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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? |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Amos 3:7 |
Comments |
| Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. | Many a time, the prophets acted as intermediaries in order to communicate God's messages to the people. |
2 Peter 1:21 |
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| For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Ezekiel 2:4 |
Comments |
| For they are impudent and
stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, «Thus says the Lord God.» |
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the prophets not only predicted the future; they especially instructed the people to follow God's commands. |
Isaiah 58:1 |
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| Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Ephesians 4:11-13 |
Comments |
| [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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Acts 2:17,18 |
Comments |
| «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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Matthew 7:15 |
Comments |
| [Jesus said,] «Beware of false prophets.» | 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? |
Matthew 24:24 |
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| [Jesus said,] «For false christs and false prophets will arise.» |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
1 Thessalonians 5:20,21 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Deuteronomy 18:21,22 |
Comments |
| «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. |
Prophecies from God's prophets are proven
correct 100% of the time, nothing less. A single error, and our inquiry is over. |
Jeremiah 28:9 |
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| When the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent. |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Isaiah 8:19,20 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Lamentations 2:9 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Ezekiel 7:26 |
Comments |
| 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. | 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. |
Proverbs 29:18 |
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| Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law. |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
1 John 4:1-3 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Matthew 24:24,25 |
Comments |
| [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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Matthew 7:15-18,20 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Galatians 5:22,23 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
Isaiah 58:1 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
2 Chronicles 20:20 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
| Summary of the seven ways to identify the genuine prophet of God : |
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Lesson 4 |
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Detecting False Prophets |
| 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. |
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