(Day 37)
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| false prophets |
(Matthew 7:15) Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves.
The problem with false prophets is that they seem
to be good, but they are not. They give the impression of being a part of the
people, but in reality they want to take advantage of them.
In the Torah we find a description of a false
prophet.
(Deuteronomy 13:1-4) 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. 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.
A false prophet may perform signs and miracles
(that is why many relieve him), but his message contradicts the Word of God.
In the Bible we see several examples of prophets
that God raised to call his people to repentance when they had turned away from
Him. But right next to them we also see false prophets coming to speak just
what the people wanted to hear. False prophets would tell them: “Peace, peace!”
(Implying that nothing would happen to them because they were the children of
God). Meanwhile, the prophet of God would tell them: “Peace will not come!”
(Telling them that if they did not repent, they would have to pay for the
consequence of their evil ways).
Sadly, people usually prefer to listen to the sweet
lie than the bitter truth. That is why so many are misled by the false
prophets.
(Jeremiah 6:13-16) For
from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and
from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of
my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. Were they
ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they
did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at
the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown," says the LORD.
Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient
paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But
they said, 'We will not walk in it.'
This same thing may happen today.
(2 Peter
2:1-3) 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.
The Lord always gives us the opportunity to repent and
rectify. False prophets steal that opportunity away from the people, making
them believe that everything is all right, when in fact it is not. We must not
allow this to happen to us.
How can we recognize a false prophet? We already
mentioned that the Word of God is the first great filter. John also wrote about
how to recognize them:
(1 John 4:1-6) 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.
Jesus taught us yet another way in which we can
recognize a false prophet:
(Matthew 7:16-17) 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.
PRAYER
Lord, I heed your warning. By knowing
this beforehand, I will be alert. I don’t want to be carried away with the
error of lawless people, and let myself be driven by false doctrines. I will
test the prophets based on what you teach on your Word, and not according to
what I want to hear. I will pay attention to the fruit of their lives, which
reveals more than their words.
As for me, I want to remain firm in your
Word and your Truth, and continue to grow in your grace and in knowing you.
Lord, you can talk to me; I want to have a close and personal relationship with
you. I will not wait to hear from men. I will not search for a “substitute”. I
will walk after you, and fear you, and keep your commandments, and
obey your voice, and serve you and hold fast to you. To you be the glory both
now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
[2 Peter 3:17-18; Deuteronomy 13:4]
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