Good Morning all…
This might be a bit long, but I hoper you indulge me, as I think the parable of the wheat and the tares is one of the most fascinating passages in the entire bible.  Here’s the deal.  Several years ago I was arguing theology with a good friend of mine.  In this conversation he made a comment about me being denominationally skewed and said I should throw out everything I’d been taught and try to read the bible like I just found a bunch of old scrolls.  I thought to myself, fair enough, I would do just that.  So, I decided I would pray for guidance and read the bible.  Wow!  That was the start of one of the most amazing journeys in my life.  It seems everything in the bible changed.  Right off the bat I started questioning all kinds of things I’d taken for granted and never really thought about, from talking snakes to the New Jerusalem.  There were two passages in the bible that stood out to me and really got me thinking, Genesis 6 that deals with the Nephilim and the flood (which I missed in this study) and todays NT passage in Matthew 13 where the parable of the wheat and the tares is presented.  This is also where you guys are probably going to think I’m nuts.
After studying this parable, it’s my opinion that Jesus was telling us a whole lot more than most of us  will ever understand.  On the surface it seems like it might be talking about good people and evil people or the saved vs the unsaved, and I think that’s what most people think.  I think it is way deeper than that. (continued...)

When I first read the parable, I started poking around in some other translations of the bible to try and determine what a tare is and I found out it is a weed called darnel and it looks exactly like wheat until it matures and turns a much darker color than wheat.   This is what Easton's revised Bible dictionary says about tares.  The bearded darnel, mentioned only in Mt 13:25-30 It is the Lolium temulentum, a species of rye-grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison. It bears the closest resemblance to wheat till the ear appears, and only then the difference is discovered.   It grows plentifully in Syria and Palestine."   I read the parable and Jesus’ explanation again and here is what I felt like he was saying…
The wheat is the people that God created.  The tares are people who look like Gods created people, but are not, just like darnel looks like wheat but it is a different plant.   It is not wheat, it just looks like wheat.   In this parable, the tares were sown, not by God but by his enemy or Satan.   So the kingdom is populated with wheat and tares.   Very simply, the wheat are God's people and the tares look like God's people but aren't.  It's not a part of God's harvest, nor was it sown by God.  It will be burned, and there is no chance for it to transform itself to wheat.    A darnel isn't sinners or unconverted people, but a totally different species of some kind.  It seem's that somehow Satan got in and started doing a little creating or started a some kind of a breading program of his own.  It's like tares are some kind of human/satanic hybrid.  I find interesting that God does not want the angels to pull up the tares early in the game because they might uproot some wheat along with the tares.  This leads me to believe that the angels themselves might not be able to tell the difference between a wheat and a tare until they have matured, although that’s probably debatable. (cont...)

The wheat will be gathered by the angels, but the darnel was not sown by God and it seems to me that it has never been Gods  wheat and has never been any part of his potential spiritual harvest.  From the beginning it seems like it was a different plant, a one that is doomed to be bound together in bundles at the harvest time, and to be burned, without any way of escape. It is something that came from the enemy.
Another thing I wonder is if a child of God knows he’s a child of God, then does a 'tare' know he is a 'tare'? And if so, does a tare know they are to be gathered together and burned. Is there type of person living among the children of God that fears being gathered together and burned?
There are verses about sheep in wolves clothing, deception, mingling seed, enmity between Gods seed and satans seed, and what about when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, called them a brood of vipers and said they were of their father the devil.  I wonder if that was literal.
Bottom line is this parable makes me suspect there is some kind of unredeemable, satanic, hybrid race that coexists with us here on earth. What do you think? Am I nuts?

Good Morning! Just checking in, don't have time (or big thoughts) for a full post today. Interesting thoughts Rich! The satanic hybrid race thing had never crossed my mind. :)

Wow, Rich, what an interesting way at reading this parable. Personally I think that the idea you brought up, maybe to taking the parable too directly literal. I don't know that Lucifer, even though he was the highest figure in Heaven after God (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirt), had the power to create. The only other way I can see (which of course is limited to current human abilities) that Lucifer could have infiltrated the human race to start his own 'tare' would be to take on human form and being spreading his own seed then. The only problem with that would be how long his human form would last. Even Jesus aged when he was in human form and His human body gave out on Him and needed a miracle to return Him to what we know.

So, for me, I have to take the sowing of the good seed and the bad seed, more of sowing the seeds of our souls. Yes, God physically created us as a human race, so that could be the sowing of His seed. But He also gave us the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. If Lucifer created an evil human strain, I doubt that he would give them the right to choose to not follow him and follow God, replacing evil with good. Anyway, not to squash your thoughts at all, I just see too many possible roadblocks. But then again, like I said, I'm using human thinking which today is still very limited. I think it is great that you can have ideas like this and feel like you can share them. It gets us all thinking about, and talking about, what each of us believes and I feel that that is one of things God really wants for us and why there seems to be a lack of clarity sometimes.

Just my thoughts, Have a great day my friends.
Aaron is out.

I have often wondered about all of the unexplained "odd" verses in the bible. There are many. I used to get lost on rabbit trails with some of these subjects. Sometimes, for me personally, it is something I choose to leave unexplained. I could spend hours and hours on reading in the concordances and study notes etc. Done it on many subjects and mostly end up more confused. It could also be that when satan was 'lucifer' and chose to disregard God and boast pridefully on his own behalf, 1/3 of the heavenly host chose to follow him and were condemned to earth. They became the fallen angels/demons that have the ability to parade around in various form, just as angels can.
So maybe God is referring to these fallen ones that will never have redemption and are awaiting their time of judgement. Just a thought. :)
They do roam around and cause trouble, I know this. It's their holding place right now and we live in it.
Praise God for His protection and promises!!!
Good luck with finding your answers. I do believe there are some things we will never fully know until we are done here. Then it will all make more sense with a restored mind and heart. :)

No way are you nuts Rich. Maybe a little off center, strange, bizarre, goofy, spacey, wigged-out and even slightly perverted, but never would I say you were nuts. 

Actually, I agree with most everything you said except that Satan has the power to create life. It’s my belief that God and only God has the power to create life. To attribute that power to anyone else would make them equal to God and I believe there is only one of Him (well, three in one actually). Satan on the other hand has plenty of power to persuade, deceive, mislead, entice and ultimately convince people that they don’t really need to totally surrender themselves to God. That they can do just fine on their own. They are much more interested in their own comfort and possessions. Like the Pharisees, they publicly put on a show of spirituality, but the real purpose is to look good and build themselves up. They want others to see things their way and can lead weaker believers to follow them which will have a very negative impact. These are the ones that I believe think they are true believers, but through Satanic deception (pride?) actually worship themselves above God. The other deceived people have been convinced by Satan that God is either a fraud or doesn’t even exist. They are so convinced of their own wisdom (actually Satan’s deception) that their hearts are hardened beyond reach.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not qualified to judge anyone. It’s all I can do to make sure I don’t listen to anything other than what God tells me through His word and then trust Jesus to cover whatever short comings I continue to have. But for me, this may be what the parable of the wheat and tares is about.

Aaron and Jacqui, you both had very good and insightful comments as well. Thank you

Hey Aaron...

Thanks for the comments. Here is kind of how my mind worked through this. Satan is an angel, albeit a fallen one. Angels are indistinguishable from humans, or at least can be, as stated a few different places in the Bible. In Genesis they walked, talked and ate with Lot and others. Somewhwere in John I think, is the verse about entertaining angels unawares. So, if satan is an angel and angels are identical to humans, satan must fit that bill as well. With that in mind, I think it was possible that satan could have had sex with someone and produced offspring. There are other indications of this in Genesis 6, if you can get on board with the angel theory, which I feel is much more sound than the sethite theory. Then you have the other verses I mentioned earlier like Genesis 3 (Ithink) where God says he will put enmity between Eve's seed and satains seed. As far as the creation angle, I'm with you on thinking satan cant create out of nothing as God did. However, think of what we are doing today with cloning and blending of human and animal DNA. Gods creation is to reproduce in like kind. Maybe all satan had to do was splice in a little of his DNA or something along those lines. The dude has got to be smart having been around for eons and working Directly for God for so long. Then, I kind of disagree with you on taking this to litteral. The parrable was figurative, but don't you think Jesus' explanation was to be taken literal? If not, why? I don't see a reason not to take it litteral anyway. Wish we had time to roll up are sleves and really get into some of this more deeply, but I guess that can be another study some time. I better get going...

...rich

Ya, I can relate to the rabbit hole syndrome. I constantly chase them and pretty much remain in a state of confusion. :) Sometimes I feel like I have an "aha" moment, but it's usually like this one where it's pretty far out in left field. Satan must be a pretty slick talker to get 1/3 of the angels to buy into his plan. That's another one I can't figure out. Do you think you've ever seen an angel?

...rich

Hey Jim...

Thanks for the comments. I still think there is more going on here than meets the eye though. It's seems like a pretty strait forward explanation of the parable. I wish I had the time and knowledge to figure it out. Or better yet, I want to have a conversation with God or even just an angel like Abraham, Noah, Moses, Lot, etc. That would be so cool. If I did though, you guys would really think I lost it though. I mean, do you think you would believe someone that said they had a conversation with an angel over dinner?

...rich

To answer your question Rich, yes I have. It was quite phenomenal and large and awe inspiring. So I do believe that they are around and fulfilling all sorts of roles that we are unaware of. I was talking to my friend last fall, as she lost a son and we were discussing heaven and earth and how people always think of the two so far apart from one another. In my heart and mind, I believe we are separated by a thin veil. Because we have the physical aspect to us, we are unable to see the spiritual side of things. I believe it isn't "out there somewhere", I believe it is right there beside us somewhere. Angels are sent over and over in the bible as messengers and servants and whatever it was that God commissioned them to do. Battle, worship, help, send a message, protect, whatever. They are everywhere. Some we may have seen, in entertaining strangers and some we may never see. I don't know why God allowed me to glimpse something so eternal, but it really solidified my faith that they are here and active. :)
Cool stuff eh?

By the way, I am referring to your comment earlier on if I have ever seen an angel. I have not yet experienced "having dinner" with one! lol. Just saw your last post. OOPS!!!

Hey all - very interesting stuff today. Rich - I have to say in all my study, and background in Biblical languages, I have never come across this idea as an interpretation of the parable of the wheat and tares. It's an interesting thought. It reminds me in some ways of the allegorical interpretations of some of the middle ages interpreters. I guess my perspective on interpretation runs in a more simple direction. I tend to think that God's purpose in scripture is to communicate His character to people, and that in general His meaning is more straightforward. While there are things that are a bit veiled, in general Jesus' choice is not to bury the truth deeply beneath obtuse layers of hidden meaning.

The parable form is meant to be interpreted from the big picture to the details, rather than from the details out. In fact, most of the time the meaning of the parable is found in the "punchline" or twist from what would be expected. In this case the twist is that the owner tells the workers to ignore the weeds. That's the opposite of what farmers were used to doing. Farmers - and everyone with a garden - spend a lot of effort trying to prevent weeds and to remove them once they show up. But in this case the owner instructs the workers to ignore the weeds entirely. So, whatever the meaning of the parable is, it will grow from this specific.

I'm off on vacation and may not be commenting for a week or so. My prayers are with you all. Blessings to each of you

Hey Marc...

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your perspective. I find it interesting that you've never considered this, when to me, that's exactly;y what it says. Not picking on you here, just trying to figure stuff out. Besides, you are obviously more educated than I am. I've had no formal biblical education. What I find so interesting is that it seems so strait forward, plain and simple to me, and most... well, pretty much everyone doesn't see what I see. Sometimes it makes me think I'm a little crazy, sometimes I think I'm maybe just kind of screwed up and sometimes I even wondered if I'm really even saved. It scares me. But, well, I see things so differently than I used to. Not sure what to think now.

Hey, can I ask you a question? I missed this part, but what's your take on the whole Genesis 6 Nephilim thing. Do you subscribe to the Sethite view or the fallen angel view?

Thanks buddy...

...rich

What? You are not going to have an internet connection? c'mon, things are just getting interesting. :)

Have a good time Jim...

...rich

Hey Rich, A couple of things.

First, on the Nephilim. I subscribe to the agnostic view. By that I mean that I just don't know. There are lots of very interesting thoughts from different commenters about what might have been going on there. But when I go back to scripture, the Bible just doesn't give enough information to solve the puzzle. Both of the views you mention have their support, but neither side is unarguable. And, since it's not something that comes up again in scripture, it seems like it wasn't high on God's priority list for explanation.

As for the confusing interpretations and a sense of being crazy... Here's what I say. God is very big, and all our attempts to understand truth will not unseat Him from His throne. Feel confident that God is thrilled with your desire to know Him and to know truth. And if you have chosen to trust Jesus Christ with your life, then feel confident that the salvation made possible on the cross extends even to you. You were saved in that moment, and your trust in Jesus allows that reality to take hold of your life. All this other stuff is interesting and fun. But fear is to be no part of it. Jesus said that perfect love casts out fear. God loves you perfectly. Have no fear, my friend.