Who are false prophets?

The best liars, the really crafty ones, take the truth and twist it just a little so that it’s not an obvious lie. Such are the majority of the purveyors of the “Beware of false prophets” narrative. 

It’s never about what they purport it’s about. It’s about managing others perceptions without much regard for the truth. We must come to terms with this if we’re to usher these lying, conniving, deceitful fellows to where they belong.

The road less travelled, the one that’s mainly more concerned about true prophets than false ones, is the one that would actually lead us to the solution of the issue at hand. How do you recognize a false or fake bill/note? By knowing the authentic bill first, and not the other way round.

It is of relevance to also note that the Bible doesn’t tell us to be on the lookout for false prophets only, but also false apostles, false teachers, false pastors, and - surprise surprise - false brethren!

For such are FALSE APOSTLES, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ - 2 Corinthians 11:13

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be FALSE TEACHERS among you… 2 Peter 2:1

And that because of FALSE BRETHREN unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage - Galatians 2:4

And as for the false pastors or other words shepherds, Jesus Christ sets the precedence of knowing the authentic if you’re to identify the false when He says in John 10:11-12: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and is not the shepherd…seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep…

It’s obvious that by now you have had run ins with the “false brethren”, either in real life or online. These are such that have assumed roles of being some kind of spiritual inspectors, advising whoever they come across as to who is false or not. 

For most of these, their delusions are as strong to them as reality itself. They are largely the protégés of the false pastors, whose hatefests disguised as sermons are the reason as to why the church is in such a dire state, contextually speaking.

My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray - Jeremiah 50:6
Safeguarding the sheep against false prophets is a cover up these false religious leaders have used to divide and rule. It’s all a facade. The “false prophet” narrative isn’t, therefore, for the protection of the sheep but of the shepherd. They weaponize the “false prophets” narrative against those they consider a threat, driving their flock paranoid into their own fold. Truth is weaponized when it serves the person instead of the person being a servant of the truth.

So, if we are to go by Jesus’ methodology, it should be basic for us to know how to know the good first, the true, the authentic if we are going to know how to know the false, the fake, or the hireling. 

From this basis, we can deduce that just as we have true government officials and legal tender officially authorized, the true prophet is God’s official - officially authorized by God and therefore has God’s backing. The false prophet, on the other hand, is an imposter - a construct of himself, a theological institution, or devil - and therefore, does not have the backing of God!

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; GOD ALSO BEARING THEM WITNESS; both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will - Hebrews 2:3-4.

And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him - Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

Did you know?
The Church is more than a mere building; it is the people who gather there to worship God. Hence, it is purified by the cleansing of Her members. That means that Jesus desires, with perfect zeal, to drive out every sin from our soul.

The author is the founder Zoe Fellowship