The wolves are coming!

We cannot say we have never been warned. The Church of God is bracing, I would hope, for the tougher times ahead as we near the return of the Christ. We have been warned about the persecution to come upon the church. The Old and New Testaments give us warnings in several places.

For the most part, some of us in the body have been looking for the persecution, attacks, to come from outside forces hostile to God, be it Satan the Devil, and his army of minions, or institutions and people who come under his influence to achieve the desired purpose of persecuting the church. This is a true expectation.

Nonetheless, there’s another attack that will be, and may already is, coming against the church which is emerging from within. It’s unfortunate we often ignore the threats to the Body of Christ.

In his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, the Apostle Paul raised this concern. In Acts 20, he warns them about the dangers of “savage wolves,” a metaphor he used to describe those who will be coming into or in the church after his departure.

He identified them as false teachers who will attempt to mislead and exploit the church members for their own gain. “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. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ 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: 28-31.

Note carefully who these wolves would be. He warned the Ephesian elders,  these “wolves” would come from “among you.” This means the “wolves” would have been among them already–in the church, attending, perhaps active in the church activities and have become part of them. The attacks on the church would also be coming from the inside because there would be members there whose sole purpose is, “speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” He added these “wolves” would not spare the flock. These false teachers would exploit church members for their own selfish gains, to gain followers or to gain power.

In 2 Timothy 2:14, we see Paul continued his admonition to the young Ephesian elder Timothy. “Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[c] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Paul is clear about the dangers of false teaching. “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene” (2:16-17). False teaching is not innocuous. It leads people into ungodliness.

How was Timothy to address this? Truth mattered so keep remembering it and stick to it! The church leaders and members must be vigilant, discerning, grounded, and not be caught up in every wind of doctrine that blew their way. Sound doctrine must be adhered to and the flock must be protected. When you do that, the wolves cannot attack you because their motives would have been defeated.

Notice Paul even went to the extent of calling out the names of the false teachers. “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some,” (2:17-18).

It was not the first time Paul mentioned the name of Hymenaeus. In his first letter, Paul spoke of two men, including Hymenaeus, who “made shipwreck of their faith.” He said he had handed them “over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme,” (1 Timothy 1:19-20).

That may appear harsh but what it does is to show us the seriousness of the problem in the church and it’s not something to ignore because it’s going to happen again. The truth is Satan uses the very members of a congregation to attack the leadership and the body in general. Let’s be wary of that  reality.

 As we get nearer to the Second Coming, we must expect these experiences to emerge, and they are happening even as you read this article. They will escalate. The warning from Paul is relevant not just for the Ephesian church but for all churches throughout history, as false teachers and divisive individuals continue to emerge, especially in these troubled times. Let’s be on the lookout for “the wolves,” who may not appear as wolves but more like a lamb. They are people with evil intentions.