"Watch out for false prophets. Matt 7:15 NIV
One of the things that will become common and rampant in
these last days is the increase in deception and deceivers. The deception will
be so strong that even the elect can be taken if he is not watchful. Praying alone
is not enough to guard a man against falsehood, using our spiritual eyes to
watch is very important.
In the passage above, the Lord asks us to watch out for
false prophets. They will come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly, they are
ferocious wolves. They may prophesy, drive out demons and perform miracles and
yet, they work against God’s purpose and tear down God’s kingdom instead of building
it. They are hirelings who do not really care for the sheep. All they care
about is how to make money for themselves, and get returns from church members
who have itching ears who are glad hearing what they want to hear. These church
members can stay under a ‘prophet’ who prophesies lies but they will never ask
questions because they are being driven by their lusts.
How can you be under a ‘prophet’ who says that God told him
that something will happen within a period and it does not happen and you do
not ask questions? Oftentimes people are so intimidated that they are even
afraid to mention the lie their pastor has told. They think sub-consciously
that their pastor can change the rules and God will accept it because he is a ‘servant
of God’. How can a prophet always sees ‘pains in the lower abdomen’, ‘you dreamt
and somebody was pursuing you in the dream’, ‘somebody is here who has pain on
the upper part of his arm’ etc? Every time he opens his mouth, the same ‘prophecy’
all the time. Recently in a church, a visiting preacher was corrected two times
because he was declaring something that was obvious to every church member that
it was false.
This is the beginning of
the year and many people are having special programs in their churches and
ministries. Unfortunately, this is when many leaders declare lies and claim
that God has spoken to them. Many pastors deceive their members to enter into
some spurious covenants which they are told they can procure with their
offerings and pledges. I
discussed this extensively here some years ago. What covenant can you
procure with the money God gave to you that will be more efficacious and
lasting than the covenant we have with Him in Christ Jesus which has granted us
access to Him as our Father? We are covenant children with all the inheritance
we have as sons. In the so called covenant services, they still quote from the
Bible which on its own is a covenant book which contains all the terms and
instructions that if a man harkens to, he will enjoy the fulfillment of God’s
promises. Why are people deceiving others and why do followers allow themselves
to be deceived?
I believe in prophecy
but I judge every prophecy to make sure it is from God. I recently asked a
couple, “how can you identify a false prophet?”, they could not answer
anything. And I know that many people today are in that kind of situation. Please,
do not be deceived. The Psalmist says, “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice
with trembling” psalm 2: 11. If you decide to sincerely fear God this year, eschew
evil and pursue after Him, you will experience Him like never before. The Lord
Jesus warns, ‘watch out for false prophets’. My dear watch! God bless you.
