Acts 20:29

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Acts 20:29

Paul had just admonished the elders of Ephesus to take heed to themselves and to the flock. He stated that they were overseers of the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Now, he explains why he so admonished them, saying, “For I know this.”

The Greek is in the perfect tense. The literal meaning of what he says is, “For I have seen,” but in the sense of his sight becoming knowledge. It is seeing in a metaphorical sense. We continue to use the same type of wording today when we say, “I see just what you mean.” We don’t physically see it, but our minds can see just as clearly as if our eyes had actually seen. Paul is fully convinced of what he is about to say, which begins with, “that after my departure.”

As he is on his way to Jerusalem and only meeting these men for a short time now, it means that this could happen at any moment. They, therefore, must pay careful heed to his words because he has already known what would happen. It is not an “if” but a “when.” Of what he warns about, it is that “savage wolves will come in among you.”

These words, along with what is coming in the next verse, comprise one of the saddest sets of prophetic verses in the New Testament. Paul, knowing the wickedness of the human heart, as well as the cunningness of the devil, was aware of what would happen to the churches.

His words will be confirmed as true within just a few short years when Jesus speaks to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:1. Paul indicates that with his departure, there will be the immediate temptation for false teachers to step in and take his place. He describes them as lukoi bareis, or burdensome wolves.

The word lukos is where lycan, or werewolf, comes from. It is derived from leukos, or white. That reflects the whitish hair of the wolf. The word barus signifies weighty or oppressive. Jesus uses it when referring to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:4, saying, “For they bind heavy [barus] burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”

These people would be heavy, oppressive wolves, savages “not sparing the flock.” They would be ravenous against the flocks and are thus set in contrast to the shepherds of the previous verse. The elders Paul is speaking to would have to be on a constant guard because those coming would certainly come in with subtlety and cunning, creeping around looking for a chance to assume leadership and then start to throw in their own perverse ideas and doctrines.

Life application: It would be unheard of for a church to open its doors and say, “We are proclaiming a false Jesus! Come in and join our damning doctrines. We have a sure path to hell.” Rather, churches begin with the intent of teaching the path to salvation, even if their doctrine is incorrect to begin with. Their intent is to do as they believe is proper.

For those churches with incorrect ideas and doctrine, they will face the Lord for judgment just as would any incorrect religion. However, there are churches that start out properly. They hold to what is right and in line with the word of God. However, it is not uncommon for such churches to quickly begin to divert after the retirement or death of a sound pastor.

It may be a matter of expediency, such as, “We really need a pastor, and although this guy isn’t the best, he will do until we find someone better.” In such a case, the chances are, the new pastor will come in and never leave. The congregation will get used to him and accept his watered-down teachings because it is the easiest path.

It may be a matter of someone being in the church who has always wanted to run things. And so, he secretly waits, agreeing with everything the pastor says. When the pastor retires or dies, he seems to be the right person to take over. However, he actually disagreed with the pastor on many points of doctrine, and he slowly begins to introduce them to the ears of the church. The wise leave. However, some stay, sure they made the right choice. Eventually, they are lulled into a state of total apostasy by this cunning wolf.

There are countless permutations of this to consider. The main thing is that the guard of the church was let down. It failed to adhere to the sound principles laid out in Scripture, and the congregation eventually accepts doctrines that are completely at odds with what is taught in the word of God. It is as common as nails in the frame of a house for this to happen.

Churches must be fixed and firm on proper doctrine. Without that, they will eventually be led astray, just as Paul noted to the elders of Ephesus.

O God, things that should never come about in a church arise. Quite often, it is simply because we are in a rush to have things continue without interruption or difficulty. But it often happens because people simply do not know the word well enough to know when they are being duped. Help us to overcome our desire for expediency at the expense of soundness. Help us to learn and adhere to Your precious and sacred word. Keep us on the proper path as we live out our days in Your presence. Amen.