Elect Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia

veteran · Feb 16, 2012

In Revelation 2 & 3, our Lord Jesus gave seven Messages through John to the Churches in Asia Minor which existed in Apostle John's day. Those seven Church locations are all in modern Turkey today, but in John's days were part of the Roman empire area of Asia Minor. Their plots on a map form a 'U' type pattern, almost like a complete circle.

At the end of Rev.1, Jesus said the seven candlesticks in Heaven are the seven Churches. The seven candlesticks are from the Old Testament pattern of Zechariah 4, which involves the Oil being poured to them as lamps.

With 5 of the seven Churches in Asia Minor, our Lord Jesus Christ had problems with, and gave each one a specific rebuke and told them to repent.

But with two of the Churches, He gave no rebuke. They are the two Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia.

One of the unique ideas our Lord Jesus brought up among those two Churches He said nothing about to the other five. He mentioned to Smyrna and Philadelphia about the "synagogue of Satan" that was persecuting them especially. And our Lord Jesus even told those at Philadelphia He would make those of His enemies of the "synagogue of Satan" to come worship at their feet, to know that He has loved them.

Those two Churches represent His elect that are sealed for the last days, and cannot be deceived by the coming of a false one. They represent two Churches that were right in the heart of battle against Satan and his servants, and they were aware that the "synagogue of Satan" represented Christ's enemies here on earth. That points to their knowing their identity hidden among Judah because of our Lord Jesus labeling them as false Jews that say they are Jews, but are not and lie. That links to the parable of the tares of the field which our Lord Jesus gave His elect in Matthew 13.

If the other five Churches had understood Christ's parable of the tares of the field, they would have understood about the "synagogue of Satan" that He only mentioned among Smyrna and Philadelphia. If your Church doesn't know about this, then that Church mostly likely will be subject to deceptions, and those deceptions is what allows those problems the five Churches were having.

This idea is reiterated in our Lord's parable of the sower of the field. Only those who received His Word without the influence of the stones, thorns, fowls, and hard soil, were able to produce much fruit for Him. The stones, thorns, and fowls symbols were first given in the Old Testament prophets to represent Christ's enemies, the servants of the devil. That's the strong meat of our Lord's parable of the sower. Clear out His enemies within your vineyard, and then your vineyard will be able to produce much fruit for our Lord Jesus. And there's no question about that interpretation, for in real agriculture, before soil will produce fruit, the stones, thorns, and fowls must be dealt with, and the soil well ploughed.

ttruscott · Feb 16, 2012

OK, but not every parable praises the elect:

Matthew 13:28 - 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.

Whose fault was it that GOD's enemies got to do this mixing up? Was GOD too weak to stop them?

Or are we to believe that this waiting had to be because GOD could not teach HIS angels to differentiate between HIS children and HIS enemies? (Are the angels blind too?)

Surely we cannot believe that GOD was unable to bring about this separation because of some fault in HIM or HIS angels, right? Then, the fault that caused this mix up and delay must be in the wheat.

Hence, from this parable we should be able to see that the judgement of GOD has been delayed because the elect are not separate in spirit from the non-elect, and that for this reason they will have to live together until the tares can be gathered, that is, separated from the elect and burned without any harm coming to any one of the elect.

God bless,

Ted

Retrobyter · Feb 17, 2012

Shalom, veteran.

veteran said:
In Revelation 2 & 3, our Lord Jesus gave seven Messages through John to the Churches in Asia Minor which existed in Apostle John's day. Those seven Church locations are all in modern Turkey today, but in John's days were part of the Roman empire area of Asia Minor. Their plots on a map form a 'U' type pattern, almost like a complete circle.

At the end of Rev.1, Jesus said the seven candlesticks in Heaven are the seven Churches. The seven candlesticks are from the Old Testament pattern of Zechariah 4, which involves the Oil being poured to them as lamps.

With 5 of the seven Churches in Asia Minor, our Lord Jesus Christ had problems with, and gave each one a specific rebuke and told them to repent.

But with two of the Churches, He gave no rebuke. They are the two Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia.

One of the unique ideas our Lord Jesus brought up among those two Churches He said nothing about to the other five. He mentioned to Smyrna and Philadelphia about the "synagogue of Satan" that was persecuting them especially. And our Lord Jesus even told those at Philadelphia He would make those of His enemies of the "synagogue of Satan" to come worship at their feet, to know that He has loved them.

Those two Churches represent His elect that are sealed for the last days, and cannot be deceived by the coming of a false one. They represent two Churches that were right in the heart of battle against Satan and his servants, and they were aware that the "synagogue of Satan" represented Christ's enemies here on earth. That points to their knowing their identity hidden among Judah because of our Lord Jesus labeling them as false Jews that say they are Jews, but are not and lie. That links to the parable of the tares of the field which our Lord Jesus gave His elect in Matthew 13.

If the other five Churches had understood Christ's parable of the tares of the field, they would have understood about the "synagogue of Satan" that He only mentioned among Smyrna and Philadelphia. If your Church doesn't know about this, then that Church mostly likely will be subject to deceptions, and those deceptions is what allows those problems the five Churches were having.

This idea is reiterated in our Lord's parable of the sower of the field. Only those who received His Word without the influence of the stones, thorns, fowls, and hard soil, were able to produce much fruit for Him. The stones, thorns, and fowls symbols were first given in the Old Testament prophets to represent Christ's enemies, the servants of the devil. That's the strong meat of our Lord's parable of the sower. Clear out His enemies within your vineyard, and then your vineyard will be able to produce much fruit for our Lord Jesus. And there's no question about that interpretation, for in real agriculture, before soil will produce fruit, the stones, thorns, and fowls must be dealt with, and the soil well ploughed.

Just a thought: Have you stopped to consider that IF the seven golden candlesticks (menorahs) were the seven churches, AND the seven churches were in what is now called Turkey, THEN the seven golden candlesticks would NOT be in Heaven? They'd be in Turkey!

Shalom, ttruscott.

ttruscott said:
OK, but not every parable praises the elect:

Matthew 13:28 - 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.

Whose fault was it that GOD's enemies got to do this mixing up? Was GOD too weak to stop them?

Or are we to believe that this waiting had to be because GOD could not teach HIS angels to differentiate between HIS children and HIS enemies? (Are the angels blind too?)

Surely we cannot believe that GOD was unable to bring about this separation because of some fault in HIM or HIS angels, right? Then, the fault that caused this mix up and delay must be in the wheat.

Hence, from this parable we should be able to see that the judgement of GOD has been delayed because the elect are not separate in spirit from the non-elect, and that for this reason they will have to live together until the tares can be gathered, that is, separated from the elect and burned without any harm coming to any one of the elect.

God bless,

Ted

Matthew 13:28 is not about the "church" at all. It's about the Kingdom of heaven, or the Kingdom from the sky. Yeshua`s not referring to our present; He's referring to the future, particularly the first 1000 years of His Kingdom after He has returned and become King over Isra'el and then progressively over the earth as kings are subdued under Him, either by force or by influence, and He becomes King of kings or a King to other kings, World Emperor!

Yeshua`s parables mentioned in Matthew 13 are all about the Millennium to come, not the feeble now! During His reign, there will be some from the Enemy who are subversively planted within His realm who don't belong in His Kingdom. However, as lives tend to do, their lives will be entwined with the lives of the true children of His Kingdom and He will let them remain, so as not to hurt His own children in the process of removing them, until the Judgment at the end of the 1000 years.

I won't discuss the rest of what you wrote, because IMO you started from a wrong premise.

veteran · Feb 18, 2012

Retrobyter said:
Shalom, veteran.

Just a thought: Have you stopped to consider that IF the seven golden candlesticks (menorahs) were the seven churches, AND the seven churches were in what is now called Turkey, THEN the seven golden candlesticks would NOT be in Heaven? They'd be in Turkey!

Must everything written in God's Word be about a literal thing here on earth, including Heaveny symbols, like the candlesticks and stars which John saw by vision in Revelation 1?

Have you stopped to consider that IF the seven stars John saw represent "seven angels of the seven churches", those seven angels and churches are in Heaven?

Obviously, the seven churches were not in Heaven, but on earth, but the seven angels over them were in Heaven, along with the seven candlesticks which John also saw along with those seven stars.

Rev 1:12-16
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
(KJV)

Ah, shouldn't have done that misleading about the parable of the tares Retrobyter; for now I'm forced to cover the parable of the tares as written.

The parable of the tares of the field per Matthew 13... IS... about the 'now'. Only a portion of it is about the time of Christ's return with separating His sheep from the goats, and Millennium reign.

A 'tare' in real horticulture is a weed that looks just like real wheat while it's growing, and very difficult to recognize as a weed. When the wheat is fully grown and ready for harvest, the tares are then separated from the wheat.

Matt 13:24-30
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.

Good seed of wheat was sown, but then came the enemy and sowed also tares (weeds) among the wheat. And after a while tares were noticed growing with the wheat. That is about the ordained "crept in unawares" of Jude 1 that are wicked servants of the devil hiding among God's people, the "wolves in sheep's clothing" idea. In the OT the tares were called the "workers of iniquity", which is the "mystery of iniquity" that Apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2 that was already at work. It began against God's people with the first murderer Cain. It's about the Genesis 3:15 "emnity" which God said He would put between His people and the children of darkness.

Matt.13:27 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.'

If you were to go out and try to separate the tares from the wheat before harvest time, you'd have a mess because of the tares being difficult to identity while not fully grown. A tare weed emits a black bud on the end of it when fully grown, which makes it easier to recognize it as a weed. Logical thing to do is to wait until both the wheat and tares are fully grown, then they are easier to separate.

The growing seasons is NOW, today, in THIS PRESENT WORLD. The HARVEST time is set for Christ's return, which obviously has not happened yet.

Matt.13:30 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.
(KJV)

There it is. Wait until HARVEST time.

Now Christ's Explanation of His parable of the tares of the field. The following is not another parable, it's the FULL explanation in plain language to His disciples of what the parable is about:

Matt 13:36-43
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."

Our Lord Jesus didn't give this explanation among the multitudes, but only to His disciples when they asked Him. The fact that His explanation of it is fully written for us to read reveals He wants those who truly believe on Him to understand it.

Matt.13:37 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;

The Son of man is a reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, God The Son, Immanuel (God with us). The "field" represents this present world. He sowed His servants The Father gave Him from the foundation of this present world, since Adam in God's Garden (John 17). They represent His elect The Father gave Him before this present world, and also all that would come to believe on Him through their preaching of The Gospel to all nations. Those represent the "good seed", i.e., the wheat.

But the "tares" represent the children of darkness, "workers of iniquity", the "mystery of iniquity", Satan's servants here on earth that God allowed to cause "emnity" between God's children and Satan's children for this present world. That emnity on earth today is to continue until Christ returns in our near future.

Matt.13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Can't get more plain than that. The "enemy" that sowed the "tares" is the devil himself. The "harvest" time is at the END of this present world. And the reapers are the angels, for they will do the separating when the time comes.

Matt.13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

Just as with a literal harvest of wheat, the tares (weeds) are separated from the wheat, and then the tares are thrown into fire. Thus it shall be at the full end of this world, which includes Christ's future thousand years reign, and then in final the "lake of fire" event. Remember though, that Harvest time is not yet today. It's still to come.

Matt.13:41 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.
(KJV)

At Christ's return is when the angels are going to do that separating of the workers of iniquity apart from His sheep (Matt.25). Our Lord Jesus taught about a place of separation that will exist during His future thousand years reign with His elect, called the 'outer darkness'. That's where the children of darkness represented by the tares will be cast to first. Then at the end of His thousand years reign, those who's names are not found in the Book of Life are cast into the "lake of fire", along with the abode of hell, and death. Then will come God's new heavens and a new earth to last for eternity.

Our Lord Jesus' parable of the tares of the field is very important for His people to know and understand. Understanding of many other Scriptures will depend on whether or not you understand it.

What it's especially pointing to is this----

Jude 1:3-4
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
(KJV)

When God setup up His Plan of Salvation for this world since just prior to Adam, He "ordained" certain ungodly men to that condemnation of being Christ's enemies. It's important to realize then, that the evil done in today's world is not just happenning because of ignorant men doing stupid things with not knowing any better.

There are certain men on this earth that intentionally, and purposfully, do the works of the devil, and even worship the devil instead of God, and they literally, and fully HATE God, and know they do.

Yet we cannot be 100% certain just who all they are yet, which is what our Lord's parable of the 'tares' is pointing to. Some of the good seed Christ sowed can be deceived, and do the works of His enemy the devil, truly in ignorance (Apostle Paul being an example of that prior to Christ converting him). If we ourselves tried to separate the 'tares' from His children, we might mistake good wheat for a tare, just like parable says.

This is why we are not to judge anyone born in this world to condemnation of hell fire. It's not ours to judge, but our Lord Christ Jesus only when He returns. His Salvation is also open to any of the 'tares' that turn away from the devil to Him instead and believe, and produce good fruit in Jesus Christ. This kind of judging is not the same type as punishment in today's world for evil wicked acts that violate God's laws. Anyone that does evil is under that, not just the 'tares'.

But the 'tares' represent a determined structure upon this earth to do the devil's work against Christ Jesus and His Church. Our Lord Jesus pointed to them especially as the "synagogue of Satan" per Rev.2 & 3 when speaking to the two Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. And He also pointed to the idea of false Jews in that, those who say they are Jews, but are not and lie. He was not pointing to the good seed among Judah with that. He was pointing to 'tares' hidden among... Judah that claim to be true Judah, but are not. The OT history of this creeping in of those of Jude 1 is more specific, for a lot it has to do with the peoples of the old Canaanite nations which Israel failed to totally destroy per God's command (Judges 2 & 3).

So truly, as Apostle Paul taught in Romans 9, God did literally create some vessels unto destruction for this present world, allowing the devil to have his own structure of workers upon this earth to do his bidding. Don't be blind to that, but ever on guard by recognizing their fruit which is how our Lord Jesus told us, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matt.7:16).

Retrobyter · Feb 18, 2012

Shabbat shalom, veteran.

veteran said:
Must everything written in God's Word be about a literal thing here on earth, including Heaveny symbols, like the candlesticks and stars which John saw by vision in Revelation 1?

I might ask you the same thing reversed: Must everything written in God's Word be about Heavenly symbols instead of literal things? The candlesticks and stars were in a VISION representing literal things! In Revelation 1-3, it NEVER says that Yochanan was in "Heaven!" He was not "in Heaven"; he was "in the Spirit on the Lord's day!" He was in the SPIRIT and seeing the FUTURE, in particular, the Day of the LORD!

veteran said:
Have you stopped to consider that IF the seven stars John saw represent "seven angels of the seven churches", those seven angels and churches are in Heaven?

Obviously, the seven churches were not in Heaven, but on earth, but the seven angels over them were in Heaven, along with the seven candlesticks which John also saw along with those seven stars.

Rev 1:12-16
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
(KJV)

But, if the seven menorahs were all around Yeshua` and the seven menorahs are the seven churches, and if the seven churches are on the earth, then where would Yeshua` be at the same time? (Selah. Pause and think about it.)

Furthermore, the Greek word "aggelos," transliterated as "angel," simply means "messenger" and often refers to HUMAN messengers as well as non-human messengers! The word was used of Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist) in the Greek of Matthew 11:

Matthew 11:7-11
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger (Greek: aggelos) before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
KJV

And, I think it's just as clear that the "messengers" TO WHOM THE MESSIAH IS HAVING YOCHANAN WRITE are the HUMAN messengers within each one of these congregations ON EARTH, their PASTORS!

veteran said:
Ah, shouldn't have done that misleading about the parable of the tares Retrobyter; for now I'm forced to cover the parable of the tares as written.

The parable of the tares of the field per Matthew 13... IS... about the 'now'. Only a portion of it is about the time of Christ's return with separating His sheep from the goats, and Millennium reign.

A 'tare' in real horticulture is a weed that looks just like real wheat while it's growing, and very difficult to recognize as a weed. When the wheat is fully grown and ready for harvest, the tares are then separated from the wheat.

Matt 13:24-30
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.

Good seed of wheat was sown, but then came the enemy and sowed also tares (weeds) among the wheat. And after a while tares were noticed growing with the wheat. That is about the ordained "crept in unawares" of Jude 1 that are wicked servants of the devil hiding among God's people, the "wolves in sheep's clothing" idea. In the OT the tares were called the "workers of iniquity", which is the "mystery of iniquity" that Apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2 that was already at work. It began against God's people with the first murderer Cain. It's about the Genesis 3:15 "emnity" which God said He would put between His people and the children of darkness.

Matt.13:27 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.'

If you were to go out and try to separate the tares from the wheat before harvest time, you'd have a mess because of the tares being difficult to identity while not fully grown. A tare weed emits a black bud on the end of it when fully grown, which makes it easier to recognize it as a weed. Logical thing to do is to wait until both the wheat and tares are fully grown, then they are easier to separate.

The growing seasons is NOW, today, in THIS PRESENT WORLD. The HARVEST time is set for Christ's return, which obviously has not happened yet.

Matt.13:30 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.
(KJV)

There it is. Wait until HARVEST time.

Now Christ's Explanation of His parable of the tares of the field. The following is not another parable, it's the FULL explanation in plain language to His disciples of what the parable is about:

Matt 13:36-43
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."

Our Lord Jesus didn't give this explanation among the multitudes, but only to His disciples when they asked Him. The fact that His explanation of it is fully written for us to read reveals He wants those who truly believe on Him to understand it.

Matt.13:37 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;

The Son of man is a reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, God The Son, Immanuel (God with us). The "field" represents this present world. He sowed His servants The Father gave Him from the foundation of this present world, since Adam in God's Garden (John 17). They represent His elect The Father gave Him before this present world, and also all that would come to believe on Him through their preaching of The Gospel to all nations. Those represent the "good seed", i.e., the wheat.

But the "tares" represent the children of darkness, "workers of iniquity", the "mystery of iniquity", Satan's servants here on earth that God allowed to cause "emnity" between God's children and Satan's children for this present world. That emnity on earth today is to continue until Christ returns in our near future.

Matt.13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Can't get more plain than that. The "enemy" that sowed the "tares" is the devil himself. The "harvest" time is at the END of this present world. And the reapers are the angels, for they will do the separating when the time comes.

Matt.13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

Just as with a literal harvest of wheat, the tares (weeds) are separated from the wheat, and then the tares are thrown into fire. Thus it shall be at the full end of this world, which includes Christ's future thousand years reign, and then in final the "lake of fire" event. Remember though, that Harvest time is not yet today. It's still to come.

Matt.13:41 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.
(KJV)

At Christ's return is when the angels are going to do that separating of the workers of iniquity apart from His sheep (Matt.25). Our Lord Jesus taught about a place of separation that will exist during His future thousand years reign with His elect, called the 'outer darkness'. That's where the children of darkness represented by the tares will be cast to first. Then at the end of His thousand years reign, those who's names are not found in the Book of Life are cast into the "lake of fire", along with the abode of hell, and death. Then will come God's new heavens and a new earth to last for eternity.

Our Lord Jesus' parable of the tares of the field is very important for His people to know and understand. Understanding of many other Scriptures will depend on whether or not you understand it.

What it's especially pointing to is this----

Jude 1:3-4
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
(KJV)

When God setup up His Plan of Salvation for this world since just prior to Adam, He "ordained" certain ungodly men to that condemnation of being Christ's enemies. It's important to realize then, that the evil done in today's world is not just happenning because of ignorant men doing stupid things with not knowing any better.

There are certain men on this earth that intentionally, and purposfully, do the works of the devil, and even worship the devil instead of God, and they literally, and fully HATE God, and know they do.

Yet we cannot be 100% certain just who all they are yet, which is what our Lord's parable of the 'tares' is pointing to. Some of the good seed Christ sowed can be deceived, and do the works of His enemy the devil, truly in ignorance (Apostle Paul being an example of that prior to Christ converting him). If we ourselves tried to separate the 'tares' from His children, we might mistake good wheat for a tare, just like parable says.

This is why we are not to judge anyone born in this world to condemnation of hell fire. It's not ours to judge, but our Lord Christ Jesus only when He returns. His Salvation is also open to any of the 'tares' that turn away from the devil to Him instead and believe, and produce good fruit in Jesus Christ. This kind of judging is not the same type as punishment in today's world for evil wicked acts that violate God's laws. Anyone that does evil is under that, not just the 'tares'.

But the 'tares' represent a determined structure upon this earth to do the devil's work against Christ Jesus and His Church. Our Lord Jesus pointed to them especially as the "synagogue of Satan" per Rev.2 & 3 when speaking to the two Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. And He also pointed to the idea of false Jews in that, those who say they are Jews, but are not and lie. He was not pointing to the good seed among Judah with that. He was pointing to 'tares' hidden among... Judah that claim to be true Judah, but are not. The OT history of this creeping in of those of Jude 1 is more specific, for a lot it has to do with the peoples of the old Canaanite nations which Israel failed to totally destroy per God's command (Judges 2 & 3).

So truly, as Apostle Paul taught in Romans 9, God did literally create some vessels unto destruction for this present world, allowing the devil to have his own structure of workers upon this earth to do his bidding. Don't be blind to that, but ever on guard by recognizing their fruit which is how our Lord Jesus told us, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matt.7:16).

Well, that's one way of looking at Yeshua`s parable of the tares and wheat in Matthew 13. Here's another, and I believe that it is more consistent with Yeshua`s mission during His first advent:

First, one should understand that the "Kingdom of heaven" and the "church" are NOT synonymous! (And, by the way, I NEVER capitalize the word "church" when I use it because I don't believe in a "universal church" or a "catholic church." There just ISN'T a universal gathering until we are all gathered by the messengers Yeshua` sends out at His coming for that purpose.)

Now, look at the elements of the parable; they are well defined by our Lord. You separated Yeshua`s explanation above; so, I'm just going to repeat them here all together:

Matt 13:36-43
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.
KJV

So, here are the elements:
He that sowed the good seed = the Son of man (Yeshua` Himself)
The field = the world
The good seed = the children of the Kingdom
The tares = the children of the wicked one
The enemy = the devil (or in Greek, diabolos, meaning "slanderer")
The harvest = the end of the world (or in Greek, sunteleia aioonos, meaning "completion of the age")
The reapers = the angels (again, in Greek, aggeloi, meaning "messengers")

And, of course, the first element should always be the likening itself:

The kingdom of heaven = the man who sowed good seed in his field.

The next step is to take the elements defined and substitute them into the original parable:

Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is [likened unto] the Son of man (Yeshua` Himself) which sowed the children of the Kingdom in his world:
25 "But while men slept, the devil (or in Greek, diabolos, meaning "slanderer") came and sowed the children of the wicked one among the children of the Kingdom, and went his way.
26 "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the children of the wicked one also.
27 "So the servants of the Son of man came and said unto him, 'Sir, didst not thou sow the children of the Kingdom in thy world? from whence then hath it the children of the wicked one?'
28 "He said unto them, 'The devil 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 children of the wicked one, ye root up also the children of the Kingdom with them.
30 " 'Let both grow together until the completion of the age: and in the time of the completion of the age I will say to the angels ("messengers"), <<Gather ye together first the children of the wicked one, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the children of the Kingdom into my barn.>>' "
KJV (quotation marks supplied)

Now, look at Yeshua`s words used to supplement the parable:

Matthew 13:40-43
40 As therefore the tares ("children of the wicked one") are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world ("age").
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.
KJV

Do you really think that this is when Yeshua` comes back at the BEGINNING of His Kingdom, at the BEGINNING of the Millennium? I don't. If you check out Rev. 20:1-15 and 1 Cor. 15:20-28, I believe Yochanan and Rav Sha'uwl put things in proper perspective:

Revelation 20:1-15
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
KJV

1 Corinthians 15:20-28
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (The Resurrection of the Just)
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
KJV

In Revelation 20, we are told that the judgment at the Great White Throne doesn't come until AFTER the Millennium! Paul tells us that Yeshua` must reign until He has "put all things under him," i.e., subdued all things, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death itself. THEN comes the end! Paul also tells us that this is when the Son turns the Kingdom over to God the Father! And, Yeshua` said that after the children of the wicked one are burned in the fire, "the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father!"

Thus, the parable of the tares and the wheat in Matthew 13 is NOT about this present time; it's about the time of the KINGDOM! After that thousand-year period, will be the "END OF THE AGE!" Understand? Therefore, this parable is not about the present; it's about the future time of the KINGDOM! There will be an infiltration of the children of the wicked one IN HIS KINGDOM! However, He'll take care of the problem at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment before He can turn the Kingdom over to His pure and holy Father, who will not tolerate sin in His Sh'kinah, His Presence! For,...

John 5:22-23
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
KJV

veteran · Feb 18, 2012

That's such a materialist type of view Retrobyter, it almost completely destroys the Rev.1 Scripture of what John was given to see by vision, including a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Trying to apply Materialism to heavenly symbols like what John was shown is no different than those who take literal events out of the Bible and treat them in a spiritualistic-philosophical sense only. Both ways are extremist views that leave the simplicity of the Scriptures and cause confusion.

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