Dear friends, don’t believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. (1 John 4:1)
Test all things... (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Second, Jesus said that the presence of signs and wonders are no proof of His presence in the life/ministry of anyone:
Many will say to Me in that Day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matthew 7:22-23)
Third, it is prophesied that there would be an abundance of false teachers among Christians:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies... (2 Peter 2:1)
Fourth, the Bible clearly says that the Last Days would be especially dangerous because of the abundance of people who will look God-fearing, but they will not be so:
This know also: that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves...having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. From such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Now, the mandate is clear: TURN AWAY from those. But, from who? Let us examine what the Word of God says about false teachers. Let us start with the Old Testament:
According to Deuteronomy 18:20, a prophet of God cannot speak in the name of other gods. This is quite simple and any Christian should know this. But there is another clause in this sentence that we, very often, overlook:
But the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak...even that prophet shall die.’
False prophets speak what they want to speak in the name of the Lord, false prophets prophesy in the flesh according to their own human will. They teach others to “prophesy” their future without taking into account God’s will. The Bible clearly states that prophecy never came this way:
For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21, ASV)
Verses 21-22 of Deuteronomy 18 gives us another characteristic of a false prophet:
And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken...
Very simple, false prophets prophesy things that never come to pass. For example, many religious leaders have “prophesied” that the Second Coming of Jesus would be in 1914, 1988, 200, 2007...obviously all these “prophecies” did not come to pass, so these people are no more than false teachers.
In Jeremiah 23 we have a rather long list of things that false prophets do that God condemns:
I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness. (v.14)
First, a preacher, teacher, pastor, elder living in adultery is a false teacher, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. If the teacher is corrupt, his fruit will be corrupt also. Second, a person who lies, obviously, is a false prophet. The next description is more complex: they strengthen the hands of evildoers, which means that they do not preach against sin. They want people to feel good and be strengthened even in their wickedness. Absence of callings to live a holy life is a sign of falsehood.
The description follows in Jeremiah 23:16:
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: “Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you. They make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
False prophesies make people vain. What is it to be vain according to the Bible? The things of the world are vain because they pass away. Things that make us proud are vain, things that distract us from the Lord are vain. This is why the Bible says:
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world...For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15-17)
Teachers who speak only about the “here and now”, who speak all the time about non-eternal things are leading many to false doctrines and to worship a different Jesus. They often preach a Jesus who is more concerned about the car you drive and the mansion you want, than with salvation, deliverance from sin, and restoration of a healthy relationship with the Father. They prophesy about cars and mansions (the lust of the eyes) and about fame and fortune (the vain glory of life). This, according to the verse above, does not come from the Father, therefore is false.
Verse 17 says:
They say still unto them that despise Me, ‘The Lord hath said, “Ye shall have peace.”’ And they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’”
This is a quite revealing verse. False teachers are obsessed with positivism. They believe in a God who gives (blessings, peace, forgiveness) but not in a God who also takes away. The Bible clearly says that God takes away blessings, favor, possessions (Job for example). The Bible is clear about the fact that the good comes from God, but adversity is also appointed by Him:
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
False teachers refuse (I would say they are allergic) to believe in a just God who also corrects and punish His children, therefore they are always speaking “peace”, but even when they do not like it, the Bible says:
My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah; Neither be weary of his reproof: For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth; Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. (Proverbs 3:11-12)
In Jeremiah 23:21 the Lord says:
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran...
Interesting information indeed, this says that false prophets are quick to speak in the name of God. Real prophets are usually afraid of speaking in the name of the Lord what God has not spoken (true prophets are very cautious). But way too often, false prophets always seem to have a “new revelation” from the Lord. They run at the slightest feeling of having a “word from God”. We should be always alert with this kind of people.
Lastly, Jeremiah 23:22 says:
But if they had stood in My counsel and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.
I will conclude this first part saying that true prophecies lead people to a better relationship with God. Real prophecies exalt God not men. Real prophecies will get us back on track if we are being distracted with the vain things of this world. A real teacher will always point towards God and His word as the Way. On the other hand, false teachers point towards men, towards the lust of the eyes, the desires of the flesh and the vain glory of life.
*Let us pray sincerely to our Heavenly Father to deliver us from false teachers, heresies and falsehood. He will answer our sincere prayers.
