What New Testament warnings parallel Ezekiel 13:4's message about false prophets? Ezekiel 13:4 in focus “Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among the ruins.” (Ezekiel 13:4) The picture Ezekiel paints • Jackals lurk where walls are broken, exploiting the rubble rather than repairing it. • False prophets likewise seize moments of weakness, offering empty comfort while leaving God’s people exposed. New Testament echoes and parallels • Matthew 7:15 — “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” • Matthew 24:24 — “For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” • Acts 20:29-30 — “I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.” • 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 — “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” • Galatians 1:8-9 — “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!” • 2 Peter 2:1-3 — “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies…many will follow their depravity, and the way of truth will be defamed.” • 1 John 4:1 — “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” • Jude 4 — “Certain men have crept in unnoticed…ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” • Revelation 2:2 — “You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.” Shared themes between Ezekiel and the New Testament • Opportunistic infiltration — jackals among ruins; wolves in sheep’s clothing. • Deception through appearance — fox-like cunning, sheep’s wool, angel-of-light disguise. • Spiritual ruin — broken walls in Ezekiel; destructive heresies, distorted gospels, and defamed truth in the epistles. • Divine accountability — God rebukes the jackals, and the New Testament repeatedly warns of judgment on pretenders. Living in light of these warnings • Stay anchored to the whole counsel of Scripture; compare every teaching with God’s Word. • Cultivate discernment by testing spirits (1 John 4:1) and examining fruit (Matthew 7:16-20). • Guard the local fellowship, just as elders in Ephesus were charged to watch the flock (Acts 20:28). • Hold fast to the true gospel and refuse any “different gospel” (Galatians 1:8-9). The same God who exposed the jackals of Ezekiel’s day alerts believers today: remain vigilant, cling to truth, and strengthen the walls with sound doctrine. |
    |