The Sermon on the Mount XIX
Pastor Marty Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 1:02PM Subtitle: Conclusion-False Prophets and Pretenders
Matthew 7:15-23. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 28, 2024.
We continue looking at the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave. He warned them to take the narrow gate with a difficult way because it leads to life.
Now, he warns us against false prophets and pretenders who could mislead us in some ways. Like the serpent with Eve, people who are pretenders can mislead the gullible. They are a threat to the true disciple. Thus, Jesus gives us apt warning.
False prophets do not call themselves “False Prophet So-And-So.” They always call themselves a true prophet. This was a problem in the Old Testament, and Jesus is telling us that it will continue to be a problem during the Church Age.
Of course, we are well aware of many examples of false prophets through the years. The most obvious are men like Jim Jones who talked hundreds of people to follow him to Guyana and a erect a self-sufficient compound. When it was all done, almost over 900 people died from drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid, from which comes the phrase, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. How many family members pleaded with those who followed Jim Jones, recognizing him for the false teacher and false prophet that he was?
You would like to believe that there would cease to be false prophets when Messiah Jesus had come. This will be true at his second coming, but during this period following his first coming, he is commanding believers to recognize false prophets and bring them to account. Yet, Jesus recognizes that they will be successful with a certain amount of people, and thus, he warns those who would be his disciples.
Let’s look at our passage.
Beware false prophets and pretenders by discerning them (v. 15-20)
In this passage Jesus only uses the term false prophet. However, elsewhere he talks about false christs and false witnesses. The apostles also warned against false teachers, false apostles, and false brethren (i.e., false christians). Basically, any real work of God can be falsely mimicked by pretenders.
This is not just a message to the Jews who were rejecting Jesus. A well known case of a false christ, or false messiah, happened around 135 A.D. (one hundred years after the death and resurrection of Jesus). This is the case of Simon bar Kochba (also Koziba). He was backed by Rabbi Akiva as being the Messiah. They expected him to lead Israel in casting out the Romans, but instead, his forces were crushed and he was killed.
Such a man was not working for the God of Israel, but for something else. These pretenders lead to many others being killed because of putting their trust in them. Yet, Jesus is speaking to his followers. They are not “Christians” so to speak, just yet, but they are those who would choose to be his disciples. False teachers and false prophets will come, and the disciples of Jesus will need to discern what they are so that they are not deceived. Since Christ will come back (the second coming), false christs (messiahs) have often come claiming to be him. Of course, false prophets are usually predicting the second coming, or the rapture, or claiming some special knowledge.
In verses 15-20 Jesus makes the point that we need to discern false prophets, which means that we can do so. In verses 21-23, he makes the point that those false prophets and pretenders will not fair well when they stand in judgment before him “in that day.”
The word translated in the NKJV as “beware” emphasizes keeping this area of deception in front of you, thus keeping it in mind and giving it your focus. Yet, this does not mean it is the only thing, or even the primary thing.
Still, it is easy for us to think that this doesn’t happen to us. When John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan, Matthew 3:7-10 tells of a interaction between him and the religious leaders. They had come out to see what he was doing, perhaps to see if they could find something with which to pin the label of false prophet on him. They would have felt strongly that they were vigilant against false prophets and false teachers. Yet, they were the false teachers of their day.
John actually calls them a brood of vipers. This would be loaded with spiritual connotation that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the offspring (spiritual imagers) of the serpent. They needed to do works “worthy of repentance,” if they wanted to enter the Kingdom of Messiah.
This helps us to see some of the problems of false prophets. We are easily swayed by institutions and men of power who are always ready to train us in their ways of power. When this is done in the name of God, it can disarm people who say they are being vigilant.
Satan himself is the first false prophet, false teacher. He teaches Eve to disobey God and follow his advice, even imaging him as they assert their will over God’s. So, we should all ask the question, “Am I gullible?” The answer is that you are to certain types of false prophets. We can all be deceived if we are not walking in real relationship with God. We can follow that which has the proper form, and yet lacks the true substance underneath, i.e., lacks power (2 Timothy 3:5). In fact, because the religious leaders of the first century lacked true substance underneath the accretion of proper forms, they were hostile to the presence of true substance within Jesus. Some of the greatest “heresy hunters” can be guilty of the same.
Jesus gives a metaphor that helps us to see how false prophets operate. They come in sheep’s clothing, but in their inner man, they are ravenous wolves. The reference to sheep denotates the flock of God, which was supposed to be a description of Israel. These false prophets pretend to be a good Israelite who is worshiping Yahweh, but inwardly, they are not.
The sheep’s clothing upon their wolfish being may not be a very good costume, easily seen through. However, it may also be on the same level as Hollywood costume designers, which makes it much harder to know for sure if that is really a wolf under there. Of course, this is a spiritual metaphor, so we have to make the connection to what that looks like. They may be very skilled at playing the role of a follower of God (1st century Jew or 21st century Christian). It may take some time for even mature believers to discern that a person has no substance.
Think about your favorite actor or actress. Why are they your favorite? It most likely has nothing to do with what they actually are like in their day to day relationships. It is probably because they act out roles that you like extremely well. Yet, remember this. An actor is good when they can make you think that they are something that they are definitely not. They are good pretenders, good posers. They are very skilled at the external matters of being a Christian.
However, being a disciple of Jesus, and a sheep in the flock of God, is not simply a matter of certain externals. Christians say certain things, and use certain lingo. Christians go to church and meet with other believers. Christians do certain rituals like communion or water baptism. Now, it is good that we do these things, but no one is saved by doing these things. These things are supposed to be a witness of a real relationship of faith in Jesus. They are supposed to be the fruit of a heart that loves the LORD their God with everything and their neighbor as themselves.
God is looking for a deeper transformation than these things. He wants our heart.
The false prophets are actually ravenous wolves underneath all that costume. This is what they are really. The look religious, sound like they love God, but they are hungry predators focused on their own base desires. How long can a hungry wolf pretend to be a sheep when he is surrounded by a bunch of yummy sheep? They are putting on a show because they expect to get something, some things, out of it. Like a wolf will eat a sheep, so they will use the sheep to satisfy their desires. It may be the pride of life that is satisfied by a large following of devotees. It may be a lust for power that is satisfied by people who unwisely obey their every word. It may be some disordered sexuality that is satisfied when people do not hold them accountable. Cult leaders often talk people into letting them take their wives, even their daughters, for sexual pleasure. Of course, there is no end of the debasement in these categories. It may simply be the lust of wealth, greed, and any manner of other things. Generally, the false prophet has hangups in multiple of these categories. They do not live on the proper grass that God provides for the sheep. They are sensual beasts that only say no to their flesh for a moment in order to keep up their costume. They will satisfy their lusts in the end, and many unwitting people will have helped them to do it too! To be clear, wolves are never good around the sheep, even when they dress like them.
Now, some might say that religion itself is the problem. If you never involved yourself with religion, then you would never be suckered by a false prophet. This is a lovely fiction that is imagined because we tend to think of religion as something to do with a belief in a “god.” However, atheism has all the hallmarks of a religion.
Atheists put their trust, their faith, in the idea that all things have a material cause and explanation. They refuse to believe that there can be a God who operates in this world. Yet, this is not something they can prove. Generally, they only require “proof” from God, but what is the proof that all things only have material causes and explanations? They would probably retreat to the idea of probabilities, but this is no safe haven for the atheist either. Which is more probable, nothing created everything, or an all-powerful, all-wise Mind created everything? They believe this proposition so much that they exercise faith and order their life around it. This is a religion which exchanges God for the material creation itself.
We might recognize that Karl Marx, Chuckie Darwin, Mao Zedong (Tse Tung), and all the others were false prophets speaking to those who were tired of Christianity.
Jesus tells us that you will know them (discern them) by their fruit. This is an analogy from the area of fruit trees versus trees that do not bear good fruit. If a tree grows a particular fruit, then you are assured of its true nature at the cellular level.
Since we are talking about hypocrites, let’s picture the difference between a Christmas Tree and an Apple Tree. We might decorate a Christmas tree with real apples, but we would have to tie them to the branches, or tape them. No matter how much we decorated the tree, if you pay close attention to the fruit you will see if it naturally grows out of the tree, or is unnaturally, even synthetically, connected.
This powerful metaphor lies in the fact that an untrained eye may not be able to tell the difference between a good fruit tree and a tree that is not such before it begins to fruit. However, once it begins to fruit (or not) even a child would recognize that it is not what it purports to be. If you saw a tree with apples tied to its branches, you would know that something was wrong in this “orchard.”
A false prophet and false teacher is incapable of producing good fruit because of the truth, the reality, of who they are. Of course, they could repent (do works worthy of repentance) and be changed by God, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
In verse 19, Jesus warns those who might be tempted to follow such trees, because parts of their flesh enjoy the wicked fruit of these false teachers. These trees, false prophets et. al., are destined to be cut down and cast into the fire. This refers to their judgment after death. God may not judge a false prophet quickly (of course, He can), and they may make a long living at it. However, in the end, they will die and be punished.
If you agree with such people, you will join in their reward, which is no reward at all. Adam and Eve participated in the wickedness of the devil that day in the Garden. As such, they would join in his lot, unless they found room for repentance in their hearts. We musts turn away from easy deceptions that play on the lusts of our heart and mind.
Sometimes we are drawn by the way that personal prophecies buoy are ego. We may like having the “inside knowledge” that such men may purportedly proffer. Our flesh loves having secret knowledge that others do not have. Sometimes our flesh loves having a religious leader tell us that our sin is acceptable in God’s eyes, and we don’t have to change. Whatever it is, we must beware of letting the lusts of our heart lead us into the sin of following a false prophet and false teacher.
They will not be able to fool Jesus at their judgment (v. 21-23)
Jesus moves forward in time when these false prophets and false teachers will be judged. It pictures them standing before Jesus “in that day.” This pictures a judgment of these individuals. Not only will they never truly enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the daily operation of the true Church, they also will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven that will be brought in at the Second Coming of Jesus. They are shut out by the Spirit presently, and will be shut out by Jesus in the future.
Verse 21 gives a general statement up front. Entering the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of declaring Jesus is your lord, even twice. It is a matter of truly putting your faith in Jesus and following him. This verse doesn’t just apply to false prophets. It also applies to false brethren, i.e., false christians, who are not truly believing in Christ, they have a false conversion. They are not trusting Jesus to fill them with His Spirit and empower them to walk out His righteousness. They profess Christ, but they do not possess Christ. If he actually were their Lord, then they would do the things that he commands. They would be serving Him rather than themselves.
Verse 22 pictures them protesting their coming judgment. Didn’t we do these things in your name? This question is a lie, just like their sheep clothing was a lie. They used Jesus as a cover, but in the end, they did everything for the lusts of their flesh. Now that they stand before him, they seek to pull the wool over his eyes as they were so successful in doing to people during their life. They are making a case, but we might think of it as a protest. They see that they were wrong and are going to pay, and yet they make a protest against the righteous judgment.
Some people are bothered by the list of works that they refer to in verse 22. First, I would point out that the list is clearly meant to tie back to the false prophets in the earlier section. Yes, there are false christians, but this pictures the false prophets and false apostles. They prophesied in the name of Jesus. They cast out demons in the name of Jesus. And, they did many wonders in the name of Jesus. How could a false prophet do these things?
We need to understand a several things about this. These false prophets represent a broad range of people and intentions. There are some people who have been misled by a false prophet and are merely continuing a false way that they were taught. They don’t know any better. They think they are right. Others are charlatans who are merely seeking to fleece the sheep. However, some are in league with the devil and are knowingly undermining the teachings of Jesus.
When the charlatan does something amazing, it is generally a trick. Peter Popoff pretended to hear personal details of people’s life and needs from God, but in truth, he had an earpiece and was hearing from his wife reading from prayer requests they had filled out earlier. I think that God may sometimes grant someone a healing because of their faith, despite the lack of character of the minister.
However, some people are in league with spirits and are using occult arts to wow people. The devil does have a certain level of power. We are warned that the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:9), comes forth according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders. The False Prophet of Revelation 13 is said to be able to call fire down from heaven. We are warned in Scripture not to follow people solely because of powerful signs. We are to discern the fruit of the life that they live.
For those who are somewhat fearful at the idea that Satan may have some kind of real power, we must always remember that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Don’t be a person running around trying to find the person who appears to be ministering powerfully. Instead, look at the fruit of their life, if they will even let you close enough to know what that is.
Jesus will not be deceived by these people, no matter how good they are with humans. Jesus knows what they really did. You may be a good lawyer that is able to get the best of people to question what their lying eyes are seeing, but your lawyer tricks won’t work with Jesus. He sees right through your costume to the sinful heart that lies beneath. Jesus says, “I never knew you!”
They may have done a lot of things in the name of Jesus, but they never had a real living relationship with him. If they had, then he would know them. The word “know” speaks of an intimate experience of life together. What kind of people do things in the name of others, with whom they have no relationship? They are called thieves and robbers.
We need to rely upon Jesus more than just the lust of our flesh in order to determine who is a prophet, or teacher, of God. We need the written Word of God, but we also need true relationship with the Lord Jesus who is the Living Word of God. Nothing helps against deception as good as having a living and growing relationship with Jesus.
In such a relationship, you will have the Spirit of God calling you away from the sins of pride, lust for power, lust for things, etc. You will come to recognize that these people are wearing a mask and not responding to the Holy Spirit. You will develop a good sniffer for false people. Of course, we should be careful of developing a pride in our ability to “spot a fake.” Like the person who is proud of their great humility, we can always fall into sin and error when we think too highly of ourselves. This is a classic error of false prophets and false teachers. They lack the very basic lessons that the Holy Spirit is faithful to correct everyone of God’s disciples with.
We are called to know Christ and be known by him. This is a life of prayer, reading the word, wrestling with Christ over wisdom and needs, hearing from His Spirit the things we need to do, and correction when we neglect to follow through. Learning to say no to sin in our life and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk out the righteousness of Jesus is the hallmark of life in the Spirit of Jesus.
In the end, they were doing the works of lawlessness. “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness!” They flaunted the Word of God and the Son of God for their own lusts. They did not see the Church as a holy bride of Christ, but instead, raped her at every turn. The lawless always cover themselves with the appearance of lawfulness, but they resist and rebel against the truth of God.
God loves you. Your relationship with Him may be broken, but He is still calling out to you. It is not His intention for you to be abused by false religious people. Instead, He wants to fill your heart and mind with the truth of His love, enabling you to see through those who would make merchandise of your soul. May God help us all!