True and False Prophets

How has God chosen to reveal His will to us?
Amos 3:7: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

How has Satan chosen to counterfeit God’s method?
Matthew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
[Further Study]
2 Corinthians 11:4, 13-15 “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. . . . For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

Strong’s Concordance defines a false prophet as a religious imposter. Anyone can be a religious imposter, therefore anyone can be a false prophet.

Since the false closely resembles the true, how can we know the difference?
Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light (truth) in them.”

The word “Law” in this verse refers to the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch). The Ten Commandments are the very heart of the Pentateuch and according to Strong’s Concordance the word “law” can refer to either or both. A true prophet must not speak or live contrary to the commandments and the “testimony” of all the rest of the prophets of the Bible.

What is another way we can test a prophet?
Matthew 7:20: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
What kind of fruit will a true prophet bear?
Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsufferinq, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
[Further Study]
Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
What is another evidence that a prophet is genuine?
Jeremiah 28:9: “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.”
Can prophecies (future predictions) be conditional?
Jeremiah 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.”

When conditions change God will act differently, either for reward or punishment. Conditional prophecy is applicable when men’s decisions and attitudes are involved, because their fulfillment depends upon man’s response to God. Because of circumstances that involve issues of salvation this test alone is not sufficient. Jonah 3:4-5, 9-10 is a good example of conditional prophecy.
Jonah 3:4-5, 9-10 “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 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. . . . Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 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.”

How does the apostle John say we should test a prophet?
1 John 4:1-3: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist (against Christ), whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
[Further Study]
2 John 7, 9-11 “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. . . . Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the word “flesh” in verses 2 and 3 means “human nature with its frailties and passions, fleshly or carnal”. A true prophet will not only teach that Jesus became a human being, but that He was born with a sinful nature just like we bear. Jesus is not only our substitute for sin’s penalty, but our example in overcoming sin. The humanity of Christ is covered in detail in another lesson.

When most people think of the word prophet they think of someone who predicts future events. What does the apostle Paul tell us about three manifestations of a true prophet?
1 Corinthians 14:3-4: “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.”

1. Edification means to build up or establish, to instruct in moral and religious knowledge.
2. Exhortation means to give warning or advice, to counsel and uplift.
3. Comfort means to soothe the distressed and those who sorrow.

A true prophet will do all three of these things, they will be balanced in their work for the Lord and in their approach toward the people of God.

Will the gift of prophecy be manifest in God’s last day church?
Revelation 12:17: “And the dragon (Satan, Revelation 12:9) was wroth with the woman (church, Jeremiah 6:2; Isaiah 51:16), and went to make war with the remnant (remaining ones) of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Jeremiah 6:2 “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.”
Isaiah 51:16 “And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.”

We will discuss this further in the next lesson.

What is the testimony of Jesus?
Revelation 19:10: “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The spirit of prophecy or the spirit that inspired the prophets is the witness of Jesus through the medium of the prophetic gift.

What promise does God give to those who believe what He said through what the prophets have written?
2 Chronicles 20:20: “. . . Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”

There is nothing in this world that provides greater confidence and security for a person than to believe in the Lord. No one is truly established or settled upon a firm foundation until he is certain of his connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual prosperity is impossible to the one who disregards the counsel of the Lord through his chosen instruments.

“Satan can skillfully play the game of life with many souls, and he acts in a most underhanded, deceptive manner to spoil the faith of the people of God and to discourage them. . . He works today as he worked in heaven, to divide the people of God in the very last stage of this earth’s history. He seeks to create dissension, and to arouse contention and discussion, and to remove if possible the old landmarks of truth committed to God’s people. He tries to make it appear as if the Lord contradicts Himself.

“It is when Satan appears as an angel of light that he takes souls in his snare, deceiving them. Men who pretend to have been taught of God, will adopt fallacious theories, and in their teaching will so adorn fallacies as to bring in Satanic delusions. Thus Satan will be introduced as an angel of light and will have opportunity to present his pleasing fables.

“These false prophets will have to be met. They will make an effort to deceive many, by leading them to accept false theories. Many Scriptures will be misapplied in such a way that deceptive theories will apparently be based upon the words that God has spoken. Precious truth will be appropriated to substantiate and establish error. These false prophets, who claim to be taught of God will take beautiful Scriptures that have been given to adorn the truth, and will use them as a robe of righteousness to cover false and dangerous theories.” Evangelism, 359-360.