Acts 20:29 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you. — The figurative language followed naturally on the idea of the flock and of the shepherds who keep watch over it. It lies in the nature of the case that the wolf stands primarily for the open enemies of the flock, the persecutors of all ages. (Comp. John 10:12.) The wolves, however, might come in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15), and so the false prophets, the usurpers of authority, and leaders of parties within the Church, are also included in the term. Here this latter class is distinctly pointed out in the following verse. We find traces of the fulfilment of the prediction in the “turning away” of 2 Timothy 1:15; the “fiery trial” of 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:12; the suffering “as a Christian” of 1 Peter 4:16.