A very short word:

On wolves

WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I DIDN’T KNOW, ABOUT fleeces

  

I’ve never seen an actual wolf in real life. Not the wild animal kind anyway. But I have seen, heard & known many in print, in pulpits & in person. Wolves are notable creatures in their particular singularity. They are ruthless in their predation. They are impressive in their ability. They are deadly in their proficiency. It's a small wonder that Scripture uses them as an example of false prophets & false teachers. The Lord Jesus said, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.’ (Matthew 7:15). Of late, there have been some who have made a contentious distinction concerning the words of Christ here, pointing out that Jesus said these false prophets would come in sheep’s clothing, not in shepherd’s clothing. Therefore, it is the finger-pointing, judgemental, hypercritical nitpickers that are the real problem. In other words; it isn’t the wolves who are at fault, but rather, it is those troublesome sheep who say that they simply seek to exercise a biblical discernment. It is these sheep they say, who are the delinquents. The Lord Jesus went on to give a foolproof method of identifying the ravening wolves; ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them’. (Matthew 7:16-20).

Not by their revelations. Not by their miracles. Not by their converts. Not by their Automobiles. Not by their aircraft. Not by their prosperity. But by their fruit. That is them. But what about us? ‘Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture’. (Psalms 100:3). If we are His sheep, then He must be our shepherd. Isaiah says, ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young’. (Isaiah 40:11). Micah says, ‘Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage..’ (Micah 7:14). David says, ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want’. (Psalms 23:1).

With YHWH Himself as The shepherd, aren’t the sheep safe? With The Lord Jesus Christ as our good shepherd (John 10:11), chief shepherd (1^st Peter 5:4), as well as being the shepherd & bishop of our souls (1^st Peter 2:25), why are we admonished to beware? Jesus told the twelve, ‘Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.’ (Matthew 10:16-17).

The wolves that The Lord anticipated are right under our noses. If the false prophets Jesus spoke of are closer than we think, it is clear why He delivered the warning that He did. It is now, while we The Church are being sanctified, that we are given into the care of those who are meant to watch over our souls in Christ’s stead (Hebrews 13:17). Not all of them are true shepherds.

The wider implication here is that in The Incarnation, The Lord Jesus Christ comes in the likeness of mankind. He puts on flesh, just as the shepherd puts on a fleece. However, inwardly, He is The Son of God. The false prophets are so desperate to be Christ, when they are in fact anti-Christ. They attempt to come in the character of Christ, but they cannot produce The Messiah’s fruit.

When we understand exactly what The Lord Jesus meant by describing false prophets as wolves in sheep’s clothing, the wheels will rapidly fall off the reverse engineered accusations of those who would pervert The Gospel. Basically, Jesus identifies the original imitation game. the false prophet seeks to hide within the flock.

The wolf in sheep’s clothing is any individual endeavouring to appear to be someone or something that they are not, in order to gain the confidence of, dominance over & or influence among God’s people, with nefarious intent. This is because it is in the nature of any false prophet to do this. Before we come to that however, let’s deal with the allegation that the fault is in the pew, not in the pulpit. It is true that Jesus said nothing about wolves in shepherd’s clothing. Well? So what? You cannot possibly build an interpretive argument based on something Jesus didn’t say!

Let’s make a couple of reasonable assumptions. Just imagine that Jesus knew what He was talking about & that He meant what he said. That’s more than fair. I think it safer to stick to what Jesus actually said, rather than trifle about what He didn’t say. These lines of reasoning are a straw man that can be thrown onto the fire with the thorns & thistles The Lord spoke of. It is a vain attempt utilised by false teachers, to cover their tracks. In debating these falsehoods, you may even find yourself mercilessly waterboarded with Matthew 7:1.

Beware of false prophets means exactly that; beware of false prophets. It does not mean watch out for those pesky bloggers & they who tweet. Stay away from those annoying YouTubers & Facebookers. They cannot be trusted. Jesus is warning all of those in the pew, about some of those in the pulpit. They don’t spring up overnight. They begin as false brethren. Rubbing shoulders with the sheep. Coming & going with the sheep. Walking & talking with the sheep. Eating & drinking with the sheep. Some go on to leading the sheep, for their own purposes. Don’t forget that Jesus told His disciples & us by extension; we will know them by their fruit.

To us mere Gentiles here in The West, we may think of fruit as an individual’s production. Volume. Numbers. Quantities. Length. Breadth. Height. Perhaps to some extent this is possibly true. However, there is so much more to Rabbi Yeshua’s teaching than this. Fruit can speak of character. Fruit can speak of nature. Fruit can speak of purpose. What is the fruit false prophets bear & where is it borne? A false prophet will produce false teaching. That false teaching will bear fruit in the lives of those who follow them.

The shepherd of old would wrap himself in a fleece & do life with the sheep. To all intents & purposes, the shepherd looked like one of the flock. He led them. He fed them. He protected them. He lived with them & for them. Proverbs says, ‘The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.’ (Proverbs 27:26). Hebrews mentions the faithful who ‘..wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;..’ (Hebrews 11:37).

Surely these things crossed The Lord’s mind as He instructed His disciples. But by far the most compelling passage comes from Ezekiel 34. I recommend reading the entire chapter. Jesus’ listeners would have included those He was warning against. It’s quite a thing. The prophet’s words are in stark contrast to those of Zecheriah 11. One identifies a terrible problem at hand. One identifies a terrible judgement to come. Let that sink in.

¹ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, ² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ³ Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. ⁴ The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them (Ezekiel 34:1-4).

¹⁵ And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. ¹⁷ Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened (Zecheriah 11:15-17).

I say again that the wolf in sheep’s clothing is any individual endeavouring to appear to be someone or something that they are not, in order to gain the confidence of, dominance over & or influence among God’s people with nefarious intent. This is because it is in the nature of any false prophet to do this.

They cannot help themselves any more than a wolf can resist lamb. No matter how hard they try, they cannot produce grapes or figs. They can only produce thorns & thistles. This in turn affects those who follow them.

It suffices to say that the fruit of Messiah, the true prophet, is His Divine contribution to the sheep’s development, rather than their detriment. It is about His character; His nature; His purpose. This is true of Him & of every man He calls to feed the flock of God. The Saviour warns us. We need to heed His warning.

²¹ Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23). 

It was no coincidence that Jesus quotes Psalms 6, because the wolves who were listening to Him teach were right there.

⁷ Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. ⁸ Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. ⁹ The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer. ¹⁰ Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly (Psalms 6:7-10). 

The false prophets will boast about volume; numbers; quantities; length; breadth & height, as if these things are fruit & criteria. They think nothing of the sheep. They desperately want to fill Christ’s sandless, but they can’t hold a candle to Him. I’m also reminded of the words of Paul, who loved The Church.

¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; ¹² That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. ¹³ Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles (Romans 1:11-13). 

²⁷ It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. ²⁸ When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. ²⁹ And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ (Romans 15:27-29). 

How many men feel this was about the people they lead & the congregations they shepherd? ‘Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.’ (Philippians 4:1). Paul continues, ‘For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.’ (Philippians 4:16-17). 

To the finger-pointing, judgemental, hypercritical nitpickers that are out there, causing real problems for the fakes & frauds, I say bravo. To the pesky bloggers & those of you who tweet, I say keep it up. To the annoying YouTubers & Facebookers, know that you can be trusted. In other words; it is the wolves who are at fault & we troublesome sheep will continue to seek to exercise a biblical discernment. It is the wolves who are the delinquents. Equally brethren, if you have a shepherd who looks like one of the flock. If he faithfully leads & feeds you, protects you from falsehood, loves you, lives with you & for you; you are truly blessed. Beware of false prophets, but embrace the genuine ones.

 

 

 

 

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