Parable of the Sower: 3 Types of Believer and their Rewards

[rollinTHUNDER]

The parable of the Sower is much different than most other parables.  And like many other scriptures, sometimes we can get a much deeper meaning when the Holy Spirit reveals some of the deeper hidden truths.  In the parable of the sower below, the Lord shows the condition of the heart of all those who hear the gospel, by relating four different types of ground in which the seeds were planted.  This shows four different types of people and how each one receives His message; but what’s really interesting about this particular parable is that when you look deeper into it, you can also see the end results.  Christ gave His disciple’s the interpretation of how each type of ground receives the seeds when they are planted, but we can also go deeper by viewing the harvest that each type of ground produces.

The Parable of the Sower
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Mark 4:1-20 – “Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
⁹ Then Jesus said,  “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
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Christ spoke in parables so that unbelievers would not be able to understand what He was saying.  His disciples couldn’t understand them either, because they had not received the Holy Spirit yet.  So He told them the meaning of this parable later, when He was alone with them.  Interestingly, in this particular parable, He also said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” which is our clue that there is something deeper here, a hidden meaning to understand, even though the first part or the surface truth has already been interpreted by Christ, Himself.
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In most of the other parables, though, the interpretations were not even given.  It seems as though Christ has left some parables for us, or those that were not present in the first century.  And unlike His disciple’s, today we are equipped with the Holy Spirit to help us spiritually discern them.  If we really want to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we’ve got to dig deeper, under the surface.
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What Christ is showing us in the parable of the sower, is all of the different types of people there are in this world, and how they receive His Word or gospel.  Interestingly, everyone that has ever lived on this earth fits into one of the four categories He listed in this parable.  Under the surface, His description of the subjects in this parable also provide a very telling glimpse of how they will end up in the end.  Below I’ve listed all four places where He sowed His seed, and I have related them to all of the people in the world and how they will end up when the crop fully matures, when Christ returns to reap His harvest.
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First, notice that all unbelievers fit into category one (along the path).  But what’s most interesting is that all three of the other categories (two, three, and four) are some type of believer in Christ, as they all welcomed the gospel at first.  This tells us that they received Christ’s offer of salvation, which is a free gift that no one can take away.  This is eternal security, as Christ said that He will not lose one of those His Father gave Him.  However, they must still be judged and rewarded for the works they’ve done since receiving Christ (2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 16:27, Rev. 22:12).  We can see all three types of believer and their rewards in this parable, and the unbeliever as well.  And I must say, this is a very sobering view of the three types of believer, and how they will be judged and rewarded when the Lord returns.
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Seed Sown and its Position in the End

1. Along the path: hates the truth [unbeliever] takes the mark of the beast (goat)

2. On rocky places: weak faith [falls away] must try to survive / poor in spirit (sheep)

3. Among thorns: unfruitful [lukewarm] left behind, repents & refuses to take the mark  (martyr)

4. On good soil: fruitful [disciple] will stand before the Son of man (rapture/wedding supper)

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Scriptural Interpretation:

Seed sown along the path: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
– 2 Thessalonians 2:10–12

Seed sown on rocky places: “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.”
– 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Seed sown among thorns: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”
– Luke 21:34

Seed sown on good soil: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
– Revelation 3:10–11
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One final thing I’d like to note is that I believe the translators got the last verse in this parable wrong.  I believe they missed a very powerful clue.  After describing all of the places the seed was sown, Christ added what appears to me as an after-thought or a short summary, when he said, “some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”  Yet the translators seem to think He was applying that after-thought to only the seed that was sown on the good soil.  Could it be that He was referring to different rewards for the three different types of believer?  This makes perfect sense to me.  The good soil will produce 100 percent.  The seed sown among thorns will produce 60 percent, as the thorns will choke much of the crop, making it less fruitful.  The seed sown on rocky places will produce only 30 percent.  And naturally, the seed sown on the path will produce nothing, as unbelievers are in for a rude awakening when the Lord returns.
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Matthew 13:33 (KJV) – “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” 
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This parable actually serves as confirmation for my new “Readiness Rapture Theory.”  It’s a brand new revelation, which reveals the three (3) rewards for believer’s as outlined in chapters 24 & 25 in Matthew.  If you’re interested in a theory that fills in the blanks or just going deeper in God’s Word, you can read about it here:

 

[wingnut-]

Good stuff rollin, a lot to consider in all of this, will get back to you when I've digested it all.  Look forward to the next installment.

God bless

[rollinTHUNDER]

1 hour ago, wingnut- said:

Good stuff rollin, a lot to consider in all of this, will get back to you when I've digested it all.  Look forward to the next installment.

God bless

Thanks wingnut,

This is way over most folks heads, I'm sure.  In fact, the Lord gave me a strange dream about that years ago.  But I won't get into that now.  Just be glad you weren't the one who had to try to explain this new theory to others.  My first attempt was a big mess.  Lots of scriptures but no clue how to connect them - lol. 

Cheers 

[wingnut-]

6 hours ago, rollinTHUNDER said:

Thanks wingnut,

This is way over most folks heads, I'm sure.  In fact, the Lord gave me a strange dream about that years ago.  But I won't get into that now.  Just be glad you weren't the one who had to try to explain this new theory to others.  My first attempt was a big mess.  Lots of scriptures but no clue how to connect them - lol. 

Cheers 

 

No problem brother, there is an awful lot to consider, so I want to digest it all a bit rather than poking holes in it.  I think you have a lot of great points in this, there are a few things I see as problematic, but I would rather take some time and make sure I am taking it all in first rather than confusing things with preconceived notions.  Naturally many will reject it, but that is not unusual when you threaten someone's security blanket.

I know what you mean about being glad I'm not the one trying to explain it, it is very hard for folks to clear their minds and look at something objectively.  That is why I will take my time and carefully consider everything before critiquing.  I look forward to future discussions though and any future installments you have to offer.

God bless

[rollinTHUNDER]

On ‎6‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 0:14 AM, wingnut- said:

 

No problem brother, there is an awful lot to consider, so I want to digest it all a bit rather than poking holes in it.  I think you have a lot of great points in this, there are a few things I see as problematic, but I would rather take some time and make sure I am taking it all in first rather than confusing things with preconceived notions.  Naturally many will reject it, but that is not unusual when you threaten someone's security blanket.

I know what you mean about being glad I'm not the one trying to explain it, it is very hard for folks to clear their minds and look at something objectively.  That is why I will take my time and carefully consider everything before critiquing.  I look forward to future discussions though and any future installments you have to offer.

God bless

Yep, there is quite a bit to chew on.  It took me a couple weeks to put it all together, which is actually pretty quick, I think, all things considered.

Cheers