"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. -- Matthew 7:15 (ESV)
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; - Acts 20:29 (ESV)
Throughout the bible we see God use certain imagery to drive home the teaching point He is making. We see this throughout the ministry of Jesus as well. One of the most known cases is the use of sheep and wolves. The imagery is simple. The sheep are the people of God and the wolves are those that seek to devour them. They are false teachers and prophets. The two key verses today are just two such examples that clearly show wolves are fierce, will not spare the flock, are ravenous and will disguise themselves as sheep!
Joseph Mattera is a rising profile in Charismania. When he was lesser known, his writings were usually more spot on but now that he has a louder bully pulpit we see the NAR and false signs and lying wonders heresies creep into what he is selling. This week he decided to tackle the subject of wolves, sheep and horses. Now I do not remember the parable of the prodigal pony so I am looking forward to his biblical interpretation of something that is not in the bible. The first installment, linked above, is his view of who the wolves are in your church. Let us reason together once more and see how the false NAR teachings have corrupted even the simplest of biblical allegories.
"1. Wolves say yes outwardly to spiritual authority but say no in their hearts. Wolves attempt to fool the shepherds among them by outwardly being agreeable to the vision, ministry and responsibilities of the organization but inwardly they have no intention of fully obeying spiritual authority. In the beginning, they will do the absolute minimum of what is required--or maybe even excel--but it is merely for the purpose of positioning themselves into a place of trust among the leadership so they can leverage more influence and fulfill their fleshly schemes." -- Joseph Mattera
Remember a wolf is a false teacher or false prophet. When the Bible says they will devour the sheep it is their teaching or false representation of God which ensnares His people. Matthew 7 shows us people who were fully churched standing before the Lord only to discover He never knew them. These are the victims of the wolves. Yet Mattera begins with a favorite topic of NAR false teachers and that is the false authority paradigm they have set up. This is designed to keep the sheep beaten down and incapable of objecting to whatever the leadership wants. The bible teaches that true biblical leadership does not lord it over the people. We must understand that the purpose driven church model has taught these pastors that they are no longer shepherds. They are instead vision casting cult of personality figures. Hence the early reference here to vision as well. It is vital that we see what Mattera is establishing as his foundational argument for who the wolves are in your church. To him they are the people who would have the temerity to disagree with him. Wow. That is frightening.
