Habakkuk 1:8 “Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.”
In my lingering memories are times of traveling in Africa. Being in one of the East African game parks and observing the elephants, giraffes, and rhinos in their natural habitat is a forever experience.
Among the observations was to see the predator cats stalking their prey. The female lions crouched watching the wildebeests, antelope or at times, cape buffalo. Male lions wait while the females provide lunch.
In Tsavo East Game Park in Kenya I watched several cheetahs stalk a herd of gazelles. When they finally began their run, the prey was over a hill from my vantage point. To watch a “kill” is an exciting but terrible thing to see.
There appears to be a feeding priority order. The cats would kill the prey. After they ate their fill the hyenas would come along to partake of the left-overs, then the vultures would clean up the mess. All that was left was a bone pile.
Wolves are both predators and scavengers. I live in an area where there are numerous coyotes. I have discovered in my wanderings through the forests and fields, coyotes will eat most anything from small animals to seeds from various trees.
Coyotes appear to me to be miniature wolves, but less aggressive than wolves. Perhaps, subtle would be an applicable word. Sneaky might also apply. That they are seen mostly at night, hiding in darkness like humans sometimes do, speaks loudly concerning their intent.
To witness a bird of prey swoop down into a lake and retrieve a fish from the water, or a hawk or owl crash land himself into a field to gather his lunch in the form of a rabbit or mouse, reminds us of Bible principles. These are presented to us in the form of warnings.
Matthew 7: 15-16 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”
The Bible continually warns us of false prophets and teachers. It is easy enough to discern either if one is well-studied in the scriptures. The defenseless are the prey of the predators. Unsuspecting, innocent and tasty, the victims fall for the first silver-tongued liar that comes along.
One characteristic of the false teachers is that in so many cases, they believe what they are saying. That makes them very convincing. If someone tries to teach a gospel other than the scriptural truth, either run or if so learned, point out where they are not in line with the Word of God.
Galatians 1: 8 “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” The Apostle Paul warned new believers in the first century of those that perverted the Gospel.
For centuries, men have included their own notions and opinions into the teachings of our Creator God and those changes can alter God’s intended meanings.
We have found in cultures around the world, if a false prophet contacts their victims before the truth of the Bible is presented, it is virtually impossible to convince them of the truth.
This is why is it imperative, true Christians with the Holy Bible version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ must continue to work and work long hard hours to promote the Gospel.
The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).
We live in a world with many intent on misleading others; the scammers, identify thieves, advertisers and even the merchants we purchase products from. Where can we find the truth? Everything is questionable and maybe it has to be. Many see trust becoming a thing of the past and credibility is a term seldom heard (or drastically misused) in this century.
Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse there would be deceivers and false prophets. We are witnessing this coming to fruition. Many believing they are God called are promoting their own ideas and the last chapter in the Bible clearly states this practice is prohibited.
Revelation 22: 18b-19a “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life.”
The predators and the scavengers consume what is available. The religious predators are after the vulnerable and weak. The scavengers pursue the many that fill seats in a church but have no spiritual inclinations. We must not allow ourselves to be the victim.
Galatians 1: 10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email: vmy2121@outlook.com
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