Wolves

Author: Joseph

Date: February 23, 2020

Wolves, in the spiritual sense, hide in sheep’s clothing. By their appearance – their behavior and their words – they seem to have all the indications of godly and holy character, but inwardly, they are hateful, wrathful, and shrewd (in the bad sense). Yeshua describes false prophets as wolves in sheep’s clothing, but even with this description it can be difficult to discern one when you encounter them.

"...uncover the wolf’s disguise..."

False prophets do not parade their falsehood and make it obvious to everyone around them. On the contrary, false prophets hide their sinister characteristics and intentions beneath the veil of good intentions and appearances. The only way to uncover the wolf’s disguise is to watch for the fruit they bear from their walk of life.

A wolf is aggressive and violent, whereas a sheep is gentle and peace-loving. A false prophet likewise tends to bear the fruit of aggression and anger, not caring for others, but instead overbears them and forces his will upon them (as opposed to leading them to God’s will; see Jeremiah 23:16-18; Micah 3:5). No one following a false prophet will ever see God’s will until they have stopped following him.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing misleads the sheep so that the wolf may devour them. False prophets also lead people to destruction for the desire of their own benefit (Jeremiah 23:13-14; Micah 3:11). Whatever the benefit may be, false prophets have no interest in genuinely helping anyone other than themselves. Everyone that follows a false prophet is on a path to destruction where they will never live the life God wants for them. The false prophet has already set their followers final destination.

A false prophet will often hide their “personal lives” and “personal matters” so that their followers will never get a glimpse at who they really are: wolves in sheep’s clothing. False prophets are, therefore, evasive and shrewd, showing “everything” but really nothing. They will always point to outer appearances so that you never see past the disguise. Anyone who does not discern beyond what they hear and see can be misled by a false prophet. False prophets have learned well how to deceive and to make an observer believe what is not true, even about themselves.

A false prophet cannot produce what is good since they are evil, but they will do everything they can to convince you that the bad they produced is good and continue their attempt to stay concealed. Make every effort on your part to be aware of possible false prophets and reveal their falsehood when you recognize it, so that others will not follow their will to destruction.

Yeshua said, “So then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20). Learn well what those fruits are and be aware of the tactics of false prophets. Do not become a victim of a false prophet now that you have the understanding to discern.

Matthew 7:15 - 20

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org