Ah, Let’s Revisit This Topic, Too: Tares

I wrote this back in 2017 and had previously started the same one in 2012. I reread it and it has to be revised a little.

Because there is such apostasy and heretical compromise within the Body of Christ, it really needs to be addressed. People have become more consumed with politics, social networking and the mire of this world more than they are of Christ. There is laxness and compromise among Christians with the ways of this world. If we all don’t wake up soon, God will clean house. He will separate the wheat from the chaff. But first, let’s take a look at the original post.

What are Tares? Jesus spoke of tares but no one has really investigated it. If Jesus mentions something then it is important to pay attention.

Tares are also called darnel wheat, depending on the translation. In Matthew 13:25 Jesus tells the story of a man who sowed good seeds in his field and while everyone slept the enemy came along and sowed tares. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads so did the darnel appear. The servants of the man who sowed the good seed asked if he wanted them to pull out the darnel or tares which he said the enemy sowed. He said not to because the good wheat would get pulled out, too.

Jesus’ disciples later ask Jesus to explain the parable. He tells them that the one who sowed the good seed is Himself and the seeds are us, the sons and daughters of the Kingdom. The darnel wheat are the offspring of the evil one. He tells them how His angels are going to sort out the real wheat from the darnel wheat and throw the darnel into the fire.

What is the difference between darnel wheat and real wheat? Darnel wheat is a type of rye. The seed or fruit of the darnel wheat is not like the seed of real wheat. (“You shall know them by their fruit.”) They look exactly alike but only on the inside are they different. On the inside, they are corrupted. When darnel matures, then you see the difference.
In John 8:44 Jesus condemned the religious leaders of the day and tells them, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” So the religious leaders of the day back in Jesus’ time are an example of darnel wheat.

Okay now we come down to it. If the tares or darnel wheat are growing alongside the chosen of God, then it means that they are right there with us, blending in.

They are there to poison the flock and to defile the Body of Christ. And if one of them is disguised as a “minister of light” all the better because he has the potential to affect many. We live in very dangerous times. Darnel wheat is poisonous, too. It has a soporific poison. Soporific means to cause sleep, much like ten virgins that slept (Matt. 25). What lulled them? What darnel wheat were they partaking of that lulled them to sleep? Who were they listening to? What worldly ideas have seeped into the Body of Christ? Five woke up and trimmed their lamps while the others still dozed. Five realized they were in danger and got their act together. We live in extremely dangerous times and I cannot emphasize that enough.

We are also told to know someone by their fruits. That would be the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5: 22-23–“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” This is a very good rule of thumb because tares will not have these fruits or they will try to fake them. Tares will also exhibit sins that should never be tolerated like lying, twisting the truth, engaging believers in topics to such a degree that God is no where in sight. They don’t care. Confront them on anything and they will lash out at you with much venom. The peaceful, God-centered atmosphere of the church becomes toxic and unsafe. Left unchecked, they will poison the whole congregation because that is what satan has sent them to do. Rest assured that their activities outside of church are far from Christian. They live by their own set of rules. It is going to get worse as time advances. And stop making excuses for them or giving them the “benefit of the doubt”. That’s like trying to play nice with the devil. Are you nuts? They are narcissistic manipulators who excel in gas-lighting others.

Some years ago, I was sitting with my son, David, in a Christian bookstore. Being a pastor he has access to more resource material than I am. He said to me that there are Christians who will accept the mark of the beast rather than suffer persecution. That is within this society because other devout Christians in other countries are suffering great persecution and being decapitated, raped and killed in the name of Jesus. His statement alarmed me because I then realized that the condition of the church was much worse than I thought. God is standing by watching this. They know better but still want to play in the mud, like errant children gone astray. Yet, at the same time, put on the cloak of respectability in front of others. Yes, we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. We must go to God in sincere repentance and want to change. It is never too late to get on track. We, as Christians, need to be praying for the entire Body of Christ to wake up before it is too late. Yes, we also need to pray for those not converted but our first priority is our own brothers and sisters in the faith. Those who have been duped by satan and made weak must turn from their ways and seek God again.

We need a huge spiritual revival in this country and in any country in the free world. Put on the whole armor of God and take a stand. This is my prayer for my brethren; that they wake up, kick the devil out of their lives and become a fierce and unstoppable army in the Hands of our Almighty God. Then the Gospel of Jesus Christ will go forth like a wild fire; the likes of which would make the apostles stand up and cheer. Amen!