False Prophets
One
“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Mt 7:15-16). Jesus calls us sheep because sheep wander and do their own thing. This is what we do and why we disobey. This prophetic warning from our Lord, however, should cause us to shudder. There will come those who speak and teach in Jesus’ name but who teach doctrines not His own. He will allow but not directly will these treacherous infiltrators into His Church to test the fidelity of His flock. If we allow ourselves to get too comfortable with this world, too interested in a life of ease or pleasure, we can get deceived and led astray. Therefore, watch out, learn your faith, and pray! Lord, you are the Good Shepherd. Lead us to seek teachers who offer true doctrine summarized in the Catechism, to defend us from the wolves, interior and exterior.
Two
The CCC states, “The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths (of God), not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful” (#37). Our disordered passions tend to override our intellects so that we operate on fallen feelings rather than reason and become susceptible to following erroneous teachers. Therefore, Jesus says, “if the blind lead the blind they both fall into a pit!” (Mt 15:14).
Three
Our desire to justify our wrongdoing is how we leave ourselves open to false prophets, who offer lies we want to hear. Calling evil good or good evil cannot cover over the consequences of sin, however. St. Paul makes very clear that the desires of the flesh work against the Spirit and leads to destruction. “Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Gal 5:19-21). These deeds, then, constitute the evil fruit that Our Lord says will reveal the nature of wolves in sheep’s or shepherd’s clothing. To ensure we aren’t deceived, let us then live the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (cf. Gal 5:22-23). “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (ibid. v.24).
Four
Theologian Erasmo Merikakis, in his beautiful work, “Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word,” says that there is a “linkage between the wideness of the easy road that leads to destruction (cf. Mt 7: 13) and the niceness of the disguised wolves that lead astray in order to devour…in both cases it is fidelity to the voice and warnings of the Shepherd that gives the sheep the key to safety and life—recognition of the true way by its narrowness and of the true prophet by its fruits.” (p. 307-08). Our natural tendency is to commit evil. That is the choice that seems more fun, more dangerous, more thrilling. The truth is that doing evil, even when it seems fun, leads to sorrow and death. Self-sacrifice seems complete folly to a proud and pleasure-seeking person, but for those who accept the crosses found in life, they will see that God fills hearts emptied of selfishness. Thus, the narrow road that leads to happiness only seems narrow when we lack discipline.
Five
St. John the Apostle refers to this teaching of Jesus in his first letter. He says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 Jn 4:1). He then tells us to test the spirits by looking at the fruits of those trying to influence our actions. For St. John, there is one false prophet to especially look for, whose bad fruit will be that he refuses to confess Jesus Christ as Lord: the Anti-Christ. The CCC explains, “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah coming in the flesh” (#675). So, false prophets will deny Christ by glorifying men and fallen, sensual practices. These are the tell-tale signs to look for. These teachings help us remain faithful during times of trial. Lord, strengthen us in faith that we may rejoice at the fulfillment of your words. Today, I resolve to make a good examination of conscience to identify the false prophets in my life and go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.