Identifying the FRUIT of... False Prophets

"A Behind the Scenes" look at their common theatrics and motives --cheers!              

To begin with, I'd like to preface this article by first saying that I certainly believe we should take the time to carefully and scripturally examine our leaders and their teachings --BEFORE rejecting them with the final "False Prophet" stamp.  Such labels should never be hastily placed, however, one should certainly NEVER FEAR to promptly call out something for EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.  As "ridiculous" as most of our modern-day False Prophets and Teachers have become (as they parade their theatrics to anyone who will listen or allow them the "air time" or platform to further their shamed charade); the business of those who usurp their authority and lord over God's people is very serious in the eyes of God.  Not to mention the damage that is created in the lives of members who lovingly trust those in leadership positions.   With that being said, we should carefully judge leaders by examining their FRUIT -Which is their Lifestyle, their Teachings, and their Motivation.  We rightfully do so by using the guidelines of Holy Scripture and our Discernment to to reveal the TRUE FRUIT --then boldly proceed to EXPOSE the Charismatic Wolves AND their Teachings accordingly.     

Prophets are NOT simply those who run around from conference to conference "predicting future events" on a full-time basis.  This is a common misconception.  A PROPHET (nabi`) is one who speaks for another, or one who lends his voice to another.  A Prophet is one who has a message from God to His church.  In illustration, a King will either communicate directly to His people or by way of His appointed messenger.  By every right, Prophets are not only "foretelling", but they are "forthtelling" --as they speak the Word of the Lord in order to edify, exhort, and comfort the people.  They are presenters of God's message to an individual, group, nation, or generation.

Why is this so vital?  Because when we allow False Prophets and their Messages to remain "unchecked", their seducing influence easily slips in among the rest of the Body of Believers and causes great damage to their FAITH.   Likewise, how much more damage is caused to the Ministers (and their members) who “sit under” these False Leaders and are forced to adhere to AN UNGODLY CHURCH STRUCTURE ruled by “Egypt-Like” AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORS?  *Jesus doesn’t take it lightly when His children are subjected to slave labor camps and are finally FREED…only to find the enemy chasing after them filled with anger and vengeance –Well you all know the end of THAT story! 

I certainly don't write this article to create an unhealthy suspicion of every leader within the Body of Christ.  For surely, God sends qualified leaders who FEAR Him and are dedicated to the edification of the Body.  However, QUALIFICATIONS are NOT indefinitely met at the “Starting Line” nor are they met because a “TITLE” is given by man.  Biblical Qualifications MUST be continually met in order to function in a God-Given Ministry Gift (such as Bishop.)  With that being said, we should ALL continue to “check our motives”, walk in humility, and speak the truth in love...

Throughout the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, we are given several examples of Righteous Leaders and False Leaders who have passed through the corridors of time.  Same tricks/gimmicks, different generation.  If such false prophets had the audacity to come face to face with the likes of Elijah and then later with the very Apostles of the Lamb….How much more shall we deal with them now?!  With that being said, the Apostle Paul called out these "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" openly and directly.  As he began to see the depths of the devastation it caused first hand, he did not cease to endlessly warn those living in his generation...and relentlessly wrote to warn the generations to come.    

TIME FOR THE AMERICAN CHURCH TO WAKE UP--

Allow me to ask you a question --"Where do you think False Prophets are??  Outside the church walls?  In other parts of the world?  Only in Mosques, Watchtowers, Koresh Camps, or Mormon Compounds?   Why would Satan plant his tares away from the wheat??  False Prophets are not only in the world...they are in our  churches.  What would be the most effective way for Satan to silence or distort the Only Truth, that can ultimately bring Everlasting Life to a world lost in darkness? 

According to scripture, we are clearly warned of the days when False Teachers will run rampant and even "accepted" among the elect.  READ Mark 13:22  --JESUS Himself warned us that false Christs and false prophets would appear and perform signs and miracles TO deceive the elect!  Again, where do you think this could happen?  --Should we then retreat and stick our head in the sand for the sake of fear and uncertainty?!  God forbid.  Instead, we should study the scriptures even more so to show ourselves approved --rightly dividing the Word of Truth.  Contending for the Faith…Proclaiming the Message of the Pure Gospel at all costs….knowing the days are short and many lives are hanging in the balance on OUR WATCH.  "Teaching establishes us, but warning protects us."

Jude 1:3, 4 – “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that YE SHOULD EARNESTLY CONTEND FOR THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints.  For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have SECRETLY SLIPPED IN AMONG YOU... "

It is evident that the inspired Jude had intended to write a treatise unto these brethren about the "Common Salvation" but because of the presence of FALSE TEACHERS, he wrote this short epistle exhorting them to contend for the faith. No doubt, had Jude written on the common salvation, he would have pointed out that salvation is common to all in that salvation is available to all, both Jew and Gentile, male and female.  Since doctrinal corruption can ultimately cause one to forfeit one's salvation (Gal. 5: 1-4, Col. 2: 7-9), the necessity of "contending for the faith" is of the utmost importance.

(This article is really only a quick introduction to the scriptural guidelines that define those who parade around on hijacked platforms as --"God's Spokesmen".) 

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Revealing the FRUIT of False Prophets

FRUIT is not discerned by our 5 natural senses, nor is it defined intellectually -it must be SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED.  Paul wrote, “But he WHO IS SPIRITUAL judges all things... comparing “spiritual things” with spiritual.”  (I Cor.2:15, 13)

Let’s start by defining the (2) Sources of Deception Jesus described: 

1)  FALSE CHRISTS (or antichrists):  Those who DENY that Jesus Christ, Son of God, came in the flesh as a natural man.  They claim He was always divine and therefore never really died.  “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an ANTICHRIST. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.”  (2 John 1:7-8)

2)  FALSE PROPHETS (grouped in 2 categories):

•Those who acts as Spokesmen for God, proclaiming another way to God that goes AROUND Jesus Christ instead of THROUGH Him. 

For example:  Those who don’t necessarily deny that Christ could be “a way” to the Father for some, but that “other roads” also exist as a means of leading people to God.  John 14:6 “Jesus answered, I am THE WAY and THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father EXCEPT through me.”

**(OUR FOCUS)**

•The 2nd group of False Prophets are harder to recognize.  THEY ARE IN THE CHURCH, and if unchecked they can deceive even the elect (the saints).  They are among us, carrying the same Bible, accompanied by supernatural gifts, yet they mislead by drawing people to themselves instead of to the heart and rule of God. 

Matt. 24:11, 24  “And many FALSE PROPHETS shall rise, and shall deceive many.”  “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

Acts 20:29-31  “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”   -Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ

A quick word on WOLVES…

They always run in packs and are territorial. If there is an abundance of prey, several packs may have overlapping territories. Each pack has a pair of leaders, known as the “alpha pair”. These are the only animals in the pack that breed.  Hmmm….

Notice Paul says they come “as wolves”.  Jesus described these false prophets as wolves in sheep’s clothing.  NOTICE –He did not say SHEPHERD’S clothing; therefore they may or may not have a public ministry.  (All full-time pulpit ministers should be believers, yet not all believers are full-time pulpit ministers.) 

Wolves think only of themselves –If obedience doesn’t interfere with the fulfillment of THEIR AGENDA they will submit, thereby making it difficult at times to distinguish them from believers.  This is why Jesus said that they can ONLY be identified by THEIR FRUIT, since APPEARANCES can seem so similar to the untrained eye. 

So……What do we use as a guideline to rightly divide between the True and the False?  

ACCURACY?

•Jesus never said that a true prophet is identified solely by the fact that his/her words are accurate or came to pass.  However, inaccuracy is certainly a sign that God was not involved.  Don’t allow “accuracy” to cloud your discernment.

•A “prophet” can speak a word (and it could come to pass) but he is to be REJECTED if he leads you into IDOLATRY, COVETOUSNESS, OR REBELLION.  Please take a moment to think about that….  From this we learn that ACCURACY alone does not delineate the TRUE from the FALSE.  Balaam had a genuine gift on his life, but CORRUPTED IT with his DESIRE FOR GAIN.  He was a FALSE PROPHET.

 (Example)  BALAAM –a corrupt prophet with a covetous heart –prophesied an accurate word over Israel and predicted the birth of the Messiah.  (You know..the guy in Numbers with the talking donkey?)  His words are recorded in Scripture.  Even though his prophetic words were accurate, HIS FRUIT WAS BAD.  Jesus said that he “taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” (Rev. 2:14)  Balaam was offered substantial wealth if he would curse Israel, but he was not able to curse those God blessed.  After this realization, he taught King Balak how to snare the children of Israel and place them under a curse --by enticing them to sin by offering them sex, wine, and entertainment.  He did this to retain the reward!  Balaam had chosen money over God; he was just looking for God to back him up.  HIS FRUIT led the people into judgment.  24,000 Israelites died from the plague that judged their disobedience.  Baalam’s prophecies were accurate, but his fruit proved to be ungodly.  He mixed the precious with the vile.  Therefore, the children of Israel were commanded to kill him in battle. 

PREACHING “TRUTH”?

•Remember Jesus mentioned picking grapes from thornbushes and figs from thistles.  Is this possible?  Of course not!  HOWEVER, you certainly could hang a cluster of grapes ON a thornbush, or place a fig AMONG thistles.  Likewise, quite often a true word or action may be found among false prophets…but it probably DID NOT originate with them.  This explains God’s rebuke through Jeremiah: 

“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who STEAL MY WORDS every one from his neighbor.”  (Jer. 23:30)  

•The word was not produced in their mouths nor was it cultivated in their hearts.  They simply stole the words of another, who got if from another, who got it from another, and so forth back to its origin –from the mouth of the one who truly walked with God.  Their words did not come from intimate communion with the Lord bathed in an atmosphere of holy fear (Ps. 25:14).

GIFTING?

•A false prophet will always use the GIFTING the Holy Spirit has entrusted to him, to carry out his own purposes.  God is not an “indian giver”.  These false prophets will continue to use their gifting as a vehicle to draw others to themselves in order to further their cause --whether it is financial gain, power, recognition, influence, or acceptance.  The false prophet deceives HIMSELF by distorting scriptures to fulfill or support his DESIRES.  So GIFTING (especially) should NEVER be used to indicate whether someone is still a true minister of the Gospel.

•Most "ministers" often fly under the radar by simply using their  Gift of Discernment to operate.  They do this by READING THE DESIRES of your heart..and then proceed to put a "thus saith the Lord" God is going to give you a new business --making it to appear like a TRUE Word from God.   "WOW!  He just read my mail!...I must sow $100 into his ministry now!!" 

$PEAKING OF MONEY....JESUS instructed us to -

EXAM THE FRUIT of the Prophet’s LIFE and MINISTRY:

MOTIVE (as seen in the example of Balaam above)

Jesus always focused on motive, because motive will ALWAYS reveal itself in the FRUIT.

Matt. 7:15-23  “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

A FALSE PROPHET IS one who comes in His name with his OWN AGENDA.  His agenda may be packaged in ministry, but the underlying motive is GAIN, PROMOTION, and OR REWARD.  These concealed and hidden motives not only deceive others, but the prophet as well.  Paul warned, “Impostors will grow worse and worse, DECEIVING and BEING DECEIVED” (2 Tim. 3:13)

HOW DO TRUE PROPHETS TURN FALSE?

A possibility is that they once walked with God and received revelation from Him.  Then their hearts grew cold, as in the case of Balaam.  Peter confirmed this:  “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam.” 

Scripture describes those who fall away as “late autumn trees without fruit”. (Jude 11-12)  That season is past and winter is before them.  Their leaves drop off as they slip into a dormant sleep.

----No mater what the case, there is a common denominator of all false prophets:  “From the least even to the greatest everyone is given to COVETOUSNESS.” (Jer. 8:10)  THEY ARE SELF-SEEKING.

Results of False Prophets/Leaders:

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will SECRETLY INTRODUCE DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  IN THEIR GREED these teachers WILL EXPLOIT YOU with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”  (2 Pet. 2:1-3)

What is a HERESY?  W.E. Vine defines this word as “that which is chosen, and hence, an opinion (especially a self-willed opinion), which is SUBSTITUTED FOR SUBMISSION to the power of Truth!  Wow..that explains a lot doesn't it?!

How do false teachers bring heresies in secret? “Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are CORRUPT and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.  Such people claim they know God, but THEY DENY HIM BY THE WAY THEY LIVE. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.”  (Titus 1:15,16)

Which brings us to our final point: 

THEIR LIFESTYLE REFLECTS THEIR DENIAL OF CHRIST

To be corrupt is to have been polluted.  From the above scripture we learn it is NOT their confession, but their WAY OF LIFE that denies the Lord.  Remember Jesus said by their fruits we will know them, not by what they say –not even if they call Him Lord.  For with their mouths they confess the lordship of Jesus, prophesy, and do wonders in His name, yet they are not submitted to His lordship or authority. 

HEARTS TRAINED IN COVETOUSNESS:

Covetousness is the desire for gain; it is never being content in your present state.  2 Peter says that they have “a heart trained in covetous practices.”  When you are trained in something, you can do it without thinking.  It becomes second nature.  When we first learned to tie our shoes it was awkward and required our focused attention.  Now we do it without thinking.  We are trained.  With someone trained in covetousness the same is true. 

Consider "Exhibit A":  Where the famous “the love of money is the root of all evil” scripture is located below in Timothy...

Warning Timothy against False Teachers of the Law--

"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.”  (I Tim. 1:3, 4) 

One of the false teachings that sprang up during this era was Gnosticism. It was based on a belief that there was secret knowledge not available to most people (Gnostic means "knowledge"). One aspect of this was the use of genealogies to prove various ideas. Some commentators believe that Paul is alluding to the early disputes that gave rise to Gnosticism. 

False Teachers and the Love of Money--

“These are the things you are to teach and insist on.  If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions  and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.  But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  (I Tim. 6: 3-10)

Paul was writing to Timothy to encourage and teach him how to properly deal with the false teachers who were undermining Timothy’s work in Ephesus.  Not only were false teachers claiming that there were “special” secrets of knowledge/revelation not available to most people, but they were also teaching that godliness equates financial gain.

In modern times, “Consultants” (or in this case experts in greed) are often hired in and mix the precious with the vile for the sake of “church growth”.  What ever happened to the voice of the Holy Spirit as our “consultant”?  You will find many marketing companies who are happy to help ministries come up with clever ways to get money.  Twisted Scriptures hide covetous desires.  GUILT and FEAR will also be used as methods to manipulate and enslave the members mentally and emotionally to keep feeding the business church.  Paul prophetically glimpsed this and wrote, “They act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.  You must stay away from people like that.  They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women…” (2 Tim. 3:5, 6 NLT)  However, today it is not only the women who are vulnerable.

**This article is really only scratching the surface on the subject of False Teachers and Prophets among the church.  However, I want to reiterate the most important difference between a True and False Prophet:  A false prophet uses his God-entrusted gifts to draw others to himself.  A true prophet draws them to the heart and rule of God.

When you leave the meeting of a TRUE Prophet (Spokesman to the People of God), you should feel an intense desire to seek God.  His words will either point you back to Jesus or sharpen your present focus.  There will be a new clarity.  In contrast, when you leave the meeting of a false prophet you’ll find yourself wanting to go back for another word any time you need encouragement or direction! There is a danger when we embrace another mediator outside of Christ. 

Why are so many deceived?

Paul explained that the reason so many are easily misled in these latter days is because they “did not receive the LOVE OF THE TRUTH” (2 Thess. 2:10).  The LOVE OF TRUTH sharpens our discernment and keeps us error free.  Those who have developed this love of truth, will never elevate a gift above God’s wisdom. 

If we are to walk free from the deception and “acting roles” of False Prophets, we must allow the Holy Spirit to develop a consuming love for truth deep within us.  How does one arrive at such a place?  It is found in trusting the FAITHFULNESS of GOD –not man. 

David wrote:   “Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.  Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:3-7)

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Just remember --"True Godly Fruit remains CONSISTENT through adverse circumstances and brings life and health to others....ALWAYS pointing you to follow Christ and never a man.  You are Son's and Daughter's of God --"Cheers!"