Signs of a false prophet

[B-A-C]

The phrase "false prophets appears a number of times in the New Testament ( not to mention a few times in the Old testament as well ).

Matt 7:15; "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matt 24:11; "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
Matt 24:24; "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22; for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
Luke 6:26; "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
2Pet 2:1; But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
1Jn 4:1; Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Well OK, it's already a known fact that false prophets exist, this is nothing new. They existed then and they exist now. But how do you know if someone is a false prophet teaching a false doctrine?
The two primary chapters that discuss this in the Bible are Jude 1 and 2Peter 2. So what do they have to say about it? These aren't the only two places this is talked about, but it's a good place to start.

 

[B-A-C]

2Pet 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
2Pet 2:2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
2Pet 2:3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Not only will these people destroy other people's beliefs and doctrines, they themselves will be destroyed. Perhaps not right away, but...

2Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
2Pet 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pet 2:6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;
2Pet 2:7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men
2Pet 2:8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),
2Pet 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

Make no mistake, God will deal with these people. Just as He dealt with the angels who rebelled. Just as He dealt with mankind by flooding the Earth.
Just as He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord God knows who these people are, and how to deal with them.

2Pet 2:10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,
2Pet 2:11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.

They will indulge in fleshly desires. They will despise authority. They will teach others it's OK to do the same.

2Pet 2:12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,
2Pet 2:13 suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you,

There are people like this here on TalkJesus. They are really all around us. These people will reap the wages of what they are doing.

2Pet 2:14 having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;
2Pet 2:15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pet 2:16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.

These people "never cease from sin". I'm not talking about stumbling from time to time. I'm talking about outright willful sin. Rebellion to God's will.
These people will entice "unstable souls". They have been doing this so long they have trained themselves. They knew the right way once, but they have turned aside. They have gone astray.

2Pet 2:17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.

People will turn to them for knowledge, but they knowledge they give has no spiritual value. Like a spring without water. Their place in the after-life has already been reserved.

2Pet 2:18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,
2Pet 2:19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

The first temptation in the Bible was accompanied by the words ...
Gen 3:4 ... "You surely will not die! ... Things haven't changed much. Satan and his followers are still telling people.. go ahead and sin. It's OK.
You won't die. There are no consequences for your sins. We all go to heaven. ... but anyone teaching this is a false prophet. They promise you freedom, but in reality they
themselves are slaves to sin, and they are trying to get people to follow them.
Rom 6:16; Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

2Pet 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
2Pet 2:21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.
2Pet 2:22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

It's going to be worse for some people. They knew the right way. They escaped the sinful life for a while. But they went back and got tangled up in the same things they were doing before they got saved.
These people will face a more severe judgment than those who never knew the truth in the first place. After they have been washed by the blood, they go back to wallowing in the mud.

 

[B-A-C]

Jude 1:3; Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Jude 1:4; For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude was one of the disciples. He felt it was necessary to write to the believers he knew that they should "contend earnestly for the faith". Because certain people have crept into the church. They snuck in un-noticed.
They act like they are a sheep, but they are really a wolf. They teach you that because there is grace, it's OK to sin. This is the first and foremost sign that they are a false prophet. Anyone who teaches that it is OK to sin
and grace covers everything is a false prophet.

Jude 1:5; Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.
Jude 1:6; And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Jude 1:7; just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Much like Peter says above, God punished certain people, and even the angels for disobedience. Do you think that if God punished all these beings, He won't punish you?

Jude 1:8; Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.
Jude 1:9; But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
Jude 1:10; But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.
Jude 1:11; Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

The story of Korah and his family is in Numbers 16.
Numb 16:30; "But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD."
Numb 16:31; As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open;
Numb 16:32; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.
Numb 16:33; So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
The same thing will happen to these false prophets and false teachers, they will go down to Sheol, to hades.

Jude 1:12; These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
Jude 1:13; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
Jude 1:14; It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,
Jude 1:15; to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Jude 1:16; These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

As Peter also said, their place in eternity has already been reserved... "forever". Make no mistake God will execute judgment on them.

 

[B-A-C]

Tit 1:10; For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
Tit 1:11; who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.
Tit 1:16; They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

1Tim 4:1; But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

2Tim 4:3; For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
2Tim 4:4; and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

2Cor 11:4; For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you gladly welcome them with open arms.

1Tim 1:6; For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,
1Tim 1:7; wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

2Cor 11:13; For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
2Cor 11:14; No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2Cor 11:15; Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Acts 20:29; "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

Matt 7:15; "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

There are wolves here. They have "snuck in" ... unnoticed by many. They are wearing sheep's clothing. They profess to know God, but by their actions... they deny God.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, He used scripture verses to try to get Jesus to sin.

Matt 4:6; and *said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"

Satan was quoting Psalms 91:11-12 here. What he said was actually scripture. People will use scripture taken out of context and twist it to try to get you to follow them and their teachings.

1Tim 1:18; This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight,
1Tim 1:19; keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

 

[Samson2020]

That was a lot to digest but worth the time as is all the words of the Bible.

Let me be as clear as I can for I am not that meticulous.

Jesus taught that in order to have your sins forgiven you must forgive others. And this was before the new covenant was established.
Ex. The Lords prayer: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. This would require you to make the first move right?
And I will conced it is a good kingdom practice.

Now Paul comes along and says this:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you.

JTB Matt 3:2 Repent of your sins and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is near. At hand-near same difference
Matt 3:6 And when they repented of their sins , he baptized them in the Jordan river.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!

Do we see the difference here? John says that to repent will bring remission of sins and he baptized in water for the kingdom of God was NEAR.
He then makes a statement that Jesus is the one who would take away the sin of the world as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Kingdon near
Was that done yet? No for He was not yet crucified, but was still under the Mosaic Law.

After the crucifixion of our Lord we see Paul as the chief Apostle to the Gentiles making a different statement That since Jesus died for the sin of the world
the sin debt was paid by His blood and that alone, and to acquire remission of sin it was only necessary to believe it had been done for you.
As He states in Eph 4:32 God hath forgiven you for Christs sake. Done for us before we were even born.

So what does Peter have to say about this:

Acts 2:38 Peter replied each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, then you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This is Peters initial understanding
But in time becomes this

Acts 15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything
that God had done through them.
5-But then some of the believers of the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, the Gentile converts must be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses.
6- So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue.
7-At the meeting, after a long discussion Peter stood and addressed them as follows: " Brothers you know that God chose me from among you some time ago
to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the good news and believe.
8- God knows the hearts and He confirmed that He accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us.
9-He made no distinction between us and them for He CLEANSED THEIR HEARTS THROUGH FAITH.
10-So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?
11-We believe we are ALL SAVED THE SAME WAY, BY THE UNDESERVED GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS.
15- And this conversion of the Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted, as it is written:
16-Afterward i will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it
17-so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles, ALL THOSE I HAVE CALLED TO BE MINE. Saith the Lord.

28- For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these few requirements:
29-You must abstain from food offered to idols, from blood or eating meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this you will do well.
Hmm? Thats it? Guess so as it seemed good to the Holy Spirit.
Paul says we are saved by grace and that there is just ONE BAPTISM and that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is a sign that you have been chosen of God
at that time as your heart was purified by faith and God did that for you. So wheres the boasting??

We see a change in Peters understanding from you must repent and be baptized in water for the remission of sins to Pauls understanding of the gospel of God
that only faith is necessary in order to receive remission of sin through believing that God has already done that for you through the sacrifice of His Son.

Thus salvation, in part ,by your efforts, repent, water baptism etc... in Peters initial understanding, then remission of sins due to the sacrifice of the Son in the later
times from Him and Paul.
And that salvation was something that God has done for the individual according to His calling/choosing. 17 and by extension all men as the sacrifice was for ALL
to be testified in due time.

So which is it? According to the final determination of both Peter and Paul? We are saved by the Lords grace, through faith that the sin debt has forever been paid.
Not just for those whom the Lord has called but also for those whom the Lord shall call.

There was a time when the Kingdom was at hand, then when Jesus was sacrificed the New Covenant was ratified and in effect. The giving of the Holy Ghost
occurred without water baptism for it was the only necessary baptism to bring newness of life to Gods chosen at this/that time. God purified everyones heart that received the Holy Spirit, it was not something that man had any control over. As it was done for Christs sake.
"I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
Jesus bought and paid for ALL men as He died for ALL men thus we ALL belong to HIM like it or not.
When does one come to life in Christ? At the moment the Holy Spirit is given. Who gives it to us? Jesus. Why? We believed Gods report. Why? God gave us the
faith necessary to believe Him by gracing us with it. The kingdom of God has come then unto you like it or not, for Christs sake.

Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, EVERYONE who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
But there is an order to this resurrection, Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised
when He comes back. The 1st Dominion of the kingdom.
Christ must reign until He has humbled all His enemies beneath His feet. And that is the end of His reign when He will deliver the Kingdom to the Father.
Death being the final enemy which is not humbled, nor destroyed, until the last person purchased by His blood comes to that new life. Given by grace.

All I am saying here is that there was initial understanding of what was a requirement when the kingdom was near, clearing the way by JTB, then there was
a period of time when Jesus spoke of the kingdom to come but He had not yet purchased that as He was still alive, living under the Mosaic Law. After His death,
Peter especially, still continued to preach repentance for the remission of sins and a water baptism in order to recieve the promise of the Holy Spirit.
But after some time Paul comes along who had nearly no contact with the other Apostles and gives us, and them, the right understanding of the
New Covenant, That being according to faith, received by grace, your sin debt was already paid and forgiven by His sacrifice.
And it is done for His sake as He bought and paid for ALL to have a more abundant life.

Will you repent from the heart? Sure when you really do understand what happened for your sake. Before then? Not really.
Will you forgive others from the heart? Yes for the feeling of the newness of life compells one to forgive as they know what they feel from being forgiven
impart that to others. Pay it forward? Would that happen from the heart if you were not truly saved? No as you had not experienced forgiveness yet.
Will you love the Lord thy God with all you are? Sure after He made it abundantly clear that His love for you cost Him the death of His only begotten Son.
Before He made that clear? No for you would not understand His love for you until He made it clear. Only fear of Him compells you otherwise.
We love Him for He first loved us.
The list goes on and on but the pattern is always the same God reveals to you what He has done for you and what His intentions are for you which
compells you to love Him because of what He is showing you, done to you, for you, and for all, to be testified in due time.

 

[complete]

The phrase "false prophets appears a number of times in the New Testament ( not to mention a few times in the Old testament as well ).

Matt 7:15; "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matt 24:11; "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
Matt 24:24; "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22; for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
Luke 6:26; "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
2Pet 2:1; But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
1Jn 4:1; Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Well OK, it's already a known fact that false prophets exist, this is nothing new. They existed then and they exist now. But how do you know if someone is a false prophet teaching a false doctrine?
The two primary chapters that discuss this in the Bible are Jude 1 and 2Peter 2. So what do they have to say about it? These aren't the only two places this is talked about, but it's a good place to start.

'Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings:
for they will increase unto more ungodliness.'
(2Tim. 2:15-16)

Hello @B-A-C,

The best way to recognise a false prophet, is to know the Scriptures inside out, and let the word of God dwell in you richly, that you may have a depth of knowledge and understanding by which to judge what is said and done by those who preach in pulpit or wayside: For the Scriptures are our yardstick, our plumb-line, by which we can measure and weigh what we see and hear, by God's grace.

The Bereans of Acts 17 heard what Paul had to say, and then searched the Scriptures daily to see if what was said, was indeed so, in the light of God's written Word.

Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[MedicBravo]

We've every right to call them out by name and publicly.
26 of the 27 books in the New Testament warn us about False Teachers
All female "pastors" especially Joyce Myer.
Greg Locke
Benny Hinn
Stephen Furtik
T.D. Jakes
Joel the Snake Osteen and his "wife"
There are a lot more but also we must call out bad Christian music which is NOT Biblical nor mentions and praises God.
Hillsong and anyone involved in it is to be avoided.

 

[norapture]

Samson2020@ what is Grace ? And what the difference in believing and not believing ? And no there is no 2 gospels 1 Jesus taught and then 1 the apostles taught . If that's what your saying.

 

[Samson2020]

Samson2020@ what is Grace ? And what the difference in believing and not believing ? And no there is no 2 gospels 1 Jesus taught and then 1 the apostles taught . If that's what your saying.

Grace -undeserved, unmerited favor. Something you cannot earn.

A believer is one that has had His heart purified by Grace and according to an election of the Fathers choice. He is the one who takes your
blinders off and softens your heart to receive the gift so that it will at least take root.
The unbeliever is one whom the Father still has the blinders on and has their heart hardened. Rom 11
If you will pay close attention to Rom 11 you will see there is no difference as far as God is concerned from the believer and the unbeliever
for all have come short, but due to election some are believing, while others remain hardened.

Rom 3:22 "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto ALL and UPON all them that believe: for there is no difference."

What did Jesus say to seek first? the kingdom and the righteousness of God. Once you understand that it really has nothing to do with what you do
or accept then you understand Gods righteousness and the election process. We stand firm in Gods righteousness and nothing we do to try and
add to it.
And then what does Jesus say, and all these things shall be added unto you. Once you understand your salvation was a gift bought and paid
for by JC is just that a gift. Growing up unto the full measure of a son of God is another topic that requires your own death
(from the world, not necessarily physically) your own cross.

And no there is only one Gospel of the Kingdom. What I said was that the teachings of Jesus were done in parables so that what He said could
not be understood by anyone other than whom the Father had given Him to reveal the meanings to. And that still holds today. If you are not an elect you will see them as Literal. That was the initial preaching of the kingdom that would come. The door had not yet been opened for Jesus was still alive.
The New Covenant had not taken effect.
After His death and resurrection the New Covenant was established, but it took a bit for the fullness of it to come through Paul to the others
and this is why we see so much of Pauls writing of the NT. The others contributed but Paul was given the most grace in order to help everybody
understand what the effect of Jesus' death acquired/accomplished.

Peter understood it from JTB's perspective initially about being baptized in water for the remission of sins. Then Paul comes along and
tells them that their sin was forgiven by the death of Jesus, and to cleanse their conscience all they had to do was believe it.
Then you see Peter in Acts go from water baptism to God purifying hearts through faith and all would be saved in the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus. Acts 15:11

Do I expect you to believe me? No but I expect you to search what I may say to find the truth for yourself along with the Holy Ghost.

Our Lord Jesus made it plain that if YOU continue in His word THEN are YOU my disciples indeed, and YOU shall KNOW THE TRUTH and the truth
shall set YOU free.
No one can set YOU free but Him, its on YOU to continue in the word. All the truth is there to be found like gold, and every once in awhile
you'll find a nugget of immense value.

 

[KingJ]

We've every right to call them out by name and publicly.
26 of the 27 books in the New Testament warn us about False Teachers
All female "pastors" especially Joyce Myer.
Greg Locke
Benny Hinn
Stephen Furtik
T.D. Jakes
Joel the Snake Osteen and his "wife"
There are a lot more but also we must call out bad Christian music which is NOT Biblical nor mentions and praises God.
Hillsong and anyone involved in it is to be avoided.

Hill Songs?

What's your reason for saying that?

 

[B-A-C]

Hill Songs?

What's your reason for saying that?

 

[KingJ]

Grabbing straws / click bait. So what!! A few minor mistakes from a group that has done so much for Jesus.

Please discern better.