixed until after reaping. Then they are separated by a fanning that blows away the lighter and smaller seeds of the tares, and after threshing, all seeds are shaken in a sieve. Thus any darnel seeds still remaining will usually pass through and leave the larger wheat behind. The inner coats of these seeds often harbor seriously poisonous fungus growths that, if eaten by humans or animals, will cause dizziness and vomiting and sometimes even death.

Two More Parables

Before giving the explanation of the TARES, Jesus Christ spoke two more parables each of which speaks of time to come during which their joyous value will be fully recognized and experienced by the enduring Wheat.

It would appear that Christ inserted these two parables as a means of encouragement to His Elect, and to strengthen their faithfulness during the difficult and trying times by keeping their eyes on the BIG PICTURE of God’s Master Plan that speaks of a glorious future waiting for them in the Kingdom of God.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Matthew 13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field (the world, verse 38), which indeed is THE LEAST OF ALL SEEDS, but WHEN it is grown it is GREATER than the herbs (vegetables) and BECOMES A TREE, so that the BIRDS (symbolic of the nations and peoples of this world) come and nest in its branches (Micah 4:1-8; Isaiah 2:1-4).

The MUSTARD SEED is likened to the true Church of God, which is the Kingdom of God in embryo; the very smallest size of all; but it will begin growing greatly during the millennium and ultimately expand into a Kingdom that will fill the whole earth (Ezekiel 40-48; Daniel 2:35; Joel 3:17-21).

Jesus Christ spoke of its present size to His disciples as it is today, but He also spoke of the awesome blessing awaiting the enduring faithful in time to come:

Luke 12:32 “Do not fear little, little (Meaning in Greek) flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”

The Kingdom of God of Tomorrow’s World will be established on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:2-4 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S House shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills (they are both literal and symbolic of the nations of this earth); and ALL NATIONS shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will TEACH us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Micah 4:1-7 . . . So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever.

The following Scriptures also speak of the glory of God and of His beautiful city during the millennium where His holy presence will be.

Psalm 48:1-3 “Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the City of our God; in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.”

The Parable of the Leaven

Leavening is yeast that is a minute fungus that causes ferment activity. The property of leaven is to CHANGE OR ASSIMILATE to its own nature.

Matthew 13:33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like LEAVEN, which a woman (symbolic for Church) took and hid in three measures of meal TILL it was all leavened.

Three measures of wheat can be likened to three segments of 2,000 years each, and the approximate six quarts would equal this 6,000 year period allotted to this present age.

The leaven represents the TRUTH of God that has been revealed to the very few among the masses of mankind – TILL – it will be fully leavened, meaning filling the world with the TRUTH of God, beginning with the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.

In the interim there is the problem of the Tares and the Synagogue of Satan in the midst of and surrounding the ELECT – the remnant of the Philadelphia Era of God’s true Church.

Jesus Christ warned His true people of these very critical times:

Beware of Deceptive Hypocrisy

. . . He began to say to His disciples, “BEWARE of the LEAVEN (yeast) of the Pharisees, which is HYPOCRISY(= claiming to be God’s representatives) Luke 12:1-2; Matthew 16:6, 12.

Similar to the Scribes and Pharisees during the time of Christ’s ministry these ministers are also blind guides who wear the robe of righteousness but inside they are full of hypocrisy (Matthew 23:13, 27-28).

Jesus Christ warns us further through the writings of the apostle Paul:

Colossians 2:4 “Now this I say lest anyone should DECEIVE you with persuasive words.”

Romans 16:18 “For those who are such do NOT serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech DECEIVE the hearts of the simple.”

The Leavening of Wrong Teachings

To accept a wrong teaching is like accepting a small amount of leavening, and unless it is rejected, the leavening will spread into acceptance of more and more wrong teachings until a person is lost in complete spiritual darkness:

Matthew 16:6, 12 “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees . . . Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, BUT OF THE DOCTRINE (TEACHING) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

This kind of leavening that speaks of wrong doctrinal teachings is deadly— just as are the Tares to the health of the Wheat.

As representatives of the Tares, the false prophets (ministers and members) are not always discernible and sometimes are among the Church for years before they are discovered to be what they really are – just as the Parable of the Tares teaches God’s people.

They begin in the church as members and over time are elevated into high ministerial positions within the Church, and at the time that seems to be advantageous to them, they began the effort to replace the true teachings with the pagan teachings of this world’s religions (Galatians 1:6-10).

In many Scriptures Jesus Christ warned His disciples of the many false ministers Satan would be using to try and destroy His true people (Matthew 24:4-5; II Peter 2:1-3; Jude 3-4).

“BEWARE of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but INWARDLY they are ravenous wolves (Acts 20:27-31), you will [come to know them in time] know them by their fruits (conduct and teachings) . . . Matthew 7:15-23).

In numerous Scriptures, Jesus Christ made known their teaching of erroneous doctrines while hiding the truth, all for fame and gain – fear of losing members and their tithes. Jesus Christ called them hypocrites!

To be continued

In the next writing I will be touching more directly on the false teachers of our time.

Your servant and friend,

Don Billingsley

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