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TARES. "A weed, or bearded darnel, that in the blade state could not be distinguished from wheat but in the ear state was quite dissimilar and could then be easily separated (Mt. 14:25-30) (Analytical). The parable of the wheat and tares has been incorrectly interpreted as teaching that God does not want the Christian to exercise judgment against sin and error. That this is not the meaning Christ intended is obvious by the many commands in the N.T. Scriptures regarding church discipline and separation from error. The Lord Jesus Christ was describing the conditions in the world during His absence in Heaven. The kingdom of God will assume a mystery form, meaning a form not revealed in O.T. prophecy (Mt. 13:11). Mystery means the revelation of truth hidden in prior ages. It refers to N.T. truth, things which were hidden from the O.T. prophets. [See Mystery.]

The O.T. describes the coming kingdom of God on earth, but it did not foresee this present interlude between the first and second comings of Christ, this age during which Christ is calling out a people for His name among the nations. In the parables in Matthew 13, the Lord taught that the conditions in this church age will be that of increasing apostasy and wickedness. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER (Mt. 13:3-9) depicts the spread of the Gospel and the fact that only a small fraction of the seed sown will produce good fruit. The scattering of the seed will not fill the world with fruit, but will result in a fruitful crop here and there as it is received in good hearts. According to this parable, for the most part the Seed of the Word of God will be rejected. This is exactly what has happened in church history. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED (Mt. 13:31,32) depicts the growth of an abnormal and unwanted product of the sowing process. The mustard seed is planted and produces a tree instead of a mustard plant. The mustard seed typifies the true churches of Jesus Christ which, in the eyes of the world, were small, common, and of little value. The glory of the true church is hidden from the eyes of unsaved men. All they see is a motley band of ordinary people who are zealous for Jesus Christ and the Bible and who have strange habits and beliefs. This is what God intended the church to be, but it was made into a magnificent apostate religion by heretics.

The lowly mustard plant became a proud tree. Apostate religion has reared its magnificent cathedrals, adorned itself in glorious robes, collected gold and silver and precious stones, developed men-pleasing humanistic philosophies, and otherwise made itself into something the unsaved man can appreciate. THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN (Mt. 13:33) depicts the rapid spread of error throughout 82(2 professing Christendom. How perfectly this parable has been fulfilled. Even during the days of the Apostles, apostasy was beginning to blossom. It quickly spread throughout a majority of the churches. The prophecies of these amazing parables have been fulfilled precisely in church history.

THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES (Mt. 13:24-30,36-43) depicts exactly the same thing. As the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world, the devil has sown tares in the midst of it. The kingdom of heaven in its mystery form is all of professing Christendom, lost and saved, apostate and true. It includes the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant denominations, the cults, as well as the sound apostolic congregations. When Jesus says that the tares must not be rooted out until the end of the age, He is referring to the fact that apostasy cannot be destroyed until that time. The churches are not to put heretics to death or burn down the apostate cathedrals! God will take care of error as far as rooting it out of His kingdom when Christ returns in power and glory. The field is not the true churches; "the field is the world" (Mt. 13:38). To interpret the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares as applying to the N.T. church is a great error and contradicts the rest of the N.T. Scriptures. [See Apostasy, Church Discipline, Covenant, Ecumenical Movement, False Teaching, Heresy, Kingdom of God, Mystery, Parables, Prophecy, Revelation, Separation, Timothy, Unity.]

[The previous material is a sample from the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity, Copyright 1994, Way of Life Literature, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 908277.]