A false prophet will often claim to know all, see all, be the voice of God, or worse yet be God himself. But when he tries to make false claims of any kind, God is the one that can do something to show that a false prophet is not who he says he is.
Take the example of one Bar-Jesus in Acts 13:1-12
(picture from Wikipedia)
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar Jesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Here we find Barnabus, Paul and others on their first journey as missionaries. A deputy named Sergius Paulus that heard about them and wanted to hear what they had to say about God. But there was a sorcerer /false prophet with him named Bar-Jesus who tried to turn Sergius Paula away from the truth. But Paul called the sorcerer a child of the devil and through the Lord caused him to go blind for awhile. And when the deputy saw this, he was so astonished that he became a believer of God.
God will not keep letting man preach or teach another gospel then His own forever. And he will not let us go on following him forever. At some point of time, he will take out the fraudulent people trying to use His name for their own gain. And likewise, if we don't wise up and quit following them, there will be consequences. He is always ready to forgive, but in the end, His justice is our final authority.
We must do our homework, friends. We must line up what we are hearing from our pastors, teachers and others that are trying to sell us on false teachings with God's word.
Tomorrow we will pick another false prophet from the past to learn about. In the mean time, thanks for coming by, and have a blessed day!
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