The last post highlighted some of the popular false prophets of Christianity in 2019. This is a follow-up post aimed at giving specifics from the Bible about false prophets, so that Christians who aren’t very familiar with scripture might hear God’s warnings against following these men who lie in the name of the Lord, as they are certainly leading their followers down the broad way to destruction. (Scriptures that confront false prophets are mostly found from Isaiah through Revelation.)
The following verses are what The Lord thinks about such men as Joel Osteen; Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland…. The Lord determines what is true and what is false. These men twist the Lord’s words so they can fleece their followers. [They have net worths of 40 to 760 million dollars, as the 20 richest pastors video stated.]
Deu 18:22 If the prophet speaks in the LORD’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without My authority and need not be feared.
All verses below illustrate the verse above. Oh, and by the way, this verse condemns every prosperity preacher alive because their prophetic accuracy is far less than perfect, many aren’t even accurate 50% of the time. Furthermore, every one of them is chiefly concerned with personal gain and not feeding the sheep of the Lord; not to mention that their lives are filled with other excesses including gross immorality.
From 1 Kings: [This is the most powerful example in the Bible about what moves false prophets; how they love to speak good things so they will be popular; how they lie…. I pasted in only highlights, you may want to read the passage from the Bible to get the full flavor of what transpired]
1Ki 22:4 Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.”
1Ki 22:5 Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the LORD says.”
1Ki 22:6 So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?” They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory.“
1Ki 22:7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not also a prophet of the LORD here? We should ask him the same question.”
1Ki 22:8 The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “There is one more man who could consult the LORD for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat replied, “That’s not the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say…
1Ki 22:17 Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.'”
1Ki 22:19 Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on His throne with all the armies of heaven around Him, on His right and on His left. 1Ki 22:20 And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?’ “There were many suggestions,
1Ki 22:21 and finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’
1Ki 22:22 “‘How will you do this?’ the LORD asked. “And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’ “‘You will succeed,’ said the LORD. ‘Go ahead and do it.’
1Ki 22:23 “So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the LORD has pronounced your doom…
1Ki 22:29 So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead…I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me,
1Ki 22:34 An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor.
1Ki 22:37 So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there.
From Isaiah: [All remaining excerpts are very brief]
Isa 56:11 Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. They are ignorant shepherds, all following their own path and intent on personal gain.
From Jeremiah:
Jer 5:28 They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor. Jer 5:29 Should I not punish them for this?” says the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself against such a nation?
Jer 5:30 A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land—Jer 5:31 the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, My people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
Jer 7:27 “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. Jer 7:28 Say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people will not obey the LORD their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips.
Jer 8:8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the LORD,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? … Jer 8:11 They offer superficial treatments for My people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. [The mortal wound is sin and none of the priests or prophets are preaching repentance; just like all of the prosperity preachers today; and many evangelical preachers, those in the seeker-friendly, market driven, emergent…camps.]
Jer 23:26 How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. Jer 23:27 By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get My people to forget Me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.
From Ezekiel:
Eze 13:16 They were lying prophets who claimed peace would come to Jerusalem when there was no peace. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!’
Eze 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? Eze 34:10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds My enemies,
From Micah:
Mic 3:5 This is what the LORD says: “You false prophets are leading My people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.
From Zechariah:
Zec 11:15 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. Zec 11:16 This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves. [That is, he will totally deceive and fleece them.]
From Matthew, Jesus’ words:
Mat 15:7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
Mat 15:8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Mat 15:9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'” [Jesus’ words]
Mat 23:27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Mat 23:28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. [Jesus’ words]
Mat 24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. [Jesus’ words]
From John, Jesus’ words:
Joh 10:13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. Joh 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know My own sheep, and they know Me, Joh 10:15 just as My Father knows Me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice My life for the sheep.
The apostle Paul’s words:
2Co 11:13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 2Co 11:14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2Co 11:15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.
Gal 1:6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to Himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News Gal 1:7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
2Th 2:2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 2Th 2:3 Don’t be fooled by what they say.
2Th 2:9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 2Th 2:10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 2Th 2:11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 2Th 2:12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.
The words of Jude:
Jud 1:3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people. Jud 1:4 I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
Jud 1:7 And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.
Jud 1:8 In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority….Jud 1:11 What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.
In conclusion, please consider these words from the Lord Jesus Christ:
Mat 7:13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. Mat 7:14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
Mat 7:15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. Mat 7:16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.
Mat 7:19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Mat 7:20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Mat 7:21 “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in heaven will enter. Mat 7:22 On judgment day many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’ Mat 7:23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’ Mat 7:24 “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
The apostle Paul recommends study of scripture to stay in the way of truth:
Act 17:11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. Act 17:12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
Rom 16:17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Rom 16:18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.
[There are hundreds of verses in the Bible about idolatry, I did not include any because it takes some Bible study to understand just how idolatrous we are in 2019. Some religious people still pray to idols of wood and stone, but everyone is idolatrous in many other ways. You will never learn about the perils of idolatry while you are walking in the broad way following a false prophet, however.
If you did not read the previous post about how false prophets fleece their sheep, then please do. It contains 5 brief videos, the last one shows the 20 richest pastors in the world, 3 of them were critiqued in my post–see, categories; unbiblical teachers / teachings; Prosperity Preachers, how they fleece their sheep.]