The Mystery KingdomThere are many different facets of the Kingdom of God and the one that we currently live in is called the Mystery Kingdom. Ooooh, sounds…mysterious, right? Well, the term mystery is used in the New Testament not for things mysterious as we define the word but rather for 8 different concepts that were completely new. These 8 were not mentioned in the Old Testament scriptures but were hidden since the foundation of the world (Matt 13:35). They have now been revealed to the saints for our glory (Rom 16:25-26, 1 Cor 2:7, Eph 3:4-5, Eph 3:8-9, Col 1:26).
This kingdom is not exactly equivalent with the Church age but it does include it. It began when Jesus was rejected by the Jews (Matt 12-13), will continue through the church age, and will end when Jesus returns after the tribulation when Israel accepts His Messiahship (Matt 23:37-39; 24:1-25:46). After Jesus was rejected He began to speak heavily in parables. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10 (Matt 13:11-17) and Psalm 78:2 (Matt 13:34-35). Jesus states that the mysteries were not given for those who do not believe but for those who do. He therefore describes the mysteries of the kingdom in parables but he took the time to explain them all to His disciples (although not all explanations are recorded in scripture Mark 4:34).
The Parables of the Mystery Kingdom
Jesus uses nine parables to describe the mysteries of the kingdom. They are found in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. According to Mark 4:13, understanding the first parable helps us understand the remaining parables. This would possibly imply similar symbols.
1) The Parable of the Sower: Matthew 13:2-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15
a. The Mystery Kingdom will involve the sowing of seed or preaching of the gospel
b. The sowing of the gospel will be opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil.
c. There will be different soils indicating that some people, cultures and world locations will be more receptive to the gospel.
d. There will be four different responses to the gospel. The first and the last responses are straight forward. The first is no response to the gospel (Matt 13:19). This may be unbelief or just lack of understanding. The last is acceptance of the gospel and a life fruitful in the Spirit (Matt 13:23). The salvation of these responses is clear however the salvation of the middle two responses is debatable. Either way the response is similar. The second response to the gospel is an emotional response (Matt 13:21). If this response involves salvation then this person’s faith will be based on their emotions and experience. They will not be grounded in the word of God and will be blown every way by circumstance, good sounding music or ear tickling preaching. If this response does not involve salvation the person will walk away from their emotional response to the gospel as soon as times get difficult. The third response is a worldly response (Matt 13:22). If this response involves salvation then the person maybe theologically sound but will have difficulty living a consistent Christian lifestyle due to worldly cares. If this response does not involve salvation then this person is one who has heard and understands the gospel but will not make a decision due to worldly concerns. This could be a family, status, or fear issue. This section maybe similar to 1 Cor 2:6-3:3
2) The Parable of the Seed’s Growth: Mark 4:26-29
a. The seed of the Gospel will grow on its own. The sower does not cause the growth of the seed. All he does is sow it. It is God who causes the growth (1 Cor 3:7).
3) The Parable of the Tares: Matthew 13:24-30
a. This parable is explained in Matthew 13:36-43
b. In the Kingdom there will be a false sowing. That is, there are false believers; people who claim to believers but are of the evil one, sent to undermine the kingdom of God.
c. God permits these people to remain because uprooting them would injure the believers
d. A judgment at the end of the mystery kingdom will separate the two. This judgment may be included in the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46). By that time the Church will have been raptured (Rev 3-4, Lev 23, 1 Thess 5:1-11) to the “barn” but many who became Saints during the Tribulation will be included.
e. The two plants can be identified by their fruit. The wheat will produce grain. The tares just consume resources and produce no fruit.
4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed: Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32
a. The mystery kingdom will grow very large
b. The mystery kingdom will have many divisions, denominations or large branches.
c. Birds will come and sit on those branches. In the first parable the birds were agents of the enemy. We can conclude that in the kingdom there will be false believers as well as cultic groups that claim to be Christian but change the gospel or deny Jesus’ deity. Two perfect examples are Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
d. In the parable the birds are in the tree but not of the tree.
5) The Parable of the Leaven: Matthew 13:33
a. In scripture when a woman is used symbolically, she often represents a spiritual or religious body (Gal 4:21-31, Rev 2:20, Rev 17:1-8). Here she represents a false religion.
b. Leaven represents sin in scripture (1 Cor 5:6-8). Most likely the sin of false teaching (Matt 16:6). This parable tells that the kingdom will be affected by sin, especially false teaching. This will grow to a point where it will affect the entire kingdom. We know from other scripture that towards the end there will be an increase in sin, false teachers and false prophets and the people will turn from sound doctrine to that which tickles the ear. It will eventually lead to an apostate “church” that professes with their mouth but does not believe (Rev 3:14-22).
6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure: Matthew 13:44
a. The Old Testament often refers to Israel as God’s possession (also translated as special treasure. Ex 19:5; Deut 14:2; Ps 135:4). In this parable Israel is represented as treasure and it shows us that although the Jews rejected Jesus as a nation there was a remnant of Jews who did believe. The treasure is that remnant of Israel (Rom 11:5, Gal 6:16).
7) The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price: Matthew 13:45-46
a. Scripture does not reveal the exact identity of the Pearl when used symbolically. However, since the scriptures identify the treasure as Israel it may be safe for us to assume that the Pearl represents all those not Israel (ie the Gentiles). This is further supported by the use of the sea and things from the sea as a symbol of Gentiles (Dan 7:2-3; Rev 17:1, 15).
b. Gentiles as well will be a treasure to God, his possession and people.
8) The Parable of the Dragnet: Matthew 13:47-50
a. This is similar to the parable of the tares and the pearl of great price.
b. Again the sea represents the gentile nations.
c. The mystery kingdom will end in judgment. The righteous will be brought into the next kingdom, the Messianic Kingdom, and the wicked will be thrown into fire. This may be the judgment of the gentile in Matthew 25:31-46. Once again the Church will not be present.
9) The Parable of the Householder: Matthew 13:51-52
a. The Mystery kingdom was to include brand new aspects.
