Why are there "Christian" cults out there, such as Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judiazers, and more? Why are there false doctrines out there, with some that are so common that they are taught in most churches? The Bible told us this would happen, and it reveals how it came about.
Before we get into the passage of Scripture to answer the above questions, we first need to define a term. Parable. People get all holy and mysterious when they come across parables in the Bible, but that's not how they are meant to be conveyed. I like how Mr. Dake put it, in his book God's Plan for Man. He says that if the term "parable" trips you up, then just remind yourself that a parable is nothing more than an illustration.
For example, if I were trying to explain to someone how a Christian is transformed when they are born again, I may turn to the butterfly, and use its chrysalis transformation as an illustration to show my point. This is how parables work. They are illustrations used to teach us something.
Now, on to the parable (illustration) which answers the questions put forth in the first paragraph of this article:
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: 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. 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. -Matthew 13:31-33
Notice I included two parables above, instead of just one. This is because the second parable is teaching the same lesson as the first.
Some people believe that the above parables are about the rapid growth of the church, but this cannot be, because the above clearly states these parables are about what the "kingdom of heaven is like." Before we continue, it may be helpful to define what the kingdom of Heaven is. In doing this, let us look at what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what the Kingdom of God is. These are not the same thing. Below, I will quote Mr. Dake from his book God's Plan for Man:
"The kingdom of Heaven is not now the literal reign of Heaven over the Earth, but is the sphere of profession, or the professing Christian world. ... In the next dispensation, the Millennium, the kingdom of Heaven ceases to be the sphere of profession and becomes the real, literal kingdom of the Son of Man. ... The kingdom of God, means the sovereignty of God over the universe and includes and embraces the kingdom of Heaven and all other realms in the whole universe. It is moral and universal and has existed from the beginning and will know no end. The kingdom of God existed even before the creation of the Earth."
The above was quoted from pages 558 and 559.
Therefore, the above two parables are in the realm of those professing Christ. Only true Christians can be in the kingdom of God, but in the current kingdom of heaven, there are those who are really of the kingdom, true Christians, and those who claim to profess, but who in actuality, do not. As we learn from the parables that precede the ones quoted above, the enemy, Satan, sewed tares with the wheat. Until both the special wheat and tares mature, one cannot tell which is the true wheat, and which is the poisonous weed. This is where we are, right now in the kingdom of heaven in the sphere of profession.
Since we have now established that the above two parables cannot be referring to rapid church growth, we can look more closely at them. Notice the above calls the mustard seed "the least of all seeds." The mustard seed in a rabbinic saying, refers to anything minute, or incredibly small. Thus the reason Jesus said "faith as a grain of mustard seed" in Matthew 17:20 and Luke 17:6.
We learn from the previous parables in the same chapter as our parables quoted in this article, that the field represents the world. The mustard seed was sown in the field of the world. Then, we see that this tiny little mustard seed grew rapidly, into a very large tree. In this tree birds are lodging. What did birds represent? Let us look back at the birds in a previous parable in the same chapter:
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up -Matthew 13:3-4
The birds/fowls were devil-led creatures that prevented some from receiving the seed of the Word of God unto salvation. Clearly, birds in these series of parables work for the enemy.
Now we have these birds lodging in the branches of the mustard seed tree. The kingdom of heaven - in its current sphere of profession, grew rapidly, and is riddled with birds - false teachings. The second parable right after this one confirms that this is indeed what the parable was illustrating.
In the second parable, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a woman making bread. She puts in the leaven to make the bread rise. I don't know about you, but I love to make bread. I bake both yeast and sourdough breads, and it still amazes me how the leaven in the bread permeates the whole lump of dough, and makes it PUFF UP.
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels (see 2 Cor. 11:4), intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head (see Eph. 5:23, 1 Cor. 11:3, and Eph. 4:15) from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. -Colossians 2:18-19
In the Bible, leaven is never used as something positive. In both Old and New Testaments, leaven is a symbol for evil.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us -1 Corinthians 5:7
In a parable preceding the two we've been studying, we see the devil, the enemy, sowing tares (false professions of Christ) in with the wheat (true professions of Christ). The tares are wolves in sheep's clothing:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. -Matthew 7:15
In the mustard seed parable, we see these tares depicted as birds. These birds teach winds of false doctrine:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive -Ephesians 4:14
In the leaven parable, the tares and birds are likened to leaven, spreading through the whole lump of dough, and changing it. In the Old Testament, the Days of Unleavened Bread were seven days that came right after the Passover, where the Israelites were to remove every trace of leaven from their homes. Leaven represented, and represents - evil. Part of the reason for those Days of Unleavened Bread, was to remind the people of God to not fall for false teachings, but to stay true to the Lord and His ways.
Under the New Testament, which is the New Covenant, Christians are not to keep those Days of Unleavened Bread, or other O.T. feasts, for Jesus fulfills them. In regards to leaven, the symbol of evil, Christians are told:
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us -1 Corinthians 5:7
Remember, the multitudes of cults and other false teachings have permeated the kingdom of heaven. Are you a tare, or are you wheat? God gave us His Word, the Holy Bible, so that we can read it, and the Holy Spirit and the written Word of God will help us determine what the leaven is, so that we can purge it from our lives. This is a journey. As more and more leaven is revealed to us, it's our job to purge it from our lives.
Now you know why my family has chosen to shun holidays with pagan roots and traditions, such as Christmas and Easter. For us to partake in those would be spiritual adultery:
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. -James 4:4
Dear Christian brethren, always seek the Lord, and when He reveals the leaven in your life, purge it, and give all the glory and honor to our heavenly Father.
