The Demise of False Prophets: The false prophet who guides the spirit of antichrist will be destroyed in the middle of the tribulation.
By Joel Joseph Intro & conclusion by Pastor Gary Boyd
Introduction: Clearly the claim to be inspired by the Spirit can and must be tested, for the claim to have the Spirit is not proof that one does. Here spirit has been variously taken to refer to the spirit that inspires the prophet, to the person who is inspired or to the message delivered by the prophet. Obviously the three are related, for in testing a person's words one is actually testing whether or not that person speaks by divine guidance. In light of the rest of the passage two things emerge: First, the author believes that individual persons are inspired or led to confess or deny Christ by spirits, some reality beyond the human individual. Second, ultimately there are only two spirits: God's Spirit, also called the Spirit of truth because it guards and inspires truth (4:2, 6); and the spirit of antichrist, which inspires falsehood, and especially false confession of Christ (vv. 3, 6). The Elder's readers are not to believe every claim to be divinely inspired or to have a prophetic message, but are rather to test the spirits, to discern whether a message is the truth that comes from God.
Such testing is necessary because many false prophets have gone out into the world. While "prophet" in the Pauline literature refers to a specific function within the church (Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10; 14:1-5, 29-33; Eph 4:11), the Johannine epistles refer more broadly to all of those who left the church as false prophets, because they carry with them testimony that claims to be spirit-inspired. That is exactly the point: all persons speak by the inspiration of one spirit or another (Brown 1982:489). Now it falls to the community to discern which spirit guides the teaching of the various individuals whom they encounter. The church must exercise dis cernment, then as now, for truth and error are not always easily distin guished. They do not exist disembodied, but come to us in the shape of real persons with whom we share a variety of relationships. Precisely because "testing the spirits" entails dealing with other persons, perhaps even professed Christians, who claim to be guided by the Spirit, we must exercise care and humility in discerning the truth.Spirit-inspired Confessions (4:2)
The Elder now offers one test by which the Spirit's inspiration may be discerned, and that is the test of the substance of one's teaching; specifically, one's teaching about Jesus Christ (vv. 2-3). The emphasis on true confession indicates that John is not
talking about demon possession or ecstatic utterances or prediction of the future but about accepting the affirmations about Jesus that have been handed down in the community. This is not a new test, nor does the author expect the church to do anything new in exercising discernment. But he reminds them that the stakes are high. In the balance hang truth and error about the first commandment and the ultimate question of faith: knowledge and worship of the one true God. For denial of Jesus would be tantamount to worshiping a false god, since only through Christ is knowledge of the true God mediated (5:21). The False Watchmen of Prophetic Things This edition is about the demise of false prophets and false teachers, primarily within the church. By false prophets, I also mean false watchmen of prophetic things.
Today many churches are closing down. At the same time many believers are falling away.
Those falling away, are primarily from the non-Spirit filled churches, and in the west.
Yet, false prophets and teachers are increasing dramatically. Their demise is coming! It’s a good idea to know about the final end of false prophets and teachers!
The curtain is about to go up on the greatest drama ever! Here is our key verse: Ezekiel 12:24-28 “No more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. I, the Lord speak and the words which I speak come to pass...None of My words shall be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done, says the Lord God...Prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy out of their own heart and spirit and have seen nothing...They have envisaged futility, saying ‘thus says the Lord! ‘But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that their word may be confirmed.”
The verse above is extremely instructive. It is saying:
●False prophets, teachers and those whose source is false visions, will soon end.
●If the Lord is speaking – it will come to pass.
●If the Lord is not in it, it will fail and not come to pass.
●It says that false prophets and teachers look for confirmation and agreement wherever they can find it. This would include in and out of the church, in dreams and visions, in the constellations, and among their own followers. But it’s all futile.
The Bible speaks of the “Spirit of truth” and “the spirit of error.” Truth and error, especially in terms of all things biblical, are a result of the manifestation of spirits. (1 John 4:6, Ephesians 6:12)
We absolutely need the ministry of teaching and prophecy, because of their vital, direction-giving leading. Satan tries to sow confusion and chaos into it all.
The Nature of the False Prophet and Teacher:
False prophecies and teachings all originate in a false spirit, but come in through pride.
Pride blinds you. It also blinds you to pride in others. Pride feeds the inerrant in which error grows.
Pride always blocks revelation from God. You are left with your own understanding. If you are full of pride, your revelation is from yourself and your own mind, sourced in error.
The Spirit of error always hides in camouflage. It masquerades as light and truth!
Pride is a terribly, sneaky, dangerous thing. It was the source of Lucifer’s fall, Adam’s fall and untold billions of others followed. Pride in Bible teachers and prophets are deadly!
The mouth of the teacher will find him out. The false teachers talk about themselves far too much. Too many of them are “called” by their ego, pride, and desire for self-importance. They’re imposters.
You need that spiritual gift called discernment of spirits, and the “still small voice” inside you to let you know with whom you are safe. Likewise a little voice will let you know when an individual is to be avoided like the plague.
2 Timothy 2:18 (Disapproved worker) “They have strayed concerning the truth, saying that that resurrection is past and they overthrow the faith of some.”
Please note in the verse above, that disapproved workers overthrow the faith of some, particularly the weak!
The false prophet or teacher claims to speak with divine authority. They often call on their small group of sectarian supporters to confirm their “truth” which, in reality, is error!
Those within the grip of a false prophet or teacher always think they are better than others and above others in the body of Messiah. They look down on those not in their camp.
The Damage They Do:
False prophets and false teachers give you a ●false sense of security. They give you a ●false vision ●false hope ●false expectation. They give you ●distorted, misleading views, which are always at odds with other established doctrines. ●They give you untruth!
False teachings, because they are all of the spirit of error, have destructive power locked up in them. People take what they say and believe it and act on it.
The intention of the spirit of error is to sidetrack you, injure you and bring you down.
There is special condemnation in the Bible for those who capitalize on, or injure the weak and gullible. Their demise will be great.
Proverbs 14:15 “The simple (gullible) believes every word, but the prudent man considers well his steps.”
You can and must “demise” false teachers out of your life now! When you identify them, under the leading of the Spirit – get them out of your life. If you don’t, when you receive them, and accept them, you are coming under their spirit.
Beloved brethren, the “transfer of spirits” are a dangerous reality. Be on your guard. I’ve seen it more times than you can imagine.
Bear in mind that it’s easy to fall for a false teaching, but it’s far more difficult to get out of it once you’re in!
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Too many today make great error their friends, and wonder why they keep falling into the error- trap. They can’t get free from the underlying attraction of the spirit of error because God will not set you free from your friends. You must make error your enemy.
You must identify and correctly name a false doctrine, as sin!
False prophets and teachers are doing enormous damage to many in the body of Messiah. When people get duped they get trapped, hoodwinked and their growth gets stunted. This then
affects their eternal reward, as accurate growth in Messiah has great reward itself.
Jeremiah 5:25-26 “Your iniquities (errors included) have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld good things from you. Among My people are found wicked men; they lie in wait as one who sets snares; they set a trap to catch men.”
Ezekiel 13:18-23 “...Will you hunt the souls of My people and keep yourselves alive?...With your lies you have made the souls of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hand of the wicked....I will deliver My people out of your hand and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Isaiah 9:16 “The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed.”
Do not fail to read the verses above!! I’ll say it again: Do read these three verses above!
If we (rightly) apply these verses above to the sin of false doctrine and prophecy, note what occurs: ●They set a trap to catch you. ●They strengthen the hand of Satan and his minions. ●The people are led to destruction by the teacher, Bob Jones and the Jonestown massacre comes to mind.
The Power of Repentance:
You must be doctrinally clean and clean in heart.
We are all called to an increasingly deeper walk with our Lord. False prophets and teachers damage that. They hinder and oppress and obstruct your growth, throwing obstacles in your path.
Most times, false teachers and prophets won’t repent, which is why they get themselves more deeply entrenched in their error, or produce new and more dangerous errors.
A true, safe teacher or prophet may miss it sometimes, but a chief characteristic, is that they will be quick to repent and correct things.
Many teachers are not interested in years and years of diligent study of the scriptures and monumental efforts to know God deeply. They just want to know a few cherry-picked, fancy verses to impress others with. They are the ultimate, shallow, man-pleasers.
Jeremiah 5:31 “The prophets prophesy falsely and the priest rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so, but what will you do in the end?�
There is a sifting on the go right now ahead of the great shaking to come. Many teachers are being exposed as false. It is good and right that people see and know who they can trust in the critical days to come.
Beloved brethren, repentance is a wonderful thing for each of us personally. It is powerful on a national scale. It is clearly evident as a most welcome fruit in the lives of many teachers.
The lack of a walk of repentance leads to a walk of pride and much destruction.
Jeremiah 12:10 “Many rulers (Lit=shepherds) have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden My portion underfoot; they have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.”
HOLY HATRED:
God’s word is the final perfect and sufficient revelation. We must not go outside of it for revelation.
You need to learn how to hate with godly hatred! (I see you raising your eyebrows!)
That does not mean going around hating people when you should be walking in love. But have a look at the following shocking verses, and note just what they’re saying:
Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate sin, pride, arrogance and every evil way.”
Psalm 97:10 “Hate evil you who love the Lord.”
Amos 5:15 “Hate evil and love good (holiness).”
Psalm 119:104 “From your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every evil way.”
Do you hate with perfect hatred, sin, arrogance, pride, evil and the wickedness of the devil?
It’s not fashionable in this modern era with its globalist accepteverything agenda to hate anything, except God and His truth that is! But how wrong they are and will soon all be exposed as wrong, so very wrong!
Loving God gives you correctly placed hatred. It makes you secure, holy and passionate.
Helping Others:
Generally, when people come looking for answers they don’t want to get deception. They want the truth.
Does the doctrine presented produce the correct fruits of the Spirit and growth in that disciple? Does it lead to legalism and pride? Does it lead to right living?
We must, in this day be relevant to this day, without changing the truth. When helping others we must warn of the false teachers and false prophets who are all around today, and their main characteristics, some of which are - failed predictions, legalism, secret pride, control.
2 Peter 2:1-3 “There were false prophets among the people even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who brought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of who the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words...”
Don’t be a fool and fall for those who have a 100% proven track record of failed predictions. That alone should tell you plenty.
The internet and YouTube specifically, is a playground of dangerous deceivers, and many charlatans. Yes there is excellent material there too. Bear in mind that truth and error travel the same highway.
Today, spiritual deception is much more dangerous than before. People have a greater vulnerability to deception, because of their spiritual shallowness.
Speaking, listening to, or reading Christian material has an authority behind it. That’s where the danger lies. “Did you hear what he said?” “Have you read this?” “Have you seen this?” People put value and recognition on what people say, especially teachers.
We must be careful in these dangerous days not to add to and confound the problems that people have. Pure undefiled truth is always safe, but it must be rightly divided and applied. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Progression of a False Teacher to Cult-status:
Because of the massive spiritual deceptions that are about to hit this world, we must know how to identify and deal with false teachers and prophets. Some will go no further than superficial
error. Some will go no further than sect-status, and then repent, but some will become cults.
The progression is: ●Error> ●False doctrine> ●Sect> ●Cult.
The journey of error is towards hell.
Cult-like leaders and most of their subjects go wrong with a simple error. Because they don’t see it, or won’t repent, it leads to a cross-over point and a slippery slope to cult-status, where they can’t get out – they’re trapped.
Most times we see repeating patterns evident in the formation of a cult leader:
The leader separates himself from others and becomes exclusive and secretive. They exhibit no humility, lots of pride and they have no fear of the Lord in them. They talk about themselves all the time. You will seldom hear them teach on the cross. They begin by mixing truth and error but end up in total error.
Teachers on the way to becoming cult leaders often have a superiority complex and think everyone owes them respect and support. They sometimes have deep psychological problems of rejection and try to gain acceptance by using manipulation.
They make their hobby-horse doctrine an idol. They then surround the idol with the “protection� of legalism, which is witchcraft & wizardry in action.
Micah 3:5-7 (Amp) “Thus says the Lord concerning the false prophets who make my people err, who when they have anything good to bite on, cry ‘Peace.’ And whoever gives them nothing to chew; against them they declare a sanctified war. Therefore it shall be night to you, and you shall have no vision, yes it shall be dark to you without divination (comprehension) and the sun shall go down over the false prophets. The seers (prophets) shall be put to shame and they shall be confounded; Yes they shall cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.”
Please take note of this extremely powerful verse above!
At some point these people come under a curse and from then on they are even more deeply trapped and they bring others into that terrible grip as well.
Most people are lured into the occult by wanting knowledge of the future. Because Satan’s kingdom is of darkness, you don’t know where you are, just like the verse says above.
God’s kingdom is of light! You will always know where you are and where you are going!
1 Samuel 15:23 “To obey is better than sacrifice...For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness as the iniquity of idolatry.”
Many make idols of their own opinions stubbornly. “Stubbornness is as idolatry.”
If you have been involved in the occult or a cult or even a sect and have seen the light and come out of it, well done, well done! But don’t go back anywhere near it. It has long menacing invisible tentacles and it will trap you again.
2 Peter 2:20 “After they have escaped the corruption that is in the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, the Messiah, and they are again entangled in them, and overcome, the latter end for them is worse than the beginning.”
Luke 11:26 “The unclean spirit goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state is worse than the first.”
Their Demise:
The Bible speaks in numerous places about the coming demise of false prophets and teachers. Even teachers, who are okay, will receive a “stricter judgement”. There are so many warnings given against those who lead God’s people astray – it is shocking.
We need to separate ourselves from them. Leave them, let them go their way, but don’t let them take you with them!
Jeremiah 14:15 “Thus says the Lord, concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name, whom I did not send, and who say,
‘sword and famine shall not be in this land’ – By the sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.’” The total, utter judgement and casting into hell of false teachers and prophets is spoken of succinctly in 2 Peter 2:4-11, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds; The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.”
The judgement of God is upon all false teachers and prophets. Not only are their words not of God. God is against them!
Ezekiel 13:8-9 “The Lord says: ‘because you have spoken nonsense and envisaged lies, therefore I am indeed against you. My hand will be against the prophets who envisage futility...’”
The judgement and demise of the false prophets and teachers is so sever in the Bible, because of the damage done to many others.
●It is a frightening, weighty, gravity-filled thing to be in a position to influence God’s people!
Personally, my own prayer time is varied, but I pray twice a day on this very issue and do have others praying for me.
Finally
“No more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination,” says our title verse. Yes, deception will continue, but you don’t
need to be subject to it. God has given you the spiritual equipment to know and avoid it all now.
John 18:37 “...Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
John 8:32 “You shall know the truth and truth shall make you free.”
The true teacher or prophet doesn’t always get it right. The false, always gets it wrong even if he is right! The false is essentially a wrong person.
Most importantly, not everyone who you don’t agree with, or just don’t like is a false teacher.
We are about to be thrust into the greatest drama of all time. Exciting times lie just ahead. Severe and dangerous times too!
Conclusion What we sometimes have here is a failure to communicate the true wisdom of God because we have been deceived with great lying wonders and slayers of the truth are wicked indeed. We must fight the good fight to discern the spirits for there are only two, The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Antichrist. Read 1 Thessalonians 1 for discernment: “This letter is from Paul and Silas and Timothy. It is to you, the church, in the city of Thessalonica. You belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May you have His loving-favor and His peace.
We thank God for you all the time and pray for you. While praying to God our Father, we always remember your work of faith and your acts of love and your hope that never gives up in our Lord Jesus Christ. Christian brothers, we know God loves you and that He has chosen you. The Good News did not come to you by word only, but with power and through the Holy Spirit. You knew it was true. You also knew how we lived among you. It was for your good. You followed our way of life and the life of the Lord. You suffered from others because of listening to us. But you had the joy that came from the Holy Spirit. Because of your good lives, you are showing all the Christians in the countries of Macedonia and Greece how to live. The Word of the Lord has been spoken by you in the countries of Macedonia and Greece. People everywhere know of your faith in God without our telling them. The people themselves tell us how you received us when we came to you. They talk of how you turned to God from worshiping false gods. Now you worship the true and living God. They tell us how you are waiting for His Son Jesus to come down from heaven. God raised Him from the dead. It is Jesus Who will save us from the anger of God that is coming.” Maranatha………