How to Spot a False Prophet
Many people claim to speak for God. They see visions, or they have a vision which they say came from God. How can we tell if a person is a false prophet or not? Jeremiah gives us two big guidelines.(Lamentations 2:14) Let's see what the Lord told us through him.
If a person claims to be a prophet, but they do not uncover the sins of the people that are causing them to live in defeat, they are not true prophets. When a person really speaks forth God's Word, he will give insights into the reality of sin, especially when the people to whom he speaks are having severe problems like Judah was facing in Jeremiah's time. If it is a "feel good" message to pump people up, that person is a false prophet. Real prophets who speak God's Word reveal why people are being held captive by sin and how to get rid of the sin, so they can be set free.
If a person "envisions" things and says they are from God, that person is not a prophet. We do not make up God sized visions and ask God to fulfill them. We go to the Lord, and He gives us His vision for our lives and our situation. It is not something we would even think up on our own. In fact, God often asks us to go against what most people would do, or do something the opposite of how most people do it. That is God's way of leading us to live by faith, not by sight.
Let's be careful not to listen to every person who claims to be a prophet from the Lord. We can be easily deceived by those false and deceptive visions. Let's stick with God's Word and judge whatever we hear by it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Lamentations 3-5.
If a person claims to be a prophet, but they do not uncover the sins of the people that are causing them to live in defeat, they are not true prophets. When a person really speaks forth God's Word, he will give insights into the reality of sin, especially when the people to whom he speaks are having severe problems like Judah was facing in Jeremiah's time. If it is a "feel good" message to pump people up, that person is a false prophet. Real prophets who speak God's Word reveal why people are being held captive by sin and how to get rid of the sin, so they can be set free.
If a person "envisions" things and says they are from God, that person is not a prophet. We do not make up God sized visions and ask God to fulfill them. We go to the Lord, and He gives us His vision for our lives and our situation. It is not something we would even think up on our own. In fact, God often asks us to go against what most people would do, or do something the opposite of how most people do it. That is God's way of leading us to live by faith, not by sight.
Let's be careful not to listen to every person who claims to be a prophet from the Lord. We can be easily deceived by those false and deceptive visions. Let's stick with God's Word and judge whatever we hear by it.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Lamentations 3-5.