Let’s start today by answering this question, who is a prophet? A prophet in the Bible was one who would proclaim the Word of the Lord. A prophet would speak on the Lord’s behalf into a situation. Sometimes he would speak about a future event and at other times he would speak about a current matter.
Our world today, is filled with voices claiming to speak for God. But the truth is that many false prophets have gone out into the world to cause problems everywhere even in the body of Christ.
Today we want to understand how we can effectively “RECOGNIZE (IDENTIFY) FALSE PROPHETS!”
Paul and Peter, writing to the early Church, warned about false prophets and false prophecies (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
Who then is a false prophet? A false prophet is one who presents himself as speaking on behalf of the Lord, however instead of speaking the truth, he speaks lies.
How then can we recognize false prophets?
1. We can recognize false prophets by “their fruits.” Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ferocious) wolves” (Matt. 7:15-20).
Jesus described false prophets as coming to you “in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” They appear to be very humble, very meek – just like the rest of the sheep.
So, the first thing to notice about a false prophet is that they may look exactly like you. They are so deceptive, because they make themselves appear to look like other sheep.
The false prophet seeks to devour by causing people to either believe a lie or to put their trust in some other place than truly following Jesus or His Word.
This is what makes them dangerous. Here is the point: You can’t tell from their outward appearance that they are ravening wolves.
Jesus told us how to know them. “…20 Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:16-20).
2. False prophets prophesy what you want to hear. Another thing to be careful about is the false prophet who prophecies only what you want to hear.
3. They “Prophesy” from Their Own Imaginations. They do this by substituting their Own Words for God’s Word (Jer. 14:14; 2 Tim. 4:3).
4. They teach a Doctrine other than Christ (2 Pet. 2:1-3).
5. They are professing Christians whose loyalty is more to personalities than to the Word of God (Matt. 7:21).
6. They Are Dishonest about their real intentions (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
7. They seek to divide congregations (Rom. 16:17-18).
8. What they say does not come to pass (Deut. 18:21-22).
9. They lead people away from Christ (Deut. 13:1-4). What I find fascinating in this verse is that the false prophet announced a sign and wonder and it actually happened. This might lead you to believe that this false prophet is true. However, the real motive eventually comes out. This prophet would then turn and encourage people to follow other gods and worship them.
This is why time and patience are wonderful gifts when you are dealing with anyone who declares himself a prophet.
Time is necessary because it will eventually reveal the motives of the heart. Patience is required to see if what they say comes true.
10. They worship the creature more than the Creator (Rom. 1:25).
11. They are more concerned with their own desires than with God’s glory and honour (Phil. 3:18-19).
12. Their doctrine is usually self-centered rather than God-centered (Matt. 7:21-23).
13. Another marker of the false prophet is a desire for pleasure. Peter reminds us that many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. This may not always be apparent upfront, but over time it is revealed.
The sad part is not just that they teach it but the amount of people who will follow after them.
These people teach destructive heresies and destroy many sheep in the process. No wonder Jesus called them ferocious wolves.
14. They accept human teachings and traditions even when those teachings contradict the Word of God (Matt. 7:24-27; 1 Jn. 4:6).
15. They seek and respond to religious experiences and supernatural manifestations as their final authority in validating truth, rather than grounding themselves in the whole counsel of God’s Word (Matt. 7:22-23).
16. False brethren do not endure sound doctrine but seek teachers who offer salvation with the “broad road” of unrighteousness (Matt. 7:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:3-5).
17. They love flamboyant or “bogos” life styles. They go with sirens, bodyguards and police escort.
18. They like titles. You find them answering titles like “Reverend.” Only God’s name should be revered. By answering that, they are taking the place of God. “Reverend” is not one of the 5 ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 (Ps. 111:9; 1 Jn. 3:23-24). They also take titles like Dr. when they never saw the four walls of any University. They answer Archbishop. I have never seen the word any Archbishop in the Bible.
19. They do not do what they preach. Many of them tell you, “Do what I say, but don’t do what I do.”
20. Some of them wear cap on their head like the Jews while praying in the church. But the Bible says that we should not do that” (1 Cor. 11:3-4).
21. They wear big crosses on their necks, and big occult rings on their fingers.
22. They sell anointing oil.
23. They use (holy) water to pray for people thereby shifting the people’s faith from Jesus to water. This is idolatry.
24. Many of them baptize Infants. The Scripture does not allow infant baptism because baptism is an outward manifestation of an inward reality. Children can only be dedicated to God (Mk. 16:15-16).
25. They preach that once saved, always saved. This is a doctrine from the pit of hell. It makes people to live a loose Christian life in that they no longer strive to resist sin.
Salvation is an ongoing process. It is past, present and future (2 Cor. 1:12).
26. A good number of them are divorced (Mal. 2:16). If you are divorced you have no message (Matt. 19:5-6).
27. False prophets attract attention to themselves. The Holy Spirit will never attract attention to man, to make man Lord. When the Holy Spirit is in manifestation, He always makes Jesus Lord.
28. What is the fruit of their ministry? The greatest proof of the authenticity of your ministry is changed lives. The fruits of false teachers are unwholesome characteristics evident in the life of their followers.
You will not see changed lives in their congregation. Worldliness is the order of the day in their churches. Sin, and repentance, are not talked about or they are at best trivialized. The life of righteousness and holiness is left out.
Rapture and Hell are left out in their preaching (1 Jn. 4:5-6).
29. False prophets are popular with the world because they tell people what they want to hear. They tell you that you are lifted and blessed when they know that you are on your way to hell.
Why is it so? This is because people don’t want to hear their sins denounced; they don’t want to listen to the demands that they change their behavior.
30. They will face God’s punishment (Ezek. 13:9).
31. In the OT the punishment for being a false prophet was death (Deut. 18:20).
Conclusion: Knowing how to identify a false prophet will save you from becoming one of their victims.
Watch out for the next edition of the Good News from the Pulpit.
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