“For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” (Mark 13:22)
But apparently, with no disrespect to the Word of God, only when times become difficult. When the prevalent fear was the supposed pandemic, those false prophets were not hard to find, nearly every social media site had its share of them, but now that that fear has greatly subsided, so have the majority of them. But there is always something happening somewhere, evil does not take breaks, and so those whose livelihood is based on doom and gloom will always have an outlet, yet fewer viewers.
“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Rev. 22:15)
A prophet in this age of grace is one who can expound properly upon the Word of God, and while at times they may be called to speak on the days of Jacob’s Troubles that are approaching and the shadow that they cast before them, the beginnings of sorrows, that is not the focus of their ministry, Christ is, and the salvation that He offers to all who will come to Him. A false prophet is one who gives the Word of God incorrectly and with intent to do so, one who has seen the truth of the inerrant Word of God, but for any number of reasons has determined not to offer it in truth.
Romanism, Mormonism, and a plethora of other works-based religious organizations are a prime example of false prophets, and Satan, being the first to do so, would be the father of all who could be labeled false prophets. But there is another group of individuals I would like you to be aware of here, those who may or may not be saved by the grace of God, those who speak of the things of Christ in error, and their reaction when they are confronted with the truths of the Scriptures.
Satan is the author of confusion, and human beings are quite susceptible to being confused. “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.” (Prov. 15:22)
If you are attempting to assist someone who is adamant about what they believe to be a truth from the Word of God, and you are positive that they are interpreting it incorrectly, if they will not accept the correction offered to them, but continue to express that which is not truth, are they a confused individual, or a false prophet? Here is where we must use great caution, for when it comes to the inerrant Word of God and the proper interpretation of it, the majority does not rule, God does.
“Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.” (Jer. 7:27) Jeremiah is perhaps the prime example in the Scriptures of a man, one man amongst hundreds, if not more, that was shown the truth and commanded to give that truth to an entire nation, everyone was a false prophet but Jeremiah. The Almighty understands the inclination we have to go along with the crowd, and so He told Jeremiah that if he deviated in any way from what he had been told to tell the people, there would be dire consequences for him. If you are going to rebuke, reproof or correct someone when they are not properly expounding upon the Word of God, you had better be able to prove what you are saying from the Word of God, and not just with a singular verse, for 2 Peter 1:20 stands as a truth, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
And everything that you offer must be in context.
Those who have been called by God that desire to see nothing more than the Word of God lifted up as truth when they find that they are incorrect will apply Proverbs 9:9 to their lives, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” Along with “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” (Prov. 6:23) If they you meet will not, but continue to profess lies, misinterpretations and confusion, then a decision by you must be made. Do you try to further assist them, or do you stop casting pearls before swine? I cannot answer that for you, each of us must listen to the Holy Spirit in these instances, obey Him, and follow His leading.
