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Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Ezekiel 34:1-31  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Ezekiel condemns the ministry as a whole for being more concerned for self and paycheck than for the "sheep," the members of the church. Rather than helping, healing, and leading, government was often administered with force and cruelty. Talking the talk was followed far more frequently than walking the walk. God also charges them with defiling the doctrine, which verse 18 pictures as trodden pasture and fouled water. Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude all warn about "wolves" at the end time infiltrating the flock, introducing another gospel, and rending the sheep. Is it any wonder respect for the ministry is at low ebb? God Himself is very upset with shepherds who cared more for themselves than for the sheep. Through misuse and abuse, wolves in sheep's clothing ripped and tore the sheep. God and man deplore and reject such a ministry. The ministry today is in sad disarray, distrusted and despised by many. Some ministers are reckoned as hirelings who cared not for the sheep, but only for their paychecks. These men would compromise the truth, even teach what they knew was wrong, to retain their salaries. Zechariah 11:3 describes a forsaken ministry, howling over the loss of their flocks, which they mistreated. Screaming for "respect for the ministry" will not help. These hurts can only be healed by proper example and time, combined with a forgiving heart, established by God, in those who have been harmed. Because of these abuses, insidious Laodiceanism, and our natural proclivity to resent any government except our own, we have a church despised and blown apart by God Himself. (Read all of Lamentations, Ezekiel 22:25-29; and 24:21 to confirm who is behind the separation.) Staff For the Perfecting of the Saints

Matthew 7:15-20  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The description here is very apt—wolves in sheep's clothing. They appear on the outside to be something they are not. When Jesus uttered this, He was probably thinking of false ministers who would insinuate themselves into the church by appearing to be sheep within the sheepfold. Jesus uses this terminology in regard to His relationship with the church. He was the Shepherd, and we are His sheep. Here we have wolves (false ministers) who look like sheep, but it is hypocrisy. They only look that way on the outside. He tells us we will know them by their fruits. The fruit that is produced will not necessarily appear quickly. But Christ guarantees that over a period of time the church will be stripped of its true spiritual vitality in terms of the character that will be produced within the flock, making the rise of wolves in sheep's clothing more likely. What is He saying? The implication is that Jesus is connecting belief with practice. If we believe a certain set of doctrines, we will practice something because of the teaching. A religious creed or the dogma that a group is following will produce a certain kind of conduct by the people. Belief and practice, creed and conduct—Jesus is saying they are vitality connected. In other words, the teacher cannot hide what he is going to produce. Eventually it will come out. Their false philosophies, no matter how attractive they may appear at first sight, will in the long run be exposed for what they really are. John W. Ritenbaugh Satan (Part 2)

Matthew 7:15  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) We cannot tell from the outside. We have to get inside and examine the teaching. John W. Ritenbaugh The Right Use of Power

Matthew 7:15-20  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Jesus does not spell out what "fruits" to look for, although in the Olivet Prophecy, He does link the deceptions of false prophets with the lawlessness and lack of love that abounds at the end time (Matthew 24:11-13). However, the rest of the Bible elucidates God's character and nature, so we already have the tools to evaluate whether a message allegedly coming from God fits with what His Word reveals about Him. God is not double-minded; He will not contradict Himself. David C. Grabbe What Is a False Prophet?

 

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