But the seed that fell on good soil stands for those who hear the message and understand what it means. They produce a crop that’s 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted.”
When people hear the message about the kingdom, but they don’t understand it, the evil one comes and steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed that landed on the path.
But in the church, I’d rather speak five words in a language people can understand, in order to teach them, than 10,000 words in an unfamiliar language.
“You’ll see ‘the detestable thing that brings desolation’ standing where it doesn’t belong.” (Let the one who reads this be sure to understand.) “Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains.
“The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the detestable thing that brings desolation.’ One day you’ll see it standing in the holy place.” (Let the one who reads this be sure to understand.)
This will require wisdom and careful thought: Anyone who can solve puzzles should figure out what the beast’s number means. It’s the number of a man, and that number is 666.
So Philip started out, and on the way he met an important official. That man was in charge of all the wealth of the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,