`There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake

like Lebanon' (Psa. 72:16).

`Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image ... and ... became a great

mountain, and filled the whole earth' (Dan. 2:34,35).

These two passages have reference to the smallness of the kingdom in its beginnings, and the greatness of

the kingdom at its close. The first refers to Israel in the millennium, the second to the kingdom in relation to the

Gentile and Satanic monarchies, which commence with Nebuchadnezzar and end with Antichrist:

`I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was

strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The

leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had

shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it' (Dan.

Daniel interprets the tree thus, `It is thou, O king', referring to Nebuchadnezzar. There is close parallel here

to the statement of the Lord, `The birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof'. Ezekiel 31:2-18

contains somewhat similar references to Pharoah:

`Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon ... All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs ...'.

The expression `the fowls of the air', in the parable, would be better translated `the fowls of the heaven'; this

establishes more closely the connection between the parable of the Mustard Tree and Daniel 4 and Ezekiel 31.

`The fowls of the heaven' are mentioned in Matthew 6:26; 8:20; 13:32; Mark 4:4,32; Luke 8:5; 9:58, and 13:19.

In the parable of the Sower as recorded by Matthew and Mark (R.V.), we simply read `the fowls' came and

devoured the seed. In Luke 8:5, however, we read, `the fowls of the heavens devoured it'. This helps us to see

that those who devoured the seed which fell on the wayside are those who found a lodging place in the branches

of the tree. Now the interpretation of the Sower is given by the Lord, and He declares that the action of the

fowls is to illustrate the work of Satan; consequently we are driven to the conclusion that whatever aspect of the

kingdom may be represented by the Mustard Tree, we must find place therein for Satan and his agents. It will

be of service if we now compare the three records of this parable as given by Matthew, Mark and Luke:

MATTHEW

MARK

LUKE

`Another parable put  `And He was saying  `He went on to say

He  before  them  How shall we liken  therefore,

The  the kingdom of God,  Whereunto is the

kingdom  of  the  or in what parable  kingdom  of  God

heavens is like unto  shall we compare it?  like?

a grain of mustard  As  a  grain  of  whereunto shall I

seed, which a man  mustard seed, which  liken it? It is like

took and sowed in  when it is sown  unto  a  grain  of

his  field;  which  springeth  up  and  mustard seed, which

greater  a man took and cast

indeed is less than  becometh

all seeds: but when  than all herbs, and  into his garden, and

large  it grew and became

grown  is  greater  produceth

than the herbs, and  branches,  so  that  a (great) tree and the

becometh a tree, so  under  the  shade  birds of the heaven

that the birds of the  thereof the birds of  lodged among its

heaven come and  the  heaven  may  branches'

lodge  among  its  lodge'

(literal  translation).

(literal  translation).

translation).

The words `How shall we liken?' `Whereunto is the kingdom of God like?' in Mark and Luke suggest that,

humanly speaking, the analogy was difficult to frame. The kingdom history had taken such a strange turn that

it needed great skill and choice of figures to illustrate the teaching.