Wolves In Sheeps Clothing

It's Getting To Be A Real Jungle Out There

In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus issues a serious warning to "beware of false prophets." Sadly, this warning is more necessary today than ever before! Jesus said in Matthew 24:11 & 24 that in the last days there would be more and more false prophets. St. Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus to be on guard because after his (Christ) departure "SAVAGE WOLVES" would come among them not sparing the flock (Acts 20:28-31). A few years later St. Peter warned in II Peter 2:1-3:

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift
destruction and many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words, for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

St. John the Apostle likewise warned at the end of the first century in I John 4:1-3

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are
of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you
know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist,
which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

What Jesus, Paul, and Peter warned of - John declared had already occurred before the end of the 1st century. How much more true today are John's words that "many false prophets have gone out into the world?" How much more true today are Peter's words that "...many will follow them?"

I have recently been absolutely appalled by the major Evangelical leaders today that have missed opportunity after opportunity to stand up for Christ on a National level with a major secular audience and have literally denied the power of Christ and His gospel message.





These are only two examples of Popular Preachers who have the audience and opportunity to change lives for Christ and yet deny him. When I first watched these video's I tried to justify the remarks - because these gentleman are so respected in the world.

So many people in our country and throughout the world will have the opportunity to hear this FALSE message of Christ and begin to believe they are "OK with God" when the Holiness of God and the Scriptures require a different outlook completely.

There are a few things I would point out about "False Prophets" or "Wolves in sheep's clothing"

1. Beware of False Prophets because of their Deadly Deceitfulness (Matthew 7:15)

False prophets do not introduce themselves as such. They don't wear name tags or stickers that say "Hello My Name Is FALSE PROPHET." They don't go by the title Rev. Wolf (unless there happens to be a pastor who's last name is really wolf). It is their sly, slick, and sneaky ways that make false teachers so dangerous. They come to the church and to society as wolves dressed as harmless sheep, the most ravenous of animals disguised as the most harmless of animals. This is the deceitfulness of the false prophet.

Jesus may have had a specific practice of the false prophets of his day in mind. During the 400 silent years between the Old and New Testaments in which no prophetic word from God was heard, many "pretenders" arose claiming to be prophets with a word from God. This continued into the first century. They would attempt to dress in animal skins like the prophets of old often had. Jesus may be saying here that all those who try to mimic the attire of a prophet are not prophets. Instead underneath their costume, which is all it is, they are ravenous wolves.

In our modern day, false prophets still use the same tactic: trying to pass themselves off as the real thing by disguising their rue nature.

Islam - who has its own false prophet in Mohammad, claims to have the same God, speaks well of Jesus, but claims Jesus is merely one of the prophets and not the eternally begotten Son of God. They also teach a salvation by works as opposed to a salvation by grace.

Mormonism - who has its own succession of false prophets beginning with Joseph Smith, uses the same lingo, sings the same hymns, family friendly, passes itself off as another Christian church/denomination, but denies the uniqueness of Jesus as the eternal Son of God.

Jehovah's Witnesses - Use the same lingo, talk about Jesus, use the Bible, but affirm the ancient Arian heresy that there was a time when "the Son was not" - a denial of the deity of Jesus.

Joel Osteen - Looks good, always smiling, large church, bestselling books in Christian bookstores, but as the video portrays - will not stand on the word of God and affirm that Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and NO MAN cometh to the Father EXCEPT BY HIM.

T. D. Jakes - Sounds good, knows how to preach, emotional, sweats a lot, but denies that God has always existed in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He also claims (on MSNBC documentary) that he "is God's anointed" he is the man of the hour and "God's Chosen"

These are all signs of false prophets who preach a false god, a false Christ, and a false gospel. As Paul describes them in Philippians 3:18-19:

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

I understand that these words may seem harsh, but this is serious business. Eternal destinies are at stake. I share a fear that was expressed by the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 11:3-4:

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

There is such a thing as another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel and we must be on guard that we be not deceived by it.

2. Beware of False Prophets because of their Devilish Deeds (Matthew 7:16-18)

Jesus describes in these verses how a false prophet can be recognized: by their devilish deeds. These three verses provide an excellent counter-balance to the first five verses of chapter seven. Those verses' famous injunction to "judge not" is often taken as a command to excuse any kind of behaviour and to forbid any kind of evaluation of the actions of another. That is clearly not what those verses mean in light of the context of verses 16-18. Here, Jesus says that we should e fruit inspectors. The actions/lifestyles of false prophets tell on them.

The truth is stated to begin verse sixteen and is then illustrated by the question of verse sixteen: "Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?" The obvious answer to this rhetorical question is "NO! Of course not." Good trees bear good fruit. Bad trees bear bad fruit. This is a very simple horticultural principle that all of us can understand. It is impossible for a Good tree to bear Bad fruit or visa versa. Therefore, we must conclude, if you see bad fruit, you intuitively know "bad tree." If you see good fruit, you intuitively know "good tree."

What is the implication here? False prophets are known by their bad deeds. They may be able to hide their deadliness temporarily under a coat of sheep skin, but eventually they will be exposed for what they are. Because no matter how much they look like sheep, they will always still behave like wolves.

I don't need to recap the events of the past twenty years detailing the wicked deeds of many televangelists, pastors, and other supposedly Christian leaders in order to understand my meaning. There is no telling how many more will be revealed as charlatans during our lifetimes, but the greatest test of a false prophet is his/her teaching. Does it line up with the consistent teaching of the Word of God? If not, it is false. this means we must know our Bibles ourselves. The best defense against a counterfeit is to know the original. I am told that this is the way banks train their employees to recognize counterfeit bills They expose them to the real thing so much that the false is immediately apparent. That is the kind of people that we need to be. This is what we are called to be as Christians. This is part of my responsibility in teaching the Word of God, that false teachers will be recognized. A mature Christian shouldn't need a master list of all the good teachers and all the bad teachers. If the true preacher has done his job, the layman will be able to recognize the false prophet and if the layman has applied themselves to the study of God's Word - then by their fruits you will know them.

3. Beware of False Prophets Because of their Destructive Destiny (Matthew 7:19)

There is a final reason to avoid false prophets in these words by Jesus. It is that they have a destiny of destruction. Verse 19 states that "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

2 Timothy 4:2-4 states:

Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

In 1 Corinthians 11:13-15 the Apostle Paul describes those who preach another Jesus as:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves
into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into
an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the minister of righteousness; whose end shall be according to
their works.

These false apostles have preached words that lead to damnation and that's exactly what their destiny shall be. Peter says in 2 Peter 3:16 that those who twist scriptures do so "to their own destruction." James warns in the first verse of the third chapter of his epistle: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment."

The warning is clear: Don't be a false teacher and don't associate with them, lest you share in their destructive destiny.

In closing:

The reason that this matter so much is that there is a true gospel about the True Prophet. Moses prophesied that a Prophet greater than he would come (Deuteronomy 18:15) and the Apostle Peter declared Jesus to be that Prophet (Acts 3). Therefore the existence of false prophets is an attack upon Christ! All messages of hope of deliverance apart from faith in Christ are all false gospels of a false salvation declared by false prophets.

Forsake whatever it is that you are clinging to in this pop culture and run to Jesus.