If the Lord were to describe you as soil, which kind of soil would you be? Even if you are “good soil which bears fruit,” are you yielding fruit to your full potential? Or, are you dry, depleted, or choked with thorns?
In a very real sense, the choice is yours. Speaking of His Father, Jesus said, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45). Without taking away from the life-giving Vine of Christ and the nourishment of His Holy Spirit, we must choose to abide in the true Vine and be yielded to our Vinedresser (John 15:1-10).
The excerpt below was written by Jeff Kinley in his newest book, The End of the World According to Jesus of Nazareth and posted with the publisher’s permission. Jeff makes it clear that believing the prophetic promises of God—let alone bearing much fruit while we wait for His appearing—depends on us choosing wisely.
Parable of the Sower and the Soils
In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus taught the parable of the sower and the soils. In Mark’s parallel account, the youngest disciple records that the “sower sows the word” (Mark 4:14). Some of the seed is quickly snatched away by Satan (Matthew 13:19). Other seed falls on rocky ground, and even though it is received with much enthusiasm and joy, this person “has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away” (verse 21).
The next group are those who dwell among “thorns” (verse 22). They, too, hear the word like the others, but the “worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).
The fourth and final category in Jesus’ parable are those who are described as “good soil.” This person “hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth” (Matthew 13:23).
So, according to Jesus, of those who hear the word of truth, only a fraction (25 percent) will prove to be genuinely saved. It is unknown whether this prophesies a specific percentage, or if Christ was communicating that only a small portion of those who hear the word of truth will respond positively and continue on in the faith.
Earlier in his ministry, Jesus declared, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
However, interestingly, the Lord follows up the parable of the sower and the soils with another, this one about wheat and tares. In it, He explains that among the wheat in the field are tares, or weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). These two will grow together and intermingle, all the way up until harvest time (verse 30). When Jesus unpacks this parable, He reveals that the “good seed” (wheat) are the “sons of the kingdom,” while the tares are “the sons of the evil one” (verse 38). We know from Matthew 25, at the judgment of the sheep and the goats, God’s angels will separate the tares from the wheat, casting the former into the “furnace of fire” (verses 39-42; 25:31-46).
The bottom-line principle here is that, just like now, during those early days of the Tribulation, it will sometimes be difficult to distinguish between real believers and counterfeit Christians. In fact, even some of those false believers themselves apparently won’t know that they are not authentic and that their faith isn’t real (Matthew 7:21-23).
However, as prophesied in the parable of the sower and the soils, affliction and persecution will arise because of the word (Revelation 6:9), and these people will immediately fall away, denouncing any faith in Jesus Christ. Under intense global peer pressure, they will then eagerly betray and turn in believers whom they may have formerly called brother or sister.
The term “cancel culture” will take on a whole new meaning during the Tribulation. Those who persecute believers won’t be content to stop at banning or deleting their social media accounts or getting them fired from their jobs. Instead, they will seek to cancel believers’ very existence on earth!
The word “deliver” in Matthew 24:9 is also used by Matthew to describe the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26:15). We also see the word used in Matthew 4:12 to refer to John the Baptist being arrested and taken into custody.
So, in addition to scores of real conversions during the early days of the Tribulation, there will also be false converts. And many of those who deny the faith will deliver believers over to the authorities for arrest, imprisonment, and execution.
Contempt For The Creator
From where will this intense persecution originate? Neither Matthew nor Revelation explicitly tells us, but they do provide us with some fairly compelling clues.
First, Jesus prophesies that His future disciples will be “hated by all nations because of My name” (Matthew 24:9; cf. 10:21-22). However, this wouldn’t be the last time Christ would warn them about this Tribulation-type hatred. Just one day following His Olivet prophecy, Christ gathered His disciples into a large, furnished upper room in Jerusalem (Mark 14:12-15). There, He taught them about the Rapture (John 14:1-3), the fact that He alone was the only way to God (verses 4-8), His deity (verses 9-11), the power of prayer (verses 12-14), obedience (verse 15), the coming of the Holy Spirit (verses 16-21), and love for Him (verses 22-24), among other topics.
Then they left the upper room and began the walk to the Garden of Gethsemane (verse 31). On the way, Jesus warned His men:
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:18-21)
In short, they will want to kill Christians because they hate God.
Satan and the world have always hated Jesus and those who belong to Him (Genesis 3:15). So if we identify ourselves with Him and align our beliefs and values with those of His Word, we will find ourselves either quickly or eventually ridiculed, maligned, ostracized, marginalized, demonized, cancelled, mocked, persecuted, hated, and yes, potentially even murdered for our faith.
But do not worry if the world hates you and your beliefs. In a sense, it’s not personal. Rather, the way unbelievers respond reveals the inner-heart hatred they have for the God whom you serve.
Be Wise with What You’ve Been Given
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic Lord of the Rings series, there is a curious exchange between two principal characters—Gandalf, the protagonist and leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, and Frodo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo (speaking of the ring’s discovery and the burden of him now possessing it).
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Wise words.
MARANATHA!!!