In the Fulness of Time/Part 38

By: Dr. Thomas O. Figart; ©2007

False prophets are the main subject of Matthew 7:15-23, but false implies that true prophets are present also. Dr. Figart explains how you can tell the difference.

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The False and True Teachings. Matthew 7:15-23

False prophets are the main subject here, but false implies that true prophets are present also; they are the sheep and the good trees with good fruit.

Deceitful in Appearance: Discerning the Wolves from the Sheep. 7:15

Matthew 7:15a “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing.”

They are imitators; wolves appearing as sheep. Total falsehood is easy to detect, so the false prophets attempt to appear outwardly as much like true prophets as possible. Paul warned the Corinthian Church of this: “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” (II Corinthians 11:13-15). Zechariah 13:4 prophesies when certain false prophets will no longer “wear a rough garment to deceive.” Thus it is often not easy to discern falsehood.

Matthew 7:15b “but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Jehovah said that some of the princes in Israel’s midst, “are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain” (Ezekiel 22:27). “Ravening” in Matthew is harpages with the idea of seizing or snatching at someone. True disciples are sent forth “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16), but, when those wolves are disguised as sheep, the results can be devastating, and worse still when “grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). Paul’s strict admonition in Acts 20:31 is, “therefore watch, and remember!” True elders would “take heed to all the flock and feed the church of God” (Acts 20:28).

Defective in Fruit: Distinguishing Corrupt trees from Good trees. 7:16-20

Matthew 7:16-20 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth for good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth bad fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth bad 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.”

The Lord assures His disciples that although outward appearance may deceive, false prophets may be “fully known” (epignosis) by what they produce. Their lifestyle may be similar to that of the true prophet at first, but eventually they will show their true colors, just as evidently as a tree produces its fruit. But what is their fruit? Their appearance is not their fruit, for they come in sheep’s clothing to hide their real character and intentions. Their works may also appear like those of true apostles (as verses 21-23 indicate), and are seemingly done in the Name of Christ. Then what is their observable fruit which distin­guishes them as corrupt?

Perhaps the Old Testament can help. By definition, a prophet is one who spoke for God and from God. The formula, “Thus saith the LORD” is universal in the Prophets. Three things determined the true prophet.

First, prophecy must come to pass: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously” (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Second, even if it came to pass, but led them to serve other gods, the prophet was false: “If… a prophet… giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or wonder come to pass whereof he spoke to thee, saying, let us go after other gods,… let us serve them, then shalt thou not hearken to the words of that prophet” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3).

Third, if the commandments of God are contradicted in any way, the prophet is false. In I Kings 13, a young man of God spoke the word of the LORD to King Jeroboam, and it was fulfilled. Jeroboam invited him to come home with him; the young man refused. Then an older (false) prophet from Bethel invited him, and again he refused, saying, “I may not return with thee…. For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink no water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back…. But he lied unto him.” As a result the young prophet listened to the older prophet, and was killed by a lion because he disobeyed the word of the LORD!

The fruit of the false prophet is his lies, every time! In Jeremiah 23:21-31 Jehovah says, “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they proph­esied…. I have heard what the prophets said, who prophesy lies in my name…. Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart…. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.”

In addition, in Matthew 12:32-35, immediately before and after the Lord speaks of the two kinds of fruit, good or corrupt, He mentions words: “O generation of vipers, how can ye being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh… every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment.”

Therefore, the fruits of the false prophets are their teachings. At first they will use Scrip­turally true language, but little by little they will bring in their “doctrines of demons” (I Timo­thy 4:1) which will always twist or deny something about the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Delusive in Experiences: Differentiating the Will of the Father from the Works of Iniquity. 7:21-23

The Will of the Father 7:21

Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Christ has come full circle in His Sermon. In 5:19-20 He said that there must be a doing and a teaching of the commandments, and that there must be a better righteousness, better than the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Now He says that the doing must be a fulfilling His Father’s will, not a mere mouthing of His Name. According to the parallel passage in Luke 6:46 He says, “And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” The will of the Father is obedience to His Word!

The Works of Iniquity 7:22-23

Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out demons? And in thy name done many wonderful works?”

Now the Lord turns to the future judgment of the unbelievers and deals with their profes­sions of experiencing various things in His Name. The phrase, “in that day” is used 112 times in the Bible and has a number of connotations, ranging from temporal problems when Israel was in Egypt (Exodus 8:22), to problems with their kings (I Samuel 8:18), to the future great “shaking” in Israel (Ezekiel 38:19), or to the peace in the earthly Kingdom of Messiah (Isaiah 4:1-4). But here in Matthew 7:22 it obviously refers to the time of judgment when the false professions of these unbelievers are revealed. This becomes even more evident when the phrase “the day of judgment” (Matthew 10:15) is compared with the parallel context in Luke 10:12, “in that day.” This final judgment of the unsaved will occur at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15). Three areas of professed experiences are listed, including prophesying (already discussed in verse 15), casting out demons (which will be considered at Matthew 12:24-29), and the “wonderful works” (dunameis) or “powers” which is used of various kinds of miracles. The outright rejection of these professions in verse 23 certainly points to their falsehood: such “powers and lying wonders” (II Thessalonians 2:8) would have their source in Satan and his cohorts. These deeds are so powerful “insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). This kind of deception is not limited to the end of the age; it has been evident ever since the Lord ascended to heaven.

Matthew 7:23 “And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

In spite of all their successes, what is the end of the false prophets? The most tragic words ever to come from the lips of our Lord are to be spoken against them: “I never knew you” that is, you never belonged to my family; “depart from me” to which can be added, “ ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:31); “ye that work iniquity.” This is a present participle, “ye who are working lawlessness.” The whole tenor of their lives, no matter what their outward demonstrations, is characterized by law­lessness. Experience should never be the determining factor for authenticity. Even the performance of super-human works does not prove the reality of the messenger or his message. How often the Name of the Lord has been professed by those claiming to have “a word of knowledge” or the “ baptism in the Holy Ghost” or the gift of “tongues” or the “signs and wonders.” Sooner or later great sums of money are collected by these false prophets under one guise or another, but there is little or no regard for the truth of the whole counsel of God’s Word. Little wonder, then that the Lord closes His Sermon with a third and final warning, the danger of the Sandy Foundation!

Read Part 39