False
prophets spread fear, give false hope that leads to disillusionment,
speculate about the future, and often boast of real or imagined
spiritual experiences. They find sin where there is no sin but conceal
sin where repentance is needed.
But
worst of all, they give a false testimony about God's nature and
discourage people from seeking the genuine gift of prophecy.
False prophets come as no surprise to Jesus. He said,
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11)
Prophet
Jeremiah faced a problem. God had given him a clear message but it
contradicted the message of every other prophet—both Baal and Yahweh's.
He must have felt slightly confused. Who was telling the truth? Then God
answered him.
“And the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy
lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to
them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless
thing, and the deceit of their heart.’” (Jeremiah 14:14)
But that the prophets prophesied lies was only a part of the problem.
“An
astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The
prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; and
My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?”
(Jeremiah 5:30–31)
The people preferred the lies of the false
prophets to the true message of Jeremiah, as they seemed to promise them
a better future than him. But that was not the end of the story.
“‘Therefore
behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the Lord, ‘who steal My words
every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,’ says
the Lord, ‘who use their tongues and say, “He says.” Behold, I am
against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the Lord, ‘and tell them,
and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet
I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit
this people at all,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:30-32).
There are many signs of the false prophets, and this list is by no means exhaustive, and not in the order of priority.
1. They don't care about history:One
of the main signs of a false prophet is that they don’t care about
history. It might sound odd that a person predicting future should care
about history, but in fact every prophet should be deeply concerned of
the past.
How can you be certain of fulfilment of prophecies in future if you haven’t reviewed their potential fulfilment in the past?
2. Their track record is poor:Many
prophets have been around for a while, which gives us an opportunity to
see their track record. What becomes clear is that the track record of
false prophets is often poor, a fact they seek to hide through referring
to their own prophecies as "fulfilled" but distorting their original
content and wording. They also refer to prophecies they have allegedly
given in the past, but there are no records of those prophecies.
John Hagee, for example, has a pretty poor track record. Before the US election in 2012, he said,
“I
have said it before and I will say it again: the election on Nov. 6,
2012 for the office of president is the day of decision for America.
Four more years of Obama will bring absolute socialism to America. Our
children and grandchildren will never know the greatness of America that
we have experienced.”
If
someone tells me that this prophecy has been fulfilled or is even in
danger of being fulfilled, I'd ask him or her to study the definitions
of the words 'socialism' and 'capitalism' again. The inequality gap in
the US has been widening
during Obama's tenure, perhaps not because of him, but regardless of
him, and big business is still in control of the nation. The United
States is no more or less socialist than before Obama's first tenure.
3. They don’t care about what the Bible actually says:False
prophets often make a lot of noise about believing in the Bible, but in
practice they pay only cursory attention to it at best.
But the truth is that if you have a prophetic gift you need to study the Bible even harder than anyone else.
“For
the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Every
prophet absolutely needs to study the Bible to increase their spiritual
discernment. We are all surrounded by many spiritual influences, and
prophets especially are in danger, as they are seeking or should be
seeking to hear God more than most, and the enemy will seek to hijack
their ability to hear in the spiritual realm.
4. They use other sources than the Bible:If
a prophecy refers to any other source than the Bible or hearing from
God extensively, there is a near 100% chance that it is a false
prophecy. When prophetic teachers rely on sayings of Muhammad, or Mormon
teachings, such as the White Horse Prophecy, as Rick Joyner did before the election in 2012, you can be certain that it is a false prophecy.
Also,
prophecies that rely extensively on the news tend to be false
prophecies, as all they do is tell us what's already taking place in the
world, rather than what God is intending to do.
5. They focus on signs rather than God:With
false prophets, any sign will be valid; the more impressive, the
better! We need to be careful when people focus on strange phenomena
such as angel feathers, golddust and diamonds discovered on the floor. I
still don't get why anyone thinks that angels could have feathers, as
they are spirits! I don't think we need to shut every phenomena out; all
I am saying is that if and when these pheneomena occur, it is wise to
have a look at the prophet's teaching very carefully. What are they
actually teaching? And what kind of atmosphere has taken over the place
where they minister? Is it full of the presence of God, or is it focused
on man?
6. They have an unbiblical political agenda:The
Old Testament prophets often had a political agenda but it was
strikingly different from many agendas of today. More than anything
else, the Old Testament prophets stood for justice and for the poor.
Today, it seems that most 'prophets' stand against justice and the poor.
Zechariah 7:8-10 says,
“Execute
true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not
oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.”
7. They spread fear: When John Hagee 'prophesies' that Ebola is God's judgement on America
because Obama is "trying to divide Jerusalem" even when it has
affected West Africa rather than the United States, he is playing with
people's fears. There is absolutely zero chance that Ebola could be a
judgment of America simply because it hasn't and won't affect America
that much.
You
must ask yourself the question why any 'prophet' would focus their
attention to spread fear and panic. That is not from the Spirit of God,
but manipulating people for personal gain.
8. They preach hate:Many
of the modern prophets preach hate, undoubtedly trying to emulate the
Old Testament prophets, but not having the compassion these Old
Testament prophets had, regardless of their seemingly harsh words.
Preaching hate always breaks the command of Jesus to love our enemies.
Written by Joensuu Marko
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