Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Ezekiel 13-15
Ezekiel 13:2
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
The message of the false prophet was easy to hear and readily accepted. Their words were comforting. But therein lies the problem, they were their words, not God’s words. In verse seven the Lord said, …ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? There have been, will be, and are false prophets. On the other side, there are faithful prophets.
About the false prophets of Ezekiel’s day the Lord said clearly in Ezekiel 13:8, Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. What did they lie about? They said …Peace; and there was no peace… (verse 10). Yes, false prophets abounded, even false prophetesses (see verses 17-23).
But what about today? Are there false prophets today? Interestingly, the phrase “false prophets” is only used in the New Testament.
Jesus warned to Beware of false prophets…. Matthew 7:15
He again warned of them saying: And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:11
He followed that up by saying, For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets…. Matthew 24:24
He said similar things in Mark 13:22.
Peter made an astute observation in II Peter 2:1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you….
And John wrote, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I John 4:1
So, yes, there are false prophets today. So, then the question begs to be answered: “How can a false prophet be spotted?” John gave the answer: Try them, put them on trial in your mind. How? The same way someone would “try” a chair before putting all their weight on it. Take it from someone who has had a chair or two break when sitting on it, it’s embarrassing and painful. So too believing a false prophet may be painful, but certainly it will be embarrassing, especially when standing before the Lord on the day of Judgment.
Here are three basic steps for trying a prophet to learn if they are false or true.
1. Study the Word of God. Does God’s Word agree with that which they say, or is that which they say even found in God’s Word?
2. Prayer. Simply ask God to show you, He will.
3. Leadership of the Holy Ghost.
As Jesus said during the sermon on the Mount on Matthew 7:15 this devotion is ended. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Dr. William T. Howe
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