Wisdom in recognising false prophets

Jesus has warned us that “false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). False prophets are not false because they do not have the ability to prophesy accurately or work mighty miracles, they are false because they do not represent the heart and character of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21-23).

(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)

Let us remember that all of the prophets recorded in the written Word of God, John the Baptist was described by Jesus as “among those born of women there has not risen one greater” (Matthew 11:11 NKJV). John the Baptist did not perform miracles. He primarily foretold the coming of Jesus, the Saviour, and called people into repentance (Matthew 3:1-11). John represented the heart of Jesus.

Every prophet should ultimately lead us back to their Chief Prophet, Jesus Christ Himself (Luke 4:24). There are many prophets nowadays who can foretell upcoming events accurately, fascinate with “deep” teachings (that depart ever so slightly from simple core Bible truths) and perform great works of wonder — without first and foremost pointing people back to their first Love, Jesus Christ. Many of their “followers” end up compromising the First Commandment, which is to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27-28). Their loyalties become divided between God and a man/woman.

How true prophets turn false

It is crucial for us to have a sober mind and understand that God’s callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Many false prophets are not false because they have not been called by God (Jeremiah 1:5) — but because they have been led astray by different agendas.

True prophets are led solely and absolutely by the Holy Spirit alone. Jesus said, that “the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19). His genuine prophets will also follow His example.

Prophets who turn from following Jesus wholeheartedly do so when they:

• Take their calling into their own hands, rather than wait on the Lord to lead
• Prophecise out of their soul (emotions, mind and will), rather than the Holy Spirit
• Are influenced or blinded by ancestral spirits the have come down through un-repented iniquity and un-renounced witchcraft in their bloodline
• Are led by impure motives, such as fear of man, fear of persecution, fear of suffering etc. rather than love
• Are motivated by unfulfilled desires 
• Have unhealed wounds and bitterness in their souls that muddle their ability to operate out of pure hearts 
• Speak out of their subconscious views and imaginations
• Have insecurities about their own identities or position with God, and feel a need to prove or validate themselves or existence
• Lack the maturity and strength to submit all things to the Holy Spirit, and so on.

All this may not be done out of malice but because of the deceit of their own hearts. Often, there is hidden envy, self-seeking, which the written Word of God warns is earthly, sensual, and demonic (James 3:13-16).

Jeremiah 23:26 NKJV  How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,

James 3:13-16 NKJV  Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

But of course, there are those who were never called to be prophets in the first place and agents of Satan disguised as Christians sent in to destroy the local church.

With this understanding, it is not hard to see that why there has been an increase of false prophets, particularly arising amongst those whose walk with and understanding of the Lord have not been tested, proven, and matured.

No genuine prophet rises up overnight. The Lord always brings His chosen ministers through seasons of preparation. It wasn’t until about 11 years after the apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that he went on his first mission to the Gentiles. It wasn’t until 15 years later that David was finally made king after the prophet Samuel anointed him. It was at least 14 years before Joseph’s dream of his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowing to his came true.

Discerning false prophets 

We can never be too complacent in discerning false prophets. The written Word of God shows us that a false prophet called Bar-Jesus, who was really a sorcerer at heart, deceived the highly intelligent governor of Paphos (Acts 13:6-10). We cannot discern false prophets using our human intellect alone or “judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

The Bible makes it very clear that we are to judge prophets by their fruit, rather than their works. This is because false prophets will be knowledge in scripture, serve very actively and ardently, and look like ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), but underneath, they are like “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). They don’t really have our best interests at heart, they are in it for themselves.  Such persons will struggle to fulfil the admonishment found in Philippians 2:1-4.

Matthew 7:15-20 NKJV  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Philippians 2:1-4 NKJV  Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

By nature, wolves are highly intelligent and extremely social animals that form close bonds. It is natural to be drawn to their charisma and their gifts. Initially, it will be hard to distinguish them from the other sheep but here are a few tell tale signs to watch out for.

• They self promote themselves as prophets (Truth: Psalms 37:34)
• They do not move in love, joy and peace, the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Truth: Galatians 5:22-23)
• They either exaggerate the consequences of sin and forsake the grace of God or minimise sin and grieve the Holy Spirit (Truth: John 3:16-17, 1 John 2:4)
• They minimise Jesus and hyper-spiritualise the ways to connect with Him, when all it takes is childlike faith (Truth: Luke 18:17)
• They preach a different gospel (Truth: 2 Corinthians 11:4), they can make it about works, they may even teach many “how to’s” in the area of spiritual gifts and slowly enslave you into a religion of spiritual striving to work for greater gifting / anointing / elevation (Truth: Ephesians 2:8-10)
• Their words condemn, tear down, and create fear, rather than encourage, comfort or build up God’s people with truth that leads them to repentance, they pronounce curses, rather than the redemption of Jesus (Truth: 1 Corinthians 14:3-4)
• They harbour insecurities, and are easily angered or offended (Truth: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
• They have hidden sin and will not confess their sins to others (Truth: James 5:16)
• They lack humility and exalt their own righteousness above others (Truth: Matthew 5:20)
• Their words sow confusion and cause division (Truth: 1 Corinthians 14:33)
• They follow the ways and lifestyles of the world (Truth: 1 John 2:15-17)
• They are subtle character assassinators because they are the ‘elevated’, ‘chosen’, ‘holy’, ‘prophetic’ ones, like the Pharisees (Truth: Luke 18:14)
• They are controlling, they will tell you in veiled threats that there are consequences for not obeying the word that they have ‘received from God’ (Truth: James 3:17)
• They chase prophetic rankings when Jesus has said that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled” (Truth: Matthew 23:12)
• They tend to need to say something “important” and lack the humility and self-control to defer to other members of their community (Truth: 2 Timothy 3:2)
• They are not open to correction (Truth: Proverbs 15:32)

False prophets will slowly and subtly turn people away from truly submitting to the Holy Spirit for themselves, and lure them away to chase after grand visions or lull them into complacency. They cause the unsuspecting to follow a spirit of error rather than the Spirit of truth (1 John 4:4-6).

False prophets can place entire groups of people under their “spell” through their righteous-sounding but beguiling, alluring and manipulative ways that come from a spirit of spiritual seduction or witchcraft. You are likely to question your own ability to hear from God without a false prophet’s counsel and become confused about your identity in Christ. It may feel as if there is a cloud over your mind that hinders your ability to think clearly. You feel weary, heavy, or hopeless at times for no apparent reason. These are some effects of the prophetic witchcraft from a false prophet. Witchcraft is not just about magic potions and incantations. At its core, witchcraft is about rebellion against the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 15:23), which is what a false prophet who follows their own soulish desires and inclinations does.

Recognising true prophets

Genuine prophets chosen by God to speak on His behalf will:

• Testify of Jesus and glory God (Matthew 10:41) 
• Overflow with the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)
• 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)
• Respect authority: They will respect authority. (Jude 1:8)
• Welcome examination: They will welcome us to test their prophecies and will not be offended when we ask to do so (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22)

All of God’s true prophets will have good treasures in their hearts and bring forth good fruit (Luke 6:45) and what they say will be peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy (James 3:17-18).

Luke 6:45 NKJV  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

James 3:17-18 NKJV  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Our responsibility 

A true prophet’s calling is not an easy one to follow (2 Corinthians 12:6-10). 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). 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”.

We ought to honour true prophets (Matthew 10:41) but not hesitate to always test all prophesies and to test all prophets (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, 1 John 4:1) because even true prophets can slowly turn.

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)
• Glorify God alone: God’s prophetic word will glorify God, not signs or people (John 13:32)
• 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)
• Burn: God’s prophetic word can cause our hearts to ‘burn’. (Jeremiah 23:28-29)
• Lead to repentance: God’s prophetic word will call us to turn away from our sins (Jeremiah 23:21-22)
• Be spontaneous and unplanned: God’s prophetic word will not happen ‘on-demand’. God speaks in His time, not ours (Psalm 130:5)
• Build up the church: God’s prophetic word will edify, encourage and console His people (1 Corinthians 14:3-4)
• Maintain unity: God’s prophetic word will never divide His church (Romans 16:17-19)

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). Hence, the best and most important way to learn how to discern false prophets and false prophecies is to study God’s Word thoroughly for ourselves.

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). Let us cling on Jesus first and foremost and test all things. No prophet, no matter how impressive, should ever lure us away from our First Love.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3  “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. (NKJV)

May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart and learn to discern false prophets in your midst.

Testimony: Forgiving errant prophet and pastors to be freed from fear

“As a child, I suffered several painful experiences in a particularly chaotic and flawed charismatic church. An errant “prophet” taunted me from the pulpit when I refused to lift my hands up to receive God’s gifts. In fact, the words used were “destruction will come upon you.” Another pastor with the “gift of knowledge” would chastise me for not following her if I had different opinions. This made me feel very conflicted about my faith.

I always believed God is real. Throughout my life, God has shown me that He is perfect in love and a good, good Father. He is ever-faithful and the One whom I seek refuge under. But my experiences of God and my “spiritual” experiences at church had been polar opposites. Without knowing how to deal with these traumatic experiences, I disengaged anything “spiritual” from God.

As an adult, I began to attend another church where I had the wonderful opportunity to complete a discipleship training course. It was a fruitful time and I wanted more of God but those childhood experiences still haunted me!

The leader of the course impressed upon me to forgive the charismatic church of my childhood, and with the prophets and pastors in particular, and to cut spiritual ties with their words and influence in Jesus’ name. As I broke these ungodly soul ties in Jesus’ name and declared that they held no power over my body, mind and heart, I was set free from an unseen inner burden. This prayer removed a lot of guilt that I did not realise I had been carrying. My perception of “spiritual” things radically changed that day. 

Our God moves in the spiritual realm and this process has taught me that it is important to always “test the spirits”. 1 John 4:1 says “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.” When God moves in His Spirit, the fruit is only love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).”

Also see Understanding the gift of prophecy