One Torah For All

One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Exodus 12:49

"Behold,
I have told you in advance."

Chapter 6:
Beware of False Teachers

Watch out for snakes!

And Yeshua answered and said to them, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Messiah’; and shall deceive many.”
Matthew 24:4, 5

Yeshua not only warned His disciples that they would have to beware of false teachers and false messiahs, but He was also warning them (and all of us today) not to be a false teacher. Verse four can also be translated as saying, “See to it that you mislead no one,” and thus become a false teacher (prophet). Is it any wonder that Scripture teaches that those who teach will have more accountability before Him?

His concern for His followers being led astray can be seen in Matthew 24, as He warns us as His disciples. In the time it takes Yeshua to speak eighteen sentences He warns us three times. From verse four through verse 26, which is 23 verses, at least eight of these verses are a warning against these false prophets, teaches and messiahs. That is more than one third of this section of Scripture being a warning against this. This tells us that this is something pretty important that we should be particularly aware of in our lives.

Matthew 24:11
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

Matthew 24:24, 25
“For there shall arise false messiahs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.”[8]

The previous chapter examined the importance of obedience in the life of the disciple. That truth is closely related to the subject of this chapter. Obedience to YHWH will enable the disciple to determine a false teacher from a teacher of YHWH’s truth. In contrast to this truth, if a person is not living in obedience to His Voice, then most likely he will be deceived and follow the wrong path and the wrong person.

One characteristic of a false teacher is a lack of obedience to Holy Scripture. If a person is willing to be honest, there will be enough evidence to show anyone who is willing to see, that this is a false teacher. Occasionally this will only become evident with the passing of some time. But, if the true follower of Messiah will watch and be honest, these things will manifest themselves in a teacher’s life and he will be shown to be a true teacher or one who should not be listened to.

Another characteristic of a false teacher is the fruit that he bears. Yeshua teaches this to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7:15-20
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 So then, by their fruits you shall know them.

While it takes time for a tree to produce its fruit, it will produce fruit. If the disciple will be patient, then, in time, the false prophet will reveal himself by the fruit that he bears. According to the above passage, one of those fruits, is that the false teacher is like a ravening wolf. This simply means that he consumes those around him and spends his resources upon himself. The Holy Spirit teaches and reveals to each member of the body of Messiah who these false teachers are, if the disciple will only listen to the Spirit of truth.

In this review, the basics of how to study the Scripture were looked into briefly. These included the following six principles:

Equipped with these tools, a person can grasp the truth found within the pages of the Scripture, without straying into dangerous territory or falling prey to unscrupulous men.

Having laid a common foundation for mutual understanding to take place, let us now proceed on into the prophecies of the return of Messiah.

[8] The title of this book was taken from this verse, from the New American Standard translation of YHWH’s Holy Word: “Behold, I have told you in advance.” Matthew 24:25