Psalms 49:3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
The ability to correctly process and understand the truths of God’s word, depends not so much on the intellect, but upon one’s willingness to obey all of God’s instructions. The attitude with which we may come to a study of scripture determines to a large extent, whether we will understand, or whether we will be confused.
Some persons wonder why Christ used so many of His parables in preaching and teaching, instead of saying things plainly. It had to do with the different minds that He encountered, for there were many times we would read in the scriptures where one came to Him “tempting Him”.
This means that in some cases, from the outset, the questioner had ulterior motives, and for that reason Jesus might give a certain answer in parabolic form, whereas if that same person came to Him, sincerely seeking for truth, such a person would get a straight answer. We are instructed in the Bible to avoid vain, foolish arguments which only produce strife.
Instead, the servants of God should be always ready with a humble spirit to deliver those words of truth and soberness to folks who may be willing to listen. But to merely engage in scriptural argument for the sake of winning an argument, will not move anyone to either believe or obey.
Thus, the attitude with which persons approach the word of God could make all the difference in the outcome, as is evidenced by the following examples in which Jesus used parables, or plain direct speech, depending on the listener in question. Let’s read:
Matthew 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting Him desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed.
Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
It is interesting that in our day many theologians have taken the above passage and ran with it, not considering that it was spoken to those of perverse hearts. When persons use this rendering of Christ’s answer to conclude that there are only two laws for us to obey, then they fall into the same snare as the one who came to Christ “Tempting Him”.
In contrast, here comes an earnest seeker for truth whose mind could be made susceptible to The Lord, and because Jesus senses the difference between a person who is trying to entrap Him, and one who is sincere, He then delivers the entire gospel message in one conversation, using the plainest of speech.
In fact, the attitude with which individuals came to Christ with their various inquiries would quite often determine what kind of answer they would get. In some instances, He would caution His disciples not to make known to the multitudes who He was, and at other times, He would reveal His true identity, as was the case with the woman at the well.
Thus, whenever He would come across those who were earnest in their inquiries, Jesus would deliver the goods, not in dark sentences or parables, but in a manner so as to make the truth plain. Let’s read:
John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Here it is again. Jesus comes across one who would be responsive to His gracious overtures, and since the soil of this person’s heart is receptive to truth, He reveals who He is, not in fuzzy parables, but in a way that the person in question would understand in no uncertain terms. Let’s read:
John 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
With those words: “Go call thy husband and come” we can almost hear the woman sighing “my oh my”! Why did He have to go there? The Bible study was going so good, and I was just about to give Him an offering to continue speaking those smooth words.
But Jesus does not deal in smooth words which lull persons into a false sense of security when it comes to their soul’s salvation. Instead, He probes her on the most sensitive issues of her life, in order for her to see why the living water He is offering is of such great importance.
Those words: “Go call thy husband” trigger a tide of bitter memories, that she would have preferred left alone. She remembers the bitter separations of by- gone years, the angry custody battles in court for her children, the child support money that has been in arrears, her credit rating which got damaged as a result of the many divorces.
Then there is the alimony that is so long overdue, her different kids who have been raised by multiple fathers, who have come and gone, and added to all this her reputation in the hood has taken such a hit that her own morale has been shaken to the core.
And now, to cap it all off, a stranger whom she has met for the first time, who is of different nationality and culture is asking her to go call her husband! Will she become so deeply offended by the inconvenient truth, that she would walk away in utter disgust, or would she still desire to talk to The Stranger? Let’s read:
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband.
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Christ senses behind the outward evasive answers that here is a soul who is for real, and even though like all of us she is far from perfect, yet in her heart of hearts she is sincere, and will respond favorably to the gospel when the right conditions converge.
Thus, she reveals that the soil of her heart is fertile ground for God to work, and as such, Jesus will stop at nothing until a clear revelation of Himself is given to her, so that she can take her sincerity to the next level of faith and obedience. She would not be on the shortlist for parables, but for clear and concise revelations from Christ. Let’s read:
John 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah comes, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
Now let’s contrast this encounter of the woman at the well with another instance where Christ was to meet with a different set of minds, some of whom were those looking for arguments, some seeking to put Him to death, others trying to entrap Him, and others who were merely following for the loaves and fishes.
It’s not that the parables are bad, they are good, for Jesus often used them. It’s just that their meaning may not be readily apparent, especially to those of questionable motives. But to those who are earnest in their spirit, Jesus would speak plainly, while those who were not for real might be left with many more questions than answers. Let’s read:
Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Thus, when Jesus would speak to the multitudes in parables, He would speak in such a manner so as to peak their interest in the truth, and if they desired, explanations would be given clearly when the right circumstances converged; but if not, then His words would appear vague and fuzzy, to those who were prone to listening conveniently. Let’s read:
Matthew 13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth.
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them.
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing, see not; and hearing they hear not neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
34 All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.
The reason for Him speaking in parables as given by Christ shows us that He was at times dealing with hearts that were not inclined to listen, or obey the truth in many cases, and as such, if folks continued to bury their heads in the sand conveniently when they heard something they preferred not to hear, then it would be a whole lot of parables that would be spoken.
The habit of deliberately closing our eyes to the truth when it rubs us the wrong way by revealing cherished errors and sins, will put us into a pharaoh frame of mind where no matter how undeniable the evidence of the truth, we would not be convinced.
In fact, the very first mention of the word parable in the Bible occurred when it was associated with the stubbornness of persons, who, notwithstanding all the undeniable evidences before their faces refused to acknowledge the truth until there was no remedy because they continued to deliberately bury their heads in the sand. Let’s read:
Numbers 22:3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
17 For I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
From the outset of his journey everything seemed to start going wrong, and the evidences would pile up in a crescendo that would culminate in the raw exposure of Balaam’s stubbornness and yet, for all this, he still persists in going on his way. Let’s read:
Numbers 22:23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay.
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
Numbers 23: 5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
7 “And he took up his parable”
18 And he took up his parable,
Numbers 24:3 And he took up his parable.
15 And he took up his parable.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable.
21 And he looked on the Kenites and took up his parable.
23 And he took up his parable.
Now, there are those who may say that the book of Revelation is sealed, and cannot be understood, and therefore the beasts, the signs, and all the figurative language used often spawns a plethora of different interpretations. This view is used in many instances to deter folks from studying the book, and because of this, many are left in darkness, as it pertains to issues which God intended for everyone to know.
Therefore, we will now speak, not in parables, but in the plainest manner, so as to make clear what the mark of the beast is, and the issues that will be on the front burner of the human experience in the very near future.
For the record, the issue that will bring the world to 666, the mark of the beast, or the seal of God, isn’t one of those wild conspiracy theories floating about on the internet. It’s an issue of worship. Plain and simple. So, come now let us reason together saith The Lord. Let’s read:
Revelation 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world.
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Revelation 14: 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.
11 And they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Question: What do you think the issue is?
Answer: Worship!
The most prominent issue of worship, where “All the world” or the overwhelming majority of Christians are currently entrenched is Sunday, as the traditional day of rest. Yet God is saying to earth’s inhabitants, it’s not Sunday, it’s Saturday, even though there is only a teeny-weeny set of folks who do Saturday. (Like in Noah’s day).
God’s truth will never be found where the popular majority converge, and thus, God is calling us to the worship that was originally given to the world in the garden of Eden, not to the Jews only, for Adam was not a Jew, but to the entire human race for all time and for all eternity.
Thus, without any parables, or dark sentences, and without any vague or fuzzy interpretations, we will end our study with the truth about worship that will seal the destiny of earth’s inhabitants. Let’s read:
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
God Bless!