TEXT: MATTHEW 13: 24- 30, 34- 43 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.

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.

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.

34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

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)

Today I would like to deliver a message entitled “THE CRUCIAL REVIVAL.”

They say there are the battles like “the crucial battle.” “The Battle at Sekigahara” was one of them. At that time the consequence of it would affect the generation after generation, which side each military commander took. Those who took side to Tokugawa were treated well, and conversely others who took opposite side were treated coldly as the outs till the end of the Tokugawa reign of three hundred years.

Well, the Bible says that there will be the only once the crucial revival for Christians throughout the history. The Bible says it will make the eternal great divisions to us how we listen to the Word and the voice of the Holy Spirit. This is no less than the Battle of Sekigahara, but just the crucial battle.

Well, the above parable of wheat and tares is the one. This passage tells that there will be the great harvest, that is, the great revival, in the end of this world. Those who truly listen to the voice of God at that time will be gathered into the barn. But others who do not listen to the voice of God and pervert the Word will be cast not into the revival but the fire of devils.

Let’s look at the text.

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.”

Seed refers to the Word, as it is written in the former “parable of sowing.” A man is Christ. He sowed good seed, that is to say, children of Kingdom who listen to the good words. Therefore, The Word of the Bible is basically good. When he eats and does this Word, he will grow up as good wheat, good Christians.

25 “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”

It is written, “while men slept.” Therefore, Satan brings tares, that is, the people who accept the false teachings and doctrines, into the Church without our notice. This is not the issue of such arguments as, “Such is not probable or possible in the Church.” This is the prophecy for the Church, and as long as Christ said that, it will be nevertheless fulfilled in the Church history.

Once, the enemy, Satan, appeared all of a sudden in the midst of the Garden of Eden that looked a wonderful paradise, and whispered to Eve words and teachings that would make Eve doubt of the Word. This should not have happened. Yet, it happened in fact. Satan who should not have been there appeared in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Likewise, it is permitted and actually happens that the enemy sows things that look like good wheat but are actually tares that will induce death.

26 “But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.”

Wheat is the metaphor of Christians. Others are sheep, oxen, vine, fish, stars and many kinds. Sheet is the metaphor of Christians to show an aspect of existences that are brought up by a shepherd.

Wheat is the metaphor of Christians to show an aspect that they grow up by eating the Word. There is a saying, “Medicine and food are of the same nature.” It tells of the influence of eating for health.

Likewise, it depends on our bread, the doctrines of the Bible, how we Christians grow. And, the enemy sowed tares, false teachings, among them. Some of the Christians who have heard such and grown by them are filled with tares and perverted teachings.

There are some people who say such crooked thing as, “The words of Jesus written in the Bible are no necessarily what He said,” and others who say, “We do not believe resurrection, healing, or miracles but others.” These people are certainly the tares of sufficient growth.

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?”

It is strange to see tares, though they sowed good seed. Likewise, it is beyond understanding of common Christians that the tares come up in the Church though God sowed good words through the Bible. But this is written in the Bible, and will certainly come up in the Church.

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?”

The enemy has done this. It is permitted for the enemy to enter into the Church, as Satan who lied about the Word was permitted to enter into the Garden of Eden. Those who are not deceived in the Church will get eternal life. But others who are deceived or accept the teachings of tares will be ousted.

We should remember that Adam and Eve who were deceived by the serpent were kept away from the tree of life. This is the type of the people who would loose life as a result of the deception by the serpent.

29 “But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.”

It may be difficult to make a division between wheat and tares.

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.”

The division will not be done until the harvest. There is the time of harvest once a year in Israel like in Japan. Likewise, the Bible says there will be the time of harvest, the time of great revival, once in the Church history. And that is the time of division between wheat and tares. Yea, it is the crucial time of division.

34 “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.”

The Lord spoke parables. As I have repeated, it is very important to understand parable of the Bible. For, much knowledge about the end time is hidden in parables.

35 “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables: I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”

Not only limited to things of the end time, but also all others necessary for us Christians are written in the Bible. But, it is pity that we are blind so that we cannot read what are written in this Book. It is the tragedy in this age.

It refers to this, “And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” Women are the metaphor of churches, and they have only children who need milk. Milk is the food for Christians who cannot understand parables that are strong meat according to Hebrews. Churches of only pastors and believers who do not understand parables are blind, and as a result they will not be able to pass through the end time peacefully. That is the tragedy.

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.”

The disciples asked Jesus for the meaning of the parable and were given right answer. As Jesus said the parable, they would no doubt get the right answer if they asked Him. This should be natural, but we do not understand it so much in this present age. There are many people who do not ask Jesus but pastors, workers or theologians. Yet we should not forget that the right answer comes from Jesus.

37 “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.”

The Son of man is Jesus, and the seed that Jesus sowed in the beginning were all good.

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.”

In the beginning only good seed were sown. So, in the beginning of the Church there were only children of kingdom. But, later, there appeared the children of the wicked one, Satan, in the Church.

39 “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”

It would be occurred at the harvest, that is, in the end of the world, that the tares are burned in the fire. Well, let’s think about the word, “the end of the world.” As long as it is the end of the world, it should not say of the life after death, the heaven or hell.

For example, when they say that the Emperor died at the end of the Showa Era, it does not mean the end of Heisei Era but of the Showa Era. Likewise, when they say the end of the world, it does not mean the life after death but the end of one continuous era that we now live in. Therefore, if we are the last generation, we would see the tares to be burned.

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

So, we would see it when we go into the end of the world, the end time, when the tares are gathered and burned in the fire. It will be so. We should know the fire is also the metaphor. Fire and water are metaphor of spirits. And, the spirit said here does not of course refer to the Holy Spirit but devils. So, those who accept the tares, that is to say, the interpretation Satan has manipulated and forsake the Word will be gathered into the revivals of devils and burned in the fire of devils. It is just as written, “the tares are gathered and burned in the fire.”

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.”

Therefore, those Christians who do not stand on the truth of the Word will be “gathered out of the kingdom,” that is, out of the true Church, and be “cast into a furnace of fire,” that is to say, into the revival of devils in deception.

Though they think they are led to the wonderful meetings, they are actually deceived to gather there and are cast there. As the spirit told a lie to deceive Ahab as if with a mouth through four hundred prophets, many pastors tell about these revivals in this age, too. They are all under a spirit of deception.

43 “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

It is written, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” This saying is written on Revelation as, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Moreover, it is repeated even seven times. It indicates very important that the saying, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,” is repeated even seven times in just twenty or thirty pages of Revelation. Yes, it is meaningful to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in the end time. Such people will escape from the deception of the end time.

Let’s do the will of the Lord in the end time.

End.