Religion

Distinguishing True Prophets from False Prophets in These Evil Modern Times

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)

by Brian Shilhavy

As I have previously published, I get a lot of attacks and criticisms these days from American Christians who demand that I stop exposing the real Donald Trump, whom they believe is “the anointed one” who is going to save America, and presumably the world.

See:

American Christians Want a New Jewish King to Become Slaves Instead of Serving Jesus Christ in Freedom

I get far more comments and emails, however, from readers who are suffering the same thing among their families and friends, because they won’t bow down and worship Trump.

I am getting so much flack from my family for being convicted to not vote for him. I feel like because I’m a millennial people think I’m being an entitled brat.

I need prayer to remain strong in my conviction these last few weeks before the “election.” Between abortion, government trafficking kids, and the abomination that is our medical system and our war machine, it seems we are under God’s judgement. IMO America is cooked. (Comment found here.)

I received another kind of criticism this week, one I have seen too often before, and it is an appeal to authority, claiming that “Christian Prophets” have confirmed that Donald Trump is God’s chosen one to usher in the “Great Awakening.”

Just so you know, I am a Christian also and because I listen to the Prophets in the last 4 years, God is saying through them that He is using Donald Trump to usher in the Great Awakening and He IS annointed by God to do this. President Trump is being used by God. No, he’s not perfect, none of us are, but God uses who is willing to be used by Him.

I no longer wish to receive your emails since you are against God’s will for this man. Thank you.

Mindy Finklea

I doubt that Mindy knows Trump personally to even be able to make these claims, just as she apparently doesn’t know much about me, and apparently has never bothered to read the About Us link, nor MANY of my articles, where I clearly tell the public that I am NOT a Christian, and do not belong to any religious group.

So everyone who emails me trying to convince me to join your side with the Zionist Donald Trump because they are “also a Christian”, you already made a false statement that is not true in the very first words of your email, because I AM NOT ONE OF YOU.

I recently hired someone local to repair some fencing, and one day he brought a friend with him to help. He was wearing a MAGA Trump hat, and when he was introduced to me, he said: “I’m the pastor of [name of church].”

My reply was: “That’s OK. I won’t hold it against you.”

His smile quickly turned to confusion, as I informed him that there is only one person referred to as “pastor” (shepherd) in the New Testament, and that his name is Jesus Christ.

I also told him that there were only two kinds of people in the world, those serving Satan and the world system, and those serving Jesus in the Kingdom of God, to which he agreed.

I then rebuked him and told him to start wearing a hat that promoted Jesus, instead of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein associate Donald Trump. (He was about half my age, and was at least respectful towards me.)

But what about these Christians who claim to be “prophets” and are trying to use their appeal to authority to convince people that Trump is God’s chosen man?

What I am going to do in the rest of this article is trace the history of the term “prophet” in the Bible, starting in the Old Testament through the end of the New Testament, and how we can discern who the true prophets are today, and who the false prophets are.

Who is a “Prophet”?

Moses and the Ten Commandments. Image source unknown.

While some Old Testament characters in the Bible before the Great Flood probably served as “prophets,” such as Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah, the first time the word “prophet” appears to be used in the Old Testament is of Abraham, in Genesis 20:7:

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur.

For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”

Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”

Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.” (Genesis 20:1-7)

Not much else is written about Abraham’s prophetic role, but as we see here he was appointed by God to “pray” for Abimelech so that he “will live.” Abraham knew the Word of God, while Abimelech did not.

Moses is the next person we see in the Old Testament to be referred to as a “prophet”. He was not the only prophet among the Hebrews, but he was the greatest prophet in the Old Testament, because it was through him that the Old Covenant, represented by the Ten Commandments and the Law, was made between God and the Hebrew people.

This account in the book of Exodus, just after God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments, gives us a great example of what the role of a prophet was during Old Testament times.

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.

They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” (Exodus 20:18-19)

Moses, the prophet, spoke to God, received his Word, and then told it to the people.

That is the summary of what an Old Testament prophet’s function was.

Moses, however, was unique from all the other Old Testament prophets.

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.

“Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”

And the LORD heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam,

“Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.”

So the three of them came out.

Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam.

When both of them stepped forward, he said,

“Listen to my words: When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.

But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.

Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. (Numbers 12:1-9)

Moses, therefore, was the greatest of all Old Testament prophets, because he spoke to God directly, and the Law, the Old Covenant, was dictated to him in the language of the Hebrew people by angels.

All the rest of the Old Testament prophets received the Word of God through dreams and visions.

We see during the period of history covered in the book of Judges, that many prophets also took on official titles, and served as Judges in a legal sense.

Samuel was the last of the Prophet-Judges before Israel moved into a monarchy and began to be ruled by kings.

The True Prophets of God were Always the Minority, while the Popular False Prophets were Always the Majority

Eduard Bendemann – Jeremia seated in the ruins of Jerusalem. Public Domain.

The history of the Jewish kings as recorded in I Kings and II Kings shows that the kings appointed prophets to serve in their court and advise the king in official roles. Most of the Jewish kings were corrupt, which led to corrupt prophets as well, who simply “prophesied” to the king whatever it was that they felt would please the king.

The true prophets, whether working in an official capacity in the court of the king, or independently, often opposed the king.

They did so at a risk to their own lives, and many paid the price of being in the minority, as a True prophet.

We see this especially during the days of Isaiah the prophet, who prophesied that the Assyrians were going to defeat and carry into captivity the northern 10 tribes of Israel around 722 B.C., and during the days of the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied that Judah would also be defeated, its temple destroyed, and that the people would be carried into captivity to Babylon.

These were not popular views, even though they both came true, and historical records state that Isaiah was “sawn in two” under the reign of the wicked King Manasseh, and it is believed that he is one of the ones that was mentioned in Hebrews 11:37, which refers to more than one person this happened to.

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.

They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. (Hebrews 11:37-39)

Jeremiah was frequently attacked by the false prophets, and spent a lot of his time imprisoned or escaping death for prophesying the Truth.

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people:

“Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live.

Thus says the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.”

Then the officials said to the king,

“Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes.

And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. (Jeremiah 38:1-6)

Yes, this was the kind of life that the true prophets lived, which makes it easy to understand why there were so many more false prophets who told the king what he wanted to hear.

The Last Old Testament Prophet and the First New Testament Prophet

The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist by Bernard van Orley, 1514. Source.

As I mentioned above, Moses was the greatest prophet during the Old Covenant period, because he spoke directly to God in his native language.

One of the prophesies of Moses was that in the future, God would raise up another Prophet, just like him, from among the Hebrew people:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’

And the LORD said to me, “They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-20)

This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the only person in history who was sinless, and spoke no words to the people that God had not first told him to speak.

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:46-50)

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. (John 17:5-11)

And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:11)

Jesus made it clear that John the Baptist, his older cousin, was the last of the Old Testament prophets.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.

Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:9-15)

As Jesus said, John the Baptist came to prophesy and prepare the way for Jesus, the Christ/Messiah.

And when John told the current king of Israel that he was living in adultery, it cost him his life, as he was beheaded.

For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.

For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe.

When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.

And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?”

And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.

And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (Mark 6:17-29)

Thus, John the Baptist met the same fate as all the Old Testament True prophets before him.

Jesus said to the Satanic Jews of his day:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Matthew 23:29-37)

Prophets in the New Covenant

Pentecostés by Juan Bautista Maíno (1581–1649). Source.

In Acts chapter 2, we have the record of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ being poured out upon his disciples who had gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Day of Pentecost.

We read that the disciples began to speak in other languages, which was a sign of God’s Spirit authenticating a True prophet that was often seen during the Old Testament times.

Peter took the lead to address the people and explain what was happening.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them:

“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.’ (Acts 2:14-18)

The “office” and official title of the Old Testament prophets had ended, just as Jesus said, when he announced that John the Baptist was the last one of the Old Testament prophets.

Now, under the New Covenant that Jesus instituted, ALL of the disciples of Jesus who are born of his Spirit, can prophesy.

The only official “office” or “title” of “prophet” belonged to Jesus Christ, who like Moses during the Old Covenant, was the most important prophet that instituted the New Covenant.

Notice the difference in Peter’s address to the crowd, from the Old Testament prophets.

Rather than just saying “Thus says the Lord”, he refers to the Old Testament Scriptures, the written record of the Word of God, that most of the Old Testament prophets did not have access to.

He backs up what he himself is prophesying about, with the written Word of God.

This would be a consistent pattern with ALL the apostles and disciples throughout the New Testament record in the Bible.

Here is what Peter said when he explained how he and John healed a lame man in the Temple of Jerusalem in Acts chapter 3:

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people:

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.

To this we are witnesses.

And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.

You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’

And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:11-26)

Everything Peter said in this prophetic message to the people, was backed up by the Old Testament Scriptures.

Today, we have not only the Old Testament Scriptures, but also the New Testament Scriptures.

The role of a prophet today to speak the Word of God belongs to everyone who is a True believer in Jesus Christ, and NOT to a select group of authoritarian Christians who put the title of “Prophet” before their name.

As in the Old Testament times, so also during the current New Covenant period, there are many false prophets who outnumber the True prophets, who are still, today, the minority persecuted class.

Jesus himself warned his disciples, before he left, to watch out for the majority popular false prophets.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will recognize them by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20)

And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:4-13)

So what do you think readers? Are those who are claiming to be prophets today and telling people to support Donald Trump as God’s anointed, True prophets or False prophets?

Who do you think will be persecuted if Trump does regain the Presidency? Those who claim to be “believers” and support Trump, or those, like myself, who claim to be a believer and disciple of Christ, but who do NOT support Trump?

And let’s be VERY clear here, I am NOT talking about groups or classes of people who are labeled “Left” or “Right”, “Conservative” or “Liberal”, “Republican” or “Democrat”.

I am talking about the group of people who claim to be believers or disciples of Christ, who claim that they follow the teachings of the Bible.

Advice for the True Prophets Today for the Days Ahead

Jeremiah tells the king that Jerusalem shall be taken. 1873. Source.

If you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ, born of his Spirit, then you have access to the spiritual role of prophet, as ALL believers do.

Fulfilling your role of prophet (or prophetess) in the days ahead is going to make you very unpopular among the popular masses of Christians, and you can be certain that you WILL be persecuted, and could even lose your life.

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

Remember who you are in Christ, and what your future is, and NEVER apologize or back down from those who attack you.

You will be called all kinds of names, and be accused of many things, but we are NOT called to be cowards.

Hold your head up strong, be confident, and don’t back down.

Embrace being “thick headed” if you are accused of that, because that is actually a compliment, as God actually told the prophets of old to be just that.

From Isaiah:

The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:5-7)

From Ezekiel:

But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.

Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead.

Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 3:7-9)

Those of us who truly know Jesus Christ and hear his voice, we are the True prophets, we are the True Jews, we are the chosen ones who follow in the faith of Abraham.

And we must endure the suffering and persecutions that await us, as we stand for the Truth, and patiently wait for Jesus to come back and take us home.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Hebrews 10:35-39)

 

The post Distinguishing True Prophets from False Prophets in These Evil Modern Times first appeared on Created4Health.

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