THE 5 PILLARS OF MATTHEW 3.3 The 5 Enigmatic Kingdom Parables (Matt 13, pt. 3)
ESCHATOLOGY THROUGH COMPARATIVE STUDY Daniel 5 Pillars of Matthew Revelation Visible Kingdom Spiritual Kingdom Full Kingdom Israel Church Millennium [[Rise]] [Fall] Restoration 1.Design 2.Presentation 3.Stages: #1, #2, #3 #7 4.Key 5.Transition Christ in Glory (1) Church Age (2-3) Rapture (4-5) Tribulation (6-18) 2nd Coming (19) Millennium (20) Eternal State (21-22)
5 PILLARS OF MATTHEW No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 5 Discourses of Jesus in Matthew The Sermon on the Mount --The Design of the Spiritual Kingdom The Sending of the Twelve --The Presentation of the Spiritual Kingdom The Kingdom Parables --The Stages of the Spiritual Kingdom The Kingdom Life Discourse --The Key of the Spiritual Kingdom The Olivet Discourse --The Transition of the Spiritual Kingdom Matt 5-7 Matt 10 Matt 13 Matt 18-20 Matt 24-25
7 KINGDOM PARABLES # Parable Church Period Verse 1 Sower [Soils] Apostolic (33-100) Matt 13:1-23 2 Tares [Weeds] Patristic (100-312) Matt 13:24-30; 34-43 3 Mustard Seed Imperial (312-590) Matt 13:31-32 4 Leaven Catholic (590-1517) Matt 13:33 5 Hidden Treasure Reformed (1517-1727) Matt 13:44 6 Precious Stones Evangelical (1727-1990) Matt 13:45-46 7 Dragnet Postmodern (1990-2101?) Matt 13:47-50; 51-58
KP#1: 1 SEED, 4 SOILS: APOSTOLIC CHURCH Kinds of Soil Types of Believer Types of Heart 1, On the Road Nonbeliever Hard Hearted 2, Among the Rock False Believer Soft Hearted 3, Among the Thorns Unfruitful Believer Double Hearted 4. On Good Soil Fruitful Believer: 100: Pure & Focused 60: Single & Devoted 30: Married & Sanctified The Seed = the Gospel The Sower = the Son of Man = Christ Single Hearted
KP#2: 2 SOWERS, 2 SEEDS: PATRISTIC CHURCH Sower Seed Referent Man ( Son of Man) (= Believers of Christ) Enemy (the Devil = Satan) Good Seed (= the Righteous/Saved) Weed/Tare (= the Wicked/Unsaved) True Believers & What They Believe (Truth) False Believers & What They Believe (Falsehood)
7 KPS: 7 CHURCH AGES? Dr. Dwight Pentecost Suggested in His Book Things to Come (p.153) that the 7 Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13 Correspond to the 7 Letters to 7 Churches in Revelation 2-3, and also to 7 Stages in Church History. The 1st Kingdom Parable (the Parable of the Sower) Corresponds to the Apostolic Age (33-100). A.D.33: Pentecost; A.D.100: NT Published, Death of John. The 2nd Kingdom Parable (the Parable of the Tares) Corresponds to the Patristic Age (100-312/325). A.D.312: Conversion of Constantine. A.D. 325: Council of Nicaea, Trinitarianism Established.
KP#3: MUSTARD SEED 31 He set before them another parable: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard which a man takes and sows in the field. 32 It is smaller than all garden herbs, but when it grows up it is greater than all herbs and is made into a greater tree until the birds of heaven withdraw into (its branches). (Hebrew Matthew according to Shem-Tob, trans. George Howard)
KP#3: MUSTARD SEED 31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES. (Eze 17:23; Psa 104:12; Eze 31:6; Dan 4:12) (Matt. 13:31-32 NAU)
KP#3: OT REFERENCES? 22 Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 "On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches. 24 "All the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will perform it." (Ezek. 17:22-24 NAU) [on the Future of Israel]
KP#3: OT REFERENCES? Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, (Ps. 104:1 NAU) 8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth. 10 He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains; 11 They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches. (Ps. 104:8-12 NAU) [On God s Power]
KP#3: OT REFERENCES? In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 "Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, 'Whom are you like in your greatness? 3 'Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon With beautiful branches and forest shade, And very high, And its top was among the clouds. 4 'The waters made it grow, the deep made it high. With its rivers it continually extended all around its planting place, And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field. 5 'Therefore its height was loftier than all the trees of the field And its boughs became many and its branches long Because of many waters as it spread them out. 6 'All the birds of the heavens nested in its boughs, And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth, And all great nations lived under its shade. (Ezek. 31:1-6 NAU) [On Assyria]
KP#3: OT REFERENCES? 10 'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. 11 'The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 'Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it. (Dan. 4:9-12 NAU) [On Nebuchadnezzar]
MUSTARD THE HERB
MUSTARD SEED: 2 MM
MUSTARD PLANT
MUSTARD TREE?
ABNORMAL GROWTH Mustard Grow to the Size of Bushes, but There Are No Confirmed Mustard Trees. Mustard Seed Is Not the Smallest among All Plants, but It Is the Smallest among the Garden Seed of the Middle East. The Point of the Parable of the Mustard Seed Is an Abnormal Growth of the Church due to its Union with the State. When Constantine Became a Christian, He Legalized Christianity. Though Remaining Fair to the Pagans, He Favored Christianity Personally. He Sponsored Building Cathedrals and Copying Bibles. He Sat in the Council of Nicaea, Which United the Church on Trinitarianism.
ABNORMAL GROWTH Constantine I (306-337) Moved the Capital to the East. He Only Legalized Christianity, but Did Not Make It the National Religion. Theodosius I (379-395) Was the Last Emperor Who Reigned over both the Eastern and the Western Parts of the Empire. He Decreed that the Nicaean Christianity Is the State Religion of the Roman Empire. Justinian I (527-565) Wrote the Hebrew-Christian Ethics into the Roman Law (The Justinian Code), and Sealed the Eastern/Byzantine Empire for a 1000 Year to Come. The Imperial Church Period or the Christian Roman Empire (312-590) Is Referred to by the Parable of the Mustard Seed.
KP#4: LEAVEN/YEAST 33 He Spoke to them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which (a woman puts) into three measures of flour and it leavens all of it. (Hebrew Matthew 13:33) 33 He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." (Matt. 13:33 NAU)
LEAVEN AS SIN Leaven/Yeast in the OT Always Symbolized Sin. The Israelites Must Remove All Leven from the Household during the 7-day Unleavened Bread after the Passover. It Means that the Shedding of the Blood of the Innocent Lamb Removes the Consequence of Sin. The Shedding of the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, Removed the Condemnation due to Sin on His Believers. Jesus Warned the Disciple to Watch over the Leaven of the Pharisees, Which Means their False/Sinful Teachings. It Is Natural to Infer that the Kingdom Parable #4 (Leaven) Refers to the Time When the Spiritual Kingdom (Church) Will Go into Sin Greatly.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM The Christian Emperors Tried to Save the Roman Empire by Christianizing It. But Its Decline and Fall Was Multi- Faceted and Unstoppable: The Feudalism Set up by Diocletian (284-305) Choked the Mobility and Creativity of the People. The Germanic Barbarians Semi-Christianized by Arian Christianity Became Aggressive and Conquered the Western Empire in 476/480. The Church in Rome Was the Light of the World to the Barbarians. It Christianized them by Catholic (Universal, Nicaean, Trinitarian) Christianity, and Civilized them. Gregory I (590-604) Made the Roman Catholic Doctrine, which Mechanized the Faith.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH The Empire Was Divided into the East and the West, so Did the Church. In the West, the Church Is Greater than the State, and the Pope Was the Vicar of Christ. The Catholic (Universal) Church Became Roman Catholic from 590. Some Say in 800, When Charlemagne Was Crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Church Had a Temporal Arm. In the East, the State Was Greater than the Church, and the Caesar Was the Vicar of Christ. The Eastern Church Became the Eastern Orthodox; the Formal Split Happened in 1054. The Rise of Islam (622) Sealed Europe for 1000 Years.
ROMAN CATHOLIC PERIOD The Longest Period Church History is the Roman Catholic Period (590-1517) The Church Was Highly Esteemed, Well Financed, United the People by Fear of the Muslim, and Ruled over the Princes by the Threat of National Excommunication. Power, Money and Glory Corrupted the Church, as They Do to Any Human Institutions. Objectively, the Roman Catholic Church Has Done both Good and Evil. It Was the Christian Church for 1000 Years, but the Corrupted Element Persecuted the True Believers. There Was Late Antiquity (590-800), Early Middle Age (800-1054), High Middle Age (1054-1291), and Late Middle Age (1291-1517).
ROMAN CATHOLIC CORRUPTIONS The Errors Are Many: Salvation Is by: Faith + Works (Semi-Pelagian), Grace + Sacraments (Christ Re-sacrificed at Each Mass), Christ + Mary (Idolatry of Mary, Who Was Made as the Queen of Heaven, a Pagan Concept). Authority Is: the Scripture + Church. The Meaning of Life Is: Glory of God + Glory of Man. At the 15th Century, the Church Became Very Worldly and Almost Pagan; the Corruption Was Epitomized by Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia, 1492-1503).
KP#5: HIDDEN TREASURE 44 Again Jesus said to his disciples: The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a treasure which had been hidden and in gladness over the value he sells all which he has and buys the field for himself. (Hebrew Matthew 13:44) 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matt. 13:44 NAU)
REFORMATION The Reformation Was Prepared by Many Forerunners: Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085), John Wycliffe (1320-1384), John Hus (1369-1415), Savonarola (1452-1498). The Champion of Reformation Was Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Germany, Followed by Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) and John Calvin (1509-1564) in Switzerland, John Knox (1513-1572) in Scotland, and Henry VIII etc. in England. The Key Doctrine Is the Five Alones of Reformation: Salvation Is by Faith Alone, Grace Alone, & Christ Alone; Authority Is Scripture Alone; The Meaning of Life Is for the Glory of God Alone.
REFORMATION PERIOD The Reformation Period Is Usually Marked as 1517-1648, from the Time When Martin Luther Nailed the 95 Thesis on the Door of the Wittenberg Church, to the Peace of Westphalia, the End of the 30-Year War. The Reformation Never Finished. The Changes then Were Doctrinal (about Soteriology, in the Mind, National/Collective). It Went to the Heart on Personal Regeneration, Marked by the 2nd Pentecost of Moravian Brethren in 1727. It Went to Eschatology by the Plymouth Brethren in 1800s. It Is Still Going on about Pneumatology now.
KP#6: PRECIOUS PEARL 45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like a certain merchant seeking precious stones. 46 When he finds a good one, he sells all which he has and buys it. (Hebrew Matthew 13:45-46) 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matt. 13:45-46 NAU)
EVANGELICAL & MISSIONAL CHURCH The Immediate Result of Reformation Was National Churches, Not Enthusiastic for Missions. The Moravian Brethren Church Was for the Refugees of Followers of John Hus, Led by Count Nicolas Zinzendorf. They Had an Experience Called the 2nd Pentecost in 1727, Felling the Love for Brethrens, and the Zeal for Missions. This Is the Beginning of the Evangelical Church and the Missionary Movement. The Wesley Brothers Were Greatly Influenced by the Missionaries of the Moravian Brethren Church. The Great Awakenings of US Can Be Attributed to Them. The Evangelical Church Period Was during 1727-1990.
KP#7: DRAGNET 47 The kingdom of heaven is like a net in the midst of the sea in which are gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it is full, they draw it out, and the fishermen go forth and choose the good for their vessels and the bad they cast away. 49 Thus it will be at the end of days, the angels will go forth and separate the evil from the midst of the righteous. 50 Then they shall cast them into the pyre of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Hebrew Matthew 13:47-50)
KP#7: DRAGNET 47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:47-50 NAU)
POSTMODERN CHURCH Modernity Is Marked by 2 Great Ideologies and Powers: Nazism (National Socialism): Germany Communism (International Socialism); Soviet Union. [Zionism (US/UK/Israel: Banking Oligarchy) Is the 3rd] With the Fall of the Soviet Union (1990) Is the End of the Modern Age. The Postmodern Age Already Began from Nietzsche [God Is Dead], Existentialism [Being and Nothingness], Deconstructionism [No Meta-Narrative, Meaning, or Value], & Charismatism [Experience > Reason] etc. We Are in the Last Age of the Church History (1990- Rapture).
THINGS NEW AND OLD 51 He said to them: Have you understood this? They said: Yes. 52 Every wise man in the kingdom of heaven, therefore, is like a certain father of children who brings forth from his treasure things new and old. 53 It came to pass after this, when Jesus finished these words, he passed on from there. (Heb. Matt 13:53) 51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes." 52 And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old." 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. (Matt. 13:51-53 NAU)
MUTUAL REJECTION 54 He came into his own country and was teaching the people in the synagogues. The Pharisees were amazed and said in their heart: Whence (came) to this one the wisdom and power to do these deeds? 55 (Is this) not the son of the smith and Mary? Do you not know all these: his mother Mary, his three brothers: Joseph, Simon, and Judah, 56 and his sisters? Do you not know all these who are with us? Whence came to this one all these things? 57 So they were confused about him. Jesus answered them: A prophet is not without honor except in his own land, city and house. 58 The he did not wish to do there any sign because of their little faith. (Heb. Matt. 13:54-58)
MUTUAL REJECTION 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household." 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matt. 13:54-58 NAU)