Parable Against the House

Are parables directed at the CHURCH? Let's examine.

Definition of a Parable:

Earthly story with a heavenly meaning:

But is <heavenly> pointing to the Church Body?

God speaks in parables

Ps 49:4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

Mt 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Are Parables Spiritual in the sense that they speak Against the Church Body?

In other words, when God speaks in parables He has something either good or bad to say about the church body itself. If so, this should greatly help us to understand many parables. Because they are speaking in one way or another about those in the corporate church; which could include those who belong to local churches as well as those who may claim a relationship with Christ outside of the local congregations.

Eze 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;

Eze 24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious^04805 house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

Isa 30:9 That this is a rebellious^04805 people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:

Eze 2:5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious^04805 house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

Eze 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious^04805 house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious^04805 house.

Mt 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Eze 12:9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious^04805 house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

Eze 44:6 And thou shalt say to the rebellious^04805, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

Isa 14:4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Mr 12:12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they (chief priests, scribes, and elders) knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

Lu 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Lu 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (Can we see why the rich man would have to identify with Babylon and the beggar Lazarus with the Elect?)

Lu 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

Lu 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (So then wouldn’t hell, as defined here, be the state of the corporate body coming under the wrath of God today?)

Joh 10:6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

1Ki 9:7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Mt 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (The nation of Israel was known as the fig tree. But did God use them to typify the churches and congregations of today? That would make spiritual sense, wouldn’t it?)

Historical Parables

Old Testament historical accounts should also lead us down the same path and show how God appears to be using these accounts spiritually to forecast the fate of the corporate church body.

Isa 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

God used the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the flood in the days of Noah spiritually or in parabolic form to point to the end of the church age.

Lu 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Lu 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Lu 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Re 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Jeremiah 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto ME as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

Am 4:11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Mt 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city....

Heavenly

It is often thought that Heaven or Heavenly has to do with things taking place in the celestial heaven above. However, a closer look at the Bible as we relate parables to the church body, we should see, Lord willing, that God refers to the churches and congregations as Heaven. This would make sense because God dwelt in that Body prior to the depart out.

Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (It seems Satan’s intention, was to dominate God’s spiritual Heaven (stars, those in the church body). This is what takes place during the great tribulation):

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Isa 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Re 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Re 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Re 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither (separation of wheat and tares). And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Re 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

(Spiritually, this appears to be the new body that God is establishing today as He gathers His people in bringing them out of tribulation. The sea, another name God seems to use for the church body. At this time, this old body no longer exists):

Heb 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Mt 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

God explains parables to the Elect

As God blinds the unsaved body with parabolic language they can’t understand, He also explains or reveals the parables to the Elect, by His Spirit.

Joh 16:29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.

Mr 4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

Lu 12:12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Conclusion:

God it seems when He speaks a parable He is speaking against His own people (the House of Israel - Church Body). According to the Bible, a parable would be defined as earthly language with a spiritual or heavenly meaning. Heavenly or spiritual, however appears to be pointing directly to God’s corporate kingdom on earth. Understanding this, Lord willing should allow us to see what God wants to communicate to the church body. God then explains parables to the Elect through the Holy Spirit; while the unsaved in the body are said to have eyes to see but see not and ears to hear but hear not.