How to Spot a False Prophet

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

Apart from Christ Himself, Ezekiel may be the clearest case of a true prophet. He prefaces many of his prophecies with "the word of the LORD came to me, saying . . ." (Ezekiel 3:16; 6:1; etc.), followed by a direct quotation of God's words. This is speaking "a word in My name" (Deuteronomy 18:20). If it is indeed what God commanded him to say, he is guiltless, whether or not it comes to pass within his lifetime. Many of Ezekiel's prophecies, for instance, had a near fulfillment (in type) and a far fulfillment (antitype). In both cases, he is shown to be a true prophet of God.
However, false prophets on occasion get something right. Balaam is a prime biblical example. Ordinarily, he was a false prophet, eager to prophesy for or against others, as his employer and his money desired. God, however, puts true words in his mouth when He attempts to prophesy against Israel (Numbers 22-24). He even prophesies of the coming of Christ (Numbers 24:17-19)! What are we to make of this?

Then there is the occasion when God Himself sends a lying spirit to persuade Ahab to fight at Ramoth Gilead, where he would fall in battle (I Kings 22:1-37). In this instance, He also sends the truth by a true prophet named Micaiah, revealing that the prophets of apostate Israel had been lying to the king all along. Nothing like a curve ball to help confuse matters!

We must also consider the instruction found in Deuteronomy 13:1-5, as it adds two important factors to judging prophets:

If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, "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. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.

The first factor added here is that God recognizes that false prophets, through the power of Satan, can accomplish signs and wonders. The magicians of Egypt imitate Moses' staff-into-a-serpent miracle before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:8-12). The end-time False Prophet will do similar signs as the Two Witnesses, causing most of the world's population to worship the Beast (Revelation 13:11-15). Paul warns in II Corinthians 11:13-15 that Satan's servants are clever counterfeits of Christ's. Signs, wonders and miracles, then, are not conclusive proof that a prophet is from God.

The second factor Deuteronomy 13 adds is our need to recognize the spiritual message accompanying the prophet's signs and predictions. This is the essence of the apostle John's admonition, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (I John 4:1). No matter how impressive or accurate a prophet's miracles or prophecies, his credibility hangs on whether he leads people toward or away from God.

The following questions, then, must all be answered before we judge a person as a true or false prophet:

1. Does he claim to prophesy in God's name or in a false god's name?
2. Do his prophecies come to pass?
3. Does he do signs and wonders?
4. Does he teach the truth based on God's Word?

[Micah RaSun-Vann]

#6 False prophets prophesy for money, fame and fortune, response and the ability to manipulate the minds, hearts and emotions of people giving the prophet a false sense of real God power. False prophets in private laugh and joke about their ability to manipulate a crowd. False prophets do not receive their messages from God but from the backrooms of the pastor's study and then lie and say the Holy Ghost/God gave it to them. False prophets can quickly be identified by how easy their egos are offended and much of their response after that is natural and unrenewed. False prophets are not Kingdom minded but SEEK engagements to display their Evelations. False prophets prey on the sickly and weak those who have deep yet genuine psychological/emotional/physical/spiritual needs. False prophets believe another gospel plus works. False prophets are spiritually a more dangerous version of the likes of Bernard Maddow, AIG, and Goldman Sachs because while it may be possible to recover financial wealth its next to impossible to recover a soul who has lost his Faith in God. Not impossible but pretty close.

If you want to see the destruction of the false prophet on a large scale, take a day to witness in your inner city. What you will find is every third person is a defected christian who came in contact with a false prophet/teacher. Their stories are heartbreaking and so is the pain in their eyes.

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

AMEN SISTER!

[Micah RaSun-Vann]

Sign #5 You can expect a false prophet to defend his title. Why? Because the feigned prophetic cloak is masking a blood sucking, heinous, deadly spirit that leaves its victims spiritually impotent and disillusioned. The defense is a smoke screen. Truth pulls back the cloak and what we find is the Wizard.

True prophets are mouthpieces of God. They have been gutted of self and carry TRUTH/God Word. They are bold and never defend themselves. They walk confident in the Lord and his Message for He is their Defense. If they die they die absent from the body present with the Lord.

They never, ever deliver a Word FOR money. They deliver the Word FOR God!!!