Most Christians are aware of the dangers outside our Christian faith. This is especially so as God has warned us about many of them. Equally important if not more so are the dangers that loiter within the faith which the word of God stridently warns us about. Especially poignant are the dangers pose by those who are unbelievers but who will claim to be. People who will claim to possess the gifts and authority they do not have. People who will heap titles upon themselves while being devoid of any relationship with the Lord.

Virtually every level or position within the Christian faith have been and will continue to be counterfeited. And many of the gifts of the holy Spirit have such people attempted to mimic too. Hence, we are warned of false Christs, false apostles, false prophets, false teachers and many more.

But how many of us pay much attention to such warnings?

Many profess to be Christians while continuing to live a carefree, nonchalant lifestyle as if the Lord will not come again as He promised. And because of this carelessness of allowing things to go unscrutinised there abound much that is false amongst believers in the church.

Today, I want us to remind ourselves that these dangers are real and are around us. We need to be careful, so we don’t fall victim to the perpetrators. We want to focus on a particular position and gift that of the prophet and prophecy.

Specifically we want to focus on the false prophets.

This is especially poignant at this time when the pestilence named Corona virus 19 (COVID-19) is rampaging the whole world. And many false prophets are brazenly proclaiming various falsehoods in the name of God.

Impersonating God

The false prophets were and continue to impersonate God.

To impersonate someone is to pretend to be that person in some way most often with intent to deceive or defraud. And the reputation of the one impersonated is brought into disrepute.

Hence, when a person attempts to impersonate God, he is trying to bring the name of God into disrepute. This is the high class of calling the name of the LORD in vain!!!

Some of those who impersonate God may not have thought of it or might not even realise that is what they are doing. But ignorance or sincerity is no excuse for impersonation. 

However, the false prophets are different in that they usually know they have no relationship with God but still want to profit from associating with God. The actions of the false prophets are deliberate and calculated to cause maximum exploitation of the would-be vulnerable victim while they gain whatever temporal advantage that is their goal.

The average believer in Christ believes in God and would want to obey God. But oftentimes when things are not going the way expected or a person faces some difficulty or challenge, there is desire for solution. Such desire could become desperation as anxiety and fear take hold. At such a time, one seriously needs to know God is there.

Not that God has ever left but our problems have a tendency dull our senses and to make us feel God is not there. It is at such vulnerable moments that the false prophets pounce purporting to speak the word of God.

This is what makes them dangerous and wicked: They prey on the vulnerable at their moment of most need offering snake disguised as fish!

God is everywhere and rules everywhere

The behaviour of the false prophets often show the state of their heart. It is as if they think that God is only near that is, operating only in heaven, and is not seeing or ruling in faraway earth where the people and the false prophets live. Thus, because of the wrong perception of God, the false prophets think God is not seeing the evils and wickedness they are doing to the people. They seem to locate God and limit Him to a specific place.

This was also how the Syrians thought of the God of Israel.

“And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” (1Kgs 20:23).

But they were wrong and were the worse for it. For the LORD answered to their foolishness and unbelief,

“And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” (1Kgs 20:28).

And then went ahead to confounded and destroy them (1Kgs 20:29-30).

Like the Syrians the false prophets are wrong to think that God is limited to one place are the worse for it too.

• Though you profess to be a Christian, is your attitude revealing that you are restricting God to a specific location or situation?
•  That there are things you think and act like they are beyond God?

 Please, think again least you are allying with the false prophets, the impersonators of God.

 But whatever the false prophets and others may think, the truth is that God is a God that is both near at hand and a God that is far off. Unlike the false gods and idols of the ungodly the living God is omnipresent.

Indeed, God knows everything about us as He is present everywhere (cf. Ps 139:1-10).

Hence, when God asked the rhetorical question,

“Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?” (Jer. 23:23).

The truth and the expected answer is that God is both at hand and afar off. Yes, God is present everywhere.

Desperation breeds vulnerability

The false prophets are able to deceive oftentimes because of the ignorance of their victims. Many of their victims lack the basic knowledge of God and of their Christian faith. Many are thus weighted down because of their problems and challenges. Some of these challenges are serious and do not lend themselves to easy solutions or to the means available to the ones with the problems.

In their desire to solve the problems, such ones become so anxious and fearful that they begin to doubt God. They become desperate. And in desperation they often are willing to accept any help they think might solve the problem. They thus become vulnerable to the exploits of the false prophets.

The false prophets work in secrecy and encourage their victims to take their word as the word of God. They tell their victims that they are the oracles of God as they claim to speak “prophetically.” They claim to be able to “decree” things from the spirit realm to appear in the physical as they make declarative statements purportedly backed up by God.

There is also the element of fear. Fear of the false prophets because of their constant boasting of being messengers of God with spiritual powers with which they could bless or curse anyone.

Hence, many of their victims are usually too afraid when their problems have not been solved or the promises of the false prophets fail, to report or expose such ones. Many of the victims cannot think of exposing the false prophets even when they are convinced of their falsehood for fear of being cursed or being branded as agents of the devil attempting to harm “God’s anointed.” So, the victims will keep quiet and relocate to another place or congregation as so as the opportunity comes.

• How desperate are you to achieve your goal?
• Are you so desperate as to be willing to accept any solution even when the source is ungodly?

No one can hide from God

The false prophets may think God is not seeing their evil activities, if they do, then they alone are deceived in that wise, for there is nowhere or anyone hidden from God.

Hence, the question God directed at them,

“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” (Jer. 23:24).

Yes, God fills heaven and earth. He fills the whole universe with His omniscience, providence and power. God is separate from His creation but is intimately associated with it. Obviously, if God is everywhere, as truly He is, no one can hide from Him even if they try.

In the word of God, the psalmist tells of the experience that is common to all and asked the question with an obvious answer:

“⁷ Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? ⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; ¹⁰ Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me. ¹¹ If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; Even the night shall be light about me. ¹² Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” (Ps 139:7-12).

And for those who will dare to think they can hide from God and even make strenuous efforts to make their make-belief seem possible or believable, God in graphic language and in no uncertain terms confounds their lies as He says:

 “² Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; Though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: ³ And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; And though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, Thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.” (Amos 9:2-3).

Again, to the questions God asked,

“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” (Jer. 23;24).

 The obvious answers are that No, no one can hide in secret places where God cannot see Him, and God truly fills heaven and earth.

It is preposterous for the false prophets to think they can hide from God. It is the height of delusion to think that the God who made the ear will Himself not hear, and that He that made the eyes will not see (Ps 94:9). Unbelievable as this may seem, this is how the false prophets conceive of God.

In spite of whatever the false prophets may think, God actually heard, and continues to hear what they say. For even there are false prophets in our day too.

God had neither spoken to nor sent these false prophets. Yet they claim to have heard from God and were speaking the very word from God. That is why they are false.

They are claiming credibility by name-dropping!

What is name-dropping you ask?

Ever been in a conversation with someone and the person casually mentions the name of a celebrity as if they are bosom buddies just to gain some credibility and to make you feel he is somebody.

Meanwhile this person is neither an acquaintance nor is he known by the celebrity whose name he dropped in his conversation with you. That is name-dropping. This is what the false prophets try to do.

The false prophets know that on their own they are very light like the chaff of rice before the wind. They mention the name of God in their attempt to gain credibility with their would-be victims.

Because God had neither spoken to nor sent these false prophets, whatever message they were claiming that He had spoken to or sent them with was false.

Purveyors of false dreams

Amongst their devices for deceiving people were dreams. These false prophets claimed that they had dreamed, meaning that God had spoken to them by dreams when, in reality, He had not. They were saying that they had received prophetic communication by dreams.

 In the days of old, dream was one of the means through which God communicated His word to His chosen prophets and Apostles (Num. 12:6; Deut. 13:1; Joel 2:28). It was this fact that the false prophets attempted to exploit then, and they still do today. They were claiming (and this was out of deceit) they had received communication from God for their would-be victims.

 Is there any of us here reading this who is so naïve or ignorant as to suppose that God can only see things in heaven and not see things on earth?

 I hope not!

 Our God sees every and all things.

 Hear the word of God:

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Heb. 4:13).

 Remember, we are not to be ignorant of the devices of Satan so that he does not take advantage of us (2Cor 2:11). We are not to be ignorant of the devices of his agents too.

Here, the specific device is the false claim by the false prophets of receiving communication from God by dreams.

We have been warned that:

“there were false prophets also amongst the people, and even as there shall be false teachers among you” (2Pet 2:1).

Yes, false prophets exist in the church today as they existed in the days of old.

Watch out for them least you become a victim

Please note that it is not dream that is being condemned here, but the fact that God had not spoken to these false prophets through dreams, but the false prophets claim that God had spoken. Rather than keeping quiet, God informed the false prophets that He heard what they were saying,

“I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.” (Jer. 23:25).

A corrupt heart given to evil

The activities of the false prophets revealed that they had a problem of the heart. This is the heart of the matter: They had not and will not yield their hearts to the living God. Their hearts were given to their evil ways rather than to God. This is why their nefarious activities were persistent and not a one-off thing. Rather, it was the habit of these false prophets to claim God was speaking through them to profit from their victims.

But the false prophets prophesy from the ungodliness in their heart. They thought and they deliberated on whatever they wanted to say or to do and went ahead to carry out their intensions. They had a particular preconceived outcome they wanted. They then devised the means to achieve that outcome without recourse to God or the welfare of their intended victims. This has been their modus operandi from the days of old, and even to our day.

Deception was their stock-in-trade, their occupation and the means by which they not only earned their living but attempted to earn a good reputation by claiming association with God!

God repeatedly spoke against their evil activities and even commanded them to stop. Yet, they persisted in their wayward ways as they pursued filthy lucre.

And God even put it to them as to when they were going to stop their evil activities,

“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.” (Jer. 23:26).

The false prophets deliberately decided to deceive. They knew what they were doing, knowingly wanting to deceive others. Prophet Jeremiah, the true prophet of God seemed frustrated and impatient here and asked this question.

 It is like you and I will ask the question:

• How long a known wicked person is going to be allowed to continue with his wicked activities before the authorities will apprehend and bring such a one to justice?
• Or How long will God wait before He will judge such a person?
• Shall these prophecy-merchants and false minsters be allowed to continue to deceive the gullible people?
• For how long?

 The crux of the matter

The false prophets in addition to behaving as if God does not exist, were attempting to mar God’s reputation by their false claim of association with Him. But that is a subterfuge for their main goal: To cause the people of God to forget God. They wanted to replace God in the lives of His people. They were ready and willy to do whatever was needed to achieve their goal.

God has always known the heart of man. And God knew the hearts of the false prophets. Even in the best of times and in his best behaviour, God’s indictment of human beings remains true:

 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).

Such level of wickedness in the ordinary fallen man would seem to go up a notch in the false prophets!

But God knew their purpose: To cause God’s people to forget God’s name by their dreams.

And that is a very serious thing with God! And concerning this same issue the Lord Jesus Christ solemnly warned,

“¹Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come. ² It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (Luke 17:1-2).

To many people, dreaming is being spiritual or communicating in the spirit. Many claim that whatever they dream comes true never mind that they have no genuine relationship with God. Many are ever ready and willing to take a dream and its purported meaning over and above properly interpreted written word of God!

And there are people who claim to specialize in dream interpretation. This is what makes many susceptible to deception as they cannot distinguish true communication from God from false communication from their own mind, a demonic activity or the mind of the false prophet.

 There be many that want to know what will happen tomorrow. Many want to know beforehand the outcome of a decision they are about to take. Such are in the main ignoring the written word of God as they turn to these fortune-teller-turned-prophets for answers. The false prophets in turn are aware of the propensity of many so-called Christians to want guidance even if it is dubious and involves extra-biblical sources.

 The false prophets therefore project themselves as having the ears of God and as such having specific word for every person’s situation. This is the veritable fertile milieu upon which the false prophets thrive.

Both the false prophets and their followers in-tow want to be seen to be spiritual. They put on an air of spirituality. They tell their dreams to their neighbours that is, to others as they see this as an indication that they are “spiritual”, and that God is communicating with them.

With reputation of spirituality thus built, the very adept amongst them go through a process of self-promotion and elevation and become self-appointed prophets. These then began to use their devices of supposed communication from and with God to deceive the ignorant and the gullible. They do this with the intension of deceiving such ones to make them think they are prophets of God.

 These false prophets had the examples of their fathers to follow. Their fathers were led astray and away from God by false prophets. They followed Baal, the God of the Canaanites. This was in spite of repeated commands and warnings from God to not do so. They were therefore following in the footsteps of their fathers:

 “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” (Judges 3:7).

 And further,

“which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.” (Jer. 23:27).

Similarly, the false prophets of our day have forgotten the name of God. They are following in the footsteps of mammon, human philosophy, false religion and idols while all the time shouting at the top of their voices that they dine with God all the time!

•  Whose footsteps are you following?
• Where are such footsteps leading you: towards God or away from God?

The word of God has nothing in common with the false prophets

 The difference between the false prophet and the word of God is that between the chaff and the wheat.

 The false prophets had the propensity to indulge in dreams often imagined or concocted with intent to deceive. God spoke directly to the uselessness of this futile exercise. God considered the false prophet with his dream to be chaff while His word from His prophet is considered to be wheat:

“The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.” (Jer. 23:28).

Chaff is the worthless husk removed from the wheat during processing. The chaff is of no nutritional value for humans. It is a waste fit only to be blown away by the wind or be burnt with fire. The wheat is the nutritious food for man and is separated from the chaff. When it comes to nutritional value the wheat nourishes and is desired, but the chaff is useless waste.

Similarly, when it comes to spiritual matters, the true prophets of God speak the true word of God that is of high value to the people of God and are to be desired. But the false prophets with whatever word or dream they have, are light and useless like chaff. They are to be rejected as they are blown about by the wind of their insatiable appetite for exploitation of the vulnerable.

They will ultimately end in hell if they persist in their ungodly activities. But meanwhile, refuse to be numbered amongst their victims.

It is because the genuine prophets truly spoke from God under the power of the Holy Spirit that their words are part of the Holy Scripture till today.

As we are told,

“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.” (1Pet 1:21).

The right thing to do was and is still for the false prophets to stop dreaming, give their hearts to God and follow the truth. And the true prophets of God to continue declaring the word of God to His people. Obviously, the false prophets continued with their dreams.

Hence, God told them if they wanted to continue to dream, they should continue. And at the same time the true prophets of God who had the word of God were to continue that word faithfully. Let the false prophets continue with their dreams till their judgement time.

But God would let them know that what the false prophets were doing made them like chaff while the true prophets in contrast would be like wheat. This is a down-to-earth foundation-destroying metaphorical description of the false prophets.

Dreams of the false prophets are chaff. You should not believe them. Do not follow them!

•  Do you recognise the real word of God as oppose to the false words of a false prophet?
• Do you recognise the devices of the false prophets as opposed to the true message of God?

 As there is no comparison between chaff and wheat, there is no comparison between the falsehood of the false prophet and the true word of God.

 The word of the false prophet may seem comforting temporarily as he seeks to deceive for his own gain, but it will never stand for long. His intension is to draw disciples after himself and thereby lead such people away from God through some concocted spirituality that appeals to such people. People who are discerning soon find out his falsehood and run from him.

To those who follow false prophets

It is important to understand that in addition to speaking about the false prophets, the Holy Bible also speaks of some of the traits of those who follow them or fall for them. They are people who are looking for miracles, signs and wonders instead of the truth of the word of God. Oftentimes they have a need or a problem which have made them become so desperate as to accept any purported solution.

 

They are more often than not people who have abandoned the word of God as too difficult to obey and have put their own righteousness in its place and are only asking God to bless or approve what they have designed themselves.

The word of God is as clear as daylight:

First in the Old Testament.

“³¹ And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. ³² And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.” (Ezek. 33:31-32).

Then the trend continued into the New testament,

“³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2Tim 4:3-4).

Evidence of the truth of both these passages of Holy Scripture are abundant for all to see in many sections of the church in our day. The false prophets have become brazen in their evil pursuit and have come so adept that they draw thousands of such professors after themselves wherever and whenever they put up a show!

Be ware and take care so you or your loved ones do not inadvertently become victims of the false prophets.

The way forward?

Fortify yourself! How?

Fortify yourself with the word pf God!

The word of God: a panacea against false prophets

False prophets do not self-identify. So, nobody will walk up to you to say he is a false prophet. So, if you are still wondering or you still need to ask the question:

 “What shall we do when lies are spoke as truths, and prophets oppose prophets?”

 Do exactly as you do in preparing your food: Separate the chaff from the wheat.

Separate the false words of the false prophet from the truth of God, using the word of God as revealed in Holy Scripture. Make yourself a student of the bible under the ever-present presence of the Holy Spirit.

All believers have been warned told and warned that they will know the false prophets by their fruit (Mat 7:15-20).

Where do you find that?

Within the pages of Holy Scripture.

 Therefore, the written word of God is a panacea against false prophets and their exploits.

The word of God

But what about the word of God?

 God’s word is all powerful. The LORD God Almighty spoke the universe (visible and invisible, known and unknown into existence. It converts the souls, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the eyes (Ps 19:7-8). It accomplishes whatever God pleases and prospers in the thing He sends it (Is 55:11). And He uphold all things by His powerful word! (Heb. 1:3).

• What are you being told by whoever?
• Whatever title such a person may arrogate to himself/herself, does his word conform to or contradict properly interpreted Holy Scripture?
• Or does it contract it?
• Is this person claiming to be more authentic spiritual revelation, equal to or superior to the written word of God?

Beware indeed!!!

The word of God came through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The prophets of old spoke by the Holy Spirit. Hence, the word spoken by any genuine prophet of God will not contradict the written word of God as the Holy Spirit is the source of both. God is not the author of confusion (1Cor 14:33).

The word of God is as a fire.

 But in what sense is God’s word like fire or hammer?

 Fire consumes the chaff (as in Jer. 23:28) and so God’s word will consume the false prophets (Mat 3:12). “My word” which is “wheat” (Jer. 23:28), that is, food to the true prophet and his hearers, is but a consuming fire and a crushing “hammer” (Mat 21:44) to the false prophets and their followers (2Cor 2:16).

The false prophets

The word of the false prophets may be known by its promising peace and prosperity in sin. They comfort those living in rebellion to God by twisting the word of God as promising them grace to continue in sin! So contrary to the word of God which tells us:

 “¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom 6:1-2).

Do not be deceived. No human being has grace to continue in sin no matter how close to God and anointed such an impostor may claim to be. If someone is encouraging you to continue in your wayward ways, promising you grace as you remain deep in sin instead of pointing you to Christ and encouraging you to repent, know that such a one is an agent of the devil spewing the message from the pit of hell.

Simply put, such a person is an impersonator, an evil and dangerous one at that!

Run, I say again, run as fast as you can from such least you be consumed by the fire that will consume that false prophet!

Remember God’s word again

God’s word burns and breaks the hard-hearted (Jer. 20:9).

 Yes, God’s word is also like a hammer.

In what sense is God’s word like a hammer?

 The words “fire” and “hammer” are used here as figures of speech.

Like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces, God’s word breaks the stone-hard heart and brings it to the place of repentance. It identifies the heart that is beyond redemption and shatters it into smithereens, and beyond recovery.

Thus, God spoke to the false prophets and others who might venture to walk in their footsteps that if they had not known they should now know as He asked the rhetorical questions the answers to which were obviously a resounding “Yes”

“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29).

For many reasons false prophets are abhorrent in the sight of God.

A foremost reason is because they try to pervert an attribute of God: His Omniscience. They attempt to impersonate God through pretending that they genuine agents of God when they are not. They claim to know the mind of God and in addition that God had commanded them something He had not.

 The omniscience of God is that attribute of God by which He knows all things past, present and future perfectly without needing to learn anything new.

 God’s Complete knowledge

 God’s knowledge is so complete that even the hairs on our heads are numbered (Mat 10:30). He knows the numbers of the stars and calls each by name (Ps 147:4). God knows things that are hidden from human beings, and we are to stay with only the things He has revealed (Deut. 29:29).

There are things which God has purposely hidden from us and it is not for us to seek to know those things (Acts 1:7). The true in Christ is not left in the dark about things of God for we are told:

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (1Cor 2:12).

 Origin of God’s knowledge

God’s knowledge originates within Himself. Hence, no one had directed the Spirit of God, or been a counsellor have taught Him (Is 40:13-14).

Result of God’s knowledge

God’s knowledge is all-encompassing. God cannot and does not make any mistake in anything anywhere anytime. Though God created all of creation, in terms of relationships, God knows those who are His and those who are not (Num. 16:5; John 10:14; 2Tim 2:19). And since nothing is hidden from Him, God is able to judge the right judgement (Eccl. 12:14; 1Cor 4:5; Heb. 4:13).

In addition to their attempts to pervert the omniscience of God, the multi-various sins of the false prophets include but are not limited to:

 

Gaining credibility by false association

People who prophecy falsely are trying to gain credibility by associating themselves with God. They recognised the majesty of God but realised they do not measure up to His standard. God does not know them nether do they know God. But they make the claim that God is speaking through them anyway. So, they want to make gains they will otherwise not be able to make by claiming association with Him.

Making God out to be a liar and therefore untrustworthy

By claiming that God spoke to them when He did not, the false prophets set themselves up to fail. And when they fail it may thus look like God has lied when He actually did not know them. Hence, claiming that He spoke to them or sent them when He did not could eventually give God a bad name especially amongst the unbelievers and gullible Christians too.

It is a very serious thing when someone walks up to you or stands before you and says, “God spoke to me” or “the Holy Spirit said to me.” Many believers thoughtlessly say these things without realizing what they are doing. Each time you say, “God said” or “the Holy Spirit said” when they have not, you are being a false prophet! You are inadvertently putting yourself in a situation where your failed pronouncements can make God look bad for a thing for which He has not been part of.

The statement “God told me to tell you” or “the Holy Spirit sent me tell you” or other combinations, all of which have the same end-point that: God is commanding you to do or not do something through the person speaking to you, has brought terrible sufferings to many. And many lives have been ruined because such people spoke falsely calling in the name of God when God has nothing to do with their evil enterprise. All they are after is to prey on you to their own advantage. Be careful not to be part of that evil racket

Be careful not to be found to be impersonating God. Again, remember the Lord Himself speaking:

“²¹ “And at that time if anyone should say to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,’ ‘Behold, there he is,’ do not believe him! ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But you, watch out! I have told you everything ahead of time!” (Mark 13:21-23).

And this command and warning of the Lord is to us present day believers too, this chapter 13 of Mark ends with:

 “And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be on the alert!” (Mark 13:37).

The prayer of the true child of God should be as in Ps 119:18:

“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law”.

Please remember that the false prophet still has the name, “prophet” but now with a notorious appellate, “false” appended.

The appellate “false” is a powerful characterisation that undercuts whatever the depth of the foundation of the credibility the false prophet may lay claim as it reveals the root of all he is and does.

None of us can know the false prophets as much as God does. It is therefore our wisdom and to our good that we take due cognisant of what God has detailed concerning the false prophets in His word.

This is not an exhaustive list but a glimpse of the profile of the false prophets:

• They are profane (Jer. 23:11). They are defiled and are therefore not messengers of the true God.
• Their wickedness is found in the house of God (Jer. 23:11). They operate amongst Christians too.
• God has seen folly in these false prophets (Jer. 23:13).
• They prophesied in Baal (Jer. 23:13). And in our day they prophesy by divination not by the spirit of God.
• They cause the people of God to err (Jer. 23:13).
• They commit adultery (Jer. 23:14).
• They walk in lies (Jer. 23:14).
• They strengthen the hands of evil doers (the wicked) (Jer. 23:14).
• They make the people vain (Jer. 23:16).
• They speak the vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the LORD (Jer. 23:16).
• They say to those who despise God that God has said they shall have peace when He has not (Jer. 23:17).
• They say to everyone who is walking after the imagination of his own heart that no evil shall come upon him (Jer. 23:17).
• They had not stood in the counsel of the LORD, had not perceived and heard His word (Jer. 23:18).
• God had not sent them, yet they ran; God had not spoken to them, yet they prophesied (Jer. 23:21).
• If they had stood in the counsel of the LORD, and had caused the people of God to hear the word of God, then they would have being turning the people of God from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings (Jer. 23:22).

The false prophets will be punishment

God therefore indicts and denounces the false prophets for who they are and what they do (Jer. 23:9-40).

Hence, like every wicked person, the false prophets will not Go unpunished. So false prophets may continue in their ungodly and nefarious activities. Whatever are the gains and successes they may seem to have now are ephemeral. The chaff is separated from the wheat, gathered together and is then burnt with fire in the end. Similarly, God is not slack concerning the false prophets. Rather, God will judge them at the right time.

If they fail to repent and forsake their wickedness, the false prophets have only the fearful judgement of God to look forward to.

The promise of God concerning the false prophets is sure to be fulfilled:

• Their way shall be to them as slippery ways in the darkness where they will be driven and fall therein. For God will bring evil upon them on the day of their visitation (Jer. 23:12).
• A grievous whirlwind of the LORD had gone out in fury and shall fall upon them (before the LORD the false prophet is wicked) (Jer. 23:19).
• The anger will not stop until it had executed the thoughts of God upon the false prophets (Jer. 23:20).

I encourage you to re-examine the basis for your lifestyle as a believer in Christ.

• Are you perchance enhancing or support any false prophet in his rebellion against God?
• Does your attitude portray you as a false prophet?

Remember that false prophets are just one group among the impersonators of God.

It is important that you are not an associate of any of them nor should you be seen in the same light as them.

Please, this is a very serious issue before God. Act now before it is too late.

• Ensure that you are not by any means aiding or abetting false prophets.
• Ensure that you yourself are not inadvertently portraying yourself as a false prophet.
• Encourage anyone who may be following false prophets to break their relationship with them.

By so doing you will avoid being an impersonator of God nor aiding or abetting of them.

May the Almighty God keep and bless us all, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I pray that the LORD will deliver any of His children from the clutches of the false prophets and heal them. He will protect His children from false prophets. He will expose them where they cannot be protected and then be made to face justice even in the here and now before the ultimate punishment at the coming of Christ in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

To the unbeliever

Though we have been talking about the false prophets.

• But how about those who are still living in their sins and in rebellion to God?
• The unbelievers?
• Are you saved that is, are you a believer in Christ Jesus?

If you are, I pray the LORD will keep you and onto the day of the Lord in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

But if you are not yet a believer in Christ, if Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God is not yet your Saviour and your Lord why not?

Please, that is a serious question that demands a serious well-thought-out answer. This is the time of grace.

Where will you spend eternity?

If the call to the world comes to you now, you will not be able to defer it. It is a call all of us must answer but each person at his or her own time and turn. The decision you make now has eternal consequences that you will not be able to make once you exit this world.

Hear and accept the invitation extended to all by the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth himself:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30).

And the step to take to accept that invitation of the Saviour:

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:9-10).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Please, I urge to:

Arise now and confess with your mouth that the Lord Jesus had come in the flesh and died for your sins, confess that He is now your Saviour and Lord, and, believe in your heart that God had raised Him from the dead. Confess your sins to the Lord now. That is what it means (and for want of a better way to say it), to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and your Lord.

May the LORD God Almighty accept and keep you in the name of Jesus, Amen.