My Solomon's Journey

 

The Wheat and the Weeds: A Prophecy of Coexistence and Divine Separation

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Apostle Paul was deeply disturbed when he learned about divisions within the Corinthian congregation. Such discord threatened the unity of the congregation and risked pushing Jesus out of their midst. Paul recognized that these divisions reflected what Jesus had foretold in his illustration about wheat and weeds—a prophecy that warned of a coexistence between genuine followers of Christ and those who merely appeared to be so.

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“He presented another illustration to them, saying: ‘The Kingdom of the heavens may be likened to a man who sowed fine seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat and left. When the stalk sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds also appeared. So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it have weeds?” He said to them, “An enemy, a man, did this.” The slaves said to him, “Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?” He said, “No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season, I will tell the reapers: First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; then gather the wheat into my storehouse.”’

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Then, after dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples came to him and said:

“Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field.” In response he said: ‘The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; the field is the world. As for the fine seed, these are the sons of the Kingdom, but the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will collect out from his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and people who practice lawlessness, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be. At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Let the one who has ears listen.’” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

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As the true word was planted, it began to deliver results. True followers of Christ flourished even after their Master was taken away. However, immediately, the Devil started sowing the seeds of fake Christians. The Apostle Paul observed this in one congregation after another.

 

Paul to the Corinthians: "But what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to eliminate the pretext of those who are wanting a basis for being found equal to us in the things about which they boast. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works."

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Paul urged vigilance: "Now I urge you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who create divisions and causes for stumbling contrary to the teaching that you have learned, and avoid them. For men of that sort are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattering speech they seduce the hearts of unsuspecting ones."

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To the Galatians, he wrote: "I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from the One who called you with Christ’s undeserved kindness to another sort of good news. Not that there is another good news; but there are certain ones who are causing you trouble and wanting to distort the good news about the Christ."

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To the Ephesians: "So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes."

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To the elders of Ephesus, Paul warned: "Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves."

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To the Colossians: "Look out that no one takes you captive by means of the philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ."

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To the Philippians: "Look out for the dogs; look out for those who cause injury; look out for those who mutilate the flesh."

 

To the Thessalonians: "Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He stands in opposition and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is acting as a restraint, so that he will be revealed in his own due time. True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is right now acting as a restraint is out of the way. Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. That is why God lets a deceptive influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness."

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To Timothy: "Just as I encouraged you to stay in Ephesus when I was about to go to Macedonia, so I do now, in order for you to command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies. Such things end up in nothing useful but merely give rise to speculations rather than providing anything from God in connection with faith."

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To Titus: "For there are many rebellious men, profitless talkers, and deceivers, especially those who adhere to the circumcision. It is necessary to shut their mouths, because these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they should not for the sake of dishonest gain."

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The Apostle John similarly warned: "Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired statement, but test the inspired statements to see whether they originate with God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know that the inspired statement is from God: Every inspired statement that acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God. But every inspired statement that does not acknowledge Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist’s inspired statement that you have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world."

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Peter offered a grave warning: "However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among you. These will quietly bring in destructive sects, and they will even disown the owner who bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves."

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Jude echoed these concerns: "Beloved ones, although I was making every effort to write you about the salvation we hold in common, I found it necessary to write you to urge you to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones. My reason is that certain men have slipped in among you who were long ago appointed to this judgment by the Scriptures; they are ungodly men who turn the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for brazen conduct and who prove false to our only owner and Lord, Jesus Christ."

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Even the resurrected Jesus warned through his Revelation to John: To the congregation in Ephesus: "‘I know your deeds, and your labor and endurance, and that you cannot tolerate bad men, and that you put to the test those who say they are apostles, but they are not, and you found them to be liars. You are also showing endurance, and you have persevered for the sake of my name and have not grown weary.’"

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To Pergamum: "‘Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, that you have there those adhering to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.’"

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To Thyatira: "‘Nevertheless, I do hold this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.’"

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To Sardis: "‘I know your deeds, that you have the name that you are alive, but you are dead.’"

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To Laodicea: "‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or else hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.’"

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The warnings were clear: the flourishing of the true word and the opposition it faced from false teachings and teachers were inevitable. But the faithful were called to persevere, distinguish truth from falsehood, and remain vigilant against the forces that sought to distort the teachings of Christ.

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The Flourishing of Weeds and the Assurance of Discernment

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Jesus warned, and his faithful apostles confirmed, that the "faking sons of God," who are, in reality, sons of the wicked one, would flourish until the time Jehovah allows for the challenging cherub to make his case. However, this period would not last indefinitely.

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Today, we live in an era when both the wheat and the weeds have matured to the point where their distinction is becoming increasingly clear. This fulfills Jehovah's prophetic words through Malachi: “And you will again see the distinction between a righteous person and a wicked person, between one serving God and one not serving him.” (Malachi 3:18)

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If you are one of those sincere individuals praying to Jehovah to discern this distinction, take heart—Jehovah will have no difficulty showing you the difference. His light shines brightest for those who humbly and earnestly seek it.

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This promise also applies to those who are part of Christian denominations clouded by doctrines planted by the Devil. Just as a veil blinded the minds of those reading the Old Testament, a similar veil covers the minds of many who read the New Testament today. While they may accept Jesus Christ, they often ignore Jehovah or diminish His role by equating Jesus with Jehovah. Yet Jehovah lifts this veil when people begin to call upon His name.

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Consider these words: “For to this present day, the same veil remains unlifted when the old covenant is read, because it is taken away only by means of Christ. In fact, to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their hearts. But when one turns to Jehovah, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16)

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The moment someone sincerely calls upon Jehovah’s name, the veil begins to lift. Jesus emphasized the power of unity and genuine worship when he said: “Truly I say to you, whatever things you may bind on earth will be things already bound in heaven, and whatever things you may loosen on earth will be things already loosened in heaven. Again I tell you truly, if two of you on earth agree concerning anything of importance that they should request, it will take place for them on account of my Father in heaven. For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:18-20)

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Let this assurance strengthen your faith. Pray for discernment, unity, and the presence of Christ in your life. Where sincere hearts call on Jehovah’s name, His spirit works to illuminate the truth and expose deception.