(6)
Before we consider the parable of the net, I would like to say a further word regarding the treasure and the pearl. In the Bible the number seven is composed of four plus three, three plus four, or six plus one. The first time the number seven is mentioned in the Bible, it is composed of the six days of creation plus one day, the Sabbath, for rest. In Revelation the seven churches are composed of three plus four. The seven seals are firstly composed of four plus three, then of six plus one. The principle is the same with the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. In Matt. 13 the number seven is composed firstly of four plus three, then of six plus one. The first four parables are all related to foodstuff, but the fifth and sixth parables are related to transformation for building. Although even the hardest bread can be leavened, pearl and precious stones cannot be leavened. Furthermore, although a wafer or even hard bread may be ruined by water poured upon it, this is not true of either precious stones or pearls.
The Lord’s word in Matthew 13 is not merely a prophecy or a doctrine. It is also a vision of the practical situation of today’s Christianity with respect to the church and the kingdom. The Lord’s word about the mysteries of the kingdom is not idealistic or ethereal. It is practical. Thus, if we would understand these parables, we must look to the Lord for some practical application of them. Our understanding of the parables must match the practical situation.
If you look at today’s Christendom, you will see that the real Christians are the wheat and that the false Christians have been mixed with the real ones to frustrate their growth. Everywhere on earth, especially in Europe, we see more false Christians than real ones. In Catholic countries like Italy and Brazil it is difficult to find one genuine Christian among many so-called Christians. Therefore, the interpretation of the tares as being false Christians is not only doctrinal, but also practical according to history and the present situation. Furthermore, the big tree stands before us. Every day we behold the huge façade of Christendom. This is neither doctrine nor mere prophecy. In front of our eyes we have the practical fulfillment of prophecy. We also see leaven everywhere. In Christendom there is leaven in everything. Every aspect and every corner of Christendom has been leavened. If there is a little truth, there is a great deal of leaven added to it. This is the actual situation today.
We can interpret the first four parables in a practical way and apply them in a practical way. Now we must do the same with the fifth and sixth parables. Recently the Lord has shown us the practical way to understand them. In order to understand any prophecy in a practical way we need the facts. Only when we see the facts can we understand the prophecy of these parables in a practical way. In the Lord’s recovery we have the treasure and the pearl. In the first four parables we have the wheat, the tares, the mustard, and the leaven. We are not the tares; we are the wheat and the fine flour. However, in the Lord’s recovery it is not adequate simply to be wheat or fine flour. If we are just wheat or fine flour, we shall not be satisfied. In the Lord’s recovery there is also a pearl and the treasure, the precious stones. In His recovery the Lord must have a church that is pure, solid, and genuine like a pearl. In such a pearl there is no mixture or opaqueness. Rather, it is absolutely pure and bright. If you would know what the church in the Lord’s recovery is, look at a pearl. By looking at a pearl, you will know what the church should be. Although we are not yet completely satisfied, we can say that the churches in the Lord’s recovery are like pearls. No matter how solid bread may be, it is still possible for it to be leavened. But when the church has become a pearl, it can no longer be leavened. Who could put leaven into pearl or precious stone?
In the Lord’s recovery we on the one hand must be like a pearl and on the other hand like precious stone. Concerning life, we are the pearl; concerning our living, we are the treasure, the precious stone. Look at the New Jerusalem: all the gates are pearls, but the walls are built with precious stones. The pearl gates are for entrance, for the beginning; and the walls are for expression. The church is our life, and the kingdom is our living. As the church, we have been regenerated out of the Satan-corrupted world. But we are not only the pearl for the beginning, the entrance; we are also the precious stone for the expression. This signifies our living under the heavenly ruling. This is the kingdom. As the church, we are the pearl having life, a new start, and an entrance. As the kingdom, we are the treasure, the precious stone, standing there as something that has been built up to express Christ under the heavenly constitution. This is our living and our expression.
Some teachers say that the kingdom is related to Israel, but maybe no one says that the pearl is related to the church. Those who relate the kingdom to Israel are too doctrinal and dispensational, not at all practical. We need to apply the parables of the treasure and the pearl not only in a doctrinal way or a dispensational way, but also in a practical way. In order to apply them in a practical way, we must see that during the period of the existence of Christendom, the Lord is working to gain the treasure and the pearl. Christendom continues with the wheat, the tares, the big tree, and the leaven in the meal. But the Lord spoke not only the four parables for Christendom, but two parables for the genuine and proper church life. The churches in the Lord’s recovery are in the fifth and sixth parables. The churches in the recovery today are the treasure and the pearl. As far as life is concerned, we are the pearl; and as far as our living is concerned, we are the treasure. For life, we are the pearl gates; for our living, we are the walls made of precious stones. This latter is the kingdom life, the living of the church under God’s dominion.
This enables us to have a fuller understanding of the New Jerusalem. The twelve pearl gates signify the church as the entrance, and the walls built with precious stones signify the kingdom, the expression of living under the heavenly rule. When you say, “Lord Jesus, how I thank You that I have the divine life,” that is the pearl. But when you say, “O Lord, grant me more grace that I may be poor in spirit and pure in heart, that I may be under Your ruling, that I may be dealt with by You so that I will not have any rocks or thorns within me, and that I may live under the heavenly constitution,” you immediately become the treasure. On the one hand, we are the pearl; on the other hand, we are the treasure.
The fifth parable speaks of a man finding a treasure and the sixth, of the merchant seeking a pearl. For the kingdom, Christ is the man, and for the church, He is the merchant. This fits in with the concept of the entire Bible. The kingdom requires a man. In order to have God’s kingdom on earth, there is the need of a man. Christ came as this man, not as the first man, but as the second man. Firstly this man found the kingdom. Then, because of the rejection of Israel, He hid the kingdom from the Jewish people. For the church, Christ is the merchant, one who is always seeking to gain something of high value. Regarding the kingdom, the man bought the field, the earth. The reason he bought the earth is that the kingdom is in the earth. However, in order to gain the pearl, the merchant did not purchase the sea; rather, he bought only the pearl. Christ is the One who bought the pearl directly, but He did not buy the treasure directly. Instead, He bought the field directly. Although Christ redeemed the church and the earth, He did not redeem the kingdom. The kingdom does not require a redeemer or a buyer. However, the lost earth, the earth created by God and then lost, requires a redeemer. Furthermore, the church as God’s chosen and predestinated people also requires a buyer because those people became lost. Therefore, the kingdom needs only a man, but the church needs a merchant and a redeemer.
Verse 47 says, “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a net cast into the sea and gathering of every kind.” This parable corresponds to 25:32-46. The net here does not signify the gospel of grace, which is preached in the church age, but the eternal gospel, which will be preached to the Gentile world in the great tribulation (Rev. 14:6-7). The sea into which this net is cast signifies the Gentile world, and “every kind” signifies all the nations, all the Gentiles (25:32).
Throughout the centuries, the parable of the net has been misunderstood and applied incorrectly. Many have said that the net signifies the gospel of grace. They have also likened this parable to the parable of the tares, saying that in the parable of the tares we have the real ones and the false ones, and that in the parable of the net we have the good ones and the bad ones. They claim that the good ones are the wheat and the bad ones are the tares. If this is true, then the Lord Jesus would have not been so wise, for He would have used two parables for the same thing.
Once again we need to consider the way the number seven is constituted. Firstly, it is composed of six plus one. The first six parables in Matthew 13 are related to the church. In the church there are the abnormal ones, and around the church there are the false ones. Thus, directly or indirectly, the first six parables are related to the church. But what happens to the people outside of the church, those in the world? Surely there is the need of a parable to cover them. If the seven parables in Matthew 13 covered only the church, then there would be no parable to cover the nations. In such a case, chapter thirteen would not be perfect. The seventh parable, the parable of the net, is related not to the church, but to the world, to the nations.
Those related to the church are classified into three groups: the real and normal Christians, the overcomers; the real, yet abnormal Christians, the defeated ones; and the false Christians. At the time of the Lord’s coming back, the false Christians, the tares, will be bound into bundles and cast into the furnace of fire, that is, into the lake of fire. That will be the destiny of the tares. The normal, real Christians, the overcomers, will be transferred into the manifestation of the kingdom to be co-kings with Christ. The abnormal ones will be put in a certain place to be chastened, disciplined, and punished. These six parables give us a clear view regarding the real Christians and the false Christians. The seventh parable, the parable of the net, covers the destiny of the worldly people.
The net here is not the gospel of grace. Instead, it is the eternal gospel declared in Revelation 14:6 and 7. (See Life-study of Revelation, Message Forty-seven, pp. 541-547.) Most Christian teachers have neglected this gospel. During the tribulation, Antichrist, who will oppose all religion, will persecute both Christians and Jews. Christ will consider these persecuted Christians His brothers. Because Antichrist will persecute the Jews and the Christians, an angel will be sent forth to proclaim the eternal gospel. The eternal gospel is absolutely different in content from the gospel of grace. The gospel of grace is preached for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. The eternal gospel, however, will say that men should fear God and worship Him. It will not touch the matter of repentance nor will it require faith. Rather, because Antichrist will set himself up as God, erecting an image of himself and compelling people to worship it, the eternal gospel will tell people to worship God, the One who created the heavens, the earth, and the sea, not to worship the idol of Antichrist. Furthermore, the eternal gospel will command the people to fear God because Antichrist will be leading them to persecute and to kill God’s people. Those who kill God’s people must hear that God will come in to avenge them. Hence, they all must fear God.
The Bible says that Christ as a man has been appointed by God to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1). Christ will judge the living at the time of His coming back. This will take place before the millennium. In addition to the Jews and the Christians, there have been throughout the centuries a great many unbelievers, most of whom will have died before the Lord comes back. But a number will still be living at the time He comes again. These living ones will be the nations. When Christ comes back, He will exercise His judgment upon them. He will judge them not according to the law of Moses nor according to the gospel of grace, but according to the eternal gospel declared in the three and a half years immediately prior to Christ’s coming back. In the Bible both the law of Moses and the gospel of grace are a basis for God’s judgment. The eternal gospel declared in Revelation 14 will be the basis for Christ’s judgment upon the living nations.
Matthew 25 says that when Christ comes back He will gather the nations together. This portion of the Word does not speak of either the Jews or the believers, but of the nations. Some have argued saying that the nations could not be the Lord’s sheep. But Psalm 100 reveals that all the people on earth are the sheep of the Lord. Hence, in the Lord’s eyes all the peoples on this earth are His sheep. When He comes back, He will gather them all before the throne of His glory, and there He will exercise His judgment upon them, based upon the eternal gospel. According to Matthew 25, the King will judge the nations according to the way they have treated His little brothers. During the tribulation, the Jews and the Christians will suffer a great deal. They will lack food and clothing, they will be sick, and they will be imprisoned. The ones who hear the eternal gospel and who fear God and worship Him will secretly help the believers, rendering them some financial or material assistance. Those who treat the believers favorably will be regarded by the King as sheep. But those who do not treat them well will be regarded as goats. The goats will be cast into eternal fire, but the sheep will be transferred to the millennium to be the citizens on the earth.
The first six parables cover various aspects related to the church. The worldly people are covered in the parable of the net. The church is a pearl out of the sea. After the church has been called out of the sea, what remains in the sea is the nations who will be living in the Gentile world. At the Lord’s coming back, He will send out His angels to collect all the things in the sea. After they have been collected before the throne of His glory, they will be divided according to the way they have treated the believers during the tribulation. Those who have treated them well will be considered the sheep, the good ones, and those who have treated them poorly will be considered the goats, the evil ones. The good ones will be transferred to the millennial kingdom, which has been prepared for them from the foundation of the world (not before the foundation of the world). There these good ones will be the citizens of the coming kingdom. But the evil ones will be cast into the lake of eternal fire. This will close the age.
Matthew 13 presents us a clear vision. In this chapter we see that all seven parables close this age. The Lord will end this age by dealing with the church according to the first six parables and by dealing with the world, the nations, according to the last parable. In these parables we see all the aspects of the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. With this clear picture before us, we know where we are and where we are going. We also know where the unbelievers are, where they are going, and what their destiny will be.
At the end of this chapter the Lord spoke an additional parable. Verse 52 says, “And He said to them, Therefore, every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” After giving the seven parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, the Lord likened the discipled scribe to a householder who has a treasure, a rich store, of things new and old, signifying not only the new and old knowledge of the Scriptures, but also the new and old experiences of life in the kingdom.
This added parable concerns a scribe who has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. A scribe was a scholar in the Old Testament, one who knew the books of Moses and the prophets. In this parable the Lord does not use the word “believed,” but the word “discipled.” Such a learned one has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. Formerly he was a scholar of the Old Testament dispensation, but now he has been discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. This means that he has been discipled into God’s new economy. He knew God’s old economy, but now he has been discipled into God’s new economy. For this reason he is likened to a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. When the new things are put with the old things, we have the precious things. The Apostle Paul was such a person. He was an Old Testament scribe who one day was discipled into God’s New Testament economy. Hence, Paul could bring forth the old things and the new things. This qualified him to write the book of Hebrews. In this book Paul brings forth many of the old things, with the new things as the interpretation.
In giving this parable the Lord was expecting that some of His listeners would be scribes, not all fishermen like Peter, John, James, and Andrew. The Lord Jesus is wise. At the turn of the new economy, He had to go to Galilee to find the unlearned fishermen. But after the turn had taken place, there would be the need of some learned ones to carry out all the mysteries. Although those Galileans heard the Lord speak all the mysteries, they were not scribes. In his writing, Peter did not refer to many things from the Old Testament; neither did John. But Paul was not a Galilean fisherman. He was a scribe who had been discipled into the kingdom. Therefore, he had a rich store, a rich treasure.
The Lord’s recovery needs not only the unlearned Galileans, but also the scribes. After the Lord spoke the parables of the kingdom to the Galilean fishermen, He spoke another parable regarding the scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord seemed to be saying, “You Galilean fishermen must listen to this. You are not adequate to carry out God’s New Testament economy. I can use you to make the turn, but after the turn has been made, you will not be adequate. I need some scribes. I need one like Saul of Tarsus who studied at the feet of Gamaliel.” In this matter we see the Lord’s wisdom. Young people, you need to go to the best colleges and earn a degree. Then you will be scribes. Today the Lord needs not only the Galilean fishermen to make the turn; He also needs the scribes.
When the disciples heard the parables concerning the mysteries of the kingdom, they might have been very happy and said, “Hallelujah, we, the Galilean fishermen, know all the mysteries of the kingdom!” But the Lord might have said, “You are happy, but I still need some scribes. Sorry, none of you is a scribe. Peter, you will be good for the day of Pentecost, good for throwing the net and catching a large number of people. But after so many have been brought into the church, how will you deal with them? You Galilean fishermen do not have the ability for this. I need some scribes full of knowledge, some scribes discipled into My economy. These scribes will pull out the things new and old both from their knowledge and from their experience.” Because Paul had advanced in religion, he could write the book of Galatians. Peter, however, could not write such a book. This is proved by Peter’s word in his second book (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Perhaps he was the leading fisherman in casting the net, but he was not advanced in the Jewish religion. He did not know the books of Leviticus and Psalms as well as Saul of Tarsus did. Thus, all the Galilean fishermen were subdued by the parable of the scribe. If we apply this parable to Paul, we see what a rich treasure he had. Out of his treasure he could bring forth new doctrines and old doctrines, new experiences and old experiences. I hope that some of the young people will become scribes. For the Lord’s recovery today we need both the fishermen and the scribes.
