Something that is rife today...
Paul's prophecy Acts 20:29-31
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
This was what Paul predicted would happen to the church at Ephesus. It is of particular interest because in Revelation the first of seven letters is to Ephesus. It appears that in Jesus' commendation of the church they had been diligent around Paul's prophecy:
Rev 2:2 I know your deeds,your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
These false Apostles were identified by the Church and they were commended for it. However, they lost the war. It may be possible that Jesus' warning was carried out as their lamp-stand was removed because they continued to do works over relationship. Selah.
This is not the scandal... the fact that we fail to 'out' false Apostles today is one of the scandals in the Church today. To be clear: I don't see Apostolicity to be the same as the original Apostles or Paul. They had something rather unique. Maybe people are not sure what Apostolicity is. I spent 10 years thinking it was a church planted simply because a denomination said so. An Apostle is someone sent by God. That's it! However to be qualified to be sent by God there are a few things that definitely have to happen:
Isolation
Firstly he will have to have spent time in the wilderness being dealt with by God. This is not an intern program or a minister having someone 'under his wing.' In the case of Moses, David and Paul, their entire lives were disrupted for God to get them on their own to prepare them for their sending. All believers have 'tough times' but this is something that is not usual for believers, something tangible and can be pointed to. The wilderness involves some tricky core adjustments and can happen in a city. For some, the Lord actually takes them to a desert! This is a core element of the calling because God will crush the core desire to lead disciples away to join their thing. If your reaction was "I'd never do that!" That is a sure sign that you have the potential!
Propagation
Secondly, fruit must be present. Now read carefully because this has nothing to do with a huge church or prolific book writing ministry. It is about how their life has produced growth and faithfulness to Jesus in the immediacy of the life. Is the so-called Apostle steadfastly sticking to obedience to God's word even when it is detrimental to his own life? A quick test is 'is the believer actively obeying the instructions given by the original apostles, or, the will and purpose of Jesus? Of course, like everything there will be points where it all needs reassessment. But here is pointing to 'trajectory.' Is the man heading 'Due-Obedience?' Everyone has trials, trip-ups and breakdowns but the authentic sent-one will not change trajectory towards the set course. This is important because those who are distorting the truth cannot produce genuine fruit. They can produce a supermarket full of modified tomatoes but not the reproduction of the organic crop that can draw upon the source to grow.
Confirmation
Thirdly, others will see the marks of Biblical preparation. Many are part of denominations who have defined Apostolicity wrongly. They look at the actions of the so-called Apostle. Obviously the genuine Apostle will issue forth the Lord's will and purpose when the time is right. But assessing the sending from the actions without the metric of Biblical Apostleship is just plain error. Paul tells us he warned the Ephesians with tears for three years. He wasn't exactly trying to impress them. Paul was broken over the believers' possibility of being led astray. Paul exposed a heart that has been subjected to the Lord's processes and thus saw the Ephesians as fellow brothers and sisters who he loved as the possession of Christ. False Apostles never expose the brokenness because they are not sufficiently broken for the task.
Jesus wants access to the heart of the believer but when a false Apostle is active they capture the attention of the believer, not Jesus. People who were saved to be transformed into the image of the Son are drawn away and sink into the lie that they were born (again) to serve the man.
This is why false Apostles are so dangerous.
Gary Ward
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