And Out Come the Wolves

Today - it's kind of a different category that we're entering into for a bit on the list of Fifty Things. So far it's been a lot of things TO DO. Today we start looking at warnings. Things to beware of. Things to watch out for.

Now warnings are important. Because warnings can save us from catastrophe. They can stop us from causing ourselves pain or doing harm to others. And sometimes they can open our eyes to dangers that we don't even realize are dangers.

Now, there's some warnings out there that tell us to "Beware" that many of us are familiar with. We see them all the time. Warnings like "Beware of Dog." And you don't have to list the reasons why, because most of us, of a certain age - like over the age of 5 - we have an idea of what may happen if we DON'T beware of dog. Mainly, we are in danger of being a human-sized chew toy. You don't have to list the bad things that could happen to you on the sign - it's pretty obvious. Some warnings are not so obvious though - there are hidden dangers that might not be obvious at first. So there's a type of warning that details a list of bad things that could happen to you if you IGNORE those warnings. We see detailed warnings like these on things like cigarette packs, right? I mean, it's really fine print, but it's there. Something like - "Surgeon General's Warning: cigarettes can cause lung cancer, carbon monoxide poisoning, heart disease, black lung, yellow teeth, red face, empty wallets and premature birth whether you're pregnant or not." Which by the way, that last one was a real embarrassing moment for the Marlboro man out on the ranch that day. "Well the sun's going down, I reckon' it's about time we saddle up and…" (Thwap) (Looks down) - "Say fellas, did that cow get loose over there?" (Covers with dirt) "You didn't see nothin', Clyde."

If you're a first time guest, welcome to SeaCoast… nah - look, by the way, I know we have smokers here. I had a lot of smokers in my family. Some of my friends smoke. Some of my cinematic heroes smoked. I'm not judging you. Okay - I think of it like this - "Let he that eateth Big Macs throw no stones." Yeah - no warnings on Big Macs though, huh? Probably should be. You know why there isn't? Cause the clown lobby is even more powerful than the tobacco lobby. And it makes sense. Think of the sheer number of clowns in Washington. Sometimes it seems like they replaced the electoral college with a clown college. But I digress.

My point - and I do have one - is that if there are warnings on the pack and they list out the possible hidden dangers, then you're not in the dark. You know the risks before you take them. You know what could happen.

But not everything has a warning label. Not everything has a clear list of consequences. Some warnings are not mandated by government bodies, and in cases like we're gonna talk about in the next couple of weeks - they never will be. And it will become obvious why not. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Just realize that some very important warnings are a result of the knowledge of past experiences and previously experienced consequences. Warnings like - "Do not eat gas station sushi." Just… don't. Trust those of us with experience. If you must take your life into your own hands, stick with the hot dogs and the go-go taquitos.

See, that's a warning you should pay attention to for your own personal well-being.

Just goes to show you that some of the most important warnings we should pay attention to are not mandated by any governing body. In fact, some of the most important warnings we receive are a warning AGAINST certain behaviors by governing bodies or getting in bed WITH those governing bodies, so to speak. And these are some of the warnings that Jesus has for His followers and frankly to anyone who will listen. They are warnings that come from wisdom. They are warnings that come with receipts. Things that have happened in the past. And they are happening again in the present. And they will continue to happen again and again until followers of Christ heed these warnings from Jesus and take them seriously and watch out for them vigilantly.

When Jesus says "Beware" about something - we need to pay attention. Not because He's trying to scare us. He's the Good Shepherd watching over His flock. He gives us these warnings to protect us.

Alright - so let's take a look at our first warning. It comes from Matthew 7, it's part of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount. Starting in verse 15:

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves."Matthew 7:15

So #35 on our list of Fifty Things is:

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS

And Jesus says basically, you need to beware, because false prophets don't do you the favor of showing up and looking like the bad guys. Nope. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. And I think we need to realize how insidious this threat is. A clear and present danger hiding in plain sight. See - not every religious leader who claims to be a Christ follower is what they purport to be. And they can fool you for a while even - if you just caught little bits and pieces of what they're saying. If you just caught a clip on the news here, something on your "For You" page on TikTok or a reel here or there on Facebook - you might not know. Cause they quote scripture. They wave Bibles around. They use "Christian-ese," "churchy words" - language that is familiar to those in certain religious circles.

So how do you know? How do you distinguish a false prophet from a good prophet? Well - Jesus tells us - "look deeper." You can't just look at the surface level. Jesus tells us that you can identify a False Prophet by their fruit.

"You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions."Matthew 7:16-20

You can identify them by their… fruit…

Not by their branding.

Not by how many times and ways they try and attach their movements to Jesus, scripture, the Bible or religion in general.

Not by how pious they act or appear.

Not by their religious pedigrees or degrees that they possess.

You will know them by their fruit. We call fruit in the grocery store - produce. And that's what it comes down to… you will know them by what they PRODUCE. And yeah, that can be content - things they write or things they say, but you know the easiest way to tell what kind of fruit we're dealing with is by seeing what they PRODUCE in their followers.

YOU CAN TELL A PROPHET BY WHAT THEY PRODUCE IN THEIR FOLLOWERS

Do these prophets produce compassion? Mercy? Humility? Justice? By the way - that's not just justice as in the people I don't like get punished, the people I do like are spared consequences. That's not justice - that's a miscarriage of justice. Justice means the scales are balanced and fair for everyone and equality and the system is available for everyone. Do these prophets encourage kindness? Do they produce followers that show the love of Christ, whose name they so often use in vain for their own personal gain?

Or do these prophets produce followers that fear? If Jesus says "Fear not…" and the prophets you follow teach you to fear other people, to fear people different from you, to fear media and meaningless distractions in the grand scheme of things, if they teach you to fear your neighbor, if they teach you to be afraid because Satan in the form of some boogeyman is hiding behind every bush and every corner… then clearly they are a false prophet and not aligned with the teachings of Jesus, even though they use His name for their ulterior motives.

PROPHETS PRODUCE PEACE

FALSE PROPHETS PRODUCE FEAR

Do these prophets produce in their followers arrogance? Cruelty? Division? Hatred? Conspiracy? Tribalism? That's because False Prophets need enemies, usually imagined or exaggerated, to flourish. Because fear keeps people turning to them for answers. Fear keeps people loyal. And fear has a tendency to flush out anyone who isn't exactly like the homogenized group of clones the false prophets have formed a parasitic relationship with. Of course false prophets won't always say you need to be afraid… they'll use other language - they'll couch their fear mongering in phrases like "those people." "That group." "That threat." "Whatever awful name we're labeling our political rivals and challenges to our power this week."

False prophets prey on insecurity that they build within people. Jesus said:

"A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit."Matthew 7:18

You know, you look at the example of Jesus to see what He produced - His movement, His teachings, His disciples, they were consistently moving toward inclusion, not insecurity. Turning outward, not inward. Jesus moved toward lepers. Toward refugees. Toward Samaritans. Toward women. Toward the disenfranchised and marginalized. Jesus taught us that the Samaritan was our neighbor. Everyone was a neighbor deserving of love and respect. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors.

FALSE PROPHETS TEACH US TO FEAR OUR NEIGHBOR - or hate them.

If somebody's teaching or movement or platform consistently produces people who behave in an un-Christlike manner, in ways that you couldn't imagine Jesus acting - then it's pretty clear that the teaching is the problem and the mouthpiece is not speaking with the guidance of the Holy Spirit but rather the worst of the sinful nature of man. Are the followers of these individuals becoming more violent instead of more peaceful? Are they becoming more hateful rather than more loving and understanding? Then you don't need me to tell you that they are false prophets. You can take it from the mouth of Jesus Himself in Matthew chapter 7.

Now, I feel the need to clarify something here, because it's possible we have an image in our mind of what a prophet is and isn't, and in our modern day understanding, we may not get everything that I think Jesus would want us to take away from what He's saying here. A lot of us hear the word "prophet" and we think - someone who tells the future. Someone who pronounces a prophecy to be fulfilled later down the line. And that is PART of the possible duties of a prophet. But it was also the job of a prophet to speak truth TO power. Not to speak FOR power. Prophets of God, as we see them presented in the Old Testament in scripture, spoke FOR God and against abuses of power and corruption. They warned the people of the dangers of unchecked power and the ungodly behavior of those who were in power, and they took the powerful to task. If you explore scripture, you will find that the kings and powerful people had an uneasy relationship with prophets. And that is putting it mildly. Sometimes prophets were hated and chased and threatened and persecuted and killed by those in power, because those prophets were compelled by God to stand up for the things that matter to God - like mercy and justice and not abusing power for selfish gain. The prophet's job was not solely limited to predicting things that would or could happen in the future. Part of the prophet's job was to be a voice crying in the wilderness against injustice and corruption. Standing up for the people who God cared about - to be the voice of the voiceless and to also be a voice that could CONFRONT power. And this is a pattern we see over and over in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

When King David raped Bathsheba - and folks, I am so sick of religious leaders, usually on the far right, trying to downplay this. "Oh, David didn't rape Bathsheba, he just had a moment of bad judgment. And she was also partially responsible." There is such a thing as rape by abuse of the power of the office, not just physical force, and if you want to learn more about this scenario and the roller coaster of ups and downs that was the life of David, you can find a series we did here several years ago called "Choices: Lessons From The Life of David." If you want to see yet another series that ruffled some feathers for all the right reasons.

See, Bathsheba didn't have a choice in the matter when confronted with the unbridled and unchecked power of a king who sent for another man's wife and who had no qualms about killing her husband to cover up his own sins. Bathsheba says 'no' to the king and lives? She would've been another casualty. And religious leaders, by the way, who try and put some or all of this on Bathsheba, or who don't call this awful behavior by David out for exactly what it was - they either don't understand the culture that these incidents took place in, or, and more likely, they are being intellectually dishonest to protect a very specific viewpoint or interpretation. And then you have to ask yourself - why? Why would you defend the indefensible? Why would you minimize a behavior so reprehensible and shift blame? Who benefits? What kind of power structure benefits from teaching that worldview to a lot of people? What institutions are you protecting that perhaps have a reputation of similar indiscretions and taking advantage of those who do not have a voice, institutions that continually protect and 'restore' powerful men that make rich men richer? Whose modern day behaviors do these theological hand-waving exercises benefit by obfuscation of facts and muddying up the water? See - I'm off on a little tangent, a little sidebar here - but this one's a freebie: you get people working too hard to declare this scenario as anything other than the absolute abuse-of-power rape that it was - then there's a good chance they are not well studied or informed, or that they are in fact operating as a form of false prophet.

Getting back to the main point talking about King David - when David raped Bathsheba, it was the prophet Nathan who confronted David and spoke truth to power and risked his own life to confront David about his wicked deeds and say - "You are that man!" 2 Samuel 12:7

The prophet Elijah confronted King Ahab, who was leading the people of Israel to worship false idols. Ahab called Elijah "the troublemaker of Israel" (1 Kings 18) because Elijah's truth was upsetting the apple cart and the narrative that King Ahab and his false prophets were sending out to the people. These false prophets were protecting Ahab's power and giving it a stamp of approval. Elijah told the people of Israel:

"How long will you go limping with two different opinions?" (NRSV) "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent.1 Kings 18:21

The prophet Amos wrote passionately and prophetically with regard to their economic injustice and King Uzziah and King Jeroboam II's lack of concern for the least of these. Amos writes against those who:

"Sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way."Amos 2:6-7

Amos delivers a message in the voice of the Lord saying, "My people have forgotten how to do right," says the Lord. "Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence." He rails against miscarriages of justice:

"You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt."Amos 5:7

We could go on and on with different declarations and writings and different prophets. I'll just give you one more example from the New Testament - John the Baptist was the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. But he did more than just proclaim the coming Messiah. He also confronted corruption and evil. John the Baptist spoke out against King Herod, and it cost him his freedom and it cost him his life. In Luke 3 we read:

"John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others."Luke 3:19-20

And John's murder under Herod's power is recorded in Matthew 14 and Mark 6.

PROPHETS SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER

But false prophets - they sell out to protect power. They give religious blessings and 'authority' and a 'stamp of approval' to leaders who have not earned it and who would not recognize Jesus if He visited one of their pristine palaces or billion dollar ballrooms. False prophets wrap the evils of the empire in scripture and religious language. They baptize destructive nationalism and call it 'unity.' See, in these examples I gave you from scripture - it is the prophets speaking truth to power and standing up for the little guy and standing against evil behavior who are the true prophets. But so many kings… they had their false prophets. There's a great story in 1 Kings 22 about Ahab surrounding himself with 400 sycophantic prophets who tell him what he wants to hear. And they tell him he's gonna win this battle, because it's what he wants to hear. It's the goal he's going after. And so these 400 prophets who are not sold out to God but rather sold out to political power and money - they falsely go along with whatever Ahab wants. And of course it leads to Ahab's demise. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel write scathing condemnations of "lying prophets" who tickle the ears of the people with lies while bringing their people closer to destruction and ruin. Who lie for profit. Prophets for profit. Who proclaim peace when there was not peace. Who absolve the powers that be of their culpability.

If true prophets of God protected people by speaking truth to power, false prophets protect power by lying to people.

FALSE PROPHETS PROTECT POWER WITH LIES

Now there's a chance that some of you listening right now may be getting really hung up on the word prophet. Again - sometimes because of semantics and the way words are used in our culture, and particularly in segments of our culture, it can be hard to get away from the image of the prophet that some of us got from Sunday School teachers using felt boards. And we may think to ourselves, we may come to the conclusion that - "well, there's no such thing as a modern prophet." "Prophets don't exist in our society." "Sure there's people who call themselves prophets or who certain religious traditions call prophets, but it's not the same thing."

Okay. I'm not gonna hardcore agree or disagree with that assessment. It's a nuanced situation, not a Hollywood Squares question. But here's what I would have you consider - Prophets either spoke truth to power in the best case scenario, or they puckered up to power in the false prophet category. They were known voices. With platforms. A lot of people, if not the majority of the nation, knew who these people were. Most of these prophets were "Pundits" - one who offers opinions in an authoritative manner. One who presents as an expert offering commentary or critique with a focus on giving an interpretation or meaning to current events and personalities. We get the term "pundit" from a Sanskrit term meaning "learned man."

And so if you don't think there are "prophets" in the way you grew up thinking of them operating in today's society, can I at least get you to admit that there are people who are operating in kind of a "prophet adjacent" sphere? Are there those who are well known, who have political or religious platforms, who claim to speak from authority and offer opinions, commentary or critiques of current events and personalities? Of course there are. And whether they are pastors, political pundits or podcasters, the takeaways still apply with what we're discussing today. They are the modern day equivalent of prophets - or at least prophet adjacent. And it's important to be able to recognize the true prophets who align themselves with Christ and the false prophets who align themselves with empire and power and selfish gain. If you see a religious leader, a pastor, tripping all over themselves to exalt a leader who already exalts themselves, they're probably a false prophet. If you see a good Christian podcaster building a case for the greatness of a leader who builds monuments to themselves… they're probably a false prophet. If you see a so-called 'evangelist' who spends their time pimping the message of the government instead of promoting the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all men, they're probably a false prophet.

God and government make for strange bedfellows. And the truth is - they shouldn't be in bed with one another. They shouldn't even be in the same suite. History shows us the dangers of human kingdoms mixing with God's kingdoms. From the Crusades to the Catholic/Protestant wars in England to "religious ethnic cleansing genocides" - whenever religion merges with empire, sadly, we have seen it time and time again - the temporary, human power of the empire changes the religion more than the religion changes the empire.

And even in modern days it's been far too easy to go from "In God We Trust" to electing Caesars… and if not calling our Caesars God, at least putting them on a pedestal and pretending they are infallible. Making concessions for their sins instead of confronting them.

Perhaps one of the most well known prophet adjacent personalities in modern times was the evangelist Billy Graham. Now Billy Graham was not a perfect person - I don't think he would claim to be one - but my dad decided to follow Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade at the Los Angeles Coliseum when he was a teenager, and for that, I will forever be grateful. Billy Graham was sometimes known for his relationships with political figures, his friendships with presidents, but even though he could've used those platforms for personal gain, power and influence by giving blanket, partisan support with lips firmly planted on the cheeks that sit in power in a most un-Christlike way - as sadly at least one of his heirs has chosen to do - Billy instead said this. And this is just one quote, but I'm gonna leave it here and let it sit with you, not just to demonstrate the marked difference from what a false prophet might say, but also to let you think about the implications of this statement in 2026. Here's a quote from Billy Graham - advisor to 12 presidents from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama:

"I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."Rev. Billy Graham, Parade magazine, February 1981

And that's really what's at the heart of the actions and the teachings and the messages and the alliances of all False Prophets - manipulation, power and control. False prophets and the leaders who would use and exploit them really love control. They want control of the power. They want control of the system. They want control of the media and messengers that spread the message. And ultimately, they want control of you. And they will lie or twist the truth or create a false narrative to get control of you.

FALSE PROPHETS WANT TO CONTROL YOU

They want to control your thinking. Control your questions. Control your politics. Control your body. Control your fear so they can control your future. Control your identity. You ever notice how a false prophet or the power they protect gets nervous when you start asking questions? A true prophet or teacher would say, "Let's examine it together. Here's the evidence. Here's the consensus" - in a non-threatening manner. A false prophet or the power they protect just wants to shut those questions down. You'll hear them shout "How dare you question me." Maybe even call those who dare question them names. Disparaging remarks.

If you ever find a prophet… er… religious leader, political leader, pundit… who says or implies "never question," "never examine history," "never trust good scholarship," "never think critically…" Just know - they want to control YOU. On the contrary - the greatest prophet ever, God's own Son, who was also the Messiah and the Savior of mankind, He wants something different. He wants you to know the truth. And Jesus, He gave us a litmus test to determine if someone was with Him, or a false prophet, a false follower - in John 8:31 Jesus said:

"You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."John 8:31-32

JESUS WANTS YOU TO BE SET FREE BY THE TRUTH

And I hope you see the truth for what it is today. I hope you take this stuff to heart. If for some reason you're big mad today because you recognize false prophets or leaders that you like or liked, but you realize they are NOT remaining faithful to Jesus' teachings, they are NOT producing good fruit - I pray that the scales will fall from your eyes and your anger would be directed where it should be directed - at the people who manipulate you and lie to you and trample justice in the authority of Jesus' name on a false prophet's lips that are connected to a political leader's rear.

The truth will set you free. To stand up for what matters to God, for what matters to Jesus. Love. Justice. Lovingkindness. Humility. Meeting the needs of others. Sacrifice. Peacemaking. See, the truth is that a lot of people are more concerned with the rulers and kingdoms of this world and a power that is temporary, when Jesus has said all along:

"My Kingdom is not an earthly Kingdom… my Kingdom is not of this world."John 18:36

You know what, try and work your way into the upper echelons of these worldly kingdoms - unless you've got a billion dollars or a billion followers, you won't get your calls returned. And yet, in Jesus' Kingdom you are already welcome - you are invited to take your seat at the table where the King Himself will serve you. He has gone to prepare a place just for you when you leave this world, and He has not forgotten about you. He'll come again to receive you unto Himself so that where Jesus is, you may be also. He has given everyone who believes in Him the right to be called children of God. You are joint-heirs with the King of Kings. And He cares about you now. The King of Kings wants to walk with you in this world and show you how to love and how to live. To give you life with true meaning and purpose. Abundant life that will carry over from this world into the Kingdom that is not of this world.

Thank you for letting me share with you today. When next I see you, we're gonna have another "BEWARE" from Jesus as part of our FIFTY THINGS, but next week, you get a break from me again. I hope that you'll treat the person who is filling in for me with the utmost love and respect - cause if you don't, I promise you, I'll hear about it. Until next time, may God give you the wisdom and discernment to recognize false voices, and the courage to follow Jesus and live what is true, enjoying the freedom in Christ to love, to serve and to walk in His ways. God bless you! Have a great week!