2 Peter 2:1 - But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
The Bible gives us many warnings about false teachers and prophets. We’re given clear instructions to not be deceived.
What is the difference between a false prophet and a false teacher?
This is an excellent question! A prophet is someone who speaks for God. We discussed it in the Gifts of the Spirit study. You can read more about that here. A teacher is someone who...you guessed it...teaches. A false prophet will claim to have a “Word from the Lord” that is NOT from God. A false teacher will claim to teach the “Word of God”, but they twist meanings, take scripture out of context, or they teach doctrines and traditions of men, rather than what the Bible truly says.
How do I know if someone is a false prophet/teacher?
It’s not all that difficult to spot a false prophet/teacher, but we have to be intentional about it. God gave us a few ways to “test” to see if a prophet is genuine or not. The first test is pretty easy. If a person prophesies about something that is supposed to happen and it doesn’t happen, that person is not a true prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
I can go around calling myself a prophet all day long, but if God’s Word isn’t in my mouth, then it’s a lie.
The second test is also pretty easy. If a person prophesies about something and it does happen, but they then tell others to stop believing in Jesus, stop reading their Bible, stop serving God, or lead people to worship anything other than God, then they are a false prophet.
Deuteronomy 13:
1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Claiming to have a “Word from the Lord” is a very big deal. This is ripe for corruption, manipulation, and deception. God gave us these tests to protect us.
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
False prophets look like us on the outside, but on the inside they are wicked. What does a ravening wolf want to do? It wants to devour its prey. Who is the false prophet’s prey? Me and you.
Dealing with a false teacher can be just as dangerous. False teachers can be a little trickier to spot. False teachers don’t teach outright lies. They deceive others by twisting the truth and distorting scripture. Deceive means to lie, mislead, or otherwise hide or distort the truth.
One of the best ways to guard against false teachers is to read the Bible. If I know what the Bible says, then I can easily spot a false teacher. It doesn’t matter if I know the teacher or preacher, or not. Whether it’s a famous teacher/preacher on t.v., or my aunt’s pastor, when I hear something taught or preached, it is my responsibility to verify if what I heard is biblical. You should be doing that with me in this Blog Series. I try to include scripture to back up what I’m teaching, but you should also be looking this scripture up for yourself and reading it. Read the verses before, the verses after, heck, you should read the entire chapters.
Having said that, though, do keep in mind that teachers are human. Humans make mistakes. A teacher isn’t false if they teach wrong information. That happens to the best of us. A false teacher will consistently twist the truth. Upon reading what the Bible says, you can see if something was taught wrong by mistake, or if deception is involved. If it’s deception, it’s false. If it’s false, run.
There is one last test to see if someone is genuine or not.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
If a person claiming to be a teacher, prophet, or Christian, confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, He died on the cross for our sins, He rose from the dead in three days, and He’s coming again, chances are good they are not false. If they add anything to those core statements, or if they take anything away from them, this is a red flag, and the other tests should be applied. If someone says anything that contradicts those core statements, you don’t need to hear another word from their mouth. They have the spirit of antichrist, not the Holy Spirit. We need to stay away from them.
There is so much more to this subject, but I believe this is enough for now. Let me know if you’d like to do a deeper dive into this, and we can do that.
We’ll be discussing Conviction v/s Condemnation next week, Lord-willing! Until then, Keep on Keepin’ on For Jesus. Have a blessed week.
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