THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (part 5)

"And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.  For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.  But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." (Mark 4:26-29). 

 

Jesus told this parable to His hearers to reveal something of the mystical nature of the kingdom of heaven by comparing it to something very common and familiar.  The process of casting seed into the ground, waiting for it to mature, and ultimately harvesting some sort of crop from it is something that most folks understand at least in theory.  Most of us have had some experience with planting and watching things grow.  The process may seem counterintuitive to the way we might think things should be, however.  Once seeds are buried in the earth, they rot and die.  This death is what actually releases the germ of life that is contained in each seed.  So, every time we plant, we are taking a gamble.  If I let my precious seeds die, will new life really emerge?  If I keep them in the packet, they will stay safe, but if I do this, they cannot multiply.  It is this cycle of death and resurrection that perpetuates the spread of plant species and, through cultivation, also feeds the world.  And it is this very basic principle of laying down our lives in order to be fruitful that spreads the gospel and nourishes hungry souls who are starving for truth.  In John 12:23-28, Jesus foretells His own passion and resurrection; but He is also teaching us the need to die to self if we wish to be born again, and experience a new life in Him.  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”  This principle also applies to the kingdom of God, however, and reveals something of the mystery of the kingdom.

 

It is necessary to understand that the whole planting cycle is a process that cannot be rushed.  Though we rise night and day in anticipation of a harvest, every plant has its own rate of maturity.  First the tender shoot, then the blossom, and finally the ripened fruit.  Once the fruit is ready, it is time for the harvest, and the plant has fulfilled its purpose. 

 

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, it was to preach the good news (or gospel) of the kingdom of God.  He was sowing the seeds of this gospel as He preached and taught the Word.  The parable of the sower is one that we are all familiar with, and we understand from it that Jesus broadcast the good seeds into the world in the three and a half years of His earthly ministry.  Not all of those seeds fell on "good ground," though.  For various reasons they were hindered from maturing.  Many of those seeds did reach maturity, however, and multiplied themselves many, many times over.  "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." (Mark 4:20).

 

After Jesus' ascension, the Apostles continued to preach the gospel of the kingdom, and to flesh out the principles which Jesus had sown.  Drawing from the words of Jesus and the Hebrew Prophets, they articulated the foundational truths of God's kingdom, lovingly watering and caring for the Church that Christ planted.  The seeds which Jesus sowed became a tender blade emerging from the earth in the form of a young Church.  The Word grew and spread rapidly, starting at Jerusalem, into all Judea, then Samaria, and finally into the uttermost parts of the earth.

 

During the first few centuries after Christ, the Church grew and expanded despite the great persecutions that came upon them by the Romans.  It would seem like, given the cruel and sometimes monstrous ways in which the early Christians were martyred, that it would have been difficult to bring new converts into the fold; but because of the great fervor of the early Church, and their willingness to lay down their lives for the Lord Who had bought them with His own blood, the church flourished and grew during the first three centuries. 

 

In 312 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian, and everything changed.  Christianity became en vogue.  In fact, there were now certain advantages afforded to folks who became converted to the faith - and disadvantages to those who did not.  C. N. Cochrane wrote in his Christianity and Classical Culture, "For vast numbers who were content not to think but simply to follow the leadership of the emperor, it was merely a matter of substituting Christ for Jupiter, the Eucharist for the sacrifice, baptism for the taurobolium [purification ritual that involved the sacrifice of a bull], and pretending to themselves that otherwise everything was the same."  The Church became filled with those who had not truly been born again, but who simply wanted to follow what was popular and accepted.  Now that the emperor was a Christian, he felt it was his duty to guide the affairs of the church as well as the government, and he encouraged the clergy to become involved in the affairs of the state.  All of this began to change the fundamental structure of the Church.  Rather than seeking the invisible kingdom of God and being transformed by its principles, the Church was gradually conforming itself to the structure and organization of the kingdoms of the world.  The Popes of Rome merely replaced the Caesars.

 

Arguments can be made on both sides of the question as to whether Constantine worked more good or bad for the Church.  On the positive side, he did much to challenge the heresies of his day, and spearheaded the effort to establish orthodoxy among the believers.  His Edict of Milan brought an end to much persecution, and commanded tolerance to Christians throughout the Roman Empire.  From the Nicene Council, which he convened, came the famous Nicene Creed that encapsulated the basic Christian beliefs in one universal statement of faith.  On the negative side, under Constantine the Roman Church grew into a secular powerhouse that ultimately became filled with such pomp and self-indulgence, such ritualism and relic worship, and such iniquity and idolatry, that it became the enemy of God and of every true believer.  Truly, Jesus' pronouncement on the Laodician Church could have been applied to the Roman Church and what it became.  He said, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." (Revelations 3:15-17).

 

Through the midst of all the chaos, heresies, divisions, infightings, and inquisitions, God has always had a body.  Just as in the days of Elijah the Prophet when God said, "I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal," even so has God always had a remnant down to today.  It is not everyone who names the name of Christ who will be part of the kingdom of heaven, however.  "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).  "And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them." (Luke 21:8).  Jesus warned the disciples in His parable of the wheat and the tares that Satan would sow tares in among the wheat which He, Himself, had planted.  Tares look almost identical to wheat when they are growing up.  To try to remove tares from a crop of wheat would mean jeopardizing some of the good plants by uprooting them when the tares are pulled.  Instead, Jesus said to wait till the harvest and then destroy the tares and save the wheat (Matthew 13:36-43). 

 

Scripture speaks in many places of the harvest of the world in the end time when the sons of God will ultimately be manifested to the world.  "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Romans 8:19).  "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." (1 John 3:2,3).  "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."  (James 5:7).  This is what God and all of creation is waiting for:  for Christ's body to finally come into maturity, and into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  This will be the culmination of God's great purpose.  His plan will be finally realized.  Satan will be thrown into the bottomless pit, the wicked will be judged, and the righteous will receive their reward.  They will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years.  "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelations 11:15b).  The Word of God will have prevailed, and the seed will have come to fruition!  Then also will death and hell be defeated forever.

 

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."  (Isaiah 55:10).