False Prophecy

By Jim Anderson, Th.D.
Anderson Evangelistic Enterprises, Belton, Missouri

As we consider the phenomenon of fulfilled prophecy, we must remind ourselves all prophecy, which claims to come from God, is not of God. So in order to avoid the confusion false prophecy brings, we should briefly note the character, causes and consequences of false prophecy.

Some false prophets are objectively false. That is, they deny the true God by openly and clearly following an idol such as Baal, Osiris, Zeus, Mithra, Dagon or some other false deity.

Unfortunately, there are many false prophets who are subjectively false. That is, they claim to believe in the true God, the Bible and Jesus. But in fact, they do not believe the Bible, nor follow Jesus. Jesus warned of these, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they are ravening wolves,” Matthew 7.15.

The Bible lays down some tests we may give to the message of a professed prophet to see whether his prophecy is truly from God. One of the external tests is to determine whether or not the prophecy comes true. Those prophets who truly come from God will have their prophecies come true, Deuteronomy 18.22.

Another test among prophets where moral excellence is absent, the prophecy is to be considered false; see Jeremiah 23.9-32.

Still another of the external tests for false prophecy is checking out the prophet’s signs with the character of God, Deuteronomy 13.1-3.

There were also the internal tests regarding the ethical character of the prophet, Jeremiah 23.21-22, and the uninhibited truthfulness of a credible prophet, which of course, was lacking in the false prophets of the Bible who were addicted to speaking “lying words,” Jeremiah 7.4,8-10.

A humorous incident is recorded in 1 Kings 22.1-18, which is embellished in 2 Chronicles 18.4-27, but the tragedy of it is there were false prophets in Israel who spoke just to please the king and told lies in the process!

Another internal test that would expose the false prophet was the personal bias of the false prophet in favor of Israel. False prophets would always claim Israel was going to prosper because God’s temple was in their midst. Unfortunately, these so-called prophets failed to consider they could not confine the Lord to the temple, which was only a symbol of God’s presence, see Jeremiah 7.4-14 and 23.9-32, 1 Samuel 4.21.

There are dire consequences for either producing false prophecies or heeding false prophets. One of those consequences is the failure of the prophecy itself. Since it is false, it is doomed to ultimate failure, see Jeremiah 28.9, Deuteronomy 18.20-22 and 2 Chronicles 18.12-27. Another consequence is the shame, spiritual depravity and moral corruption which follow. When people listen to error, follow error and live in error, the result is always a corrupt, shameful life, Micah 3.11-12.

One pathetic consequence of false prophecy is the lives of people other than the false prophet who are contaminated. Jesus said of the religious hypocrites of His day when they gained a convert, they caused that person to become “twofold more the child of hell,” Matthew 23.15. The ultimate consequence of false prophecy is the false prophet himself receives death and destruction; see Jeremiah 28.16-17