Thought 296
False Prophets
“The heads thereof
judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets
thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord,
and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil
can come upon us.” Micah
3:11 KJV
Jesus (Matt. 7:16, 24:24) and Paul (Acts 20:13-38) both warned us that false prophets, deceptive
teachers, would come among us and deceive many. We are told that we can
recognize them by their fruit (Matt 7:16). For example, the verse above clearly
shows that the motivation of these judges and ministers was money, not God.
They were fakes! Similarly, in churches around the world today, many false
prophets are followed and revered. Why, you ask? How can so many follow a false
prophet? Because they are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15): they look
like Christians on the outside—they say the right things and subtly weave their
lies in so that many don’t “notice.” Scripture says that inwardly these people
are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15). Just like Satan seeks to devour us, so these hungry
wolves want to tear apart and draw away many from the flocks of sheep.
You may know of some false prophets; but if you fully follow Christ, you
will be able to hear the voice of the Master Shepherd, of Jesus Christ, and He
will lead you. His sheep know His voice (John 10:27), but for those who aren’t
His sheep or have fallen astray to some other gospel, let us pause now and
spend some time in prayer for them: that the wolves may be exposed for who they
are and that the sheep that have been captured will be redeemed.
