Several New Testament texts predict that the Christian community will
fall into false doctrines. These are II Thessalonians 2: 3, Luke 13:
21, I Corinthians 5: 6-7, Matthew 24: 11, I Timothy 4: 1, II Timothy
3: 1-8, II Timothy 3: 13, II Timothy 4: 3 and II Timothy 4: 4.
And Matthew 24: 11 is not the only place where it is predicted that
many false prophets will arise. Some other verses that show false
prophets will come are II Peter 2: 1 and I John 4: 1.
But many preachers within the II Timothy church discourage their members from studying Bible prophecy, saying it is "non-essential." Therefore, not knowing what prophecy shows about the falling away of the church, those in many II Timothy congregations have no clue about the apostasy.
Revelation 16: 12-14 says: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial
upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,
that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw
three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which
go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
This is saying that demon spirits are released which operate through
the mouth, or words of the beast and the false prophet. But the beast
and the false prophet are metaphoric constructs, and not single
individuals, which is one of the fables mentioned by Paul in II
Timothy 4: 4. In addition, the battle which these demon spirits,
inspiring the many false prophets, are to gather the world to is not a
literal, military-type battle, often called the battle of Armageddon
(Revelation 16: 16). Rather, this battle is spiritual, and is between
the huge number of false prophets or false teachers and that remnant
which is found in Revelation 12: 17, and those called the Overcomers
in Revelation 2: 7, 17 and Revelation 3: 5, 12 and 21.
And the large number of false teachers which come against the truth of
Jesus Christ is metaphorically called an army in scripture. Jeremiah
51: 51-53 says "We are confounded, because we have heard reproach:
shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the
sanctuaries of the LORD's house. Wherefore, behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and
through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should
mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her
strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD."
Babylon is a metaphor for apostate religion and the worldly culture
surrounding it. The strangers who have come into the sanctuaries of
the Lord's house are the army of false teachers. In the next verse
the Lord says he will do judgment upon her graven images, not a
judgment limited to Babylon's love of graven images, but to her love
of false doctrines and practices as well.
Daniel 8:12 says "And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to
the ground; and it practised, and prospered."
The truth is cast to the ground by a host. Host is Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance number 6635. which is said to mean "...a mass
of persons organized for war, an army, by implication a campaign,
company, host, soldiers, warfare."
This is not the only place in scripture where the metraphor of an army
is used to describe a large number of false teachers who "cast down
the truth to the ground."
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage
to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34.Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin. John 8: 31-34
The truth, which is Jesus Christ, makes one free of bondage to sin and
false doctrines. But false doctrines puts a person in bondage. In
Galatians 4: 25 the Jerusalem which exists physically and literally,
as being physical Israel under the Old Covenant, is "in bondage with
her children." But in verse 26, "Jerusalem which is above is free,
which is the mother of us all." That Jerusalem which is above
represents being in the truth and therefore being free.
God says in Habakkuk 1: 5, "For I will work a work in your days, which
ye will not believe, though it be told you." God said he would raise
up the Chaldeans to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto
the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he
opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as
the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by
reason of the smoke of the pit.
3.And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto
them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have
power....................And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a
voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four
angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour,
and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred
thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them." Revelation 9:
1-3, 14-16
Revelation 9 goes on in verses 17 to 19, in saying "And thus I saw the
horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates
of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses
were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and
smoke and brimstone.
18.By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and
by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19.For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their
tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do
hurt."
Metaphorically, this is talking about an army of horsemen, two hundred
thousand thousand, who are said to kill a third part of men. But it
says their power is in their mouths, and in their serpent tails. How
can a huge army literally kill one third of all men living then, if
their power is in their mouths?
They do not physically kill one third of all men. Not by what they
say, by what they preach.
Look at Isaiah 9: 11-16 "Therefore the LORD shall set up the
adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; The
Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour
Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but
his hand is stretched out still.
13. For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do
they seek the LORD of hosts.
14.Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch
and rush, in one day.
15. The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that
teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16.For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are
led of them are destroyed."
Isaiah 9: 11-16 is metaphoric. This text begins talking about what
might appear to be God raising up enemies, the Syrians and the
Philistines, to punish physical Israel. But then Isaiah tells us
about the prophet that teaches lies being the tail, and as leaders of
the people these false teachers cause the people to err, to fall into
false doctrines and practices.
So, if we use Isaiah 9: 11-16 to interpret Revelation 9: 13-19 - the
huge "army" who are said to kill the third part of man and whose power
is in their mouths - the huge "army," two hundred thousand thousand -
is not a military force but something else. The two hundred thousand
thousand in Revelation 9 are a huge number of false teachers, who,
with their mouths, by what they say - and write - slay that part of
man which is his spirit, leaving him with only body and mind.
In Genesis 1: 26 God made man in the image of God, meaning that man
was intended to be a three part being. But, as it turned out, man
fell, and it required the Son of God as Christ to redeem those who
accept Christ, and the Holy Spirit, by leading those in Christ to
truth. John 16: 12-13 says "I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will shew you things to come." In leading those in Christ to truth,
and to a love of the truth (II Thessalonians 2: 10-12), the Holy
Spirit develops in man man's own spirit. That is, man's spirit, as
his third part, in addition to body and mind, is the Spirit of God and
of Jesus Christ in man. It is this spirit of man that this "army" in
Revelation 9: 16 "kills."
Joel 2: 1-11 metaphorically describes a "great and a strong," "as an
army of horsemen, so shall they run." Joel 2: 7-10 says this "army
of horsemen," sometimes called Joel's army, that "They shall run like
mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall
march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his
path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the
wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the
windows like a thief.
10.The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the
sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their
shining:"
Yet Joel 2: 20 says "But I will remove far off from you the northern
army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his
face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,
and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because
he hath done great things."
The "army" of false teachers is called the "northern army."
In Joel 1: 6-7, "For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and
without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the
cheek teeth of a great lion.
7.He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it
clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white."
The vine in John 15: 1-5 is Christ. "I am the vine, and ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15: 5
The fig tree is in Luke 13: 6-9, "He spake also this parable; A
certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and
sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser
of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on
this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the
ground?
And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also,
till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."
Luke 13: 6-9 is a parable about Christ's re-creation of physical
Israel into the spiritual house of I Peter 2: 5. Joel's "army" lays
the vine, which is Christ, waste and barks the fig tree, which is
Israel reborn in Christ.
That Joel's "army" operates in the last days, at the end of the age
is seen in Joel 1: 15, "Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is
at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come." And
Joel 2: 2-4 says "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a
great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither
shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the
land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as
horsemen, so shall they run."
Often in scripture the Day of the Lord is described as a day of
darkness and gloominess and of clouds.
Since Isaiah 9: 12-16 begins talking about God sending enemies, the
Syrians and the Philistines, against Israel to punish it, and then
talks about prophets that teach lies and leaders that cause the people
to err, and Joel 1 and 2 describe metaphorically an "army" which in
the last days (Joel 2: 2) lays waste the vine and barks the fig tree
representing Israel reborn in Christ, then we might consider Habakkuk
1: 4-7 as prophecy about an event which happened, but can also be seen
as an example for us, for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
world are come (I Corinthians 10: 11).
"Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for
the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment
proceedeth.
5. Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously:
for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though
it be told you.
6. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation,
which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the
dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
7. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity
shall proceed of themselves." Habakkuk 1: 4-7
Habakkuk 1: 4-7 was a prophecy on the Babylonian captivity, but can
also be a prophecy for our time, as metaphor calling Joel's "army" and
the huge number in Revelation 9: 16 the "Chaldeans, that bitter and
When one is not reading, and meditating on God's word daily, they will be lead away by any doctrine. Only one reading and praying daily will be spared such agony of following the false teachers. May are following false teachers and don't even know it.
"Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto
shall I resemble it?
19. It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast
into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of
the air lodged in the branches of it.. And again he said, Whereunto
shall I liken the kingdom of God?
21. It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of
meal, till the whole was leavened." Luke 13: 18-21
Matthew Henry says of Luke 13: 18-22 that "Here is the progress of the gospel foretold in two parables, as in ( Matthew 13 ) . The kingdom of the Messiah is the kingdom of God. May grace grow in our hearts; may our faith and love grow exceedingly, so as to give undoubted evidence of their reality. May the example of God's saints be blessed to those among whom they live; and may his grace flow from heart to heart, until the little one becomes a thousand."
John Gill (1697-1771) said of Luke 13: 21 that "It is like leaven,....
Which is small in quantity, but is of a swelling, spreading quality;
and fitly expresses the small beginnings of the Gospel ministry, and
its increase, also the state and case of Gospel churches, and the
nature of the grace of God; unless false doctrine should rather be
meant, which privately, secretly, and by little and little, got into
the churches of Christ, the kingdom of God, and spread itself all over
them, as in the times of the papacy:
which a woman took; Christ, and his ministers, Wisdom, and her
maidens, understanding it of the Gospel; but if the leaven of error is
intended, that woman, Jezebel, is meant, who calls herself a
prophetess, and teaches, and seduces the servants of God, Revelation
2:20
and hid in three measures of meal: among a few of God's people at
first, both among Jews and Gentiles,
till the whole was leavened; until all the elect of God are gathered
in, and evangelized by it; even the whole fulness of the Gentiles, and
all the people of the Jews, which shall be saved in the latter day;
but if the parable is to be understood of the false doctrine and
discipline of the Antichristian and apostate church of Rome, it may
denote the small beginnings of the mystery of iniquity, which began to
work in the apostle's time by the errors and heresies then propagated,
and the manner in which the man of sin was privately introduced; whose
coming is after the working of Satan, with signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, first among a few, and
then more, until at length the whole world wondered after the beast, 2
Thessalonians 2:7."
The Geneva Study Bible - Commentary does not even have a commentary on
the entire passage above, Luke 13: 18-21. It only comments on Luke
13: 19: "Verse 19
5 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into
his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the
air lodged in the branches of it. (5) God begins his kingdom with
small beginnings so that its growth, which is not looked for, may
better set forth his power."
John Wesley in his Bible Commentary has nothing on Luke 13; 19, and on Luke 13: 21 has this cryptic note: "13:21 Covered up - So that, for a time, nothing of it appeared."
Adam Clarke in his Commentary for Luke 13: 18-19 says "Verse 18-19
The kingdom - is like a grain of mustard seed - See on Matthew 13:31 (note). For Luke 13: 21 it says "Verse 21 Like leaven - See this explained, Matthew 13:33 (note)."
For Matthew 13: 31 Adam Clarke says "Verse 31 The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed - This parable is a representation of the progress of the Gospel in the world; and of the growth of grace in the soul. That grace which leads the soul to the fullness of glory may begin, and often does, in a single good desire - a wish to escape hell, or a desire to enjoy God in heaven."
For Matthew 13: 33 Clarke says "Verse 31 The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed - This parable is a representation of the progress of the Gospel in the world; and of the growth of grace in the soul. That grace which leads the soul to the fullness of glory may begin, and often does, in a single good desire - a wish to escape hell, or a desire to enjoy God in heaven."
It is not real surprising that the contemporary II Timothy church would not teach that Luke 13: 18-21 is about the leavening of the Christian church by false doctrines, in addition to having a luke-warm attitude (Revelation 3: 16). But these Bible commentaries reveal that as a whole the Protestant church even before the 19th century did not understand Luke 13: 18-21 to be about the leavening of the church gradually over time by false doctrines, taught by an army of false teachers.
The word "till" in the text of Luke 13: 21, "till the whole was leavened," indicates that this leavening of the church by false doctrines occurs over time and gets worse as time goes on.
Paul's comment on leaven is important in understanding Luke 13: 18-21
"Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as
ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:"
I Corinthians 5: 6-7
How could the leavening of the church, "till the whole was leavened" mean that this is the
process of the growth of the Gospel of Christ over time in light of what Paul says about
leaven in I Corinthians 5: 6-7? And how could the leavening of the church be a good thing when
Christ himself tells us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and of Herod?
Then, Matthew 16: 6 says "Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." And Mark
8: 15 warns to "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and
of the leaven of Herod."
A part of the problem of the understanding of Luke 13: 18-21 by the church, both before the 19th century and the present day apostate church is a failure to understand what Christ was saying in Matthew 13: 31-32, on the parable of the kingdom of heaven being like a mustard seed, which being an herb, does not grow into a tree, but in this parable the mustard seed did become a tree, and the birds of the air came and lodged in its banches. The church grew from a small seed into something big but not the community of the the elect of God.
Daniel 4: 10-12 says of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree that "Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
11.The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:
12. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it."
When Daniel interpreted the king's tree dream Daniel said in Daniel 4: 22 that the tree represents the king himself and his man-made kingdom. The big tree is a man-made earthy and fleshly empire, not the kingdom of God. In addition, the fowls of heaven living in the tree indicates it is not of God. Look at Revelation 18: 2, "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."
Babylon is a metaphorical construct representing apostate religion and the corrupt worldly culture surrounding it. Revelation 18: 2 says that Babylon, representing the church gone bad in false doctrines, has become the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Are not these same unclean birds nesting in Nebuchadnezar's huge tree, which Daniel saw as the fleshly Babylonian empire, and not the Kingdom of God.
