The Prophet: True or False

Prophets and prophetesses throughout history have tended to be ordinary people called to reveal information from the one true God that is otherwise unknown (see Ezekiel 2, 3 and Jeremiah 29:19). Prophecy itself takes on two basic forms: "Forth-telling is a matter of speaking forth the oracles of God for today, whereas Fore-telling concerns giving advance notice of events to come.

Scriptures cautioned that if a prophet predicted any thing and it did not come to pass, he was a false prophet, to be disregarded (and in ancient times stoned to death to prevent any further deceptions from that source). Such was the level of influence a prophet held. A prophet of honesty and integrity would always clearly delineate between his or her own opinion and the Word given from the Lord. Those who fail to meet these criteria should be shunned.

Jesus the Messiah gave the warning: Matthew 7:15-18 (Young's Literal Translation) "`But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves. From their fruits ye shall know them; do men gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs? so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits. A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits."

Matthew 7:21-23 (YLT) "`Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things? and then I will acknowledge to them, that--I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness."

Matthew 24:24-25 (YLT) "for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and they shall give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, also the chosen. Lo, I did tell you beforehand."

Many true prophets were not revered until after they had been murdered by those offended at what they had to say. Their messages by and large were succinct, to the point and not at all "sugar-coated."

Jesus presented the new Church with extraordinary spiritual gifts to ordinary people in order to edify and build it. According to the apostle Paul: Ephesians 4:11-13 (YLT) "and He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as proclaimers of good news, and some as shepherds and teachers, unto the perfecting of the saints, for a work of ministration, for a building up of the body of the Christ, till we may all come to the unity of the faith and of the recognition of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fullness of the Christ," 1 Corinthians 12:28 (YLT) "And some, indeed, did God set in the assembly, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, afterwards powers, afterwards gifts of healings, helpings, governings, divers kinds of tongues;"

At no point in the Scripture does it state that any of the gifts ceased to be in operation or was limited to the twelve, the seventy-two, the First Century Church or any denomination. In order to make such a declaration of Scripture what do you need? At least two passages of Scripture taken in context as witnesses.

From the Scriptures above we know that a false prophet can (1) be a gifted person who through deceit will employ the Name of Jesus to gain status, power or fortune; (2) may perform amazing signs and miracles through their affiliation with demons; (3) certainly will have no association with Jesus and the gospel even though they speak extensively about Jesus and salvation; will be present on the earth until the end of time. The final false prophet, according to Revelation 19:20 will be the prince of darkness, Satan himself.

Each time God has raised up a true prophet to represent Him to the world for a special purpose, the devil has raised up numerous false prophets to muddy the waters and lead the listeners down a rabbit-trail of confusion. Yet Ezekiel gives guidance in seeing clearly the false prophet for what he/she is:

Ezekiel 13:1-7 (YLT) "And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, `Son of man, prophesy concerning the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and thou hast said to those prophesying from their own heart: Hear ye a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the prophets who are foolish, Who are going after their own spirit, And they have seen nothing. As foxes in the wastes, Thy prophets, O Israel, have been. Ye have not gone up into breaches, Nor do ye make a fence for the house of Israel, To stand in battle in a day of Jehovah. They have seen vanity, and lying divination, Who are saying: An affirmation of Jehovah, And Jehovah hath not sent them, And they have hoped to establish a word. A vain vision have ye not seen, And a lying divination spoken, When ye say: An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have not spoken?"

So, how may we recognize a true prophet of the one true God?

First, know that you can be deceived unless you exercise discernment. Numbers 12:6 (YLT) "And He saith, `Hear, I pray you, My words: If your prophet is of Jehovah--in an appearance unto him I make Myself known; in a dream I speak with him;" and Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (YLT) "`Only, the prophet who presumeth to speak a word in My name--that which I have not commanded him to speak--and who speaketh in the name of other gods--even that prophet hath died. `And when thou sayest in thy heart, How do we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? -- that which the prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, and the thing is not, and cometh not--it is the word which Jehovah hath not spoken; in presumption hath the prophet spoken it; --thou art not afraid of him."

Second, a false prophet can perform great signs and miracles. Therefore, a display of supernatural power cannot be taken as a guarantee that the person is a prophet or prophetess of God. In the end times Satan himself will call fire down from the sky to convince most people that he is god.

Revelation 13:13-15 (YLT) "...and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men, and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live, and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and that it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed."

Third, a true prophet cannot validate himself. No one can become one simply because he or she decides to be one. By the same token, men cannot appoint a prophet. Only God Himself determines who will speak for Him. That person may give a prophecy on one occasion during his lifetime, or he may do so throughout his life. 1 Corinthians 12:11 (YLT) "and all these doth work the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each severally as he intendeth." John 5:31-33 (YLT) "`If I testify concerning myself, my testimony is not true; another there is who is testifying concerning me, and I have known that the testimony that he doth testify concerning me is true; ye have sent unto John, and he hath testified to the truth."

If a person is a true prophet, those who are spiritually mature will test and verify the gift. Over time there will be ample proof of whether the prophet spoke for God or merely his own imagination. NOTE: the words of a true prophet will NEVER, EVER contract the written (logos) Word of the living God.

The wise person will never seek to be known as a prophet, for the true ones are not popular during their lives. Why? Because the almighty God does not tread lightly with men or send trivial little messages through His chosen an anointed prophets. When He issues a prophecy the words tend to cut going and coming. He condemns sin and exposes error. As a result, the statements of a genuine prophet are usually hated and the life span of the speaker usually painful and short.

Matthew 23:37 (YLT) "`Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that art killing the prophets, and stoning those sent unto thee, how often did I will to gather thy children together, as a hen doth gather her own chickens under the wings, and ye did not will."

Fourth, the Spirit of prophecy actively works through prophets in order to separate fact from fiction. Having false prophets come into a congregation can lead to disaster if listened to. NOTE: a true prophet will promote doctrines and standards that conform to God's Word, and can do miracles as God calls necessary to firm the truth of their testimony.

Acts 14:3 (YLT) "...long time, indeed, therefore, did they abide speaking boldly in the Lord, who is testifying to the word of His grace, and granting signs and wonders to come to pass through their hands." Revelation 2:14-16 (YLT) "`But I have against thee a few things: That thou hast there those holding the teaching of Balaam, who did teach Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit whoredom; so hast thou, even thou, those holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans--which thing I hate. `Reform! and if not, I come to thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Revelation 2:20-22 (YLT) "`But I have against thee a few things: That thou dost suffer the woman Jezebel, who is calling herself a prophetess, to teach, and to lead astray, my servants to commit whoredom, and idol-sacrifices to eat; and I did give to her a time that she might reform from her whoredom, and she did not reform; lo, I will cast her into a couch, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation--if they may not repent of their works,"

God has never given prophets since the First Century any words that extend the Bible. The logos Word of God is complete. All prophecies since therefore must be tested against Scripture. True prophets will always direct the listener to the Bible as man's only authority in matters having to do with God. Consider the claims of those who say "God has told me...," but test every claim against the Scriptures. Verify every claim. NEVER hold a prophet in reverence, worship them or quote them as an authority apart from the Bible. If after they have been tested their gifting holds water, then exalt the Word of God -- not the prophet. In addition, examine their personal lives closely to determine whether their actions parallel their words.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (YLT) "all things prove; that which is good hold fast; from all appearance of evil abstain ye;" Matthew 7:19-20 (YLT) "Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire: therefore from their fruits ye shall know them."

If a prophecy lines up with the written Word of God, then Scripture will be understood more clearly and the Church-- the body of Christ will be enhanced. Embrace the true prophet-- shun the false!