WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JULY 08, 2025
TOPIC: BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS!
BY T. O. BANSO
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15 New King James Version).
2 Peter 1:21 says prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as the Holy Spirit moved them. This tells us that the source of every genuine prophecy is God, and He gives it to whomever He chooses to use as His mouthpiece. In other words, anyone who speaks what God has not spoken to Him or shown Him is a false prophet, no matter how authoritatively he speaks or how much he dramatises his prophecy.
No ministry has continued to cause much disquiet in the body of Christ globally as much as that of the prophet. This is because of the activities of those who present themselves as prophets and declare words purportedly from the Lord that were not fulfilled.
Whether the prophecies are personal, corporate, national, international, or about election results and others, the conduct of some prophets of today generates some controversy. Their prophecies sometimes contradict one another, thus making critics and even some believers wonder how confused these prophets are.
As explained in Smith’s Bible Dictionary, “The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is nabi, derived from a verb signifying ‘to bubble forth’ like a fountain; hence the word means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God.” According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, prophets were the immediate organs of God for the communication of his mind and will to men (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19). This dictionary further says, “The whole Word of God may in this general sense be spoken of as prophetic, inasmuch as it was written by men who received the revelation they communicated from God, no matter what its nature might be.”
Many people view making predictions or foretelling as the main function of a prophet. However, Easton’s Bible Dictionary submits that foretelling future events was not a necessary but only an incidental part of the prophetic office. It avers, “The great task assigned to the prophets whom God raised up among the people was ‘to correct moral and religious abuses, to proclaim the great moral and religious truths which are connected with the character of God, and which lie at the foundation of his government.’” It also notes that anyone being a spokesman for God to man might thus be called a prophet.
The prophet is one of the ministry gifts God gave to the church in Ephesians 4:11: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers” (New International Version). But it may not be wrong to say that the ministers whom many people, including believers and non-believers, run after the most today are prophets. Unfortunately, many of these people go about complaining when they become victims of the activities of some of these prophets. No doubt, there are genuine prophets of God.
The Bible encourages every Christian to prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 39). However, there are two dimensions to prophesying: speaking forth the revealed or the written word of God and foretelling. To speak forth the Word of God is to appropriate, proclaim, and confess the promises and truths God has already pronounced in His Word as inspired by the Holy Spirit.
As stated earlier, the whole Word of God may, in a general sense, be spoken of as prophetic. Every Christian can speak forth the Word of God or prophesy. “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways” (Job 22:28 New King James Version). 1 Corinthians 14:3 says he who prophesies speaks edification, exhortation, and comfort to men. This is the goal of prophesying in the New Testament.
However, making predictions of a future event as inspired by the Holy Spirit is not something every Christian or minister can do except God gives one the revelation through the Holy Spirit. This is where some ministers miss it or delude themselves. They become false prophets when they make predictions that never come to pass. God didn’t send them, so He cannot back up their words. Such false prophets are in the Old Testament of the Bible (1 Kings 22:6-25; 2 Kings 3:13a; Micah 3:5-7; Zechariah 13:2-5). The LORD said to the prophet Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart” (Jeremiah 14:14 New King James Version).
Some of the false prophets today even seek evil power to be able to see beyond what the natural eyes can see. They use demonic power for divination, pretending to be prophets of God. Their goal is fame and money. They might be able to see what is wrong with people, but they can’t provide the solution, and if they do, it will cost the people dearly. They will lose some things in exchange. These false prophets achieve their goal, but their followers’ lives remain miserable. Eventually, many of their followers leave them in frustration after years of worshipping in their centres.
Genuine prophecies are not the product of a man’s cleverness; they are the work of the Holy Spirit. False prophets are moved by the love of money. Beware of them! The best they can do is excite their audience; they have no solution to their problems.
God did not send them. They are merely creative and bold people with no fear of God. They are exploiting the problems of people to enrich themselves. Jesus warns, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15 New King James Version).
Beware of false prophets who, mostly, are smooth-tongued. This is not a new phenomenon. God told the prophet Jeremiah: “‘I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,’ declares the Lord, ‘I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ declares the Lord. ‘They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:30-32 New International Version).
God has always been against false prophets because they pretend to be speaking for Him and misleading the people, giving them false hope many times. He said in the Old Testament that the prophet who presumed to speak a word in His name, which He had not commanded him to speak, or who spoke in the name of other gods, that prophet should be put to death (Deuteronomy 18:20). God has never condoned false prophecies. In Ezekiel 13:2-3, 17-18, God told the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy against the false prophets and the women in Israel who prophesied out of their hearts but had seen nothing. “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!’” (Ezekiel 13:3 New King James Version). Don’t follow foolish or false prophets, and don’t be one.
If you are a genuine minister of God, don’t come under the pressure of people to begin to give prophecies or make predictions to keep your congregation or draw a crowd to yourself. If you do, how do you ensure that your prediction is fulfilled? You’ll either own up that you lied or tell another lie to sustain your previous lie! You can lie that the people didn’t have faith! Or you can lie that God changed His mind! French Protestant minister, Jacques Abbadie, in his statement translated into English, said, “One can fool some men, or fool all men in some places and times, but one cannot fool all men in all places and ages.”
Beware of false prophets. Deuteronomy 18:22 says, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (New King James Version).
Don’t follow false prophets and don’t be a false prophet. Jesus says you’ll know the false prophets by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-16). Deception by those who claim to be the prophets of God is one of the signs of the times and the end of the age. Jesus says they will deceive many (Matthew 24:11). “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:24-25 New King James Version). Mark 13:22-23 records the same thing.
Prophecy is a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). No minister of God can give a genuine prophecy except by the Spirit of God. The Bible says not to treat prophecies with contempt but to test them all and hold on to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). The Amplified Bible says, “Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). Every prophecy must agree with the Word of God and be confirmed by the Holy Spirit.
The apostle John adds his voice by warning: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 New King James Version). Many false prophets have gone out into the world. Beware of false prophets. Also, make sure you are not one.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your heart to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: With the help of the Holy Spirit, I shall not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. I shall not despise prophecies, but test all things and hold fast what is good. I shall not run after prophecies and prophets; I shall stay with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. I shall not be a victim of false prophets and prophecies in Jesus’ name.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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