The Parable of the Vineyard
The LORD’s parable of the vineyard was spoken thru the Prophet Isaiah as recorded in Chapter 5 of this prophetic book. This parable speaks to God’s great love and His righteous judgments upon His own people. It is a parable for today that speaks to how and why the end comes about. The purpose of this post is to call your attention to this great parable and to convey the deep and prophetic meanings it conveys to God’s people today.
ACTS 13:40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you. Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish!
I believe if you study this parable, you will learn much about the truth and God’s plan for redemption and judgment for His people. This is from the NKJV Bible.
ISAIAH 5: The Parable of the Vineyard
Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: The vineyard of Jesus Christ!
My Well-beloved has a vineyard
On a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, (Jesus replaces hearts of stone)
And planted it with the choicest vine. (We abide in the vine, Jesus our LORD)
He built a tower in its midst, (God appoints watchmen and shepherds to guard sheep)
And also made a winepress in it; (a winepress is for judgment and discipline of sin)
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, (branches that abide in Jesus bear good fruit)
But it brought forth wild grapes. (But the rebellious people did not walk in covenant)
3 “ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, (this is to us, spiritual Israel)
Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. (we get to choose whom we shall serve daily)
4 What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in it? (God has done it all, Jesus finished it, we need to follow Him)
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes? (It is because of rebellion, they did not want pay the price)
5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: (God judges His people)
I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; (do not keep covenant = no protection)
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down (Judgment begins at the God’s house)
6 I will lay it waste;
It shall not be pruned or dug, (if we do not receive discipline, pruning, we are not sons)
But there shall come up briers and thorns. (bad fruit is brought forth by the enemy)
I will also command the clouds (the powers of darkness are sent to judge sin)
That they rain no rain on it.” (the holy spirit departs, there is a famine of the WORD)
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, (This speaks to God’s people)
And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; (religion oppresses the poor, makes widows)
For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. (spiritual earthquakes and distress in the land)
8 Woe to those who join house to house; (woe to those who build church, make up religion)
They add field to field, (build bigger churches, larger assemblies all in the name of God)
Till there is no place (church becomes a burden of activities, not meditation and prayer)
Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! (no place left for intimacy with God)
9 In my hearing the LORD of hosts said,
“ Truly, many houses shall be desolate, (God makes these churches desolate w/o the Spirit)
Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant. (the true saints awaken and flee Babylon)
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, (VERY FEW FIND THE NARROW GATE)
And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.” (the escaped remnant shall be saved on Zion)
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, (speaking about lovers of man’s religion)
That they may follow intoxicating drink; (pursue the sweet wine of Babylon, false doctrines)
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them! ( ears are tickled, pervert grace into sin)
12 The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute, (the false church is all about the music and the entertainment)
And wine are in their feasts (a false gospel that cuts out fear and judgment)
But they do not regard the work of the LORD, (they deny the power of Christ to change them into a new creation that ceases from the practice of sin)
Nor consider the operation of His hands. (they do not follow the Holy Spirit)
13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity, (this religion makes them captive to the powers of darkness. They are in bondage to sin and the lies of the enemy)
Because they have no knowledge; (without the fear of the Lord, there is no knowledge)
Their honorable men are famished, (the priests and leaders are starved for the true word of God and real knowledge of the LORD JESUS)
And their multitude dried up with thirst. (the congregations spiritually die from thirst and the total lack of the Holy Spirit)
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself (hell is getting bigger, its appetite is insatiable)
And opened its mouth beyond measure; (the broad road that leads to destruction)
Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, (they exalt themselves in their false peace and security)
And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. (their worldly joy tricks them and they are destroyed in the end. The joy and laughter never turn to mourning and gloom over their sin)
15 People shall be brought down,
Each man shall be humbled, (God will cut them down with the tree cutters, the powers of darkness)
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. (chop down the tree says God)
16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, (God will be exalted in His judgments which are righteous and true)
And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, (those that pursue holiness are fed by God)
And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. (the enemy devours the fat ones that have gobbled the leavened bread and sweet wine of the apostate Babylon churches)
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, (Eph 5:5 - woe to those who seduce the sheep into sin and walking as double minded harlots with their ear tickling gospel)
And sin as if with a cart rope; (draw their strength from their sin)
19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, (do not wait on the Lord)
That we may see it; (do not trust in the LORD, the rock eternal)
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
That we may know it.” (looking for signs and wonders instead of living a true faith)
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; (love and grace are perverted)
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; (godliness is despised and insulted)
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Babylon, mother of harlots accommodates sin in the congregation)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, (men taught by men, their own precepts)
And prudent in their own sight! (these are the foolish virgins caught in the net of the enemy)
22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, (harsh judgment will come to these false teachers)
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, (these hirelings will be severely judged)
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, (man plays church for selfish ambition and gain)
And take away justice from the righteous man! (pervert faith and keep men from seeking true justification from God)
24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, (these tares will be gathered and burned)
And the flame consumes the chaff, (the powers of darkness bring the righteous judgment)
So their root will be as rottenness, (the root of this fallen church is rotten, it is a different Jesus and built on another gospel created by the deceitfulness of sin)
And their blossom will ascend like dust; (the outward appearance of beauty will disappear)
Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, (practicing sinners are not saved)
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (they follow men and doctrines of demons)
25 Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; (the wrath of God will be poured out to all how do not believe AND those that do not obey God’s commands)
He has stretched out His hand against them (they are judged already)
And stricken them,
And the hills trembled. (God will once again shake all things, the earthquakes are here now)
Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. (the streets in their cities meaning the churches are full of the spiritually dead, this is a witnesses of the righteous judgment of God)
END TIME JUDGMENT:
For all this His anger is not turned away, (yet final judgment is yet to come to all who do not repent and respond to the discipline of our heavenly Father)
But His hand is stretched out still.
26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, (Babylon becomes a dwelling place of demons)
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; (God calls up His mighty army to carry out His righteous judgments, they bring the delusion to all who love their sin)
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. (the four winds cometh)
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, (the powers of darkness are unrelenting)
No one will slumber or sleep; (they do not sleep, they do not turn)
Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, (they have eyes all around to judge all inequity)
Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 Whose arrows are sharp, (their weapons are arrows of lies, religious delusion/deception)
And all their bows bent; (they are firing many arrows here in the end, because sin or lawlessness has increased)
Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, (they work thru the hearts of men, horses are a type and metaphor for those that walk after the flesh. The enemy hardens hearts from bondage to sin that sparks the fires of judgment and God’s wrath to all who believed the lies)
And their wheels like a whirlwind. (Ezekiel’s vision of the whirlwinds, the instruments of judgment that serve God, that is the powers of darkness)
29 Their roaring will be like a lion, (they roar after their prey as given to them by God)
They will roar like young lions; (they walk the earth looking for brethren to devour)
Yes, they will roar
And lay hold of the prey;
They will carry it away safely, (they carry the captives into Babylon, into prison)
And no one will deliver. (no priest or prophet can deliver, only Jesus if we repent)
30 In that day they will roar against them
Like the roaring of the sea. (The seas are roaring, this was a sign of the end given to us by Jesus in Luke 21. The enemy is roaring, they own the churches of men in Babylon)
And if one looks to the land, (our hearts are the land spoken of in this and many prophecies)
Behold, darkness and sorrow; (shaking and distress, the birth pangs of those who have yet to be born again are ratcheting up in the end).
And the light is darkened by the clouds. (the true light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is hard to find in Babylon. There is a famine of the WORD. The church which is the moon no longer sheds much light and many stars have fallen away from heaven.)
Matthew 24:29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken
This is a sobering parable given to us to prepare us and keep us watchful and on guard for the deception that would come disguised as religion. I pray God will wake many more up so we can grow in rank to sow love and truth to our neighbors as time grows very short.
Pete: Sorry I haven’t posted a comment in awhile,have had some family illness going on. I have kept up with all your post though. The parable of the vinyard is one that everyone needs to learn, it tells the future. The church is comeing together quickley, time is short. People are turning away from the truth, they want what the world offers,and believe the lie, it is so sad. When you have the light of the Lord with you it shows, people can see it,and they shy away from you, they don’t want to hear the truth. Have you ever noticed people looking at you like something is wrong with you? I have. I don’t have to be told, I know why they look at me,and if loveing,and following Jesus is the reason, then so be it. I had rather be shunned,and have nothing than to live in this world without Him. How many people do you know that would give their life for Jesus if asked? I would do it in a heart beat. Jesus is my life, and I would have no life without Him. Time is short, and people need to wake up, and keep their lamps full. Thank you for everything, and may God keep blessing you.
Pete,
From this it seems like many of the tings that I thought were in the future are already occuring – but on a more spiritual plane. Specifically the fall of Babylon and the sixth seal. I’ve been presuming a more literal interpretation, but am now seeing differently.
My question is this – Do you think the Marriage Supper of The Lamb has occurred? Am I being too literal when I think that during the millenium people will really live as old as trees?
God Bless
Glenn
Pete, I’ve experienced the same thing, People running away from the truth. We were talking about this at our small gathering this week. It seems like we concluded that people can not see this in the words of other men, they have to hear it from God, from the Holy Spirit. We concluded that we needed to pray that folks could really seek God, seeking him with all their heart. This glossary is great. I’ve been working on my own, but see many new things in this.
God Bless
Glenn
ooops that reply was to beeper….
I feel like this too. I just keep telling myself that there is bound to be someone in the midst of them that want to hear. I was one of them.
Sorry Amy about the friends. But hey you got me! Those I have showed the site to that are steeped into the traditional church have never engaged in any Scripture or doctrinal discussion with me ever again despite my invitations. Very sad because we are to edify each other. But the true gospel comes against their church idol. They would rather be religious and live in the world than answer the call of God to come out and be separate. If we teach a man pleasing gospel instead of the true one, WOE UNTO US (1 Cor 9:16)
Still many still sleep, we have to remember, we all WERE sleeping (Mat 25), we are the multitude that Jesus is raising to complete His final temple. I see the hail as the judgment against the apostate church. God lets them believe lies and the enemy brings in the hail in the form of deception, working thru men (horses, horsemen). It is all part of the tempest, the storm that brings the fire, flood, ice –> righteous judgment for sin and harlotry. I have met some friends that have done some great work in the area of metaphors and allegories. Here is a link to a metaphor glossary. The hail is brought by the scorpions and serpents which are working for you know whom.
http://ohioalternativepower.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/the-trumpet-judgements-unveiled-glossary-of-metaphors.16370949.pdf
Hi Pete,
Look at these verses.
and the HAIL shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.” Isaiah 28:16,17
“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent (100 ibs): and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Revelation 16:21
We are the ones bringing the hail! I guess it’s supposed to weigh 100 ibs, so maybe your right that we have to turn it up. On a serious note, I agree with you. I believe we should be seeking to exit the cowardice of our flesh as part of our dying to it.
I see that you are inspired by God. All I have to do is show someone I know your website and I instantly lose an aquaintance. I Praise Him for your website and others like you .
You are blessed to have 2-3 people locally!
I’ll be checking in later…
Amy
Jesus builds His church and is building it. What we call church and religion will soon be exposed for what it really is. The winepress of judgment is in full operation in the LORD’s vineyard.
I am with you Beeper, outside 2-3 folks here dispersed locally and my online fellowship, I have withdrawn, or maybe better said, people have withdrawn from me. Everyone I have shared even an ounce of true correcting gospel with has shunned further conversation despite my invitiation and suggestion. But I think many of us may be making a mistake, I am troubled by it. Do we withdraw or do we speak louder? Do we preach the WORD out of season, it is clearly out of season, the real truth? By remaining quiet, we avoid more overt hatred, persecution and the like which will come to all that speak the truth of God’s Word. I am feeling called to turn it up. Is putting concerns for my family and their relationships in town a valid defense to not speak out in love the truth?
Excellent study Pete, truely from the Holy Spirit.
Thanks
Bill
We appreciate you Pete. Yes this is a sobering parable. WE must do all we can because the night approaches that no man can work. We, the church will awaken by His grace and truly sow love and mercy to our fellow man. Thanks for the study
Bro Mike
Thanks for that study Pete, it helps to see it line by line. Seriously no one wants to know. I am virtually silent now, both to those in babylon and those who are un-believers. I have not witnessed in the verbal area for many, many weeks.
I was looking at Noah again the other day, and he cranked out the Gospel for 120 years and still the only people that got into that arc were his own immediate family, this is how I am feeling now that all my efforts have to be for myself, my husband, my kids and my immediate family. Outside of my family I have no (person to person) fellowship anymore. I could have Babylonian type stuff but whats the point.