The tares are revealed in Matthew 13. People have wondered who they are since it was written, and I know some of you have wondered if you are a tare. Let's find out.

PARABLE OF THE TARES

Matthew 13:24-30.

24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27.So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29.But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30.Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

What is the tare plant to which Jesus is comparing?

The Greek word translated tares here is zizanion which is the darnel plant (Lolium temulentum) and it is called zuwan by the Arabs today. It looks very similar to wheat before it matures, but after it comes into ear it is easily recognizable and can be separated from the wheat. The black seeds of the darnel are poisonous and if eaten can cause convulsions and sometimes even death, so the analogy of these plants to an evil group of people is appropriate. To the unwary eye they grow unnoticed among the good plants and seem to be one of them.

Incidentally, the color of the seeds has no relationship whatsoever to skin color of any person, or persons.

Let's digress for a moment. Why did Jesus speak to the crowds in parables?

Matthew 13:34-35

34. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Mark 4:10-12

10. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

Read the above verses again. Did you catch it? The crowds were given parables so they would not understand. Why? In view of the fact that Christ came to ultimately save the entire world He had a very good reason for doing this. I believe it was for their own protection. Their time for understanding and salvation will be during the great harvest of the Millenium.

Note that only to his faithful disciples would He give understanding of the parables.

Now, back to the tares.

ORIGIN OF THE TARES

Matthew 13:36-43

36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the

reapers are the angels.

The tares are the children (offspring, literally, genetically) of the devil!

Don't believe it? Listen, there are too many scriptures that indicate that Lucifer (Satan, the devil, the serpent, the dragon, Apollyon, Abbadon, etc.) has offspring.

It started in the garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1-7

1. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they

sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

The above verses describe the father of liars seducing Eve. She did not literally eat a piece of fruit hanging on a fruit tree. God gave us fruit to eat because it is good for us in our diet. This was no apple tree she ate of and shame on those who teach that falsehood. How can an apple contain knowledge of good and evil?

She was seduced mentally and physically by Lucifer who had developed the art of seduction to the ultimate. Thousands of years before this he had fully convinced one-third of the souls in heaven to rebel against God (Rev. 12:4). You can read more about this dazzling creature in Ezekiel, chapter 28. When God made him He used the full measure.

Eve was like putty in his hands but she should have known better. You can be very sure that the Creator had instructed all the people when He had created them about everything essential to their well being especially concerning Lucifer (Satan, the devil, the serpent, the dragon, etc.).

It seems reasonable that Eve would desire him in a carnal sense because of his great beauty. Yet, to make the seduction work he had to convince her that God was the liar. He has a magnificent way of skewing the truth just enough to pervert it while making it seem so righteous and wonderful. The world today is totally enraptured with his lies.

Adam and Eve had to know already that they were created for a special purpose. A Redeemer for all mankind would come through their offspring. This is where Lucifer possibly got to Eve, by convincing her that she would produce the Savior if they coupled. Whatever he said to her, she obviously bought it.

Notice the word touch in verse 3. It is No. 5060 in the Hebrew Dictionary of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. It is naga, and it means to touch, to lay the hand upon, or to lie with a woman!

He was the forbidden fruit and she was not to naga him, touch him, lie with him. He convinced her that God was deceiving her and that she should lie with him.

Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I

have gotten a man from the LORD.

Read that last clause again. The Hebrew transliterated is, qanah ish eth Yahweh, which could be translated, (I) have acquired a man, even Yahweh. Did Eve think that the child she just gave birth to was the promised Savior? If so, she certainly didn't get one. She got Cain, son of the devil himself. The very personification of evil in the flesh, totally opposite of a Redeemer. Cain means acquisition, or possession.

1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

Cain has children and they are with us today.

Well, how did they survive the flood? That's a fair question. Relatively little is known about the flood during Noah's time except what men have assumed to be true from the book of Genesis. The story concerning the flood of Noah is too large to address in this lesson, so I will cover it in another lesson later. I will simply tell you here that only the direct descendents of Adam and Eve were fatally affected by that flood. It most likely took place in what is called the Tarim Basin in central Asia. The oriental people who lived east of the basin were also affected by flooding for years after due to the waters draining out of the basin but not catastrophically.

Cain's descendents were unaffected by the flood because they did not live in the basin. Cain was driven out, remember? He went and lived in the land of Nod east of Eden..

TRACING THE TARES THROUGH TIME

We have to start with Cain, their human father (approx. 3800-4000 BC).

Please read chapter 4 of Genesis at this time.

Now, if you have finished reading chapter 4 you should recall these things. After Cain killed Abel God cursed him with respect to farming. The ground would not produce a living for Cain and his descendents. Cain was very distraught because he was a tiller of the ground. He complained that everyone would try to kill him if he was forced out on his own. God promised him that anyone killing him (or his descendents), would pay sevenfold for doing so. Remember that number.

Genesis 4:15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

You will also remember that seven generations of Cain's progeny are listed. Why? To reveal that he is not Adam's son by giving him a separate geneological record.

In chapter 5 you will find Adam's lineage and Cain is not there. Why? Because he was not Adam's son. He was the son of Lucifer!

What's that you say? Abel isn't mentioned either?

That's right. He isn't, and it's because Abel had no children. He was murdered by Cain before he could have any. Seth essentially took Abel's place in the line of Christ's ancestors. Seth means substitution or compensation.

Note the characteristics or talents of Cain's descendents as they are shown in chapter 4. They can't raise crops but they can have herds. They are excellent metalworkers, and likewise as musicians. Look for these characteristics today because they are still there. Their original father, Lucifer, possesses great musical talent and is extremely intelligent.

Ezekiel 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from

thee: Lucifer is the greatest pretender (actor) the world has ever known. He passed it on and his children today. In fact, they excel in everything that they do.

They are present in Abraham's time (approx. 1800-2000 BC).

Genesis 15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

Why are they called Kenites? It means, the descendents of Cain. See Nos.7014 and 7017 in the Hebrew Dictionary of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.

They are present when Israel is moving into the promised land (approx. 1300-1500 BC).

Numbers 24:21 And he (Balaam) looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

That rock is Satan, the fake rock, the Jesus pretender.

Please read chapter 9 of the book of Joshua.

This is where their cunning minds outsmarted the children of Israel. Here they are called the Gibeonites even though four cities are mentioned. They so thoroughly duped the Israelites that they made them swear to an agreement that Israel would not harm them.

So, Joshua placed them doing the manual chores that took place in God's tabernacle. They were given the menial jobs that the Levites and priests didn't like to perform. So, in effect, they are now working directly for the priests who serve God in His holy tabernacle.

We find them mentioned in Saul and David's time (approx. 1000 BC).

1 Samuel 15:6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

Here Saul is sparing them probably because of the agreement that Joshua had made with them in chapter 9 of the book of Joshua, but look what he did later. Saul couldn't take the temptation any longer and he killed at least some of the inhabitants of Gibeon thinking he was doing Israel a favor. This same scenario regarding the descendents of Cain has been replayed over and over again throughout history. You can be sure that the perpitrators were severely punished each time.

Please read chapter 21 of 2 Samuel. This is many years after Saul's death.

Look at the consequences that Israel had to pay for what Saul did. Now, remember how I told you to remember that number seven earlier? How many were hanged of the house of Saul? Yes, seven! God kept his promise to Cain.

But how many Israelites died because of the three year famine? Who knows, because this information is not recorded, but somehow I feel very comfortable saying that it would be at least seven times the number of Gibeonites that Saul killed.

God made an additional promise to some of the descendents of Cain (approx. 500 BC)

Jeremiah 35:18-19

And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

Consider this! What does it mean to stand before me? Does it mean to simply be alive on the earth, or can it infer a position of service before God, in temples, synagogues and churches? Remember how they started out? They were assigned the duties of the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Levites by Joshua, so they were already doing work before God. Keep this in mind as we continue. This promise was made to the house of the Rechabites at approximately 500 B.C.

1 Chronicles 2:55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

See how some of the Kenites (descendents of Cain, tares) and the house of Rechab are tied together. It is critical for your understanding as to who the tares are today that you commit to memory, and never forget, where they are placed in the census of Ezra (approx. 400 BC).

Go back up to 1 Chronicles 2:3 now and see where they are included. Among the descendents of JUDAH, and they now hold high, respected positions as scribes. Ezra is very carefully recording all of the Babylonian captives returning back to Jerusalem and the surrounding area. This is happening approximately 410-400 B.C.

Rechab, incidentally, was a murderer just like his father Cain. Read 2 Samuel, chapter 4.

They were very much in evidence in Christ's time (approx. 30 AD).

John 8:38-45

38. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

40. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

41. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

42. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

43. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

It is at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles and Jesus was speaking in the Temple to a mixed crowd. The Kenites in the crowd were claiming that all present were descendents of Abraham and Jesus was calling them liars. He clearly identified who they were and who their father was in these verses.

Notice verse 41. Why did they say this about fornication? They were very much aware of what happened in the Garden between Lucifer and Eve and who Cain's father was. Some teach that they are accusing Christ of being a bastard due to His conception within Mary before she and Joseph were married. Read it again. It is very clear that they are referring to themselves, not Him.

Matthew 2:4 And when he (Herod) had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

The chief priests were not of the tribe of Levi as they should have been, but were appointed by the Romans. The kings (Herods) were Idumeans (Edomites, descendents of Esau) and were also appointed by Rome. At least some, if not most, of the scribes were Kenites.

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Look at who the scribes are included with now. Not just the priests, but the chief priests. If you know anything about the gospels of the New Testament you also know that the scribes were among the chief antagonists of Jesus of Nazareth.

The scribes were among the ringleaders who condemned Jesus Christ to death and

delivered Him to the Romans.

Matthew 20:18-19 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Not long before He is delivered up He strongly condemns those who have perverted God's word and have replaced God's law with their traditions. Read chapter 23 of the book of Matthew.

Notice that Christ now places the scribes ahead of the Pharisees in his address.

WHERE ARE THEY TODAY?

Daniel 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

Read Daniel 7 now while paying attention to the animal types given. In order to fully explain the tares in Daniel 7:6 it is necessary to cover all the beasts mentioned and to

identify them also.

The first beast is Jacob or Israel. Notice the lion with eagles wings. The nations of Europe today and their related people, especially including the old British Commonwealth nations and the United States. Whose national symbols are the lion and the eagle today? There were twelve tribes, or nations, which sprang out of Jacob. What do you think happened to them? They numbered two to three million when they left Egypt 3,500 years ago. They number in the hundreds of millions today. Surely you have heard of the lost tribes of Israel. NATO is their military arm.

The second beast is Jacob's brother Esau, who is also called Edom (Genesis 36:8).

Notice the bear. Edom means red (Strong's No. 123). Who are the reds today? This is Russia and her related people, Belarus, The Ukraine, et al. They also number in the hundreds of millions today. Their military arm was the Warsaw Pact.

The third beast is Cain's offspring, or the Kenites. They are the tares mentioned in Matthew 13.

Notice the leopard. They sprang from Cain and for now they have been given dominion, or control, in order to do their father's work. For now, they sit in the catbird's seat watching over western civilization, and to some extent, the entire world.

The fourth beast is different from the first three beasts in that it is not a specific group of people. It is a system containing the first three beasts plus other people of the earth. In modern parlance, it is the New World Order and it is rising up out of our western civilization even now as I write this.

Notice that it contains the lion, the bear and the leopard and that it is different (diverse) from the first three beasts.

This fourth beast in Daniel is the political beast rising up out of the sea in Revelation.

Revelation 13:1-2 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

This beast, or system, will rise from within the first three beasts and is the brainchild of the offspring of Lucifer, the tares. It is the final attempt by them and their father to obtain absolute control over all things, but it will ultimately fail after a short time.

They are in our churches. Take time to read the short book of Jude.

Revelation 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

They claim to be something that they are not. Like their father, they are magnificent liars.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

What will be their end?

Matthew 13:40-43

40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Can a tare repent and inherit eternal life?

Of course! Salvation is offered to all. If they repent and truly begin to serve God then they become His children and are no longer children of the devil. God is very just and fair.

Christ loves all people especially when they are willing to change and repent. He walked many miles (up to 50 miles one way) to heal the daughter of a woman in Sidon. She was a tare, but one who had faith in Him and she was humble. The evidence that I see in these verses tells me that she was a convert to Jesus Christ forever. Through her faith she and her daughter were delivered from a life of misery. He put forth a lot of effort and time to do this miracle for her showing us that His hand is extended to all who are willing. Read of it in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30.

Still wondering if you are a tare?

Chances are very high that you are not. There are not that many of them when you compare them numerically to the rest of the world's population. But you could be a tare wannabe and adherent by loving this present world. They are the ones who have, over long periods of time, set up and sustain the present world order with the help of their father, especially our western civilization. Remember that they have been given dominion.

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. f any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: