Watchout For WOLVES: Keys To Discerning Authentic Ministries & Evaluating Doctrinal Trends

Next, there was the south wind. This wind was warm and dry. It brought good weather unless it lasted too long, in which case, it brought scorching heat. This wind was also quite frequent. This wind was also referenced by Jesus in Luke 12:55-56: And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Next, there was the north wind . This wind was a strong, continuous wind that drove away the clouds and with them the rains. It was a disagreeable wind that often caused headaches and fever. There seems to be some confusion among the translators of Proverb 25:23 where it makes reference to the north wind. Some of the older translations render it as follows:

The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a backbiting tongue. – DRB

As the north wind holds back the rain, so an angry glance holds back slander. – NEB

Some of the more recent translations render it more like the New International Version.

Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue — which provokes a horrified look. – NIV

So which is it? Does the north wind drive away the rain or does it bring the rain? The IVP Bible Background Commentary exp lains it this way. “ In Israel a north wind does not bring rain but fair weather. It is therefore suggested that this proverb had its origin in Egypt where the north wind does bring the rain off the Mediterranean (five to ten inches per year in the delta). ” So we could say, the north wind can either bring rain from off or the Mediterranean Sea if you are in

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