There are two types of true prophets in the Bible. The first is the one who speaks FOR God and tells us God’s thoughts, feelings, and words but also tells us about the future. There were many of these in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. The second type of true prophet is one with the spiritual gift of prophecy, but this is a different type of prophecy. Instead of speaking FOR God and explaining new things or future things, people with the spiritual gift of prophecy speak God’s existing words and principles with authority to teach, encourage, and guide. They do not add anything new.
God’s revelation to man is now complete and nothing new will be added to it (Heb 1:1-2; Rev 22:18-19; 2 Tim 3:16-17). This is important to understand since it means that anybody who speaks FOR God now is a false prophet. If somebody claims to be speaking for God about some He ‘told’ them that teaches something in addition to the Bible or contradictory to it, they are a false prophet. Do not believe or listen to them because they are dangerous and Jesus warns you about them:
15 “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.” (Mt 7:15-20)
The false prophet is a worker of evil whose goal is to draw you away from the truth of God and His Word. False prophets typically introduce something new that isn’t in the Bible or say something that contradicts the Bible claiming it is a revelation to them from God. Do not listen to them.
False prophets have existed since the early in Biblical history and have caused a lot of damage with their deceptions. One (Joseph Smith) came on the scene in the 1800’s and started Mormonism by claiming he received a new revelation from God through an angel and that became the ‘Book of Mormon’. That book contained new ‘teachings’ and ‘teachings’ that contradicted the Bible in areas like the path to salvation, the Persons of Jesus and the Father, and contained other heresies/blasphemies. Today there are 17 million lost souls who fell for the lies of the false prophet and are going to hell. There are false prophets today on today, the Internet, and writing books. In the future there will be a false prophet that is part of the trio of evil in Revelation (Rev 13:11-15, 16:13-14; 19:20). That false prophet will cause people to worship a false god (Rev 13:12), perform great signs (Rev 13:13); deceive many (Rev 13:14), will empower an idol to speak (Rev 13:15), and will be the one that forces people to get the mark of the beast (Rev 13:16-18).
False prophets are very dangerous, and you need to be on guard against their lies. The good news is that Jesus made it clear you can identify them by their fruit – they try to draw people away from God and His Word, they diminish God and His, they undermine God and His Word, and they elevate what they say up to and above the Bible. Just like the final false prophet in Revelation, their goal is to draw people away from the true God, Christ, or following the Bible.
Please take this seriously. They’ve lead millions astray in the past and today and toward the end one will appear that will deceive billions!
Summary:
- A type of prophet is one who speaks FOR God by telling us new things from God
- God has already told us everything we need to hear and will not tell us new things
- Anybody who speaks FOR God now introducing things that are new or contradicting the Bible is a false prophet
- False prophets are dangerous and we should be aware of them
- You can identify a false prophet by their fruit
Think about it:
What is a false prophet?
Name some ways you can identify a false prophet.
Can you think of a false prophet today or in your lifetime? (There are several that are popular among Christians. Can you identify them?)
Why did Jesus warn you to beware of false prophets?
What harm does a false prophet do?
BIBLE DEVOTIONS FOR LIVING 