On the surface of this parable, it sounds like Jesus is talking about God’s True Kingdom or His True Church, but the words that Jesus used to describe this kingdom tell a different story. When Jesus used the word “like” # 3664, this word means “similar in appearance” and it is from the root word #3674 that means “together at the same time or place.” Then Jesus used the word “resemble” # 3666 which means “to assimilate” to “become similar.” Webster’s Dictionary says that the word “resemble” means “to imitate”. When we put this all together we see that Jesus is telling us that He will have a Church (kingdom of God) but at the same time there will be a resemblance of His Church or an imitation. Then Jesus goes on to describe what the resemblance or imitation will look like.

19: It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

Jesus said the seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11). A garden represents a church (Song of Solomon 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; Isaiah 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually . . . and thou shalt be like a watered garden. In both of these Bible texts the Lord makes it plain that His Garden is watered and enclosed. He did not use these terms to describe the garden mentioned in the above parable of Luke 13:19, so this garden mentioned is NOT HIS Church. This garden or church belongs to a man. The man used the word in his church which is an imitation or resemblance of God’s Church. Jesus was aware of the prophet Daniel’s writings because He mentioned Daniel in Matthew 24:15 when He was warning the people of events to take place just before the end of the world and His Second Coming. The language or words that Jesus used in this parable in Luke 13 is unmistakably the language of Daniel 4:20-22: The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. Thus Jesus is describing the king of Babylon to be the ruler of a world wide church that is an imitation or resemblance of God’s true Church. The literal or physical king of Babylon has been dead for centuries so this has to be a spiritual king of Babylon that will rule over this worldwide church. Revelation 17:1-8 describes in detail this great world wide church that has power over all the kings and the earth. Starting during reformation times, the great Protestant leaders have identified the Papacy or Pope as the king of spiritual Babylon. Thus, in the language of this simple parable, Jesus is warning us that the Head of the Catholic Church, the pope, will be the king or head of this world wide church called Babylon that is a counterfeit or imitation or resemblance of His true Church.