PARABLES OF THE BIBLE :

Jesus was speaking to the people who had just told him about the tragic deaths that had occurred. He states that unless they repent, they too shall perish. In the Bible, to repent means to repent of your sins. Those who are saved know this is true, this passage and all of the Bible is really talking to all mankind. Jesus wasn't just talking to those people back then, he also had you and me in mind too. But does that mean we too shall die like these people if we sin? Why is this passage in the Bible? How does it apply to us now?

If you take the time to read this passage a bit more closely and compare it to other passages in the Bible, some very interesting things that you may have overlooked will become more apparent.

In verse 1, Jesus is told about a group of Galilaeans who died at Pilate's hand. They had their blood mingled with their own sacrifice. What sacrifice was that? And why would Pilate shed their blood? I have found that God uses Pilate, in the Bible, as a type or figure of God Himself. Please note that Pilate condemned Jesus to the cross. The cross points to damnation and salvation. At the cross Christ suffered eternal damnation in Hell in the place of those who would become saved. Only God can put someone in Hell, God the Judge (Heb 12:23, 2 Tim 4:1). Pilate, had authority in the earthly sense to condemn a prisoner to death, this is a spiritual picture of God punishing Christ in our stead (God uses the literal death sentence imposed here as a parable). Christ went to Hell to pay for our sins, a picture of what will happen to the unsaved on Judgement Day.

Zep 1:14-18 shows us a picture of Judgement Day. God pours out the blood of the unsaved, nothing can deliver them in that day. He talks about shedding the blood of the unsaved figuratively here. It is a parable pointing to the fact that they rejected Christ as the sacrifice for their sins so they now will pay the penalty of Hell becoming their own sacrifice. The sacrifices of the OT were a picture of Christ becoming the lamb for us. An animal was used in the place of the person offering it for his sins. Christ is the substitute for us, he becomes the sacrifice not us. Whenever you read about a sacrifice being offered, think of Christ and his taking your place to cover your sins.

Now look at Isaiah 63:1-6, God gives us a bit more insight here. Can someone be righteous in their own self? Can their covering (apparel) be as good as Christ's (Isa 61:10 garments of salvation)? The answer is no. It will be their blood sprinkled/shed on Judgement Day. It is Christ who sheds their blood, it covers his garments as he stands as the high priest. It was the OT priest who shed the blood of the animals he sacrificed. Either you have Christ as the substitute for your sins, he pays the penalty of Hell for you, or you are the one killed figuratively. The death applied here is how God views eternal damnation, to be removed from His love is as death itself. We may say that someone's life is miserable, "that's not living" we might say. What we mean is that, that persons "life" isn't worth living. Perhaps they are paraplegic and confined to life in a wheelchair, they're alive, but we'd call their life a living death, this is an idea of what Hell is like, you're alive but you'll be in misery for all eternity to put it mildly.

As opposed to misery and death, salvation has life and great joy, the true Gospel runs with the truth and has a direction, one that God gives it. Look at Rom 10:15, Isa 52:7, Ph'p 2:16, Pro 4:12, Hab 2:2, once God opens your eyes to the Gospel, you run with it to others in need of salvation. You have the Gospel, life eternal for those who are close to eternal death.

Mark 6:55 is an account of Jesus coming to the people in Bethsaida. Once it is known he is there, they "run" to bring the (sin) sick to him! The boat represents the churches that God uses to send forth the Gospel as they sail the sea of humanity. The apostles were fishermen and they came to "Bethsaida" which we would translate into English as "fish house".

What did Jesus clearly say to us about those who we bring the Gospel to? Read Mt 4:18, 19 and compare that to Mt 13:47-50. If the net is cast into the sea to gather fish, then to cast a net to gather people means to cast it into the world. The sea represents the world and fish refers to people, the boat is the church universal.

Eph 1:7, his blood was shed, he died on the cross and God is telling us that this is how we were redeemed. Jesus' blood was shed in my place. Upon death he went to Hell and paid the penalty for my sins so I will not have to.

Col 1:14, redemption through his shed blood. Rev 1:5, he washed away our sins, his blood was shed instead. Rev 5:9, the same message. He is slain, not us, he stood in our place and redeemed us by his sacrifice. The word slain used here is very important, it will tie in later with our study about the people in Luke 13 who died when the tower slew them.

Rev 7:14, their salvation comes from the Lord's shed blood, his death saves them. Rev 14:19, 20, God keeps showing us that when blood is shed in reference to sin, it is the payment of such. If Christ's blood was shed for you, your payment is fulfilled in his atonement. If you however have your blood shed, then it means you are paying for your own sins.

In Lu 13 Jesus is very clear in verse 2 when He asks, do you think these were greater sinners than others in Galilee? Of course we know the answer is no, they were not. Sin is sin no matter who commits it. (However, God teaches us in the Bible that the more sins you commit, the greater your punishment. The servant that knows his master's will and doesn't do it, is more severely punished then the one who doesn't, Lu 12:47, 48. If you owe a debt of $100 dollars, it will be paid more quickly then one of $1000 dollars if your income were the same in both cases. But the greater debt will require more effort on your part to pay off. However, we cannot pay enough to get out of hell once we are placed in it, only Christ could go in and come back out, we cannot).

"I tell you no, but except you repent, you shall all likewise perish". Sin is sin no matter who commits it. Jesus is warning us here that everyone will eventually die and then your fate is sealed for all eternity. Those who are saved by Christ will not perish in hell. Jn 3:15 is one verse that states this is so. Jn 10:26-28, 1 Cor 1:18, Deu 8:19, Ps 1:6 are just a few passages that mention the unsaved perishing.

The word perish used here is also found in John 3:15, 16, 1 Cor 1:18, 2 Cor 2:15 (the Greek word translated as perish is #622 in Strong's Concordance). This word is also translated as lost in Luke 15:4, 6, 9, 24, 32 and 19:10. To be lost is to be unsaved. If we perish in hell, it will only be because of our sins.

So we clearly see how God can say that no one is any worse or any better than anyone else. We are all sinners and are perishing, in that everyday we commit yet more sins and as we get older we come that much closer to physical death which will send us to hell to pay for all those sins.

But notice how Jesus seems to repeat the theme in the next few verses. People die, they are sinners, but no worse than anyone else. You too will perish unless you repent. While I can understand how God meant that He will shed our blood for our sins and Pilate was a type or figure of God doing so, since Pilate was the judge here; something different stood out this time. Indeed, notice the very next verse, He spake also this parable. The Bible is telling us that Jesus was speaking in parables. He often did this and it fulfilled scriptures (Mt 13:34, 35). Read Ps 78:2 which refers to the Psalm itself. All of the things mentioned happened, the history told here is very real but it is told as a parable. These things literally happened, a history lesson concerning Israel but God says they are also parables.

In the first instance, God calls them Galilaeans. And in Mt 4:15 He uses the term "Galilee of the Gentiles". A Gentile was someone outside the congregation of Israel. In the spiritual picture, Israel represents the redeemed while the Gentiles are a picture of the unsaved in the world. The prophesy in Mt 4 is pointing to the fact that salvation would come to all peoples of the earth and this was fulfilled when Christ told the disciples to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel, Mt 28:19 bears this out, teach all nations. So Christ's first announcement concerning sin in Lu 13 dealt with all people, he tells us that everyone is a sinner and needs repentance. But in verse 4 he now asks, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? Jerusalem is a picture of the church.

In Rev 21:2 we read about a heavenly Jerusalem, and it is now coming to the new Earth (after Judgement Day), it is described as a bride. God calls the church His bride in Eph 5:22-33, "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church". Christ is called the groom by John the Baptist in Jn 3:27-30. In 1 Cor 10 and 11 Paul speaks to the church and calls it the wife of Christ in 11:2. God is giving us yet another view concerning salvation in Lu 13:4, 5. Just because you are in a church do not think you are exempt from going to Hell. Unless you are saved by God, even if you are a "member" in a church (anyone can join, but only those who are saved become the bride), you must pay for your own sins. There is no partiality with God (Rom 2:11, Act 10:34, Eph 6:9), even your Pastor must be saved or he will go to Hell on Judgement Day.

In verse 3 God uses the word likewise, #5615 from Strong's, it is translated as: even so, likewise, after the same (in like) manner. It can be found in the following passages as one of the above:

Mt 20:5, Mt 21:30, Mt 21:36, Mt 25:17, Lu 22:20, 1 Tim 3:8, 1 Tim 3:11, 1 Tim 5:25, Tit 2:3, Tit 2:6 and Lu 20:31

The above verses tell us that it means "in like" fashion. "Be like Christ" could be one example, or "the child is just like his father". We understand what is being said in verse 3, when Christ warns us we too are sinners and will also perish, we must repent.

But in verse 4 God chose another Greek word for likewise. It is #3668 in Strong's Concordance. We find its' usage in the following places:

Mt 22:26, Mt 26:35, Mt 27:41, Lu 3:11, Lu 6:31, Lu 10:32, Lu 10:37, and Lu 17:28

It conveys a very different meaning and Mt 22:26 is an excellent example. Verse 25 sets the stage for the following verses. They all married her and all died, nothing changed, exactly the "same fashion".

Luke 6:31 says the same thing: in the exact same way. This word is different from something similar, which is what the first word "likewise" means in verse 3. The idea is "just as a tower fell on them, so will a tower fall on you". In the exact same manner, a tower will kill you.

What must have those people thought about that statement? Would a tower literally fall on them also? But God has something to say about towers in the Bible, remember this is a parable.

In Ps 18:2 we read The LORD is my rock...and my high tower. Ps 61:3, For thou (God) hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy. Ps 144:1, 2, Blessed be the LORD...My goodness, and my high tower. Proverbs 18:10, The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Micah 4:8, And thou, O tower of the flock. 1 Sam 22:1-3, And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies (Ps 61:3 enemies)...The LORD is my rock, and my fortress...my high tower and my refuge, my saviour. 2 Sam 22:51, He is the tower of salvation.

In J'g 9 we read about Abimelech and his murderous ways. At one point the people he seeks to kill take refuge in a stronghold, verses 46 and 47, verse 46 tells us their tower is in Shechem. They have a different god than the LORD. Their god is Berith which in Hebrew means, a covenant by the passing between pieces of flesh, similar to the one God made with Abram in Genesis 15:17 (the false gospel mirrors the true gospel). Their tower/stronghold is burnt down and they all perish, a picture of Judgement Day, their god could not save them. But when Abimelech comes to Thebez which means "whiteness" (as in purity from sin). He comes to a "strong tower". The word strong means mighty. Remember Ps 61:3 and Pro 18:10 where God says He is the Strong Tower.

This time we find the righteous seeking refuge in God the Tower of their strength. Abimelech again tries to destroy the tower but God destroys Abimelech (a rock fell on him). The people who took refuge in God were saved from their enemies. You'll notice that the wording seems to indicate that Abimelech fought "against the tower and its' door", not the people. (Christ is the "door", Satan is fighting against Christ, but the door protects us from harm, no one can enter through the door unless God wills it to be so). It was God who protected them from harm. Those who seek refuge in God are protected by Him. Satan cannot destroy God, there is no way he can get at us if God protects us. It is Satan who ultimately is destroyed, remember that God is The Rock.

Let's look at towers a bit more in depth. God is the tower of our strength, He is the one we run to for refuge, we seek shelter from harm in a tower. Towers are built of rock, God is The Rock (Ps 18:2). God the Tower we run to for shelter, protects us from God the Judge who is the enemy (Isa 63:10, Lam 2:4, 5). Remember that it was God who poured out His wrath on Christ, as he stood in our place. We are hid in Christ (Col 3:3) and safe, just like those who seek shelter in a tower.

But God is also the Judging Tower. In 1 Sam 2:10 we read that the unsaved will be broken in pieces, God will thunder down upon them as the Judge. In 1 Sam 7:10, Samuel defeats the Philistines because God thunders from Heaven and brings about their destruction. In Mt 21:44 we read that those who fall on the rock are broken (spiritually) by it. But those whom the rock falls on are destroyed by it (the tower falls on you, Christ the rock falls on you). It certainly seems as if God is using the same theme, Christ the rock crushing you is the same as God the Tower falling on you.

The Hebrew word for tower in our study is translated as defence in Psalm 59:9, 16, 17; 62:2, 6; 94:22 and Isa 33:16. It is translated as refuge in Ps 9:9, 9; 46:7, 11 and 48:3. We can substitute "tower" for any of the above and the meaning is still the same. God tells us that He has many names but He also has many attributes. He is the Protector, He is the Judge, as the Tower He does both. A two-edged sword.

Why does God double up the thought. We must realize God does this to over-emphasize the meaning, to make it very obvious to us. There really is a Hell and there really is a Judgement Day. In Gen 41:32 we read, "And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass." The Bible is teaching us that if something is doubled, it will come to pass, Judgement Day is certain. Remember even Jesus would say "verily, verily" (truly, truly), he said it twice, it will come to pass.

What is the theme of the doubling? Repentance. If we follow through on Christ's words, only those who do not repent will die (the second death which is hell for all eternity, Rev 20:14, 15). Both times that Jesus warns the people of impending death, He mentions repentance as the only means to avoid it. This thought is worth mentioning again. The whole passage deals with only 2 themes, people and their sins and the need to repent of sin. Death stalks the sinner.

And stalk is a very good word in light of what I see in verse 4. Here it states the tower "killed" them. That's an interesting thought. The word slew used in verse 4 is the Greek word listed as #615 in Strong's Concordance. It is translated as, put to death, kill, slay. The tower is God as Judge, He will slay the unsaved. It doesn't simply say they died in vs. 4 but that the tower fell and slew them. To me it sounds like God is clearly saying the tower actively sought, and killed them.

But while we are looking at the unsaved within the church body in verses 3-5, we should also look a bit closer at verses 1 & 2. Remember I asked, what type of sacrifice did they offer? Think about this, God says that Christ was offered as the lamb (Heb 10:10-12, 9:26; Jn 1:29), a sin offering. His fragrance was a sweet savour (Eph 5:2) to God as he paid for my sins. But the unsaved are offering their own sacrifice and God abhors this. Their blood eventually will be shed as the sacrifice to pay for their sins. Just as the Old Testament believers offered sacrifices which were an allegory of Christ being offered as a sacrifice, we too have that same offering for our sins, which is Christ.

Let me say the above thought again. Those Old Testament animals were sacrificed by having their blood shed which simply means they died. Christ showed us at the cross what the OT allegory of animal sacrifices pointed to. To have your blood shed is a picture of being a human sacrifice to pay for your own sins. Christ's sacrifice on the cross (Heb 9:25, 26, 28) is a picture of the OT lambs being killed (sacrificed) in place of the humans who offered them. He was killed for you and me. If you do not have him as your substitute, then you must be killed (sacrificed) instead. Sin must be accounted for. Hell never ends though, Rev 20:15, Mr 9:43, the fire burns the sacrifice (the unsaved) forever.

Therefore the sacrifice of the unsaved is literally their own sacrifice, God sheds their blood as the offering, literally we all die, God cursed all mankind with physical death. This curse fulfills the "shedding of blood" that God requires. Sometimes spiritual things are very hard to see but in this case, to have one's blood shed means he has died, his physical life is over, he now has entered eternity. Spiritually God tells us that Hell is like a fire, a fire that will "burn the unsaved as a sacrifice" for all eternity. The life that the unsaved lead is, in their eyes, good enough to please God, it is their sacrifice to Him. He finds them wanting on Judgement Day and sheds their blood in the form of eternal damnation, they literally become their own sacrifice for all eternity paying for their own sins.

Either way, whether we are unsaved and in a church or perhaps we are saved and worshipping only at home, whether we believe in God or have created our own god; God the Tower who is a refuge for the saved as He pays for their sins, will be God the Judge as He falls upon the unsaved and kills them with eternal damnation. The verse says it well, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.

Mt 11:28-30
Mt 28:18, 19

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