The Good Tree and the Worthless Tree
“Be on the watch for the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men. (Matthew 7:15-20)
The second contrast focuses on the danger posed by false prophets. That they are described as wolves dressed as sheep indicates that they are impostors.
The apostle Paul uses the same metaphor for false teachers in the church as early as Act_20:29, and the NT is full of warnings against the damage that false teaching could do to the life and health of the Christian congregations. The claim of divine guidance made false prophets even more dangerous. Jesus gave further warning about their future appearance in his olivet discourse:
Many false prophets will arise and mislead many; (Matthew 24:11)
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. (Matthew 24:24)
These false prophets are described as “coming to you,” and so apparently as people from outside the disciple group who nonetheless wish to represent themselves as being of the flock. The contrast between their appearance and what they are “inside” makes it clear that they are consciously putting on an act. Their destructive intentions are hidden behind a façade of humility and mildness. They want to be accepted as belonging to God’s people.
In Israel, wolves were associated with those who abused their position of leadership, while the false prophets covered over and gave divine approval to their deeds:
Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing prey; they shed blood and kill people to make dishonest gain. But her prophets have plastered over their deeds with whitewash. They see false visions and give lying divination, and they say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says,” when Jehovah himself has not spoken. (Ezekiel 22:27, 28)
Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves in the night; They do not leave even a bone to gnaw until morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men. Her priests defile what is holy; They do violence to the law. (Zephaniah 3:3, 4)
People cannot always be taken at their face value. All the more so when they claim to speak for God. Which is why abundant warning is given to test those claiming to bring divine communication:
If anyone thinks he is a prophet or is gifted with the spirit, he must acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone disregards this, he will be disregarded. (1 Corinthians 14:37, 38)
However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)
Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired statement, but test the inspired statements to see whether they originate with God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know that the inspired statement is from God: Every inspired statement that acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God. But every inspired statement that does not acknowledge Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist’s inspired statement that you have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world. You originate with God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in union with you is greater than the one who is in union with the world. They originate with the world; that is why they speak what originates with the world and the world listens to them. We originate with God. Whoever comes to know God listens to us; whoever does not originate with God does not listen to us. By this we distinguish the inspired statement of truth from the inspired statement of error. (1 John 4:1-6)
By their fruits you will recognize them. Trees produce only the kind of fruit which reflects their basic character, good or bad.
Under the law a way to test whether a prophet is true or false is given, if what they have foretold does not happen they are false prophets:
However, you may say in your heart: “How will we know that Jehovah has not spoken the word?” When the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word is not fulfilled or does not come true, then Jehovah did not speak that word. The prophet spoke it presumptuously. You should not fear him.’ (Deuteronomy 18:21, 22)
But even if a prophet’s words do come true, they are to be rejected if they call God’s people to follow other gods.
“In case a prophet or one who foretells by dreams arises in your midst and gives you a sign or a portent, and the sign or the portent about which he spoke to you comes true while he is saying, ‘Let us walk after other gods, gods that you have not known, and let us serve them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer, for Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul. After Jehovah your God you should walk, him you should fear, his commandments you should keep, to his voice you should listen; he is the one you should serve, and to him you should hold fast. But that prophet or that dreamer should be put to death, because he encouraged rebellion against Jehovah your God—who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery—to turn you from the way in which Jehovah your God has commanded you to walk. And you must remove what is evil from your midst. “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or your cherished wife or your closest companion should try to entice you in secrecy, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ gods that neither you nor your forefathers have known, (Deuteronomy 13:1-6)
In Jeremiah their ungodly behavior gives them away.
Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me. All my bones are shaking. I am like a man who is drunk And like a man overcome by wine, Because of Jehovah and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; Because of the curse the land has gone into mourning And the pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course is evil, and they abuse their power. “Both the prophet and the priest are polluted. Even in my own house I have found their wickedness,” declares Jehovah. “So their path will become slippery and dark; They will be pushed and will fall. For I will bring calamity on them In the year of reckoning,” declares Jehovah. “And in the prophets of Sa·marʹi·a I have seen what is repulsive. Their prophecies are incited by Baʹal, And they lead my people Israel astray. And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen horrible things. They commit adultery and walk in falsehood; They encourage evildoers, And they do not turn away from their wickedness. To me they are all like Sodʹom, And her inhabitants are like Go·morʹrah.” Therefore this is what Jehovah of armies says against the prophets: “Here I am making them eat wormwood And giving them poisoned water to drink. For from the prophets of Jerusalem apostasy has spread throughout the land.” (Jeremiah 23:9-15)
Jesus doesn’t explain what the “fruits are, but the metaphor recurs several times in Matthew:
Therefore, produce fruit that befits repentance. (Matthew 3:8)
Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30. (Matthew 13:8)
As for the one sown upon the fine soil, this is the one hearing the word and getting the sense of it, who really does bear fruit and produces, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30.” (Matthew 13:23)
The examples show the fruit to represent either behavior which demonstrates true repentance, or a lifestyle which responds to the preaching of the word
In Jeremiah’s day the false prophets were individuals. In the same way the future situation is concerned not with religious organizations as a whole that deviate from true Christianity, but with individuals. However plausible their words, it is by the life they live that you can recognize those who are not true prophets of God. They will spring up like weeds throughout the realm of his kingdom.
In response he said: “The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; the field is the world. As for the fine seed, these are the sons of the Kingdom, but the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will collect out from his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and people who practice lawlessness, (Matthew 13:37-41)
Are they presumptuous? Do their predictions fail to come true? Do they draw attention to themselves? Do they abuse their authority? Thus in this second scene, Jesus is again concerned with the way disciples live. Only those prophets living in harmony with God’s righteousness are to be trusted. What Jesus appears to be stressing over and over again is that false religion is reflected in bad living.