Bible Questions & Discussion PAGE 376

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 15.

Wayside Soil

Some seed fell by the wayside:

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. ( Matthew 13:19)

None of these who hear the Word are Christians - they are merely professors. The birds take the seed away. The birds by the way, as interpreted in another parable, represent the devil. The evil one takes away the seed. This happens to church members who are only professing Christians. They hear the Word, but it is not with the hearing of faith. For them the Word is not mixed with faith at all. They have a formal faith. They nod their heads in agreement, but to them Christianity is a sideline, it is a sideshow. They come to church once on Sunday, and that ends it for the week as far as they are concerned. I like to speak of these as the "deep-freeze" folk. The seed will be killed in the deep-freeze. These are the folk who hear it, hear it for years - then finally fall off into some cult or ism.

A man said to me when I was a pastor, "Don't get the idea that your church turns out one hundred percent members. I know one who is in a certain cult - he knocked at my door the other day." I bow my head in shame; I'm afraid that is true. Although the seed that I sow is good seed, it does fall on some wayside soil.

See Part 15.

Rocky Soil

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 14.

Some Seed?

We come now to the second point: Some seed, followed by a question mark.

Let us see the types of ground upon which the seed falls. There are four types of soil. Three-fourths of the seed does not fall on good ground. In fact, three-fourths of the seed dies. Nothing comes from it at all - not because there is anything wrong with the seed - it is the living Word of God. Do you know where the difficulty is? The difficulty lies with the soil. Now I believe in the doctrine of election, I believe it with all my heart. I wouldn't bother to preach if I did not believe in election, but the doctrine of free will is also true. The richness or barrenness of the soil determines what is going to happen to the seed.

You can be any kind of ground you want to be. It is up to you. I have the utmost confidence in the seed that I'm sowing, for it is the Word of God. But it is falling on four kinds of soil, and threefourths of it will die. I know that. Sometimes a very sympathetic person comes to me and says, "Dr. McGee, I just want to encourage you because you may not get a response to your message." And my answer is always the same, "Don't worry about that. I'm sowing seed. It's not up to me to get results, it's up to the Holy Spirit." I am only the sower of the seed. The germination of the seed lies in the hands of the Holy Spirit and the soil upon which the seed falls.

Now as we consider the four types of soil, I wonder if you would get rid of your shovel if you have one with you today. A preacher said to me the other day, "Most of my members bring shovels to church. When I say something, they take their shovel and pitch it back, thinking, That's for Mrs. Jones back there. And another, That's for Mr. Smith over there." Don't use a shovel now, will you? Search your own heart as we look at these four types of soil.

See Part 15.

John 14:12,

J Vernon Mcgee

Part 13, I think.

But you cannot have sheaves for the Master until you have sown the seed that is the Word of God.

The reason I emphasize this is because I began my ministry in the Depression of the 1930s, and it was not only a depression financially, but it was a depression spiritually. Those were difficult days for evangelism. I can remember several meetings in the church that I pastored when an evangelist would go through an entire week of meetings without a person responding. I can remember preaching in a little church in middle Tennessee for six straight nights before the Spirit of God ever spoke to a soul. Those were difficult days. Do you know why they were difficult? It was because the church had come through the era after World War I, off one of the worst "drunks" of unbelief and indifference that it had known up to that time. It was drunk on modernism that claimed we were going to build a new world, and the church forgot all about the Word of God. Until the Word of God is sown, friend, you cannot have anything to reap.

See Part 14.

Philippians 4:4, Psalms 68:3, 1Thessalonians 5:5-24,

Romans 12:5-21,

Not forgetting: James 2:15-20,

Hopefully these are helpful

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 12.

Obviously, this is not evangelism at all. Rather it is judgment that is going to come upon this earth.

This is the scriptural picture of harvest.

Did the apostle Paul say that he was harvesting? In the Corinthian church there were divisions on several subjects. One of the problems was that some of them liked Apollos better than they liked Paul, and some liked Simon Peter more than they liked either one of the other two. Over this they were dividing the church - which was wrong. To divide churches on the basis of personalities is always wrong. Listen to Paul as he deals with this matter in his first letter to the Corinthians:

Who, then, is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? ( 1 Corinthians 3:5)

Now see if Paul understood that he was out harvesting:

I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So, then, neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one; and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. ( 1 Corinthians 3:6-8)

Paul said that he was planting the Word. All we can do is plant. It is the Holy Spirit who gives the increase.

You see, sowing seed is a picture of Scripture. My business is sowing seed. What is your business? And, by the way, how is business? Are you sowing seed in this world? This is our business today.

Now let us understand something else very clearly. If you sow seed, there will be a harvest. The psalmist speaks of this:

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. ( Psalm 126:6)

See Part 12.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 10.

In the very next chapter He sends them forth. Where does He send the laborers and what does He have them preach? He sends them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, saying, "Go not to the Gentiles," and He instructs them to tell the nation of Israel that the King is here. That was their message. To what does the harvest refer? It refers to judgment and to the end of the age. That is the picture. An age begins by God sowing seed; it ends by the harvest of both good and bad.

Besides the parable of the sower, we have another parable in Matthew 13 in which our Lord speaks along this very same line of harvest and judgment. He says concerning the wheat and tares:

Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. ( Matthew 13:30)

This is the end of the age, you see. Then notice verse 39:

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age.

At the end of the age comes harvest time. That is one reason I think it is valid to say that we are harvesting today - we are gleaning in the corners because we are at the end of an age. But let us understand one thing: We must sow before we can have a harvest. That is the reason I am insisting that our scriptural terms be accurate. Harvesting refers to judgment and the end of an age.

Notice another verse of Scripture dealing with harvest. It is a picture of the battle of Armageddon, one of the most frightful pictures in the Bible:

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. ( Revelation 14:15)

See Part 11.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 9

Some Seed.

And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. ( Matthew 13:3)

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. ( Matthew 13:37)

A Sower went forth to sow, and that Sower is the Son of man. I repeat this because it is so important. It defines the present-day activity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is His contemporary work - sowing seed, sowing the Word of God in the world.

In this day He is rejected as King and as Savior. Nonetheless, He is not defeated. The kingdom is coming, and while the kingdom is in abeyance He is dressed as a farmer sowing seed. His plans have not been interrupted. Many speak of the postponed kingdom. Personally, I do not like that expression because I do not think He has postponed anything. This thing is running according to His plan. It was not postponed from His viewpoint - it may be from our viewpoint, but not from His. Regardless of that, this is the day for sowing seed.

Now we do need to make a distinction here. I do not want to quibble nor split hairs, but follow me for a moment. The preaching of the Word is commonly called the harvest. Yet harvest time is not the picture for today; the picture for today is sowing time. Somebody says, "But didn't Jesus say, 'Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest'?" Yes, He did, but do you know in what connection He said it? It is well to put Scripture where it belongs. Notice Matthew 9:36-38:

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they were faint, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

See Part 10.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 8

What is Christ doing today? Oh, I know, the saints like to say that He ascended to heaven and is sitting at God's right hand, but if you interpret that to mean that He is doing nothing, you miss it. He said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" ( John 5:17). He is busy today. But what is He doing? He is the King, but He has been rejected. And since He has been rejected He has taken off His crown, He has put it to the side. He has taken off His royal robe and has put on the clothes of a farmer. He is sowing seed in the world today. Sowing seed is His business.

Now let's define that in spiritual terms. Let's translate it from agriculture to theology. What is He sowing? What is this seed that our Lord is sowing in the world? We do not have to guess. In Matthew 13:19 we read, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom." What, then, is the seed? It is the Word. The Bible that I hold in my hand is the seed. And there is life in it. It is just as potent as any seed planted in the ground. The Word of God is seed.

What is the field where the seed is being sown? Matthew 13:38 gives the answer: "The field is the world." So now we have the sower identified, we have the seed identified, and we have the field identified. This is the picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sower, taking the Word of God and sowing it in the world. That is His business today.

Again I want to remind you that the field is not the church, it is Christendom. The field is the world today.

See Part 9.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 7.

In these parables, the Lord Jesus reached out in life and chose the simplest stories to illustrate the sublimest truths. They are tremendous when you begin to look at them. He took the commonplace to set forth the remarkable. He took the ordinary to reveal the extraordinary. He reached out into the natural in order to give truth concerning the supernatural. He employed the parable, for which the simplest definition still holds good - an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. When our Lord began His parable by saying, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow," He was picturing one of the most familiar sights in Palestine. They had seen it hundreds of times. And it is a familiar sight in America today. All the way from Pocatello, Idaho, to Pensacola, Florida, they are sowing seed in the spring of the year. All the way from Chicago, Illinois, to Rancho Cucamonga, California, sowers are going forth to sow. All the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Muleshoe, Texas, sowing is a familiar sight. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow" - you can't get anything more familiar than that to illustrate spiritual truth.

Now the interpretation of this parable is very simple. Only a theological professor could miss it! Ordinary folk such as you and I do not see a lot of complication. It is very simple because Christ gave us the interpretation. He has identified each part and phase of this parable.

First of all, the sower. Who is he? Let's first identify him since he happens to be central in the parable. In Matthew 13:37 where our Lord interpreted the parable of the wheat and tares, we read: "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man." By this we know that He, Himself, the one who spoke the parable, is the sower. This defines the work of the Lord Jesus Christ with reference to the world today.

See Part 8.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 6.

Standing on the threshold of the New Testament we find that He is rejected. There is a realization of the kingdom, but not now - it is yet in the future. There is to be a consummation of all things. The kingdom is coming. Therefore it is a progressive term. Throughout the eternal ages, "kingdom" will never be a static term. That is what Isaiah said in speaking of the King: "Of the increase of his governmentthere shall be no end" ( Isaiah 9:7). It will constantly increase and develop. There will never be anything static about heaven.

In Scripture we discover that the kingdom has moved through several stages. Back in the Old Testament it was a hope; it was an expectation. Now, since the King has been rejected, what has happened to the kingdom? What is its present condition? The answer is found in Matthew 13, which is the reason these seven or eight parables are elevated to such importance - they reveal the present manifestation of the kingdom.

Now let me be technical for a moment. It is fatal to any biblical interpretation to make the kingdom of heaven a synonymous term with the church. One does not equal the other. While it is true that the church is in the kingdom of heaven today, the kingdom of heaven is a broader term and is more accurately described as Christendom. Every place the Word of God is preached produces a kingdom of heaven condition, but in no place has any section of the world been totally converted and everyone brought into the church. So what you have in the parables of Matthew 13 is a picture of the present hour in which we live. This chapter reveals the present state of the kingdom.

See Part 7.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 5.

Adam had dominion over this earth. But he lost that authority when he sinned, which was in essence rebellion against the will of God. The sin of man cost him his dominion.

The question has always been: Who got that dominion when Adam lost it? I believe that Satan got it. He is the one who tempted Eve, and Satan is the one who rules this earth today. Remember that he came to the Lord Jesus in the wilderness and showed Him the kingdoms of this world and said, "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me" ( Matthew 4:9). Now you will recall that the Lord Jesus said to James and John, "The places on my right and on my left hand are not mine to give" (see Matthew 20:23), but He did not say to Satan, "The kingdoms are not yours to give." Apparently they were. Satan is the ruler today of the kingdoms of this world. He took the scepter, and from that moment on God began a program whereby He is going to take over this universe again. He will do it, of course, in His own way. Hence the kingdom of heaven became the great theme of Old Testament prophecy.

If you have studied the Book of Isaiah, you know that the great pulsating thought of Isaiah, the passion of his life - even in that dark day when the Assyrian army was encamped outside Jerusalem - was the coming of the Redeemer. Isaiah looked down into the future the farthest, he saw the brightest hope, he saw a Redeemer come, he saw a King come, he saw One who is going to sit upon the throne of David and bring to this earth righteousness and peace and joy. This was the great pulsating hope of the Old Testament. Therefore, the Old Testament was a book that revealed an expectation, a great expectation, that the kingdom would come. The Old Testament made preparation for the coming King. And the King came!

See Part 6.

The sir no longer brings females placing them at my man's feet. Thanks

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 3.

Just what is the definition of the kingdom of heaven? It is a very difficult term for the simple reason that all sorts of theological divisions are current on this particular point. Frankly, I feel it can be reduced to the lowest common denominator and be made very simple. What is the kingdom of heaven? It is the reign of the heavens over the earth. And when that takes place, you have the kingdom of heaven here upon this earth. In the measure to which the kingdom of heaven reigns on this earth today, you have it here. For instance, where there is a life yielded to Him and doing His will, there is the kingdom of heaven right here upon this earth - even today.

Let us go back to the Book of Genesis and pick up a verse to determine if this is consistent with Scripture. In Genesis 1:26, which records God's creation of man, God says:

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The key here is the little word "dominion." God says that He is creating man that he might have dominion. God not only created Adam a human being, but He created him a king and gave him a dominion, and that sovereignty was over this earth. Adam was to rule it. He had authority over all creatures on this earth. He could speak as the Lord Jesus spoke when He said to Peter, "Go down to the sea, catch a fish, and you will find money to pay our taxes in the fish's mouth" (see Matthew 17:24-27). And Peter went down, caught a fish, and found in its mouth the tax money. Why? Because that fish was obeying Jesus Christ. I believe Adam could have said to the wind, "Blow," or, "Stop blowing," and it would have obeyed him. I believe Adam could have commanded it to rain on the back forty, and it would have rained on the back forty.

See Part 4.

What is the reason Abraham ask his servant to put his hand under is thigh.

J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 2.

The punctuation following the title may look strange to you, but it tells the story of this parable. In fact, it divides the parable into three points, which we will consider. First, SOME SEED. This is merely a statement - the parable is about some seed. Secondly, we have SOME SEED? There is a question about what the seed will produce because of the variableness of the soil. What will happen to the seed that is sown? Thirdly, SOME SEED! The exclamation point indicates the tremendous power in the seed - what it will do when it falls on good soil.

The Gospel of Matthew is very important. It is the open door to the Bible. If you are to understand the Bible, the Gospel of Matthew is the entrance that leads to it. It is not only a door, it is a swinging door. It swings back into the Old Testament, gathering up more prophecies than does any of the other Gospel records, and then it swings on into the New Testament farther than any other Gospel, for it is Matthew alone that mentions the church.

The thirteenth chapter of Matthew is the hinge on which the door swings. In this chapter are several parables. The parable of the sower, with its interpretation, is the first parable and one of two that the Lord Jesus Christ interpreted. Therefore this parable is the key to the thirteenth chapter. And if it is the key to the thirteenth chapter which is the hinge, and the door is the Gospel of Matthew, you can see that the parable of the sower is the key to the understanding of the Bible! That is how important it really is.

After our Lord gave the parable, He said to His disciples, "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 13:11).

Now we want to look at this parable that deals, as do all of them in Matthew 13, with the subject of the kingdom of heaven.

See Part 3.

"When God's Word is faithfully taught, it falls on four kinds of ground. What kind of ground are you?"

Article from J Vernon Mcgee.

Part 1.

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a boat, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some of the seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up, and choked them. But other seeds fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.Hear, therefore, the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. But he that received the seed in stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and immediately with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, immediately he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed in the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it, who also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ( Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)

See Part 2.

In Matthew 12:50 Jesus said, "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister and mother." Not saying believers may not be overtaken in a fault but it won't be because they wanted to sin but may have fell short for some reason in which they may have not been watchful or prayerful. However, Jesus is our advocate and will intercede on our behalf if we repent quickly and ask Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And by the way you are smarter then you think. Love in Christ.

We all have hope in Jesus Christ. I myself love the Lord, with all of my heart. I share with everyone that I can about the love, compassion, hope, and mercy that Jesus gives us every day. I'm a newly Christian so I'm learning how to share the gospel.

Everybody doesn't know who Jesus is. He is in plain site but some of us will never know how to find him. As matter of fact he is found in this particular chapter of the bible.

Do you Know who he is?

You're welcome and Thanks Gigi.

I'm on the road, I don't think I will be posting the rest of this week.

See you guys this weekend.

God bless you.

The last generation: Continued.

There are others who have come up with the theory I am proposing as to Israel becoming more prosperous in particular. One thing is for sure; for the Ezekiel 38 war to commence; Israel is to be a land of "unwalled villages" and feel they are "dwelling securely in their land". For THAT to occur; there needs to be some sort of elimination of the surrounding threat. We at least need to reach a time when a Covenent is confirmed ( Dan. 9:27) which seems likely to be the current Abraham accords once there are finally many nations involved or something similar that Antichrist confirms some day soon. It would seem this war could be the 2nd seal event or thereabouts; but it certainly could be earlier.

The timing of the Ezekiel 38 war also is questionable. Again; the land dwelling securely could be the first half of the Tribulation.

The problem is the seven year cleanup effort; it seems this is earlier and or part of a wider campaign before Armageddon. It has been argued the seven years means it "fits into" the seven year Tribulation. Clearly though that WON'T happen then as at the Midpoint the Beast rises up; kills the two prophets then we have the escape run to the mountains as stated in ( Matt. 24:16).

This will be no time to employ people to go around picking up bones; clearly. The other possibility is that war ALSO is BEFORE the Tribulation begins. The most likely answer from what i can understand is that it roughly corresponds with Armageddon but it is a separate campaign. These nations are NOT mentioned in Armageddon and may not have the Mark of the Beast. Further bolstering that theory is that one sixth are said to survive; those who fight God and have the mark are doomed for destruction.

These could be in my opinion some of the kings mentioned in Isaiah 49:23 who return the captives.

At any event; we are certainly close with the Dubai one world religion center being opened sometime this year; and overall apostasy.

Oops, until old age takes me. Either way, I will be with the Lord.

Thank S. Spencer. I didn't mention the leavened loaves in my post. You have provided good information here. I think as you do, the two loaves represent the Jews and Gentiles reconciled to God and one another through Christ.

Good Afternoon, Richard. I hope you are doing well today. I am still fighting this respiratory deal with coughing and fatigue, but getting a little better day by day, needing my nebulizer less often. Please pray for my complete recovery. I break a sweat over such little exertion. So, I'm purging closets in spurts. this has needed to be done for some time. Since my husband will retire June 1st, we definitely need to downsize a lot!

In speaking of this passage in Matthew. i am one who does think that Jesus was speaking of the generation at the time he was speaking and many things were fulfilled in 70.A.D. But i also think that these prophecies of Jesus have a double fulfillment aspect where much of them will be fulfilled at the end of times, also. We may have a repeat of the same type of prophetic event happening in the end as happened in 70 A.D., but also, some of what Jesus predicted did not happen in 70 A.D. and will be fulfilled in the end times.

The re-creation of Israel was accomplished primarily by Zionists that are very wealthy and have a great deal of power and control over world affairs.(thinking Rothchild's, etc.) Their goal is the New World Order and not necessarily to follow God's will. But as it were, Israel has become a nation again in an unexpected way. I remember the talk concerning the generation that began in 1948, (many are still alive), and then the 1967, and then the Jubilee year of 2018 (70 years after Israel was re-created. Now people are talking about the year 6000 of the Jewish calendar being the time of the fulfillment of history. There are certainly a lot of theories. But for me, I think about what Jesus said about being faithful to the end and being ready, prayerful, and alert. So I try to concentrate on being that way. I think I may have 20-25 years left since I am 66. But only God knows if Jesus will return before then or not. I live in expectation of His return but also with the mindset to be prepared to live out my life until me

Continuation of discussion on the last generation

In case my last posting didn't come up with my capital letters; I am basically offering an alternative to what appears to be a misunderstanding of the beginning date of the last generation since most people born in 1948 are dying off and even if a generation is 70 years it is too late now for 2028 to be the return of Christ since we are already into 2023. It seems no one is discussing this but surely we expect this will cause many to fall away.

In all due respect certainly there are immportant events that occured in 1948; and surely that would fulfill a "nation being born in a day." Some have argued; of course that secular Israel with pagan nations developing the framework; etc. may not really be something of God at all and I will leave out the disparaging comments about the Jews that some have had less than favorable opinions on in regard to conspiracy theories. There have been some who have claimed with the days of punishment turned into years May 14, 1948 can be calculated from prophecies in Ezekiel. Whether or not that is the case again; we have to look at where we are. It also has been argued that this generation can mean "race" in other words Jews will still exist. That doesn't seem to be a viable argument here either. What we have to look at in my opinion is what other possibilities exist as to what the start date could be.

My proposition is this: We may be getting close to the beginning of the final generation. And my theory is that the Psalm 83 war as indicated by the nations in the text may be just that trigger. When we look at Ezekiel 38; for instance we don't see the Palestinians and other surrounding annoyances that Israel is struggling with at present. We also see verses such as Isaiah 26:15 which says the same thing twice about enlarging the nation; and it mentions the borders being enlarged. Israel basically is back to it's original 1967 borders as of now; but soon may expand.

MATTHEW 24:34: THE GENERATION CONUNDRUM

It has been suggested by many that either the Lord fulfilled all things in the generation that He was on earth which He referred to here (consummating in the AD 70 Roman slaughter of the Jews and destruction of Jerusalem); or more commonly that some or all things are yet to be fulfilled within the "generation" which began in 1948 when it is said that Ezekiel's prophecy of a nation born in a day ( Isaiah 66:8; see also Ezekiel 37:21 as well as verse 4 on the "valley of dry bones.") Psalm 90:10 in my mind fairly well makes it clear the extent of the normal lifetime of a man; and other scriptures seem to indicate a generation is 40 years. The case of Noah and the Ark is sometimes brought up; as to the number of days of man being 120 years ( Genesis 6:3). As to whether that means the time until the Ark was built from that statement or the lifespan of man or both may also be in question. Whatever the case; it is clear by the time of Christ people were living lives at best similar to today. It has generally been suggested therefore that a generation is 40 years and a double fulfillment would certainly make that evident when we see the time from Christ's proclamation until 70 AD as being slightly less than 40 years.

We went through the years of expectation in 1988 as to the rapture (although the prophecy mentions the "sign of the coming of the Son of Man" which would probably be when the world sees Him in the 6th Seal or later near His return by the context of the verse). At any rate; we went through the 90's and then some said it was really 1967 and the capture of Jerusalem that started off the final generation. Jump to 2008 and that clarly didn't happen; and then the 2017 events which recognized Jerusalem as the capitol and yet we are still here in 2023. Somethin' ain't right here with the logic. We would certainly expect that because things didn't happen as expected many will fall away ( 2 Peter 3:4; Matt. 24:28).

Leaven and Tares

Part 1.

Leviticus 23:17.

Matthew 13:31-33.

What does these scriptures have in common?

Leaven in the Bible always represents evil and corruption.

Why is ir mentioned in these particular passages?

Leviticus 23:17.

Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with LEAVEN; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Matthew 13:31-33.

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.

In the OT leaven was a type of sin, evil, or corruption. When the two angels visited Lot in Sodom they were invited to eat "unleavened bread" ( Gen. 19:3). In connection with Israel's redemption from Egypt they were to eat the Passover with "unleavened bread" ( Ex. 12:8). Leaven was to be excluded from all blood offerings and sacrificial offerings made by fire.

In Leviticus 7:13 the leaven is present in the offering because sin is still present in the offerer! Leaven was permitted in the two wave loaves of Leviticus 23:17 because they represent two classes, the Jew and Gentile who are now made one in Christ. Although saved, the old nature is still present. When bread typifies Christ, it is unleavened; when bread typifies man, it is always leavened.

Jesus warned the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" ( Matthew 16:6; and Luke 12:1).

See part 2.

Thankful7741,

Ultimately, God is the author. All scripture was inspired by God. But He did use men to write these things down. Below is a list of what you might be looking for:

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy - Moses

Joshua - Joshua

Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel - Samuel

2 Samuel - Samuel, or possibly Nathan

1 Kings, 2 Kings - Jeremiah

1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra - Ezra

Nehemiah - Nehemiah

Esther - Unknown but possibly Modecai

Job - Unknown, possibly Elihu

Psalms - David

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon - Solomon

Isaiah - Isaiah

Jeremiah, Lamentations - Jeremiah

Ezekiel - Ezekiel

Daniel - Daniel

Hosea - Hosea

Joel - Joel

Amos - Amos

Obadiah - Obadiah

Jonah - Jonah

Micah - Micah

Nahum - Nahum

Habakkuk - Habakkuk

Zephaniah - Zephaniah

Haggai - Haggai

Zechariah - Zechariah

Malachi - Malachi

Matthew - Matthew

Mark - Mark

Luke - Luke

John - John

Acts - Luke

Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon - Paul

Hebrews - Unknown

James - James (The Lord's brother)

1 Peter, 2 Peter - Peter

1 John, 2 John, 3 John - John

Jude - Jude (The Lord's brother)

Revelation - John

Mark 16:15-18.