Urgent Warning
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Wolf-pastors, false shepherds, false teachers, heretics, false apostles and prophets, men-pleasers, compromisers, and deceivers on the loose!
Be on your guard!
Are you easily deceived? Is it because you are naïve, or is it because you are worldly and are blocking out God’s voice because it’s not what you want to hear? You will be judged accordingly! Is it because of spiritual blindness in your life, because truth is, you’re not that close to God, and you know it? If you are deceived by cunning wolves posing as ministers of the Gospel in these last days, it is your fault! You will be found guilty!
Even for those who are not necessarily, worldly, blind, or compromised, there cries from the word of God a stern warning through the apostle Paul:
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”
(Acts 20:28-31King James Version)
Paul warned these men who were Holy Spirit-filled elders in the church, of the dangers of “grievous wolves” rising up in the church. If these men needed warning, then how much more the end-time compromised, lukewarm Christians we see all around us in these last days? You say, “you should not be so judging”. It is not judging to point out some obvious facts to wake people up and warn an end-time church of deceivers.
These wolves carry a certain cunningness and deceptiveness with them that gives them the power to draw people away after them:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
(Ephesians 4:14)
If they were so obviously wolves to everyone, they would not have any followers. It takes knowledge and discernment from the word of God and the Holy Spirit to detect them.
Heed the warnings from God regarding end-time teachers:
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering 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.”
(2 Timothy 4:1-4)
Heaping up false teachers is a sign of the last days. God is warning you: He is warning you that if you listen to the wrong men you could go to hell! If you turn your ears from the truth you will be lost. The above verses do not hint at “once saved always saved” teaching, but rather the opposite.
Today there are many false teachers, compromisers, false shepherds, and so on, the ironic thing being, that they are all very popular and highly spoken of.
“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
(Luke 6:26)
They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: everything from your typical compromised denominational clergyman who would say “yes” to anything to please the people, to an end-time false prophet able to display powerful supernatural signs and wonders to deceive the people. Whatever way they come, they are not God’s men, but are being received as such—this is the danger!
Is your pastor shepherding sheep or herding goats? Would he lay down his life for the sheep or sacrifice the sheep? Is he a true shepherd or out for himself? Is he a self-seeking opportunist and it’s only a matter of time before he is exposed as a charlatan? Does he have the same spirit on him as the early apostles who would have guarded God’s flock with their lives?
There are self-proclaimed apostles and prophets, and “prophetesses” among us—loose cannons doing their own thing. There are true apostles and prophets today but also false ones:
“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 ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
(2 Corinthians 11: 13-15)
Jesus commends the Ephesian Christians for testing and exposing false apostles:
“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.”
(Revelation 2:2)
Some in the church today don’t think there are any apostles or prophets at all in the church today—lots of learning to do!
We are to test the spirits:
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
(1 John 4:1)
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
(2 Peter 2:1-3)
Yes, there are false teachers among us and their judgment is on the way!
There are men today turning the grace of God into lasciviousness:
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Jude 1:3-4)
The shepherds are supposed to feed the sheep, not themselves:
“He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
(John 21:16)
God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the false shepherds in Israel in his day:
“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
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.
And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.”
(Ezekiel 34:1-10)
God also told Ezekiel that he was called as a watchman:
“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”
(Ezekiel 3:17-19)
A watchman is a prophet’s calling, but in a general sense, any minister of the Gospel is a watchman. Paul referred to this when he proclaimed the following:
“Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
(Acts 20:26-27)
If a minister is not preaching against sin, and warning people of the danger of God’s judgment and hellfire, he is a bad watchman!
We are to follow true men of God, not blind leaders. Paul said:
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
(1 Corinthians 11:1)
“Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
(Matthew 15:14)
Many of you Christians suffer and many will suffer because you are listening to the wrong ministers—take heed!
