Detecting False
Prophets
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We've already reached the last lesson of the introduction! Let's pray:
Our Father,
Your Word has shown us the importance of prophecy, and we now want to invest some of our
time in studying it, so as to better understand it.
But what must we do with all those people who claim to be Your prophets, though their
writings do not belong to the Holy Scriptures?
How can we be sure that we are really facing a false prophet, before rejecting
him definitively?
May Your Spirit guide us, as we open Your Book. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His
secret to His servants the prophets.
2 Peter 1:21
For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Many a time, the prophets acted as intermediaries in order to communicate God's
messages to the people.
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Ezekiel 2:4
For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending
you to them, and you shall say to them,
«Thus says the Lord God.»
Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet;
tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the prophets not only predicted the future; they
especially instructed the people to follow God's commands.
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Ephesians 4:11-13
[Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the
work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of
the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.
We can see that God has given the gift of prophecy to His church, not only to
predict the future, but especially to uplift the members of His church, to improve them,
to help them grow in unity and knowledge.
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Acts 2:17,18
«It shall come to pass in the last days,» says God,
«that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and
they shall prophesy.»
Will God send prophets again, to guide His Church in the last days?
The Word of God gives a very clear answer: Yes.
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God can also choose a woman to be His prophet:
«Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. (...) She gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all
those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.» (LUKE 2:36,38)
«[We] entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed
with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.» (ACTS 21:8,9)
«Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.»
(JUDGES 4:4)
«Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (...).» (EXODUS 15:20)
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Matthew 7:15
[Jesus said,] «Beware of false prophets.»
Matthew 24:24
[Jesus said,] «For false christs and false prophets will
arise.»
The problem with prophets is that some are genuine and others false.
As we draw near to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the number of false prophets will
increase alarmingly...
Then, how can we distinguish the genuine prophets from the false ones?
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1 Thessalonians 5:20,21
Do not despise prophecies.
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Although false prophets abound, the Word of God warns us against despising all
prophets.
God rather invites us to examine the words and deeds of every prophet, in order to know if
he is truly sent by God.
Furthermore, the Bible gives us many clues, so that we may detect false prophets. Let's
look at some of these clues.
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Deuteronomy 18:21,22
«How shall we know the word which the Lord has not
spoken?»
When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to
pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.
Jeremiah 28:9
When the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet
will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.
Prophecies from God's prophets are proven correct 100% of the time, nothing
less.
A single error, and our inquiry is over.
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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.
The fulfillment of what is foretold is not enough.
The teaching of the prophet must also be in accordance with the teaching of the Word of
God.
Otherwise, that prophet is definitely a false one.
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Isaiah 8:19,20
When they say to you,
«Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,»
should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.
It is fundamental that we examine the prophet's words in the light of the Word
of God.
If these two sources disagree, if only about one point, we will then have to conclude that
we are dealing with a false prophet.
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Lamentations 2:9
Her king and her princes are among the nations; the Law
is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the Lord.
The reception of visions coming from God is closely linked to obedience to
God's law.
On several occasions in the history of Israel, the Lord ceased giving visions to the
prophets because they, as well as the people, had rejected His commandments.
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Ezekiel 7:26
Disaster will come upon disaster, and rumor will be upon
rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; but the law will perish from the
priest, and counsel from the elders.
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off
restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.
Beware of a prophet who claims to be sent by God, while at the same time
teaching that the commandments of God are not important.
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1 John 4:1-3
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.
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is not of God.
The teaching of the true prophet of God will revolve around the person of Jesus
Christ.
The goal of this prophet will be to lead people to accept Jesus as their personal Savior
and Lord of their life.
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Matthew 24:24,25
[Jesus said,]
«For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as
to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
See, I have told you beforehand.»
Let's be careful: miracles are not the proof that we are dealing with a true
prophet.
As a matter of fact, in the last days, false prophets will also be able to perform great
signs and wonders!
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Matthew 7:15-18,20
Jesus said, «Beware of false prophets. (...) You will
know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes from thornbushes 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. (...)
Therefore by their fruits you will know them.»
The work of the prophet of God will be marked by the good fruit it bears.
Now what does the Word of God mean by «good fruit»?
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Galatians 5:22,23
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
The life of a prophet of God will reflect the character of God.
The fruit of the Spirit, stronger than signs and wonders, will certify the authenticity of
his ministry.
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Isaiah 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet;
tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
A prophet who meets, without any exception, each and every one of the
conditions required by the Word of God, is truly sent by God.
Then, it will be very important to study carefully the message he delivers, because it
might be a serious warning which God personally intends for us.
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2 Chronicles 20:20
Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be
established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.
Let's carefully examine the words and deeds of every prophet claiming to be
sent by God.
By detecting the false prophet, we will thus avoid being deceived by him.
By identifying the true prophet, we will have access to a reliable source of information,
warnings, and encouragement coming from God, which will prepare us for the soon coming of
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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Let's pray together:
Our Lord and Savior,
Armed with «the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God» (Ephesians 6:17), we will
be able to detect the false prophets the enemy puts in our way in order to keep us away
from You and cause our ruin.
But we will also be able to identify the true prophets You will send to us.
May we recognize Your prophets, when they arise, so that we pay attention to the message
they will give us on Your behalf, and thus be ready for the great day of the return of
Your Son, Jesus Christ.
We pray in His name.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
Screen 1: Picture collection «ClickArt 65,000» by Broderbund,
CD #4, NATFL025.JPG. Screen 2: In: «Prophecy Seminars»,
Seminars Unlimited, 1989, Daniel lesson #30 («Sharing Daniel's Message with the World»),
p.1. Screen 3: In: «The Bible Story, volume 5» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.),
Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1955, p.183. Screen 4: DUNLAP, S.
In: «The Bible Story, volume 10» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing
Association, 1957, p.127. Screen 5: EL GRECO. «The Pentecost», Prado
Museum, Madrid. In: «Great Bible Stories and Master Paintings» (RACHLEFF, Owen S.), New
York, Abradale Press Publishers, p.367. Screen 6: DORÉ, Gustave. In:
«La Bible de Gustave Doré», Lausanne, Edita, 1994, p.87. Screen 7: Photo
from the Web site: «http://christsbride-min.org/Cbm%20-%20what%20is%20truth.htm».
Screen 8: In: «Revelation Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson #21 («La
Babylone Mystique - la Courtisane»), p.4. Screen 9: HARLAN, Russell. In:
«The Bible Story, volume 5» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association,
1955, p.176. Screen 10: MUNSELL, Richard. In: «The Living Bible
Encyclopedia in Story and Pictures, volume 14», New York, H.S. Stuttman Co. Inc., 1968,
p.1768-b. Screen 11: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (January 15, 1988),
New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.4. Screen 12: COLLINS,
Kreigh. In: «The Bible Story, volume 4» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing
Association, 1955, p.178. Screen 13: TANK, Duane. In: «La Sentinelle»
magazine (October 1991), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.8. Screen 14: MANISCALCO,
Joe. In: «Images from the Bible and Sacred History CD», Chosen Works, MLI Software,
JM140.BMP. Screen 15: HUNT, Robert. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine
(August 1992), Pacific Press Publishing Association, front cover. Screen 16: Picture
Collection «Corel Gallery Magic» by Corel, 1997, CD #8, Photo Library 4, 676028.PCD.
Screen 17: HARLAN, Russell. In: «The Bible Story, volume 5» (MAXWELL, Arthur
S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1955, p.25. Screen 18: In:
«The Watchtower» magazine (January 1, 1987), New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society, p.1. Screen 19: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (August 1,
1990), New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.7. Screen 20:
AYRES, Robert. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine (September 1991), Pacific Press Publishing
Association, p.8. Table of Screen 20: ANDERSON, Harry. In: «La
Sentinelle» magazine (January 1997), Pacific Press Publishing Association, p.14.
Screen 21: Photo by TERLINGEN, Annemieke. Clayoquot Sound and Vancouver Island.
In: «Doctor's Review» magazine (June 1999), p.123.
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The test of Lesson 4 is waiting for you!