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Prophet, false
Marks of a False Prophet
Any one of the Bible’s six marks of false prophets is sufficient identification:
1. through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1-4);
2. their prophecies don’t come to pass (Dt. 18:20-22);
3. they contradict God’s Word (Is. 8:20);
4. they bear bad fruit (Mt. 7:18-20);
5. all men speak well of them (Lk. 6:26);
6. they deny that Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh (I Jn. 4:3).
Dave Hunt, quoted in The Berean Call, Bend, Oregon, March, 1997, p. 1
Threefold Test of a Prophet
According to Deut. 18:20-22:
1. He must speak in the name of the Lord, not some other god.
2. His message must be in accord with God’s revealed truth in Scripture.
3. His predictions of future events must come true exactly as predicted.
Angels of Deceit, Richard Lee & Ed Hindson, (Harvest House, 1993), pp. 145-6
Kinds of false prophets:
1. Self-deceived. Sincere, but wrong. They have deceived themselves into believing their messages are true. Jeremiah 23
2. Liars. “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22
3. Heretics. Those who preach heresy (false doctrine) and divide the church. 1 John 2:19, 2 Peter 2:1, 12
4. Scoffers. Do not necessarily promote false teachings so much as they outright reject the truth of God. 2 Peter 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:2,3, Jude 16
5. Blasphemers Those who speak evil of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the people of God, the kingdom of God, and the attributes of God. Jude 4, 10, 12, 13, 1 Tim. 1:13
6. Seducers. Mark 13:22 The Lord’s implication is that spiritual seduction is a very real threat, even to believers This would account for the fact that a few genuine, but deceived believers may be found among the cults.
7. Reprobates. This term means “disapproved,” “depraved,” or “rejected.” Paul refers to those who have rejected the truth of God and turned to spiritual darkness. Consequently, God has given them over to a “reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:28). They have so deliberately rejected God that they have become “filled with every kind of wickedness” (29). As a result, they are “god haters” (30), whose behavior is “senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (31). These people are so far gone spiritually that they know it and don’t care. cf. Matt. 24.
Angels of Deceit, Richard Lee & Ed Hindson, (Harvest House, 1993), pp. 145-6
Characteristics of False Prophets
1. Adultery (Jer. 23:14)
2. Lying (Micah 2:11)
3. Treachery (Zeph. 3:4)
4. Opportunistic (Micah 3:11)
5. Drunkenness (Isa. 28:7)
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