1. During the Old Testament -

By graciously dealing with one of the most notorious kings of all human history, God revealed His absolute control over all human kingdoms. This control was mediated through the instrumentality of spirit beings (called ‘watchers’). Those subject to this absolute control of human affairs, were any and all of mankind who were involved as subjects, citizens, or leaders in the kingdom of men (Dan. 4:13,17, 24-26, 34-35, I Kings 22:19-23, 34, Ezek. 9).

2. Future Millennial Form-

God’s Anointed One will rule the Kingdom of the Heavens personally from the earth. Christ will be assisted by good angels and by His bride, the glorified church (Matt. 24:27-31, 25:31,32, I Cor. 6:2,3).

3. Mystery Form-

The revelation given by Jesus in Matthew 13 as to the subjects, character, and conclusion that the Kingdom of the Heavens would experience between the rejection of the first offer and fulfillment of the prophesied Millennial form at Christ’s second coming.

1. During the Dispensation of Law -

The reference to a kingdom in Psalm 103 is unique from all other occurrences of the word ‘kingdom’ in the Old Testament. Verse 19 says, “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” The word ‘all’ refers to the individuals mentioned in the immediate context. Verses 20-21 refer to angels who 1) do His commandments (literally ‘word’), 2) hearken unto the voice of His word, 3) are called ‘His hosts’, and are 4) ministers of His who do His pleasure. Verses 17-19 describe people who 1) fear Him, 2) keep His covenant, and 3) remember His commandments (precepts) to do them. (Verses 17-19 do not tell how these people became willingly subject to the LORD, but only describes their character and willing obedience.) This is His kingdom which rules over the limited number of angels and men who are willingly subject to Him. This is the same kingdom which the New Testament calls ‘the Kingdom of God.’

2. During Christ’s earthly Life -

This form of the Kingdom of God was a mystery (Mk.4:11, Lk.8:10) because the Old Testament never revealed what happened to it during Christ’s earthly ministry. Therefore it is correctly understood by the terminology, ‘the Mystery Form of the Kingdom of God’. Jesus gave the entrance requirements into this form of the Kingdom of God in John 8:24. “for if you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins”. A person who saw and heard Jesus had to believe that He was ‘the I AM’; God in the flesh; the Jehovah in the burning bush of Exodus chapter 3 incarnate. The fact of Jesus’ deity was to be the object for saving faith during His earthly ministry. If anyone during that time believed that Jesus was more than a man, that He was God in flesh, that person would not die in his sins.

The object to be believed for salvation would change after the Mystery Form of the Kingdom of God ceased, upon the conclusion of Christ’s earthly life. That coming change was anticipated by Jesus as He told Nicodemus, that except a man be born from above (the Holy Spirit, who would initiate the new birth, would be sent from heaven at Pentecost- Jn. 7:37-39) he could not see or enter the Kingdom of God (Jn.3:3,5). In relation to the Kingdom of God, Jesus promised at least two things that could only be possessed in the age to come; the possession of eternal life (Mk. 10:30, Lk.18:30, Jn. 1:11-13) and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 7:37-39, 14:16-17).

3. During the Dispensation of Grace -

All who enter the present form of the Kingdom of God, which exists from Pentecost until the Rapture, not only experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but also the indwelling of the Father and the Son (Jn. 14:23). [Note: The present form of the Kingdom of God is never called a mystery in the New Testament epistles because the elements of the gospel for our entrance requirement (Christ’s death, burial and resurrection) were all foretold in the Old Testament ( Isa. 53, Ps.16:8-11, Acts 2:25-31). On the other hand the revelation given for the grace believer’s present tense salvation (i.e. practical sanctification) has been revealed by the Holy Spirit through the 12 Pauline mysteries which had been hidden from the ages and from the generations (ICor.2:7, Col. 1:26).]

“Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Lk. 8:12). This group of individuals receive the word concerning Christ’s deity into their hearts. Their mind, will, and emotions were affected. But before they could make a response by faith, the devil took the word out of their hearts. The devil did this by confusing their understanding about what they actually heard. They would end up vigorously attempting to force their way into the Kingdom of God by means of their warped understanding of the actual entrance requirement (Lk.16:16, Jn.8:24).

John 20:30-31 reveals that Jesus’ sign miracles were for the purpose to believe that He was Deity (cf. Jn.12:9-11). Several times in John’s gospel, Jesus used a word, translated ‘see’ that has the meaning “to see with understanding” (cf. Jn.20:8). Jesus told the crowd in John 4:45-48 that except they saw with understanding, signs and wonders, they would in no wise believe. [Yet, the nobleman who requested Jesus to heal his son, saw, understood, and believed that Jesus was deity before he saw that his son was healed.] But even though many had understandingly seen who Jesus was (i.e. they saw the proofs of His deity), they continued in their unbelief concerning His deity (Jn.6:2,36). In Matthew 12:22-30, after witnessing a blind and dumb demoniac healed, the Pharisees, against all logic, accused Jesus of performing this miracle by the power of Beelzebub. The Pharisees in John 9 accused Jesus of being a sinner even after He had just healed a man who had been blind since birth. The man replied to their accusation in vs. 30-33,saying, “we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man (lit. ‘anyone’) be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth…..If this man (lit. ‘one’) were not of (lit. ‘from alongside’) God, he could do nothing,” (cf. Jn.3:1,2). Even an ordinary Jew recognized the righteous character and intimate relationship with deity that Jesus had just displayed. Yet the religious leaders chose not to favorably respond to the obvious.

These are a few examples of the response pictured by this particular soil.

This is the first of the four soils where the seed actually germinates and grows, if only for a short time. Vs. 13, “They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these having no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” Whereas those in the first soil have the seed removed before they can believe and be saved, these receive (i.e. a deliberate, ready, and favorable reception) the word (of the God) with joy and are believing for a time. The word entered their heart; they welcomed it with joy; and for a period of time are believing, until another period of time, characterized by temptation, interrupts their believing and they fall away (lit. ‘stand apart’).

[Hebrews 3:12 uses the same word that is here translated ‘fall away’. There, Paul says, “Take heed brethren lest there shall be in any of you a malignantly evil heart of unbelief with the purpose to depart from a living God.” These who are identified as brethren are previously identified as “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,” in the first verse of chapter 3. These Jewish grace believers were warned not to ‘stand apart’ from a living God; the Christ (vs. 14) of Whom they were made to become partakers. An evil heart of unbelief would not cause them to loose their relationship with the Christ as partakers (lit. ‘co-sharers’), but would cause them to be unable to be ‘carried up to maturity’ in their earthly experience (Heb.6:1).]

The apostle Peter was a believer in Christ’s deity (Lk.5:8, Matt. 16:16, Jn.6:64). But he is an example of a pre-Pentecost believer whose faith could have failed and left him short of receiving all the blessings involved in the New Covenant. Luke 22:31-32 says, that though Satan was going to ‘sift Peter as wheat’, the Lord had made request that Peter’s faith would not fail (lit. ‘leave out’). Because of Christ’s request, Peter would continue to exercise faith in obeying Christ’s instructions that would eventually culminate in his regeneration, Spirit baptism, and indwelling by the Trinity, at the Day of Pentecost.

Even John the Baptizer, who first recognized his second cousin as the Son of God when he baptized Him, (Jn.1:31-34), experienced doubts, near the end of his life, about Jesus being ‘the coming one’ (Lk.7:17-23, Matt.11:2-6).

About six months before Jesus was crucified, He was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn.7:2). Shortly after the feast He was teaching in the treasury area of the temple. There He proclaimed that “if you believe not that ‘I AM’, you shall die in your sins.” “As He spake these words, many believed on Him” (Jn.8:24,30). To those who believed, Jesus said two things. First, if they would continue (lit. ‘feel at ease’) in His word (i.e. the continuing things He had to say), they are truly His disciples. Secondly, they would in the future, experientially know the truth of how to live in freedom from their sin natures (Jn. 8:30-36). Both of these blessings were contingent on whether or not they would feel at ease in His word.

Nowhere in Scripture is it taught or illustrated, that an individual, having believed the God-required object for salvation, ever loses that salvation. But many passages warn of loss of blessings because of the failure to continue in obedience to the Lord. The ‘bedrock soil’ of Luke 8 is one of those passages. These believers in Jesus deity stopped feeling at ease in His word because of temptation (probably from their sin nature or possibly Satanic influence). Their faith failed and they stopped short of arriving at Pentecost.

Luke 8:14 says, “And that which fell among the thorns are they which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” The seed that fell among the thorns also germinates and grows. It almost matures to the fruit bearing stage, but fails to produce anything. The individuals pictured by this type of soil receive the word of the God into their heart, they believe it, they continue in Christ’s word, but before they could reap eternal life at the Day of Pentecost, they were sidetracked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of their physical existence. They did not stay focused on the future promises that Jesus was offering in His preaching about the Kingdom of God. Instead, they allowed their fondness to be taken captive by the world system.

The rich young man, who came to Jesus in Matthew 19:16-22, was a believer during this Mystery Form of the Kingdom of God. This is evidenced by his addressing Jesus as ‘good master’. When Jesus told him that God was the only one who was good, the young man let his statement stand. He believed that Jesus, as to His nature and character, was God. He then made request of Jesus, how he could possess eternal life at that time. Since no man could possess eternal until the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost to perform regeneration, Jesus told him to divest himself of his possessions and follow Him. “He went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” If he would have followed Jesus and His instructions, he would have been among the 120, in the upper room, on the Day of Pentecost. The rich young man, though a believer in Christ’s deity, became a statistic of the ‘Thorny Soil’. “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (Jn.12:25).

Luke 8: 15 says, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” The seed not only germinates and grows full term to maturity in this soil, it also yields fruit an hundredfold. The reason for this tremendous yield is that these believers hold fast the ‘word of the God’. Unlike the previous two types of believers, these individuals do not allow temptation, worry, riches, and pleasures of physical life to deter them from what is most valuable; eternal life and all its’ abundance. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Eternal life and its’ abundance didn’t come immediately, like the rich young man desired. Patience was necessary for this group of believers, not only to finally arrive at Pentecost and receive the life Jesus had promised, but to go on from that point, and to “grow in a quality of grace and experiential knowledge of their (risen and ascended) Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18).

All those who believed on Jesus in John 8, and continued with ease in His word finally experienced eternal life. By means of patient maturing, they experienced ‘the truth’ that provided freedom from the power of enslaving sin.

The hundredfold yield on the ‘Good Soil’ represents all believers during Christ’s earthly ministry who transitionalized into the dispensation of grace and went on to fully realize God’s provision for their maturity.