Beware of False Prophets!

There are a number of themes and concepts that you find throughout the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation. Those subjects that are addressed in multiple books by different writers are obviously areas of high importance. Near the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus Christ was asked by His disciples, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, “…when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). In His reply, one topic comes up several times.

Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 23-24

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹

²³ "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

For this topic to be mentioned three times in this one discourse indicates that the subject is of extremely high importance. But Christ did not just warn of religious deception and false prophets near the end of His human existence. He also taught about it at the beginning. In His Sermon on the Mount - in which He gave instruction on foundational Christian principles, the same topic is addressed.

Matthew 7:15-20

¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

A careful examination of the verses in this passage will help us gain a deeper understanding of what Christ wanted the disciples – and all Christians – to be wary of.

What Is a False Prophet?

First, we need to understand what a false prophet is. Strong’s Concordance indicates that the Greek word means “a spurious prophet, i.e. pretended foreteller or religious impostor” (NT: 5578 –“pseudoprophetes”). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says it means ‎"one who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies, a false prophet."

A false prophet is a pretender, one who acts the part but is not real. The word spurious indicates the individual is an illegitimate prophet. The origin of his office is faked. A false prophet claims to represent God and to have been sent or called by God, but he is nothing but an impostor. He pretends to be divinely inspired. He may even make predictions of future events. But at the core, his messages are nothing but falsehoods – lies. They may contain some truth, but Satan himself mixes truth with error to deceive (see Genesis 3).

False prophets can be in or out of the church. The final great religious leader who is behind the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire is called the false prophet (Revelation 16:13, 19:10, 20:10). The apostle Paul warned the elders at Ephesus that “…savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30). All who come with a false religious message claiming to be from God are false prophets. They are also referred to as false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13), ministers [of Satan] (2 Corinthians 11:15), and false teachers (2 Peter 2).

Beware

In Matthew 7, Christ warned His disciples to “beware of false prophets.” He intends for His followers “to pay attention to, [and] be cautious about” (NT: 4337 - “prosecho”, Strong’s Concordance) these types of individuals. We must always be on guard (prosecho, Vines) against religious deception.

They Come to You

These individuals will come to us. They may come personally and be very attentive to us, or they may present themselves to us on the television, internet, or in printed material.

Wolves Clothed as Sheep

False prophets appear different from what they are. Christ indicates that they “come… in sheep’s clothing.” They seem to be just like us; they appear to walk the walk and talk the talk. They may appear innocent and harmless. They may even be quite likeable. This figure of speech also refers to the dress of true prophets in the Old Testament. Elijah’s mantle was called a sheep-skin mantle in the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament. His mantle was a symbol of his divinely given authority. Zechariah used similar terminology in warning against deceiving prophets.

Zechariah 13:4

⁴ "And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.

Using this same idea, Paul said that Satan’s “…ministers … transform themselves into ministers of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15).

Christ said these impostors are in actuality “ravenous wolves.” They are “excessively grasping or covetous” and “living on prey” (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary). Ravenous indicates they extort and rob.

Wolves are carnivorous. Christ used them to indicate that false prophets want to feed on us. Wolves live and hunt in hierarchical packs with an alpha male and female. False prophets want to be over a group as the top dog. Wolves are intelligent, social, and prey on the small and weak. They are tenacious enough to eventually wear down the swiftest prey. False prophets are smart; they know their subject. They know how to twist words and press sensitive buttons to gain advantage. They know what people want to hear. (Witness the Obama phenomenon. He obviously has studied or innately knows the psychological mechanisms for gaining a cultic following.) False ministers may appear to be very friendly and like to be one of the crowd. But behind closed doors, they have nothing but contempt for the sheep.

Known By Their Fruits

Christ said that “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). Their works and deeds will show what is on the inside. Their fruit will be the outward manifestation of the power working within them. If an individual is of God and has God’s Spirit, he will produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If not, the works of the flesh (vv. 19-21) will become apparent. It takes time for fruit to show. You don’t plant a seed and immediately get fruit. So it sometimes takes time to be able to discern the true colors of a false prophet. Here Christ repeatedly emphasizes the idea that good fruit does not come from a bad tree. Ultimately, false prophets will produce fruit and we will be able to discern that it is not good – if we are on guard and wary.

The Point

The theme of false prophets and deceivers is one seen throughout the Bible. Warnings to beware of false prophets were given by Moses and the prophets. Jesus Christ gave instructions on the topic at the beginning of His ministry in the Sermon on the Mount and at the end of His ministry in the Olivet prophecy. Peter, Paul, John and Jude were inspired to give additional warnings and exhortations. Those warnings take on an even greater importance as we near the end of the age and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse. The strong indication is that the Church will be plagued by false prophets until the end. Therefore, we must always be on guard against false teachers. But we do not have to be afraid. Christ gave the key: “You shall know them by their fruits.” When we know the truth and are close to God, we can discern who is true and who is false. Christ’s sheep know His voice and are not led away by wolves and strangers (John 10).