01.10. The Fruit of Wolves
The Fruit of Wolves by Jon Sherman - jds6958@gmail.com http://www.thenewreformation.org
Can you scripturally discern between a wolf and a shepherd? Examine the fruit and characteristics of the wolf, the hireling, and the Good Shephard.
In doing a study to teach on fruit, I noticed that scripture states that "wolves" have fruit (Matthew 7:1-29). As a rabbit trail, I began to examine the "fruit of wolves" so that it would be recognized. This of course is the rotton/corrupt fruit. It ended up being quite interesting...here is a sample.
Ezekiel 22:23-28
Again the word of YHWH came to me: "Son of man, say to the land, ’You are a land that has had no rain or showers in THE DAY OF WRATH.’ There is a conspiracy of her prophets within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.Her priests do violence to MY LAW and profane MY HOLY THINGS; they do NOT distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is NO difference between the unclean and the clean; and they SHUT their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am PROFANED among them.
Her OFFICIALS/LEADERS within her are like WOLVES tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make UNJUST GAIN. Her prophets WHITEWASH THESE DEEDS for them by false visions and lying divinations.They say, ’This is what Sovereign YHWH says’-when YHWH has NOT spoken.
Zephaniah 3:2-4; Zephaniah 3:9-10, Zephaniah 3:12-13 (last days)
She obeys NO one, she accepts NO correction. She does NOT trust in the YHWH, she does NOT draw near to her God. Her officials are roaring lions,her rulers are evening WOLVES, who leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are ARROGANT; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the LAW....
"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of YHWH and serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my SCATTERED PEOPLE, will bring me offerings....
But I will leave WITHIN YOU the meek and humble, who TRUST in the name of the YHWH. The REMNENT of ISRAEL will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid."
Acts 20:28-31 (Paul to Ephesus/Greeks)
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.I know that after I leave, SAVAGE WOLVES will come in AMONG you and will not spare the flock.Even from YOUR OWN number men will arise and DISTORT the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
2 Peter 3:16
He (PAUL) writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are HARD TO UNDERSTAND, which ignorant and unstable people DISTORT, as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be ON YOUR GUARD so that you may not be carried away by the ERROR OF LAWLESS MEN and fall from your secure position. (Distorting Paul’s writings generate lawlessness!)
Matthew 7:15-23
"Watch out forfalse prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardlythey are ferocious WOLVES. By their FRUIT (works)you willrecognize them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit YOU WILL recognize them.
"NOT everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I NEVER KNEW YOU. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Based on the previous scripture what is the fruit of ferocious wolves? What are their characteristics?
-Pull disciples after themselves
-Distort truth
-Do not do the will of YHWH
-Do many things in YHWH’s name
-Conspire (unlawful alliance) against YHWH
-State that the unclean is now clean
-Profane YHWH by NOT keeping the Sabbath
-Make such sinful deeds whitewashed with smooth words
-Say that YHWH said such things about His law when He has said no such thing
Why are there wolves?
2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when men will NOT put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit THEIR OWN DESIRES, they will HEAP UP to them a GREAT number of TEACHERS to say what their itching ears WANT to hear.
Because we not only wanted it, we wanted a great number of them...
That is quite depressing.
Luke 10:3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among WOLVES.
Matthew 10:16
I am sending you out like sheep among WOLVES. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
In scripture, sheep are ripped up and destroyed by wolves. In an effort to guard against the WOVLES, Jesus commanded us to be shrewd, but at the same time, maintain our innocence and not allow ourselves to be corrupted while amongst the WOLVES.
Shrewd means:Astute, sharp, on the ball, smart, perceptive, insightful, wise, cunning, clever, sharp witted, and canny. The opposite means to be NAIVE.
Therefore, be like the Bereans, and test everything to scripture and study the scriptures to show yourself approved.
1 John 2:27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you,and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
There is one more interesting characteristic to note about wolves. Jesus speaks of this in John 10:11-13
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The HIRED HAND is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the WOLF coming, he ABANDONS the sheep and runs away. Then the WOLF attacks the flock and SCATTERS it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and CARES NOTHING for the sheep."
There are three persons as types that teach us something here....
The Good Shepherd is Jesus, and scripture states that He is the Living Word. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which is another reference to being the Word. Therefore, if the sheep would stay IN THE WORD and LED BY THE WORD, they would be much better off than if they relied on the HIRED HAND who will abandon them when THEY NEED SHEPHERDING IN TRUTH the most.
The hired hand is simply shepherding the flock, but not because they really care about the flock. They are doing it for other reasons, other purposes.
The wolf wants the sheep even more than the hired hand. The hired hand steps aside and does not put up a fight like the Good Shepherd would, who is the Truth and the Word. The hired hand does not care for the sheep and therefore does not use the Truth and the Word to protect them.
As a result, the sheep are SCATTERED. If this happens often enough, I suppose you could end up with 33,000 deonominations in 258 countries each with their own unique doctrinal coverings.
Jude 1:3-4
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for filthyness and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
James 3:1
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
As evidenced in the above, there is an apparent scriptural dichotomy between a wolf and a good shepherd. Specifically, the wolf teaches that there is no difference between the clean and the unclean. The wolf teaches others to not observe the Lord’s Sabbath. The wolf distorts the Truth and teaches as God’s word things God never stated. The wolf takes what scripture defines as sin and calls it not sin.
On the flip side we can only conclude that a good shepherd teaches a difference between the clean and unclean and clearly teaches others to observe the Lord’s Sabbaths (which includes His Feast days). This is what His true teachers teach and feed the flock according to His written Word.
The question is this, what side of the coin do you find yourself on, the wolves or the good shepherds?
The below is what scripture teaches about God’s law, if anyone is teaching anything different then they themselves are decieved:
1.The Law blesses (obey) and curses (disobey).
(Deuteronomy 11:26-27)(Psalms 112:1)(Psalms 119:1-2)(Psalms 128:1)(Proverbs 8:32)(Isaiah 56:2)(Matthew 5:6)(Matthew 5:10)(Luke 11:28)(James 1:25)(1 Peter 3:14)(Revelation 22:14)
2.The Law defines sin.
(Jeremiah 44:23)(Ezekiel 18:21)(Daniel 9:11)(Romans 3:20)(Romans 7:7)(1 John 3:4)
2.The Law is perfect.
(Psalms 19:7)(James 1:25)
3.The Law is liberty.
(Psalms 119:45)(James 1:25, James 2:12)
4.The Law is the way.
(Exodus 18:20)(Deuteronomy 10:12)(Joshua 22:5)(1 Kings 2:3)(Psalms 119:1)(Proverbs 6:23)(Isaiah 2:3)(Malachi 2:8)(Mark 12:14)(Acts 24:14)
5.The Law is the truth.
(Psalms 119:142)(Malachi 2:6)(Romans 2:20)(Galatians 5:7)(Psalms 43:2-4)(Joshua 8:31-32)
6.The Law is life.
(Job 33:30)(Psalms 36:9)(Proverbs 6:23)(Revelation 22:14)
7.The Law is light.
(Job 24:13)(Job 29:3)(Psalms 36:9)(Psalms 43:2-4)(Psalms 119:105)(Proverbs 6:23)(Isaiah 2:5) (Isaiah 8:20)(Isaiah 51:4)(2 Corinthians 6:14)(1 John 1:7)
8.The Law is Jesus, the Word made flesh.
(PERFECT-LIBERTY-WAY-TRUTH-LIFE-LIGHT).
(Psalms 27:1)(John 1:1-14)(John 14:5-11)(1 John 1:7)
9.The Law is also for the Gentiles (foreigner/alien) who are grafted in.
(Exodus 12:19) (Exodus 12:38) (Exodus 12:49) (Leviticus 19:34) (Leviticus 24:22) (Numbers 9:14) (Numbers 15:1-41, Numbers 16:1-50) (Numbers 15:29) (ie: Ruth) (Isaiah 42:6) (Isaiah 60:3) (Matthew 5:14) (Ephesians 2:10-13) (Acts 13:47) (Romans 11:16-27) (Jeremiah 31:31-34) (Ezekiel 37:1-28) (1 John 2:10) (1 John 1:7)
10.The Law is God’s instructions on how to love God, how to love others, and how to not love yourself.
(Exodus 20:6)(Deuteronomy 5:10)(Deuteronomy 7:10)(Deuteronomy 11:13)(Deuteronomy 11:22)(Deuteronomy 30:16)(Deuteronomy 6:5)
(Leviticus 19:18)(Nehemiah 1:5)(Daniel 9:4)(Matthew 22:35-37)(Matthew 10:39)(Matthew 16:25)(John 14:1-15)(John 14:21)(Romans 13:9)(1 John 5:2-3)(2 John 1:6)
Remember:
ALL (not some) scripture is given by inspiration of God.
ALL (not some) scripture is profitable for doctrine.
ALL (not some) scripture is for rebuking and correction
ALL (not some) scripture is for INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
And...
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not
And no, Paul did not teach against God’s law either, unless you are comfortable making the "error of the lawless" in interpreting (twisting) Paul’s letters (2 Peter 3:14-17)
Proverbs 28:9 "He who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, Even his prayer is an abomination."