False prophets do not usually look false. They often sound confident, spiritual, and certain that God has spoken through them.
“God told me.”
Those may be some of the most serious words a person can speak.
When someone claims that God gave him a message, he is no longer offering an opinion. He is claiming to speak for the God who cannot lie and never makes a mistake.
People say God told them who would win an election, when a war would end, when an illness would be healed, or when some great event would happen. Others promise that God will give people wealth, success, or healing if they send money to their ministry.
When the prophecy fails, the prophet often changes the date, changes the meaning, blames the people for lacking faith, or quietly moves on to another prediction.
But Scripture does not give false prophets that kind of escape.
God told Israel how to test someone who claimed to speak in His name:
“When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.” (Deuteronomy 18:22)
That is plain.
If God truly gave the message, it will be correct. Not most of the time. Not close enough. Not after someone changes the meaning.
It will be correct one hundred percent of the time because God is correct one hundred percent of the time.
A person may make ten predictions and get nine of them right. That does not make him a prophet of God. A weather forecaster, political expert, or lucky guesser can sometimes predict what will happen.
But when someone says, “The Lord told me,” there is no room for error.
If it fails, God did not say it.
Jeremiah lived during a time when many men claimed to speak for God. They promised peace when judgment was coming. They spoke comforting words that God had never given them.
God said:
“I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied.”(Jeremiah 23:21)
They were busy speaking, but God had not sent them.
They may have sounded confident. They may have gathered crowds. They may have been admired by the people. None of that meant God had spoken.
God also said:
“They speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:16)
Some false prophets know they are lying. Others may honestly believe the thoughts in their minds came from God.
But sincerity does not turn a human thought into a word from God.
A person can be sincere and still be wrong.
There are also times in Scripture when a warning was conditional. Jonah warned Nineveh that judgment was coming. The people repented, and God withheld the judgment. Jonah had not spoken falsely. The warning accomplished the purpose for which God sent it.
But that is very different from someone making a clear prediction, setting a date, and then looking for an excuse when nothing happens.
Accuracy is not the only test. A message must also agree with the Word of God.
Moses warned Israel that even if someone performed a sign or made a prediction that came true, the people must reject him if he tried to lead them away from God.
“You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 13:3)
A sign does not prove that a person belongs to God.
Jesus warned:
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
People are easily impressed by signs, confident speech, emotional music, large crowds, and stories of miracles. But none of those things can replace the test of Scripture.
The message must agree with what God has already said.
The prophet’s life must also be examined.
Jesus said:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
False prophets do not usually arrive looking dangerous. They look spiritual. They use Bible words. They speak about faith, blessings, miracles, and victory.
Jesus said we would know them by their fruit.
Do they point people toward Christ, or do they build a following around themselves?
Do they teach the whole truth, or only the parts people enjoy hearing?
Do they call people to repentance, holiness, and obedience, or do they promise health, wealth, and an easy life?
Do they serve the flock, or do they use the flock to make themselves rich?
Peter warned:
“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.” (2 Peter 2:3)
That is still happening.
Some people are told to send money as a “seed” so God will bless them. Others are promised healing, deliverance, or financial success in exchange for an offering.
God’s blessings are treated like merchandise, and desperate people are exploited in His name.
False prophets also succeed because many people want to hear what they say.
Paul wrote:
“For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
People often choose the message they want instead of the truth they need.
They want someone to tell them everything will be fine. They want promises without repentance, blessings without obedience, and heaven without surrendering to Christ.
A false prophet is always ready to give them that message.
Christians must stop believing people simply because they say, “God told me.”
John wrote:
“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.” (1 John 4:1)
Notice that John did not say to accept every spiritual claim. He said to test it.
Paul gave similar instruction:
“Do not utterly reject prophecies, but examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21)
Examine everything.
Compare the message with Scripture. Look at the fruit. Watch where the money goes. Notice whether the speaker points people toward Christ or toward himself.
And when a person claims that God predicted something through him, remember the simple test God gave:
Did it happen exactly as he said?
If it did not, do not make excuses for him. Do not change the meaning of his words. Do not blame yourself for lacking faith.
God did not make the mistake.
The prophet did.
When God speaks, He is always right. When a prophecy fails, we know one thing for certain:
God did not say it.