False shepherds, whom God has not appointed, pose a grave threat to the flock. Jesus describes such individuals as thieves and robbers who access the sheep without going through Him, coming to steal, kill, and destroy, though their destructive intent may not always be evident. He also speaks of hirelings who care not for the sheep but for their own safety, abandoning the flock in times of greatest need rather than laying down their lives for them. God pronounces woe on shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of His pasture, driving them away and failing to attend to their needs. He declares that His people have been lost sheep, led astray by shepherds who have become dull-hearted and have not sought the Lord, resulting in scattered flocks and a lack of prosperity. Additionally, some shepherds feed themselves instead of the flock, ruling with cruelty and force, neglecting to strengthen, heal, bind the broken, bring back the driven away, or seek the lost. Though this often applies to physical leaders of Israel, it also pertains to spiritual shepherds of God's flock, highlighting the danger of destructive under-shepherds who fail to reflect the care of the Chief Shepherd.

Sometimes, circumstances scatter Christians, leaving the sheep without a shepherd, vulnerable and isolated. However, if sheep choose to reject the under-shepherds gifted by the Chief Shepherd, they willfully step outside His established order, placing themselves in grave danger. Such sheep risk turning to their own way, developing bad spiritual habits, becoming prey for satan, and ultimately growing malnourished and spiritually diseased. Christ establishes that sheep must submit to godly shepherds, comparing their instruction with God's Word, while always obeying God over men when the two conflict. In recent decades, the church of God has unraveled, causing agitation among the flock. Some shepherds grow suspicious or contemptuous of other shepherds, engaging in turf-wars and sheep-rustling, inciting further unrest. Sheep who have suffered abuse or neglect from hireling or derelict shepherds become less inclined to trust others, and peace suffers. God warns through Ezekiel that dominant sheep may push weaker ones, scattering them, while defiling the pasture. Some shepherds, losing focus on the Good Shepherd, elevate themselves, using and abusing the sheep rather than tending and feeding them. Both sheep and shepherds risk becoming bogged down in worldly pressures, contributing to the ongoing unrest in the church. Despite this chaos, the Good Shepherd remains in control, limiting the harm hirelings can cause and overseeing the under-shepherds to fulfill His will.

In these times, the rise of mega-churches has turned spiritual shepherding into a booming industry, with shepherds of vast flocks becoming symbols of affluence and, at times, extravagance. Some of these shepherds, while possibly desiring to spread their message, amass million-dollar salaries and build personal empires, often delivering shallow teachings that fail to guide their flocks toward true holiness or a meaningful connection with God. Disturbingly, this businesslike focus on large numbers over the well-being of the sheep has seeped into parts of God's church, where sheep are enticed to abandon their current shepherd for another, lured not by spiritual nourishment or protection, but by promises of joining something grand or escaping future tribulations. The biblical warnings to shepherds about their priorities are stark and numerous. Job 24:2 condemns those who seize flocks violently and exploit them, while Ezekiel 34 delivers a scathing rebuke of irresponsible shepherds who view their sheep as mere tools for personal gain rather than embracing the solemn duty to nurture their spiritual health and equip them for ministry. God's focus, as seen in Ephesians 4:12-13, is on the quality of spiritual growth, not the quantity of followers, even though the number of true sheep in this time of judgment is limited. Shepherds who ignore this and lure away sheep not assigned to them are guilty of a grave offense akin to sheep rustling, a crime once punishable by death in harsher times. All sheep ultimately belong to the Chief Shepherd, and those who hear His voice follow Him, including to the human shepherd He deems best for their needs, as affirmed in John 10:27 and John 18:9. For a shepherd to disregard this divine assignment and entice sheep away is to defy the will of the One who ensures none of His own are lost.