Skip to main content

False Prophets

             Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20)

            False prophets. They tell you what you want to hear. They pretend to be on your side and to be there to help you, but in the end, they do you harm. They may even come to you claiming to speak the Word of God, but they mix it with the lies that will achieve their goals. This goes back to yesterday’s post – many may claim to be Christians. They may believe they are. False prophets may not know they are false. They may think themselves righteous and believe they are speaking for God. That doesn’t mean they are.

            In the Old Testament, there were two basic proofs that a prophet was a false prophet. I don’t recall specific proofs that a prophet spoke for God, except the reversal of the proofs of a false prophet. The first was that what the prophet said did not come to pass. The challenge here is that just because something didn’t happen immediately doesn’t mean it won’t eventually happen. But if a prophet announces that on thus and such a date, this will happen, and it doesn’t, the prophet is a false prophet.

            The second test was that the prophet was false if a prophet suggested following or worshipping any other god but God. A third thing that may be considered an auxiliary to this is the idea that if a prophet spoke in violation of the teachings of Scripture. And the rule for what one did with false prophets – even if they were proven wrong even once – was to execute them.

            These are examples of someone being a bad tree and bearing bad fruit. And it is not enough to say, “But I’m not claiming to be a prophet!” If what someone teaches, preaches, advocates, suggests, recommends, encourages, or otherwise tries to influence someone else to do violates Scripture, that person is a false prophet.

            And once again, Jesus is calling us to stand in judgment. If someone’s “fruit” is bad – consistently bad, we must question their Christianity- not to others, but to the person. And we must not follow that person into their ways.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more