Wisdom in recognising false prophets
When Jesus spoke about the future 2,000 years ago, He warned us ahead of time of an increase of false prophets. These are people who claim to speak on behalf of God, but who are not carried along by the Holy Spirit. They are led by a different spirit or deceived by their own flesh. Generally speaking, genuine prophets will reveal God’s plans in order to build up, encourage, or console His people. False prophets, on the other hand, will look deceptively authentic at first but will ultimately confuse and scatter God’s people like wolves amidst a flock of sheep.
(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 辨别假先知的智慧 | 繁體中文 > 辨別假先知的智慧)
Matthew 24:24-25 NLT For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
2 Peter 1:20-21 ESV … For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 11:4 NIV … if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
1 Corinthians 14:3-4 ESV … the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation… the one who prophesies builds up the church.
God’s true prophets have never been popular
Prophecy is for believers, people who genuinely desire to follow Jesus Christ in all His commandments. A true prophetic word often points out our sins and calls us to repent or encourages us to endure hardship and suffering. We will recognise a genuine word from God by the way it cuts to the heart of an issue to “expose our innermost thoughts and desires.” Also, see Understanding the gift of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:22 ESV … prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
Hebrews 4:12 NLT For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
We see that as a result, all the genuine prophets mentioned in the Bible were not popular. They were either persecuted or killed, rejected by their own communities and families. When a prophet truly speaks on God’s behalf, he or she will certainly offend some people, especially if they do not wish to believe or to repent from their sinful ways. Instead, they prefer to hear smooth-sounding messages that are aligned with their own beliefs and desires. This could be for a variety of reasons, ranging from fear to indifference.
Acts 7:52 ESV Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,
Luke 13:34 ESV O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
Matthew 13:57 NLT And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”
Isaiah 30:9-10 ESV For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions,
When Jesus sent out His disciples to speak prophetically on God’s behalf, He warned them that they would be beaten by their own people and dragged before rulers. He also told them not to be anxious.
Matthew 10:16-20 ESV “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
The apostle Paul experienced all of this and more. He received many prophetic revelations and visions through the Holy Spirit but He learnt to be “content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” as He spoke up on behalf of God. A true prophet’s calling is not an easy one to follow.
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 ESV though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The prophet Isaiah, for instance, was told to walk around naked and barefoot for three years as a sign to God’s people of what was to become of Egypt and Ethiopia. God sent Jonah as a prophet to his arch enemy, Nineveh, to warn them about His judgement against their city. Jonah initially refused to go because He knew God would relent if they repented. Moses wandered around the dessert for 40 years with God’s people because they refused to repent of their idols.
Isaiah 20:3 NLT Then the LORD said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.
Jonah 3:1-5,10,4:1-2 ESV Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
Contrast this, however, with the growing number of self-professed prophets, apostles, or prophetic and apostolic movements and we can only imagine how grieved God must be when we use His name in vain and mislead His people. It is not something He takes lightly. (For more, please refer to Jeremiah 23. This chapter gives a description of false prophets and an example of what God has to say about them.)
Ezekiel 22:28 ESV And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
Exodus 20:7 ESV “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Recognising false prophets
No follower of Jesus Christ is immune from being led astray by false prophets. Jesus has even said so in Mark 13:22. This is why we are called to test all prophesies and to test all prophets.
Mark 13:22 ESV For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 ESV Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.
We are warned that false prophets will come disguised as righteous people who serve God. They will appear to do what is right and honourable in our eyes. They may have a large following on social media and be frequently quoted in Christian publications, particularly if they talk about trending topics and events.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ESV For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
The challenge is that false prophets look like innocent sheep. Sheep are intensely social creatures that keep close to their flock. We may find ourselves being drawn to sheep-like people on an interpersonal level. However, false prophets are also like “ravenous wolves” on the inside. They will keep close watch on the flock and pick out the more vulnerable ones to become their victims.
Matthew 7:15-20 ESV “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
How do some people become false prophets? They are typically spiritually gifted but have never truly crucified all their fleshly desires to follow Jesus. They are led by the “deceit of their own hearts”. Also, see Sharpening our spiritual gifts.
Galatians 5:24 ESV And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Jeremiah 23:26 ESV How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart,
Hence, they are easily misled by Satan’s temptation to use their spiritual gifts for personal glory or to enrich themselves out of greed. They continue to live worldly lives of sensual pleasures, turning people away from truly submitting to God and lure them after grand visions or lull them into complacency. They cause the unsuspecting to follow a spirit of error rather than the Holy Spirit of truth.
2 Peter 2:1-3 ESV But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Micah 3:11 ESV Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money…
1 John 4:1-6 ESV Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
For instance, they may hold prophetic conferences and promise to speak prophetically over those who come – which is in essence, divination or fortune-telling, a form of witchcraft. They will claim to have been given full disclosure of God’s plans – when any prophetic word is always a partial revelation which becomes clear when all things are revealed. They will perform miracles and signs – to deceive many. They may believe they have been called to raise up an army of believers for spiritual warfare in the heavenly places (even though God has never lost control over anything in His creation), tell us to look out for certain dates and events, call upon angels or supernatural powers, and so forth. If none of Jesus’ disciples did any of these things, then we should be very wary of those that do because they could be the false prophets that Jesus has warned us about.
Deuteronomy 18:10 ESV There shall not be found among you … anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
1 Corinthians 13:9-10 NLT Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
Matthew 24:11 NLT And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
We see an example of such a false prophet in Acts who had attached himself to the governor and tried to prevent Barnabas and Saul (the apostle Paul) from testifying about Jesus to the ruler. As a sorcerer, Bar-Jesus probably performed some “miracles” in the name of God and was even able to deceive the governor, whom the Bible highlights was an intelligent man.
Acts 13:6-10 NLT Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing. Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
Other less malicious false prophets simply speak too presumptuously, without testing their own words to see if they are really from the Lord or not. They prophecise out of the “deceit of their own minds”.
Deuteronomy 18:22 ESV If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
Jeremiah 14:14 ESV And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
Perhaps they have not been careful about what ideologies and worldly messages they expose their thoughts to and have been swayed by what they hear repeatedly. One’s subconscious mind can be influenced by what it hears over and over again. Perhaps they had practiced witchcraft in the past and not yet repented and been cleansed by the Holy Spirit, leaving Satan a foothold to distort and corrupt God’s work. Such false prophets or “impostors” may themselves be deceived and genuinely believe they have received something important from the Lord when they have not.
Also, see How our human spirit can corrupt our prophetic gifts.
Ephesians 4:27 NIV and do not give the devil a foothold.
2 Timothy 3:13 ESV While evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Recognising true prophets
Jesus has taught that we can recognise false prophets by their fruits. What gives them away is not their ability to foretell the future, their exceptional supernatural gifts, or their emotionally moving speeches. We will know that they are false by the way they live their lives and the outcome of their deeds, in contrast to genuine prophets. The Bible calls the prayers of a false prophet “detestable”.
Proverbs 28:9 NIV If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.
Prophets chosen by God to speak on His behalf will:
- Lead godly lives: They will be led by the Holy Spirit and exhibit His fruit. | Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
- Be humble and loving: They will speak out of love for God and His people, and will not be impatient, envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, controlling, irritable, or resentful. 1 Corinthians 13:2,4-7 ESV And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Respect authority: They will respect authority. | Jude 1:8 ESV Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.
- Welcome examination: They will fear and obey God, and welcome us to test their prophecies and will not be offended when we do. | 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 NLT Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.
These are the type of people that God can use because they will submit to His authority and be willing to be held accountable amongst God’s people.
Testing all prophecies
Another way to test for false prophets is to examine their prophecies.
Typically, they will tell us what we want to hear and mislead us with false hopes and false comforts. For example, they will proclaim that there will be a time of peace ahead of us when there will be no peace. The birth pangs of the End Times have already started and will only become more intense.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Lamentations 2:14 NLT Your prophets … did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.
Jeremiah 6:14 ESV They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
Matthew 24:4-8 NLT Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Genuine prophecies from God will:
- Give a clear witness for Jesus: God’s prophetic word will point us to Jesus and lead us to worship Him. | Revelation 19:10 NLT … Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”
- Glorify God alone: God’s prophetic word will glorify God, not signs or people. | John 13:32 NLT And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once.
- Expose our secrets: God’s prophetic word will convict us of our secret sins that no one else knows, except God. | 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
- Burn: God’s prophetic word will cause our hearts to “burn”. | Jeremiah 23:28-29 NLT “Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
- Lead to repentance: God’s prophetic word will call us to turn away from our sins. | Jeremiah 23:21-22 NLT “I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying. If they had stood before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds.
- Be spontaneous and unplanned: God’s prophetic word will not happen “on-demand”. God speaks at His time, not ours. | Psalm 130:5 NIV I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
- Bring about good fruit: God’s prophetic word will produce good outcomes. | Isaiah 55:11 NLT It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
- Build up the church: God’s prophetic word will edify, encourage and console His people. | 1 Corinthians 14:3-4 ESV … the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation… the one who prophesies builds up the church.
- Maintain unity: God’s prophetic word will never divide His church. | Romans 16:17-19 ESV I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
God has spoken numerous times clearly and directly to us in the Bible. From it, we will learn God’s heart and the type of things He will and will not say and how to recognise His voice.
John 10:27 ESV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Hence, the best and most important way to learn how to discern false prophets and false prophecies is to study God’s Word thoroughly, repent and stay away from sin, and keep our hearts pure so nothing hinders us from God. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He will keep us safe from wolves in sheep’s clothing (false prophets) if we listen to Him.
John 10:11-15 NLT “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
God does not remove false prophets from this world because He has a purpose for their existence, it is to test how genuine our dedication to Him is.
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 ESV “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Of the seven churches addressed in the book of Revelation, God spoke to two groups of people about false prophets and apostles. One group was in Thyatira and the other, Ephesus. God admonished those in Thyatira for tolerating the false prophetess Jezebel and tells them that they will suffer for her deeds. In contrast, He acknowledged those in Ephesus for not tolerating such “wicked people”. The Ephesians stayed faithful to the truth and passed the test. May we all have the right understanding and wisdom to be like the Ephesians, and not like those in Thyatira.
Revelation 2:18-22 NIV “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.
Revelation 2:1-3 NIV “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Also see Understanding the gift of prophecy
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