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August 18, 2021

The Negative Development of Christianity

Luke 13:18 He said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I liken it? (19) It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of heaven roosted in its branches.

Up until now, the Lord's word concerning the kingdom in Luke has been positive. But here He talks to the disciples concerning the kingdom in a negative way, teaching them about the kingdom as a grain of mustard (vv. 18-19) and as leaven (vv. 20-21). The fact that this mustard seed [an herb] grew into a tree indicates that it did not grow into something according to its own kind. An apple tree, for example, should be according to the apple tree kind. But here the mustard seed does not grow after its kind, but instead grows into another kind. This is the breaking of the principle ordained by God in His creation. If we see this, we shall not interpret this parable in a positive sense. Some teach that the mustard becoming a large tree is a positive development. But according to the history of Christianity, there has not been such a positive development. In fact, this parable is a prophecy that has been fulfilled in the history of Christianity. Actually, today's Christianity is not something after its kind. The church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should be like an herb to produce food. But it became a "tree," a lodge for birds. This means that, contrary to the law of God's creation that every plant must be after its kind, its nature and function were changed. This took place when Constantine the Great mixed the church with the world in the first part of the fourth century. He brought thousands of false believers into Christianity, making it Christendom, no longer the church. The church, according to its heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like a mustard [an annual herb], sojourning on earth. But since its nature has been changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled in the earth as a tree, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches to lodge many evil persons and things. This has formed the outward organization of the outward appearance of the kingdom of God. In Luke 13:19 we are told that the birds of heaven roosted in the branches of this tree. In 8:5 and 12 the birds of heaven are related to the Devil. Therefore, the birds of heaven here must refer to Satan's evil spirits with the evil persons and things motivated by them. They lodge in the branches of the great tree, that is, in the enterprises of Christendom. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 265-266. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].

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