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Moving down in Matthew 13 we come to the parable of the mustard seed. 31 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: 32 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. The underlying Greek word for birds in verse 32 is the same word rendered fowls in verse 4. Notice that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard tree -- the birds are seperate and come to lodge in its branches. I believe the Christian church, or churches, and its schools, seminaries, etc., etc. are very much beset by Satan
and his agents. We must be constantly on-guard, we must be fussy, finicky, persnickety in
the doctrinal teachings we embrace. New Testament Book 1 Peter 5: 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 
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Satan, the Prince of the Power of the Air, has the
power to take away God's words sown in the hearts of people who do not understand (verses 4, 19) That is real
power! Satan has the power to sow bad seed in the world alongside God's good seed.
That is real power. Repeating verses 31,32: 31 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: 32 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. Satan's evil agents are as birds lodging in the branches of the huge mustard tree
symbolizing God's Kingdom of Heaven. Satan has them there for a reason. I read
a good question posed on the Internet, "Why are Christians so gullible? We are sheep, we are meek, but we
should walk circumspectly as next verse says. Ephesians 5: 15 says, See then that ye
walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Many of us Christians naively walk into church assuming
the preacher is on God's side, one of his true workers, when in fact the opposite may well be the case. Many
Christians blindly assume that modern bibles are good attempts to make the bible "more readable." Truth
be modern bibles are polluting and confusing God's message. Satan's power is great as show in verses above.
He has his evil birds filling the branches for strong reason - to corrupt, confuse, thwart, counterfeit, God's work. We
need to carefully investigate the "versions issue." 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. We need to know the Bible well, and
it needs to be our standard of right and wrong, not the preacher or church's doctrine. In
Acts 17 we have: 10 And the
brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those
in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so. 12 Therefore
many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. President Abraham Lincoln said, To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards
of men." We need to PROTEST wrong teachings, but we need to expect
persecution wnen we do -- from the BIRDS Satan has in the branches of the mustard tree. And many
of these birds are preaching in pulpits, teaching in seminaries, and publishing modern language bibles. See my several articles at this site on the bible, like, Why The King James Bible? |
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Matthew 13:1-50. 1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat
by the sea side. 2 And
great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the
shore. 3 And he
spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came
and devoured them up: 5 Some
fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought
forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest
thou unto them in parables? 11 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. 12 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. 13 Therefore
speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy
of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and
hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they
see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For
verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen
them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received
seed by the way side. 20 But
he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but
dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the
thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh
unfruitful. 23 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 an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man
which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also. NOTE: The term tares means "darnel"
in the underlying text. It is a counterfeit, toxic, bad immitation to wheat. See Wikipedia article. |
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27 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? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat
with them. 30 Let
both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 31 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: 32 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. 33 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. 34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude
in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open
my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went
into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth
the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The
field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in
the end of this world. 41 The
Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity; 42 And
shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 44 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. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who,
when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was
cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels,
but cast the bad away. 49 So
shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. 52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe
which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his
treasure things new and old. 53 And
it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. |
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