You have to know the context of the parable, Which is likening the kingdom of heaven to that of a mustard seed that becomes a tree. Read on but keep an open mind. And when reading the Word of God, you eat the meat and spit the bones out. But always ask for the leading of the Spirit. In the third parable, the nature and function of a mustard plant, an herb, was changed into a tree. - Explain why this abnormal development indicates a change of nature and function of the kingdom, how and when this change took place, and the result of the change. The church, which is the embodiment of the kingdom, should be like an herb that produces food. However, its nature and function were changed, so that it became a \"tree,\" a lodging place for birds. (This is against the law of God\'s creation, that is that every plant must be after its kind-Gen. 1:11-12). Genesis 1:11-12 11 And God said, Let the earth sprout grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind with their seed in them upon the earth; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with their seed in them according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. This change happened in the first part of the fourth century, when Constantine the Great mixed the church with the world. He brought thousands of false believers into Christianity, making it Christendom, no longer the church. Hence, this third parable corresponds with the third of the seven churches in Rev. 2 and 3, the church in Pergamos (Rev. 2:12-17 Fnt 121). Revelation 2:12-17 12 And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan\'s throne is; and you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you that you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol sacrifices and to commit fornication. 15 In the same way you also have some who hold in like manner the teaching of the Nicolatians. 16 Repent therefore; but if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no on knows except him who receives it. 121 The Greek word means marriage (implying union) and fortified tower. As a sign, the church in Pergamos prefigures the church that entered into a marriage union with the world and became a high fortified tower, equivalent to the great tree prophesied by the Lord in the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 1331-32). When Satan failed to destroy the church through the persecution of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries, he changed his strategy. He sought instead to corrupt her through Constantine\'s welcoming of Christianity as the state religion in the first part of the fourth century. Through Constantine\'s encouragement and political influence, multitudes of unbelievers were baptized into the \"church,\" and the \"church\" became monstrously great. Since the church as a chaste bride is espoused to Christ, her union with the world is considered spiritual fornication in the eyes of God. The mustard is an annual herb, whereas the tree is a perennial plant. The church, according to its heavenly and spiritual nature, should be like the mustard, sojourning on the earth. But with its nature changed, the church became deeply rooted and settled as a tree in the earth, flourishing with its enterprises as the branches in which many evil persons and things are lodged. This resulted in the formation of the outward organization of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens.