PARABLE, MIRACLE, AND SIGN
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phraseology), like the Protestant and the Greek. Of course the answer will be that the measures of meal
represent `Christendom, the professing church', not the true church of Christ. This again yields another
difficulty. Will `Christendom, the professing church' be so `leavened with the gospel' that at the end it will be
true that `the whole was leavened'? When the Son of man cometh, will He find a completely evangelized and
believing Christendom? Facts of everyday life as well as prophecy testify to the exact opposite.
Can we find the Scriptural meaning of the three measures of meal? The word meal in the original is aleuron,
and means by its etymology meal produced by grinding. The word occurs nowhere else in Scripture apart from
the parable of the Leaven. In the Old Testament meal and fine flour were typical of the spotless purity of the
offering of the Lord Jesus, and of the perfect character of the Word of truth. In Leviticus 2 we have the `meat
offering'. The word `meat' is an old English word for food (we still say `grace before meat'), but there is no
flesh or blood in the `meat offering' of Leviticus 2. The instructions given in the first verse tell us of the perfect
purity of the offering; `his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense
thereon ... no meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven' (verse 11).
Meal was used by the prophet Elisha to counteract the `death in the pot' caused by the `wild vine' which had
been gathered, symbolising the deliverance to be wrought by Christ (2 Kings 4:38-41). In Jeremiah 23 we have
the Lord's severe indictment of the false prophets. `They speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the
mouth of the LORD' (verse 16). `The prophets ... that prophesy lies in my Name ... they are prophets of the
deceit of their own heart' (verses 25, 26). `I am against the prophets ... that steal my words ... that use (or
smooth) their tongues, and say, He saith' (verses 30, 31). `He that hath My Word, let him speak My Word
faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD' (verse 28). These passages must suffice to show that
corn, meal, or fine flour typify the Word of God, living and written.
There is one other symbol to consider, and that is `The woman'. In the preceding parables it is a man who
sows the seed, but now the symbol changes. Students of the Scriptures are familiar with the fact that a woman is
used many times to represent a system either good or bad. Thus we have `that woman Jezebel' in Revelation
2:20, and she is seen very plainly hiding the `leaven' in the meal. `Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which
calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed unto idols'. Here is corruption; this is the doctrine of Balaam as specified in verse 14. In Revelation
17:4,5 we have another woman:
`And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and
pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her
forehead was a name written, a secret. Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and the abominations of
the earth' (Author's translation).
The interpretation given by God is that this woman `is that great city' (verse 18), and Babylon, and all that
Babylon stands for, is intended here - the great corrupter. The revival of Babylon forms part of Zechariah's
prophecy. In chapter 5, under the figure of a lawless woman sitting in the midst of an ephah (a dry measure
used for grain, etc.), the prophet depicts the return of wickedness to its original seat - `to build it an house in the
land of Shinar'. Many commentators look upon the woman as symbolising Rome. Romanism is certainly one
of the polluted streams, but it is not the fountain head, for idolatry and its accompaniments were doing their
deadly work before Rome was built, or Romanism founded. It is interesting to note the efforts now being put
forward in Mesopotamia for the revival of this ancient seat of rebellion and corruption.
We have seen that leaven signifies corrupt doctrine. We have seen that the meal represents the perfect
offering of Christ and the unadulterated Word of God, and we see that the woman has much to make us feel that
Babylonianism is behind this corrupting work. In the parable of the Tares we see the enemy sowing his false
seed; in the parable of the Mustard Tree he is found supported by the branches of the abnormal growth which
typifies the Gentile epoch; and in the parable of the Leaven he is seen using that great system of corruption, of
which he was the founder (Gen. 10), to leaven the pure meal of God.
Coming back to Matthew 13, we ask with the disciples, why is it that the kingdom of the heavens is delayed,
and the King rejected? The answer is `An enemy hath done this'. He has sown his tares, he inhabits the tree, he
leavens the truth.
We have already seen the connection between the leaven and the doctrine of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and
Herodians. Here is leaven enough for the three measures of meal. It will be found that this leaven has reference
to the Word of God and the Person of Christ. In Matthew 16:6-12 the Lord warns His disciples against the
leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and immediately the Scripture records His question, `Who do men