This study explains how to discern false prophets, and compares the attributes of true and false prophets. It is based rock solid on the word of God. There is nothing deliberately dishonest or deceitful in this study. Its purpose is only to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you notice any errors you may contact us. If you wish to read the Hebrew and the Greek in this study, and you haven’t yet installed the fonts, then go to the bible study page and do it now, or alternatively you may download them here as a zip file.

RP 213 THE SIN OF FALSE PROPHECY

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INTRODUCTION

One reason why false prophecy is so common in churches today, is because prophecy is one of the spiritual gifts that is easy for people to fake. Anybody can stand up and say, “Thus says the LORD,” followed by what they think God might say at that time, and make out that they are a true prophet. They may not deceive everybody, but it seems that they nearly always deceive a good many. Why do they do it? There are many reasons. Some may do it because they wish to gain the respect and admiration of people, and they get that when people believe that God speaks through them. In the Old Testament false prophets used to get a seat at the queen’s table (1 Kin 18:19), which was a very high place, and some were promised very high positions (Num 22:17). Some may do it because it becomes financially prosperous (Mic 3:11). Balaam was an example of this (Num 22:7), and other prophets were offered great rewards, although true prophets refused them (Gen 14:23; 1 Kin 13:7; 2 Kin 5:15; Dan 2:6). Some may do it because they are genuinely deceived and think that God is speaking through them, but whatever the reason, false prophesy is a sin which causes great harm to those who believe it. This study therefore is meant to help those who do not wish to be deceived, and need some basic guidelines on how to judge prophecy. It contains some basic scriptural principles on how to recognize a true and a false prophet, and examples are quoted of prophesies that have actually been made, “In the name of the LORD”, which were false. These were all recorded on tape, and have been carefully transcribed, so they are not just guesses at what was actually said. Jesus said, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Mat 24:4; Mark 13:5), and when the modern churches start to do this, they can rid themselves of false prophets, and press on to perfection.

#1. WHAT IS PROPHECY?

#1.1 THE MEANING OF THE WORDS

The best place to start in this study on prophets is the meaning of the words. There are three words in the Hebrew that we can look at:
    (1) Prophet, Hb. )ybinF, Htr. nābî’ (Strongs 5030 occurs 316x) from the root word nābā. Which means “prophecy”, or “to speak under inspiration”, in prediction or simple discourse.
The meaning of the word can be seen in the scripture:
(Exo 7:1) “And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.”
The background to this statement is in Exo 4:10-16 where Moses argued his inability to speak, and God gave Aaron his brother to speak for him. The word prophet then means, “one who speaks for another”.
(Exo 4:16) “And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.”
The expression, “he shall be to thee instead of a mouth,” shows that Aaron would speak exactly what Moses wanted him to say. Therefore a prophet of God is one who speaks exactly what God wants him to say.
    (2) Seer,  Hb. h)frf, Htr. rā’âh (Strongs 7200 occurs 1313x) a verb which primarily means “to see”. It is rendered “see” (879x), “look” (104x), “beholds” (83x), “show” (68x), “appear” (66x), “consider” (24x), “seer” (12x) etc. When this verb is translated “seer”, it is always in the form of a participle, and means the same as a prophet, as the scripture shows:
(1 Sam 9:9) “(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)”
Its noun Htr. rō’ēh occurs only once and is translated “vision” (Isa 28:7).
    (3) Seer, Hb. hzExo, Htr. chōzeh (Strongs 2374 occurs 22x) which means “one who sees or beholds” as in a vision. It is translated “seer” (16x), “see that” (3x), “prophet” (1x), etc.
This is the same as a prophet as the scriptures shows:
(2 Sam 24:11) “For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer , saying,”

In the New Testament the word for “prophet”, Gr. profh&thj, Gtr. prophētēs, (Strongs 4396 occurs 149x) is always translated “prophet”. It is made up of two words, the preposition “pro”, which means “before, in front of, or prior to”, and the verb “phēmi” which means “to say”. It therefore refers to one who speaks something before it happens. The New Testament prophets spoke in the same manner as the Old Testament prophets, as if God was speaking through them (See also #1.2).

#1.2 GOD SPEAKING THROUGH A PERSON

MATTHEW 1:22
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet ¹, saying,

MATTHEW 2:15
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet ¹, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

ACTS 3:21
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by ² the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

HEBREWS 1:1-2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets ³,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by ⁴ his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Note: The words translated of the Lord by the prophet ¹ (Gr. u(po_ tou~ kuri/ou dia_ tou~ profh&tou, Gtr. hupo tou kuriou dia tou prophētou) are all genitive case in the Greek, and really mean “by the Lord through the prophet”. The word translated by ² (Gr. dia&, Gtr. dia) (Acts 3:21) is also used with the genitive case and means “through”. The words translated by the prophets ³ (Gr. e&n toi=j profh&taij, Gtr. en tois prophētais) are dative case in the Greek, and mean “by means of the prophets”, or “in the prophets”. The word translated by ⁴ (Gr. e0n, Gtr. en) (Heb 1:2) is also with the dative case and means, “by means of”. God is therefore speaking through the prophet, who usually precedes the message with “Thus says the LORD”, which occurs 413 times in the Old Testament (Exo 4:22; 2 Sam 12:7; Isa 38:1 etc.). This was an expression sometimes used by false prophets also (1 Kin 22:11; Jer 28:11; Eze 22:28). In the New Testament they say, “Thus says the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 21:10).
Often (in Jeremiah (7x), Ezekiel (37x), and Zechariah (2x)) a recorded prophesy is preceded by the words, “The word of the LORD came unto me, saying”. Sometimes a prophecy may be preceded by an expression similar to, “The spirit of the Lord came upon,” (1 Sam 16:13; 2 Chr 20 14; Isa 61:1; Eze 11:5).

#2. WHY SHOULD WE JUDGE PROPHECY?

#2. 1 BECAUSE WE ARE TOLD TO JUDGE IT

JEREMIAH 29:8
29 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

MATTHEW 7:15 (Jesus)
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

MATTHEW 24:11
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

MATTHEW 24:24
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

1 CORINTHANS 14:29-33
29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

1 JOHN 4:1
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.

Note: Despite the fact that we are warned many times not to listen to false prophets, there are still many who will listen to and believe them. The purpose of judging false prophecies, is not necessarily to condemn, but to turn them from the error of their ways, so that they, and those who listen to them can be saved (See #2.2; #2.3). This kind of judging is therefore an act of love, because we know that in many cases they will not listen to us, and will persecute us (See #5.2). Even so, because of a love for their eternal soul, we should still confront this sin (See #5.1).
(Rev 3:19) “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:”

#2.2 BECAUSE FALSE PROPHETS WILL BE PUNISHED

DEUTERONOMY 13:5
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

DEUTERONOMY 18:20
20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

JEREMIAH 28:15-17
15 The LORD hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Therefore thus saith the LORD;
16 Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

JEREMIAH 29:30-32
30 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
32 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath taught rebellion against the Lord.

EZEKIEL 14:9-10
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;”

Note: One good reason to challenge false prophets is to save their soul. They are obviously lost, and awaiting the judgement of God. Most false prophets do not know that they are false, because they are deceived, so if their falseness can be exposed, there is the possibility that they will repent and get right with God:
(Jam 5: 19-20) “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
(2 Pet 3:9) “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

#2.3 BECAUSE THOSE WHO FOLLOW FALSE PROPHETS WILL BE PUNISHED

ISAIAH 9:14-16
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

EZEKIEL 14:10
10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;”

MATTHEW 15:14 (Jesus)
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

LUKE 6:39 (Jesus)
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Note: We have seen the fate of false prophets (See #2.2), and now we can see that the fate of those who follow false prophets will be the same. These people are also lost. Therefore, another good reason for judging false prophesy is that the spiritual eyes of those who are deceived may be opened, that they also may turn from the error of their ways.

#3. HOW TO JUDGE PROPHECY AND PROPHETS

#3.1 BY THEIR FRUITS

MATTHEW 7:15-20
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

LUKE 6:43-45
43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Note: The scripture shows that the lives of many false prophets would enable people to distinguish them from true prophets:
(Isa 28:7-8) “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgement.
For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”
(Jer 23:11) “For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.”
(Jer 23:15) “Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.”
Prophets who are obviously living in sin or error are not to be trusted. This is not to say that God cannot use such a person, because there are examples in the word of God where people in error did prophesy right. Balaam was a man who used divination for money and was rebuked by God (Num 22:7; 2 Pet 2:15-16), but God used him to bless Israel contrary to the wishes of Balak, king of Moab (Num 23:17-24). The old prophet who lied to the man of God (1 Kin 13:18), later prophesied truly (1 Kin 13:20-22), and it came to pass (1 Kin 13:24; 13:29-30). King Saul and his messengers prophesied by the Spirit of God when they were on their way to capture David (1 Sam 19:20-24) to kill him (1 Sam 19:11). The answer is then to treat the prophesies of these people with caution, and measure them carefully against the word of God (See #3.2 below; #3.3).

#3.2 ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD

PSALMS 12:6
6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

PSALMS 89:34
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

PROVERBS 8:8 (Solomon)
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

PROVERBS 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

ISAIAH 8:20
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Note: We can see from the above scriptures, that God that every word God speaks is refined (Psa 12:6). Every word he speaks is pure (Pro 30:5), and that he will not alter what he has already spoken (Psa 89:34). He has warned us that if any man does not speak according to,” the law and the testimony”, that is God’s word, then they are false. Therefore, when a prophet speaks, and his words contradict the word of God in some way, then we can know that the prophet is false.

Example 1: “ ... for it was not at a moment, that the unexpected, that I came down and troubled the waters, and they that stepped in were healed?”

This seems to be a reference to the pool of Bethesda (John 5:4), in which case there looks like two errors in these words. First, God did not come down and trouble the waters, his word says, “an angel”. Second, only the first in was healed, not “ they that stepped in”. Bearing in mind that God has said, he will not alter the thing that has gone out of his lips (Psa 89:34), we may judge that this man was speaking from memory, and prophesying from his own heart.

Example 2: “... for I want you to realise as you’ve come into my presence this morning, that there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, there is nothing this morning that can separate you from my will and my plan, and my purpose for you . ... I want to tell you this morning that nothing can separate you from my love, and from my plan, and from my purpose .”
“... I have promised you in my word that nothing shall separate you from my love this morning. Nothing , my people. I want you to realise that this morning, that there is absolutely nothing that can separate you from my love, from my power, and from my peace, and from my presence .”

Both of these prophesies were given by the same prophet, about one week apart. In these short discourses he uses the phrase, “this morning”, no less than five times. Nowhere does any true prophet speak like this with such superfluous words. In fact we have been told by Jesus:
(Mat 5:37) “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
Jesus also said that we will have to give account of “every idle word’s that we speak on the day of Judgement (Mat 12:36). It is almost as if the prophet is speaking faster than he can think, and he is putting these words in to give himself thinking space. Sometimes, instead of doing this, false prophets fumble their words, and change what they have said (See #4.25).
As he said, “I have promised you in my word’s, I assumed that he referred to Romans 8:38-39, where Paul does list some things which cannot separate us from God’s love, providing that we are faithful and obedient to him. In context he is talking about “God’s elect” (Rom 8:33). He is talking about, “whom he did foreknow”, and whom he “predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son” (Rom 8:29). So Paul here is referring to people who are like Jesus, not sinners in the church. When the prophet says, “nothing ... Nothing ... absolutely nothing ...” , that is really adding a lot to what God has said. I ask:
What about sin? Can sin separate us from God’s love (1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8)?
What about iniquity (Mat 7:23; Luke 13:27)?
What about ignorance (Hos 4:6; Mat 25:1-13)?
What about disobedience (Eph 5:6; Col 3:6)?
What about blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10)?
I am sure many will see the point. These words were no doubt comforting to some of those who heard it, particularly those who were struggling in sin. But they were comforted in their sin, and the Holy Spirit comes to convict people of their sins (John 16:8).

#3.3 ACCORDING TO WHAT HAS BEEN SAID BY OTHER TRUE PROPHETS

ISAIAH 8:20
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

JEREMIAH 28:8-9
8 The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.

Note: Jeremiah made it clear that prophesying peace to people was not normal for a true prophet (Jer 28:8). That is not to say that a true prophet cannot prophesy peace and good things, but these promises usually come after repentance or punishment:
(Jer 12:15) “And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.”
(Eze 39:25-26) “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.”
Therefore it should be a signal to us when prophets prophesy peace and good things, and when the message of prophets does not agree with what has been spoken before by true prophets, then that prophet may be judged to be false.

Example: “ ... I would just remind you, that when I walked through the churches in the book of Revelation, you will discover that as I walked, I saw, and what I saw I spoke of, and then I asked them to repent. But I am saying to you this morning, that as I walk among you, I am not going to disclose what I see, I am not going to embarrass you, I am not going to show you up, what I want to do is, I just want to touch you, I want to touch you because I love you. ...”

This seems to me to be totally contrary to the character of God. Jesus didn’t ask the churches in Revelation to repent, he COMMANDED them to repent, and then threatened them:
(Rev 2:5) “I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick (church) out of its place, except thou repent.”
(Rev 2:22-23) “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death;”
(Rev 3:16) “I will spue thee out of thy mouth.”
Jesus didn’t say, “As many as I love I just want to touch.” , he said, “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten:” (Rev 3:19). He disclosed what he saw in the churches in Revelation, and if he had been speaking through this prophet he would have exposed the sins in this church, for they were many.

#3.4 ACCORDING TO WHETHER THEIR PREDICTIONS COME TRUE OR NOT

DEUTERONOMY 18:21-22
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.

Note: A false prophet can be easily detected when he makes a prediction that does not come to pass.

Example: This prophesy was made on the evening of Tuesday 12/9/2000 in Wolverhampton, England, U.K.
“... I can still send my word, and I can solve the problems of mankind, but I tell you I’m not going to do that this time , but I am going to bring you to that place of trust again my people ...”
This was spoken at the very height of a national petrol dispute. Some petrol stations were closed, with no fuel, others had long queues. People at work were discussing not being able to get to work, and the situation looked extremely bleak. Everybody was talking about it, so there seemed no doubt that this is what the prophetic word referred to. However, after seemingly telling us that the dispute would continue, it ended in less than two days, by the Thursday morning everything was on its way back to normal, and it didn’t flare up again.

There is however an exception, where the prophet is not false, even when the prophesy does not come to pass.
(Jer 18:7-10) “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”
(Jer 26:12-13) “Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.”
(Jer 26:18-19) “Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them?”
One example was Hezekiah (Isa 38:1-5; 2:kin 20:1-5). Isaiah told him he would die, so he prayed to God and wept. God heard his prayer and added fifteen years to his life.
Another example was Jonah, who preached to Nineveh, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4). The result was that they all prayed, fasted and repented (Jonah 3:5-9), and God saw it, and did not destroy the city (Jonah 3:10).
An example where good was prophesied to someone which did not come to pass was Josiah. It was prophesied to him that he would go to his grave in peace (2 Kin 22:20; 2 Chr 34:28), but he died in a war (2 Kin 23:29; 2 Chr 35:24), because he meddled in one that he was warned not to (2 Chr 35:20-22).
Another example is when God promised Joshua that he would be with him wherever he went (Josh 1:9), but he temporarily forsook him because of the sin of Achan (Josh 7:10-12).

#3.5 ACCORDING TO WHETHER THEY WILL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST “IS COME” IN THE FLESH OR NOT

1 JOHN 4:1-3
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 ¹ in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come ¹ 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.

2 JOHN 7
7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come ² in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Note: The word translated is come ¹ (Gr. e0lhluqo&ta, Gtr. elēluthota) in both of these verses is the accusative, singular, masculine, perfect , active participle, of the verb “erchomai”, “I come”. The perfect participle refers to a current state, simultaneous with the main verb (here it is “confesseth”), which has resulted from action prior to it (DFH p57, JWW p153, WP p96). The word translated is come ² (Gr. e0rxo&menon, Gtr. erchomenon) (2 John 7) is the accusative, singular, masculine, present , active participle, of the same verb “erchomai”, “I come”. The present participle generally refers to a current state, simultaneous with the main verb (here it is “confess”) (DFH p57, JWW p152, WP p96). Thus these scriptures mean that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh in the past, and is still come in the flesh now, inside every born again believer:
(Rom 8:9) “Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
(2 Cor 13:5) “Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates?”
(Col 1:27) “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”
Every spirit that will not confess that Christ is in us is not of God, and is the spirit of antichrist. For Christ to be in us he must have been raised from the dead.

#4. A COMPARISON OF TRUE PROPHETS AND FALSE PROPHETS

#4.1 TRUE PROPHETS ARE THEY CHOSEN BY GOD

1 KINGS 19:16 (God to Elijah)
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

JEREMIAH 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

AMOS 7:14-15
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Note: The comparison here is that false prophets were not chosen by God:
(Neh 6:14) “And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.”
(Jer 23:21) “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.”
(Jer 27:15) “For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.”
(Jer 28:15) “Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

#4.2 HOW DO THEY PROPHESY?

#4.21 True prophets prophesy by the Holy Spirit

1 SAMUEL 10:6 (Samuel to Saul)
6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

2 SAMUEL 23:2
2 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

2 CHRONICLES 24:20
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.

EZEKIEL 11:5
5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

ACTS 1:16
16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

ACTS 3:21
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

ACTS 11:28
11 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

1 PETER 1:20-21
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Note: In comparison to this, we can look at two ways that false prophets prophesy:
    (1) They prophesy by deceiving spirits.
(1 Sam 18:10) “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand.”
(1 Kin 22:18-23) “And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.
22 And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persude him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.”
(Rev 16:13-14) “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
    (2) They prophesy from their own heart.
(Jer 14:14) “Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
(Jer 23:16-17) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto everyone that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.”
(Jer 23:26) “How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;”
(Eze 13:2-3) “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
(Eze 13:17) “Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,”
True prophets do not prophesy from their own heart. This can be seen from the example of Nathan:
(2 Sam 7:2-4) “That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.”
When the word of the Lord came to him, God sent Nathan back to tell him not to build the temple. This is best recorded from Solomon’s words:
(1 Kin 8:18-19) “And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.
Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.”
True prophets may speak from their own heart, but not when they prophesy.

#4.22 True prophets prophesy by dreams and visions

NUMBERS:12:6
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

ACTS 2:17
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Note 1: Many instructions are given to people by dreams and visions.
In the Old Testament: Abram (Gen 15:1), Joseph (Gen 37:5-10), Pharaoh (Gen 41:1-7), Samuel ( 1 Sam 3:11-15 ), Job 33:14-16.
In the New Testament: Joseph (Mat 1:20; 2:13; 2:19), Cornelius (Acts 10:3-6), Peter (Acts 10:9-17; 11:5-10), Paul (Acts 9:12; 16:9; 18:9; 26:19-20; 2 Cor 12:1).

Note 2: In comparison to this false prophets have false dreams and visions:
(Jer 14:14) “Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
(Jer 23:25) “I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.”
(Jer 29:8) “For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.”
(Eze 13:16) “To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.”
(Jude 1:8) “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.”

#4.23 True prophets prophesy by words of angels

1 KINGS 13:15-18
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

DANIEL 10:10-14
10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

ZECHARIAH 1:14
14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

ACTS 27:22-26
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

Note: In the Old Testament prophetic words were given to prophets by angels: (Dan 10:14; Zec 1:9; 1:14; 1:19 etc).
Instructions are also given by angels (Gen 16:9-11; 19:15; 22:11-12; 31:11-13; Exo 3:2-5; Judg 13:3-5 etc.)
In the New Testament instructions are also given by angels: Joseph (Mat 1:20; 2:13; 2:19). Zacharias (Luke 1:11-17), shepherds (Luke 2:9-14), the Apostles (5:19-20), Moses (Acts 7:30; Gal 3:19; Heb 2:2), Philip (Acts 8:26), Cornelius (Acts 10:3-6), Peter (Acts 12:7-10).

#4.24 True prophets prophesy according to faith

ROMANS 12:6 (Paul)
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

Note: An example of this was Elijah (2 Kin 4:12-17). Here Elijah predicted the birth of a child to the woman who had shown kindness to him and looked after him, but there was no indication that God told him to do it. On the contrary he spoke according to the answer of his own servant Gehazi (v14), so we may conclude that this was according to Elijah’s faith.

#4.25 True prophets do not change their words

PSALMS 12:6
6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

PSALMS 89:34 (God)
34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Note: We have already established that God speaks through a prophet (See #1.1; #1.2), so we could expect the prophets words to be the same as God’s words. He will not make mistakes when he speaks, and he will not alter what he has said after he has said it.
In comparison to this, false prophets do make mistakes sometimes. They do sometimes change what they have said, and this is clear evidence that it is not God speaking through them. Look at some examples:

Example 1: “ ... and tomorrow is the day that I will give you again should I - should you tarry.”

Example 2: “... you’re trying to serve me, and even to witness for me (in?) gos - gos - and give the gospel of the good news. ... and enumerate the things that have proved your lo - my love to you.” .

Example 3: “ ... I want to tell you this morning that the longing of your - my heart this morning, is that you would praise me.”

In these three examples, from two different prophets, each prophet was speaking as, “Thus says the LORD”. Each one began to say something that would not have made sense, then changed his words. When we read, that “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver, tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” (Psa 12:6), that “Every word of God is pure:” (Pro 30:5), and that God has said he will not “alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” (Psa 89:34), should we consider that these fumbling statements were the actual words from the mouth of God? Does God make mistakes like these and the have to go back and correct himself, when “his work is perfect.” (Deut 32:4)? Take heed that no man deceive you (Mat 24:4).

#4.26 Can a true prophet refuse to prophesy?

JEREMIAH 20:9 (Jeremiah)
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

JONAH 1:1
1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:29-32 (Paul)
29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Note: God does not take away our free will. He may tell a prophet what to say, but the prophet still has to speak it voluntarily. This can be seen in the case of Jonah, when God told him to prophesy against Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-2). Jonah took off in the opposite direction to get away from doing what God had told him to do. He had a choice, and he refused to do it. However, God has ways of dealing with rebellious people, and after he had dealt with him, he did eventually go and do as he was told (Jonah 3:1-4). If Jonah had not submitted to God, he may well have died.
Jeremiah also refused to prophesy at one time (Jer 20:9), but he became so uncomfortable in his spirit that he also eventually spoke out.
Prophets can refuse to prophesy, but God’s judgement will come on them if they do.

#4.3 WHAT DO THEY PROPHESY?

#4.31 True Prophets confront sin and pronounce judgement

ISAIAH 58:1
1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

EZEKIEL 22:2
2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

EZEKIEL 43:10
10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.

MICAH 3:8
8 But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

Note 1: This seems to be a very prominent duty of a prophet, and the examples are numerous. Here are some:

(Eze 22:22) “As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.”

Note 2: In contrast to this, false prophets prophesy good things to people.
(2 Chr 18:5) “Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
(2 Chr 18:10-11) “And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.”
(Jer 6:13-14) “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
(Jer 14:13-14) “Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
(Jer 23:16-17) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto everyone that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.”
(Jer 28:8-9) “The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence.
The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.”
(Eze 13:1-3,10,16) “And the word of the LORD came unto me saying,
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar:
16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.”
(Eze 13:17,22) “Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them.
Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life;”

#4.32 True prophets call sinners to repentance

JEREMIAH 25:4-5
4 And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.
5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

JEREMIAH 35:15
15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

EZEKIEL14:6
6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
EZEKIEL 18:30
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

MATTHEW 3:1-2
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

MATTHEW 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Note: In contrast to this, false prophets don’t call people to repent (at least not in the scripture).
(Jer 23:14) “I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.”
(Jer 23:22) “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”
(Eze 13:22) “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life;”
Because the rebuke of sin often brings persecution, false prophets don’t do it. In contrast, they speak smooth messages that people like to hear, and that is why they are popular.

#4.33 True prophets promise forgiveness and reconciliation after repentance

2 CHRONICLES 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

ISAIAH 38:5
5 Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

ISAIAH 55:7
7.Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

JEREMIAH 32:42
42 For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

Note: These scriptures show that true prophets do promise good (Jer 32:42), mercy, forgiveness, and healing (2 Chr 7:14; Isa 55:7), even long life (Isa 3:5), but always after repentance or punishment. In contrast to this, false prophets do not call people to repentance, but make the good promises to unrepentant people (See #4.32 Note).

#4.34 True prophets speak the truth

PSALMS 119:151
151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.

PSALMS 119:160
160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgements endureth for ever.

JOHN 16:13 (Jesus)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

JOHN 17:17 (Jesus)
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Note: Because true prophets prophesy by the Holy spirit (See #4.21), who is “the Spirit of truth,” (John 16:13), and because they speak God’s word, which is the truth (Psa 119:160; John 17:17), they must therefore speak the truth when they prophesy. In comparison, false prophets speak lies:
(1 Kin 22:23) “Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.”
(Jer 14:14) “Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
(Jer 23:32) “Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.”
(Jer 28:15) “Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.”
(Eze 13:17-19) “Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; “ will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
(Eze 22:28) “And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the Lord hath not spoken.”

Example 1: “ ... Oh, procrastination is not in the vocabulary of God. I do not put off , but I am a God of the immediate. ... You feel so often that you have to wait, wait, wait, but there’s no waiting with God , if you fulfil that simple instruction, worshipping me in spirit and in truth. ... ”

God’s word tells us that he is a God of great patience, and he delays performing his word sometimes for long periods of time. He waited over four thousand years to present Jesus to this world to redeem it the first time, and he has delayed almost two thousand years now to send him back a second time. He often encourages us in his word to be patient and wait for him:
(Psa 27:14) “Wait on the LORD: ... wait, I say, on the LORD.”
(Psa 37:7) “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:”
(Psa 37:34) “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way,”
(Psa 40:1) “I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me,”
To help us with this he puts us through trials:
(Rom 5:3) “tribulation worketh patience;”
(Jam 1:2-3) “the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work,”
(Jam 5:11) “Ye have heard of the patience of Job,”
Sometimes trials of faith last for long periods of time, such as Noah waiting 120 years for the flood (Gen 6:3), Abraham waiting 25 years for the promised son, and sometimes people die in faith without receiving God’s promise (Heb 11:39). God is called, “the God of patience” (Rom 15:5), and when we pray he often “bears long” with us (Luke 18:7). Concerning the harvest at the end of the age, he “hath long patience for it,” (Jam 5:7).
So when this prophet says, “there’s no waiting with God,” it is a lie, and totally contrary to God’s word. When he says, “procrastination is not in the vocabulary of God. I do not put off,” this is also a lie. Procrastinate means “to put something off to a later time”. God put off Hezekiah’s death for fifteen years (Isa 38:5). Jonah preached, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” , but when the people repented (Jonah 3:5-9), God turned away from doing it at that time. Nineveh was destroyed later. If procrastination had not been in the vocabulary of God, the prophet could not have even spoken the word.

Example 2: “ ... I am God ... in my Son dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and I am here, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the three persons in one. I am here ... I have been risen, and am at the right hand of the Father, to minister on your behalf ... for nothing, nothing, nothing, can separate you from my love, from my care, from my provision. For I am a loving heavenly Father who is good towards you, and will provide for you in the days to come, saith the Lord.”
There are various things that we could say about this prophecy:
    (1) The man is obviously a Trinitarian, when he says, “I am here, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the three persons in one.” If you are not a Trinitarian this would be enough to judge him false.
    (2) He switches from speaking as the Father, “in my Son”; to speaking as the Son, “I ... am at the right hand of the Father,” and back to speaking as the Father, “For I am a loving heavenly Father”. This is most unusual, and there is no true prophet who ever spoke in this manner.
    (3) The words, “I have been risen”, are extremely bad English. “I have been raised”, “I have risen”, or even “I am risen” would have been better. Is God’s English really that bad?
    (4) We see the smooth words, typical of false prophets, “nothing, nothing, nothing, can separate you from my love, from my care, from my provision.” This type of statement has been dealt with earlier (See #3.2 Ex. 2).

#4.35 True prophets warn people of future events

AMOS 3:7
7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

ACTS 11:28
11 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

ACTS 21:10
10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Note: The purpose of warning people in advance about what is going to happen may vary. In the case of Joseph, “God did send me before you to preserve life.” (Gen 45:5), shows us the purpose of Pharoah’s dreams. Prior warning allowed life to be preserved by making preparation in advance. In the case of Paul (Acts 21:11), he could have avoided being captured by the Jews by not going to Jerusalem, but he made the choice to go anyway. Especially when God pronounces judgement on someone, it is for the purpose to turn them from their sin (See #5.1). In contrast to this, true prophets also predict future events, but sometimes they do not come to pass (See #3.4).

#4.36 True prophets give commands and instructions to people

1 KINGS 20:13-14
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.

2 CHRONICLES 20:14-16
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

JEREMIAH 29:4-6
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

#4.37 True prophets confront false prophets

1 KINGS 18:19 (Elijah)
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

1 KINGS 22:24-25
24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?
25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

JEREMIAH 28:15-17
15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord.
28:17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

EZEKIEL 13:1-2
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Note: Elijah is well known for his confrontation of the prophets of Baal on mount Carmel. He challenged them to prove their God by calling down fire from heaven, to consume a sacrifice, and when they had failed, he proved the LORD to be God by doing the very thing that they had failed to do. After this he killed all the false prophets (1 Kin 18:21-40).
Micaiah correctly prophesied the death of Ahab at Ramoth Gilead (1 Kin 22:17-23), and resisted the false prophet Zedekiah (1 Kin 22:24-25), who had prophesied a false victory (1 Kin 22:11).
Jeremiah resisted the false prophet Hananiah, who had prophesied a quick return from Babylon (Jer 28:2-4), and accurately prophesied his death (Jer 28:15-17), and God told Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets of Israel in his day.
To resist false prophets is one of the functions of true prophets.

#5. THE FRUITS OF TRUE PROPHECY

#5.1 SINNERS WILL REPENT AND BE TURNED AWAY FROM SIN

1 KINGS 21:27-29
27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

2 CHRONICLES 12:5-6
5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.

ISAIAH 38:2-2
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,
3 And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

JEREMIAH 23:22
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

JONAH 3:5-10
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Note: In contrast to this, false prophets do not turn people from their sin, but rather make them worse:
(Jer 23:14) “I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
(Jer 23:22) “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”
(Lam 2:14) “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.”
(Eze 13:22) “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life;”

#5.2 TRUE PROPHETS WILL BE PERSECUTED

MATTHEW 5:11-12 (Jesus)
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

LUKE 11:49 (Jesus)
49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

ACTS 7:52 (Stephen to the Jews)
52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

1 CORINTHIANS 4:12
12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

1 THESSALONIANS 2:15
15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:

HEBREWS 11:36-38
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Note: There are plenty of examples of true prophets being persecuted (1 Kin 22:24-27; 2 Chr 16:10; 18:23-26; Jer 20:2; 32:2; 37:15; 38:6; John 18:22; 19:1), even becoming martyrs (2 Chr 24:21; Jer 2:30; Mat 23:37; Mark 12:5; Luke 13:34; 1 Thes 2:15; Heb 11:36-37; Rev 11:7; 16:6).
In contrast to this, there are no examples of false prophets being persecuted by those who they prophesied to. False prophets are well spoken of:
(Jer:5:31) “The prophets prophesy falsely, “ and my people love to have it so:”
(Luke 6:26) “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
The reason why the false prophets are not persecuted is because they say what people want to hear. They prophesy peace and good things to come, which is what people want to hear, and they do not rebuke sin.
(Is:30:9-10) “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:”
Contrary to this, true prophets torment evil people:
(Rev 11:10) “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.“

#5.3 TRUE PROPHETS CAUSE THOSE WHO BELIEVE THEM TO PROSPER

2 CHRONICLES 20:20
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

EZRA 6:14
14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

Note: In contrast to this, false prophets do no good for the people they prophesy to:
    (1) They do not profit people.
(Jer 23:32) “Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, “ they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.”
(Jer 28:12-13) “Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet , after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.”
    (2) They cause people to err.
(Jer 23:13) “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.“
(Jer 23:32) “Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies,”
(Mic 3:5) “Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace;”
    (3) They deceive them.
(Jer 29:8) “For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you,”
(Mat 24:11) “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”
(Mat 24:24) “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
    (4) They make people vain.
(Jer 23:16) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
    (5) They cause punishment to come to those who hear to them.
(Jer:14:16) “And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.”
(Eze 14:10) “And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;”

#5.4 TRUE PROPHETS EDIFY THE CHURCH

1 CORINTHIANS 14:1-5 (Paul)
1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts , but rather that ye may prophesy.
2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him ; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

Note: Many people may be confused because false prophets seem to encourage and edify people. Their smooth words comfort people, and the hearers often go away feeling good. They have, however, deceived them, and built them up on a false foundation, believing everything is going to be all right, when in fact it isn’t. No doubt when false prophets prophesied a quick return from Babylon (Jer 28:1-4), people were happy to hear it, and were lifted up with hope, but they would be really discouraged when it failed to come to pass, wouldn’t they.
On the other hand, true prophets turn people away from their sins (See #5.1), and it is only when people turn from sin that they can be built up on the solid foundation of God’s word and faith. God’s true people are always edified when they know that God is speaking to them and dealing with them. True prophets will edify a true church, but false ones will temporarily build up a false one superficially.
(Jer 6:14; 8:11) “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
(Zec 10:2) “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.”

#5.5 TRUE PROPHETS LEAD TO FREEDOM NOT BONDAGE

ROMANS 8:15 (Paul)
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:17 (Paul)
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is , there is liberty.

Note: True prophets point people towards freedom from deceit, lies, fear of people, and sin, but false prophets tend to lead people into them:
(Neh 6:12-13) “And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.”
(Lam 2:14) “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.”

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This is the end of this Bible Study about the Sin of False Prophecy