#Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven

[trberman]

Part 2 | A Faithful Critique of "4 Reasons the Apostasy is a False Doctrine of Mormonism"

Introduction and Recap In the previous article – I critically examine a video by God Loves Mormons counter-cult ministry group produced and published to their YouTube channel. This video is titled “4 Reasons the Great Apostasy is a False Doctrine of Mormonism.” In my critique, I identify several logical fallacies Bradley Campbell employs: Begging the Question: The video assumes its…

[walkswithmyfather]

Matthew 21:43 (NIV). “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

“A Whole New World” by YouVersion:

“In the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus tells a story of a landowner who plants a vineyard, rents it to some farmers, and when the owner sends his servants to collect the fruit, the farmers strike them down.

When the owner sends his own son to collect, they even kill him, too.

And it leaves the owner with just one option: it’s time to pass along the land to some other farmers.

This parable reflects the rejection Jesus faced. The Son of God had come to a world meant to bear fruit for the kingdom, but instead, He found it barren. By week’s end, the Son Himself would be struck down.

Jesus’ words here are both a challenge and a comfort.

The challenge? Fruitfulness matters. God’s kingdom isn’t about titles, traditions, or appearances—it’s about producing the fruit of faith, justice, and love. If we’re not bearing fruit, we’re missing the point.

The comfort? Those who feel excluded or unworthy are invited to take part in the kingdom. Those who seem “last” are welcomed as “first.”

Holy Week reminds us that in Jesus, everything changes. The kingdom is for those willing to receive it and bear its fruit. That’s both a sobering call and a hopeful promise.

Prayer: God, thank You for inviting me into Your kingdom. Help me to live a life that bears fruit so I can honor You. Forgive me for the times I fall short, and guide me to embrace the challenge of producing fruit for Your glory. Thank You for Your grace. Amen.

Share your faith: Let's embrace the challenge to bear fruit-and the comfort that God's kingdom is open wide to all who will come.”

[consumer-of-m0ss]

Introduction

General Info:

Age- Under 18

Non-binary (He/They)

Asexual

Autistic

I probably won't post much. When I do it'll likely just be fandom related, rambling, or mmmaybe art I make if I ever get comfortable enough w/ my art to post it

Fandoms I'm In/Have Been In:

Ace Attorney Alien Stage Bendy and the Ink Machine Bungo Stray Dogs Bungo to Alchemist Cemetery Mary (and ArcadeKitten's other games) Cookie Run: Kingdom Doki Doki Literature Club EPIC: The Musical Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Gravity Falls Heaven Official’s Blessing Homicipher Honkai Star Rail Kirby Mob Psycho 100 Pokémon Project Sekai Project: Eden's Garden Spooky Month The Stanley Parable Undertale/Deltarune Vocaloid Wicked

Non-Fandom Interests/Special Interests(?) I have:

Anthropology Autism Greek Mythology History My OCs (Idk if that counts as fandom or not)

I think ppl tag their fandoms on intro posts??? If not sorry for being annoying

[kingdomoftheheavens]

A Grudge Imprisons All Parties to It

I've heard it preached that, when I hold a grudge, I hurt only myself. The other person is not affected. But this is simply false. My grudge always affects other people.

I’ve heard it preached that, when I hold a grudge, I hurt only myself. The other person is not affected. But this is simply false. As long as either of us is holding a grudge, we are both imprisoned in it, until the one holding the grudge releases it. Look at Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, which I will present one small chunk at a time: Then Peter came and said to…

[timothy-kang]

Gist of Immortal by Lex Meyer (vol.32)

"The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).

“The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). The Kindom of God was the subject of a large number of Yeshua’s teachings, and He explained it in parables to obscure the message. A parable is a short story and vision of life in God’s kingdom that teaches a lesson through comparison. So, the parable is called…

[stanthonywalnuttree]

Homily-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Galilee In today’s Gospel reading, we see Jesus taking a moment to teach his disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven. Like he did when he was preaching to the crowds earlier, he was speaking to them in parables. A parable was usually a short fictional story that illustrates a moral or spiritual truth. When Jesus was alone with his disciples, He was teaching them something more deeper, then…

[anxiousmimicrpgs]

And then for posterity's sake my 25 least played games as well (with bonus appearance from shadow of war)

(also not trying to yuck anyone's yum with these, I haven't played enough of them to actually have real opinions on most of them (except heaven will be mine which fucks hard))

Micro-review of my top 25 most-played games on steam:

1: "I hate this"

2: "I forgot this existed"

3: "I probably wouldn't recommend this or have mixed feelings on it"

4: "This was good and I enjoyed it"

5: "This raised my standards in some way"

6: "This is the best of the best"

7: "This game occupies my brain on a daily or weekly basis even when I'm not playing it"

[confusedraven1]

i absolutely love that jim is the one to keep the heart of stede’s crew alive while ed did everything he could to destroy it.

one of the first comments ed makes to stede’s crew in season 1 is “everyone’s covered in rope!” so what does jim do? literally covers themself in rope, to remind ed that, as long as they’re alive, that hope and love isn’t going anywhere.

not only that, but, in the bible, rope is a symbolism for trust and security. jim became a secure place for the crew to tie themselves to while just trying to stay alive.

of course, i then had to look into why they have a fishing net around their shoulders as well, and found The Fishing Net Parable from the Book of Matthew (13:47-52):

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”

“This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

jim amputates izzy’s leg, despite having never done it before. they quite literally separate him from the rotten bits to save his life.

jim says, “he was your friend.” they separate ed from who he was before from who he’s allowed himself to become, not to punish him, but to remind him of the consequences of his actions.

jim tells izzy point blank, “you’re in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard.” they aren’t trying to break them up; they’re just bringing to light whats true so things can (hopefully) get better.

jim shows archie that, just because pirating is normally done a certain way, doesn’t mean it has to—they separate archie from the toxic belief that “that’s just how things are, it’s just life,” and “why save him if he’s a dick?”

jim tries to separate the idea from the crew that ed is fine, because they immediately recognize that things are about to get much worse: “so, do we think he’s better?” “FUCK no!”

jim immediately says, “wasn’t the wedding thing a bit over the line?” they know they’re all pirates and have questionable morals anyway, but knows it was fucked up of them to massacre a wedding, an event that’s supposed to be joyful and full of life and beginnings, not death and destruction. they’re, again, dividing up the way things are vs. how they could (and should) be.

ed tries to pin them all dying on jim cause they wouldn’t kill archie, but they bite back with, “you would’ve done it anyway!” they know exactly where the lies are, and separates them from the truth, and ed can’t deny it.

jim separates themself (and olu) from the bounds of monogamy through their honesty. olu is still their best friend and lover and family even though they found and did things with someone else.

jim holds out their hand for olu to take when they’re escaping the red flag. olu’s interest in zheng yi sao isn’t bad and jim’s not trying to separate them, but is trying to keep together the things that are good: their family.

(later addition, edit) jim is also the one that “kills” ed. they’re the one to make that final choice, to say, “it’s you or us.” jim’s actions and choices entire first two episodes led them to that moment, like it was the “final judgment” of blackbeard.

jim is the rope and net of the crew. they’re trust and security and honesty, everything that stede was trying to get the crew to understand from day 1, everything stede is always trying to embody (and i dare say is starting to succeed at).

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Parables of a Butler

by PatronSaintOfGotham And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ Matthew, 13:10–15 One-shot. Alfred reflects on the Robins. Words: 4742, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (Webcomic), Robin: Son of Batman (Comics), The Batman (Cartoon 2004), Robin (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Nightwing (Web Series), Red Robin (Comics), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), DCeased (DC Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members (DCU), Tim Drake (DCU), Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Relationships: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Alfred Pennyworth, Batfamily Members & Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth & Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Jason Todd is Robin, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Tim Drake's Missing Spleen, Tim Drake Needs a Hug (DCU), Tim Drake is Robin (DCU), Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne Feels, Dick Grayson is Robin, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Hurt Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth is a Saint, POV Alfred Pennyworth, Awesome Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Robins are the Same Age (DCU), parables, Catholic Guilt, Catholicism, Catholic Imagery, Introspection, Personal Growth, Anthology, Jason Todd's Batarang Scar, Caring Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily is a Mess (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU) via https://ift.tt/qKhUkgP

[myremnantarmy]

𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐆𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

LK 21:29-33

Jesus told his disciples a parable.

“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.

When their buds burst open,

you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;

in the same way, when you see these things happening,

know that the Kingdom of God is near.

Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away

until all these things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.”

[diorslibrary]

the Bible has references of an alternate reality

the Bible references alternate realities, whether it is reference of another reality or references of a heavenly reality.

a lot of these references are to back up the factors of heaven and the afterlife, but nevertheless there are lots of mentions of alternate realities and multiple dimensions.

there is information on prayer and how you enter another dimension for communication with God.

The Bible offers several glimpses into "alternate realities," often through visions, dreams, and supernatural events that point to spiritual realms beyond what humans can see or comprehend.

Jesus’ Parables and Teachings on the Kingdom of God (e.g., Matthew 13:44-46, Mark 4:30-32)

Text: Jesus often used parables to describe the Kingdom of God as an alternate or hidden reality, one that transcends the present world and will be fully realized in the future.

Alternate Reality: The Kingdom of God is often described as a spiritual reality that operates differently from worldly systems and values. It is a kingdom that is "already" present but "not yet" fully revealed. Jesus speaks of this alternate realm where the divine will is perfectly realized and where earthly values are overturned.

Verse: "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." (Matthew 13:44)

^ this is one of the examples of a reference.

while there is speech on how reality shifting was a religious practice in the past, there is minimal information on what religion. was reality shifting a part of christianity? nobody knows.

however, do with this information what you will.

best regards

dior

[twiggy-in-pink]

Jesus also told them other parables. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!”

Matthew 22:1-3

[artandthebible]

The Parable of the Tares

Artist: John Everett Millais (English, 1829-1896)

Date: 1865

Medium: Oil painting

Collection: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares, is filled with spiritual significance and truth. But, in spite of the clear explanation of the parable that Jesus gave (Matthew 13:36-43), this parable is very often misinterpreted. Many commentaries and sermons have attempted to use this story as an illustration of the condition of the church, noting that there are both true believers (the wheat) and false professors (the weeds) in both the church at large and individual local churches. While this may be true, Jesus distinctly explains that the field is not the church; it is the world (v. 38).

Even if He hadn’t specifically told us the world is the setting of the story, it would still be obvious. The landowner tells the servants not to pull up the weeds in the field, but to leave them until the end of the age. If the field were the church, this command would directly contradict Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, which tells us how to deal with unrepentant sinners in the church: they are to be put out of the fellowship and treated as unbelievers. Jesus never instructed us to let impenitent sinners remain in our midst until the end of the age. So, Jesus is teaching here about “the kingdom of heaven” (v. 24) in the world.

In the explanation of parable, Christ declares that He Himself is the sower. He spreads His redeemed seed, true believers, in the field of the world. Through His grace, these Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). Their presence on earth is the reason the “kingdom of heaven” is like the field of the world. When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17), He meant the spiritual realm which exists on earth side by side with the realm of the evil one (1 John 5:19). When the kingdom of heaven comes to its fruition, heaven will be a reality and there will be no “weeds” among the “wheat.” But for now, both good and bad seeds mature in the world.

[prolifeproliberty]

Why does God allow evil to exist?

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭24‬-‭30‬ ‭NASB

“But God is perfect and all powerful, why can’t He get rid of the evil without harming the good?”

Because the evil isn’t just “bad people” among us. The evil is in our own sinful hearts. To get rid of evil, He would have to get rid of us too.

In our Baptism, in Confession and Absolution, in hearing the Gospel, and in Holy Communion, we receive the forgiveness of our sins won for us by Christ on the cross. But while we live here on earth, we still live with our sinfulness - though we are no longer slaves to it (Romans 6).

When Christ returns on the Last Day, then we can finally be resurrected in our glorified, perfected bodies and live with Him without sin and all its consequences. That will happen - just in God’s timing, not ours.

It may feel like we are waiting a long time and suffering under the weight of evil in this world, but when we are in the world without end, this life will seem like a distant memory, a blip compared to eternity.

Almighty, everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the Last Day we shall be raised in glory to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

[alasse-earfalas]

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. - Matthew 13:44-46 KJV

I was listening to this song about v. 44 above, and it struck me that the treasure the man found was far more valuable than the purchase price of the field. Selling "all that he had" was hardly a sacrifice for the man, compared with what he knew he would gain by buying that field. Likewise, when we give our all to the Lord, we find in time that the Lord gives us far more in return.

Unlike the man in the first parable, who happened upon his treasure, the merchant was actively searching for "goodly pearls". And he found one: a "pearl of great price". It was of such a high value that the merchant, like the man with the field, was willing to sacrifice all that he had in order to obtain it. No doubt he knew the value of pearls and had come across many already. No doubt he understood just how priceless this singular pearl was. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). Those who honestly seek the truth will find it, and will understand the eternal value of what they have found.

No matter how we come by the gospel of Jesus Christ, whether by happenstance or by diligent search, the same sacrifice is asked of each of us: "all that [we] have". But the return is far greater: eternal life in the presence of God.

That is why the kingdom of heaven is like the man and the merchant: because it is filled with those who understand this, filled with those who sacrificed all other treasures for the matchless gift to be there.

[nerdygaymormon]

Matthew 25:14-30 - Parable of the Talents

Jesus tells a parable that says the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a man going on a long trip. He calls together his servants and entrusts his money to them while he is gone. He gave five talents of silver to one servant, two talents of silver to another, and one talent of silver to the final servant—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

The servant who received the five talents of silver began to trade the money and earned five more talents. The servant with two bags of silver also went and earned two more. But the servant who received the one talent of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

After a long time, their master returned and he wants an accounting of the funds he left with them. The servant who was entrusted with five talents came forward to say he used it to gain an additional five talents. The master replied, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Let's celebrate together."

The servant who had the two talents came forward to say he had used it to earn two more talents. The master also congratulates him and invites him to celebrate together.

Then the servant with the one talent of silver said, "Master, I knew you were a harsh man as evidenced by you harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering straw you didn't set out to dry. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth to keep it safe. Here is your money back." The master calls this servant wicked and lazy and asks if you knew that I'm such a harsh man because I take profits I didn't work for, why didn't you deposit my money and at least earn some interest on it?" Then the master ordered the one talent of silver taken away from this servant and given to the servant with the ten talents.

The master goes on to say that those who use well what they are given, will be given even more, and they will have an abundance. But for those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Kingdom of Heaven is like this.

————————————————————

First thing we need to make clear in this story is that a talent of silver is a LARGE amount of money. Some scholars estimate a talent was worth 20 years of wages for the common worker. Let's imagine someone who earns $25,000/year today doing work like cleaning houses or doing yard work, using that comparison would make a single talent worth $500,000.

Right from the beginning, this story is not what we would expect, the master leaving huge amounts of money with his servants for them to manage on their own with no instructions or supervision.

It makes sense to us in a capitalist system that people use money to make money. An investor uses money to buy shares of a corporation and expects it to work to earn a profit and pay the investor a dividend. If the corporation doesn't make more wealth, then the investor will take their funds elsewhere. This is greed-driven, not a charity. This is how the master in the story operates, he uses his money to reap profits from others who do the work.

The servant who buried the money blames his master's ruthless craving for profits as the reason he didn't want to possibly lose the money and so he buried it. However, the master is not pleased because he has no profit and points out that depositing the funds at a bank and earning a low interest rate is low risk and at least earns some profit.

If this is what heaven is like, then God wants profitable servants, not excuses. There's many ways to use what God has given us. Success isn't rewarded with carefree living on the beach, instead you're given more responsibility.

————————————————————

I've heard this parable used in two ways. One is to say we are each to work as hard as we can because we know God is harsh and demanding. The word "talent" in the story means an amount of money but in English the word "talent" means an ability or aptitude, and thus many say that whatever natural talents we have, we must develop and use them for Jesus (like he's the investor and we're the corporation that has to earn a profit), or else!

Another interpretation is that this isn't about working as hard as you can and only then are you valuable to the Lord, instead this is actually about grace. The Lord gave them huge sums of money and no rules about how to use it, they are enabled to act. The one who gets called lazy and wicked is the one who didn't try new things, who doesn't take risks, who does nothing but hide what he was given. Even if we have a fear of risk, there's low-risk options for us, but we must do something, even if not everything works out.

Let's take our body as an example of something given to us. We only have the use of it during this mortal life, then God takes it back.

In the first interpretation, we must exercise hard and eat right and care for our body, make it into the best, most-healthy version of itself so that we can use on doing good works for the Lord. In the second interpretation, we are given a body and it's up to us to experiment with it in different ways and in that way grow, like trying different sports, training our hands to play a musical instrument, experiencing the pleasures of sex and the pain of injury, we are to take risks, even if some of those risks don't pay off, because that's how we grow.

————————————————————

What would be a queer interpretation of this story?

Telling queer people not to “act” on their queerness is akin to telling us to bury our talent and to go back to the Lord without doing anything with it.

Queer people are told to hide who they are. Gay, bi, and pan people have the capacity to love, but too often we're told we shouldn't, to bury that desire and instead return it unused to the Lord. Trans people are told not to explore their bodies and ways to change it to fit who they are on the inside, that God would rather we return our bodies unaltered and unexplored. This feels like the opposite of what this parable is teaching.

Also, we know Jesus uses the money in the story as a metaphor, elsewhere in the scriptures we're told accumulating riches is problematic, we're to use what money we have to help others. What would be examples of "investing talents" that God would view as profitable? How about helping queer people to overcome the shame they were taught? What about fighting for equity and justice for groups, like queer people, who are not treated fairly in our power structures?