False Prophets in the Last Days

You must know that if there is a real prophetic gift, it is certain the devil will manufacture a counterfeit prophetic gift as well.

Hence, just as there are real prophets, there are also false prophets. But any ministry gift can be counterfeited. Indeed, there can be false apostles, false teachers, false evangelists, false pastors (whom Jesus called “hirelings” in John 10:12), and likewise there can be, and there are, false prophets. In both the Old and New Testaments, there was an issue with false prophets from time to time, but if one has been burned by a bad experience or allows the dread of being misled affect him, it will cause him to miss what God has to say to him through legitimate prophetic ministry.

Remember that people counterfeit all kinds of things. For example, fake currency is regularly being produced and circulated from place to place. But just because there are counterfeit bills in circulation, does it mean you refuse to use money? Of course not, because you need money to live. Hence, rejecting money simply because of a few counterfeit bills would be a wrong response. In the same way, to reject all prophets and all prophetic ministry simply because you’ve had a bad experience with them is a wrong response. Since God gives nothing needlessly — or to no purpose — and He has given prophets to the church, we need them. Therefore, you need to learn how to recognize the legitimate ones, as well as the telltale signs of those who are illegitimate prophets. My sincere prayer is that this book will help you learn to discern the difference.

In the New Testament, we read that there are various kinds of false people, including false ministers. For example, there can be:

“False brothers” (pseudeoadelphos, 2 Corinthians 11:26; Galatians 2:4)

This is the word pseudo — meaning false, deceptive, or untruthful — compounded with adelphos, which is the Greek word for a brother. While this person may in reality be a real brother in Christ, something has changed so radically in his behavior and actions that he has become false, deceptive, and untruthful. Hence the relationship ceases to be honest. It has become corrupted, and he has become a false brother who is pretending to be what he is not.

“False apostles” (psuedoapostolos, 2 Corinthians 11:13)

This is the word pseudo — meaning false, deceptive, or untruthful — compounded with the word apostolos, which is the Greek word for an apostle. The fact that these individuals were in the leadership of the church tells us they were not outsiders who somehow invaded the church. They were resident members of the church, known by others, and perhaps long-term leaders. But somewhere along the way, they assumed a title that was never given to them by Christ. Although they claimed to be apostles, they were not, and therefore they were false, deceived, deceptive, or untruthful. They may have even believed that they were apostles — nevertheless, they were not; therefore, they were a corruption of the real apostolic gift.

“False teachers” (psuedodidaskalos, 2 Peter 2:1)

This is the word pseudo — meaning false, deceptive, or untruthful — compounded with the word didaskalos, which is the Greek word for a teacher. The fact that these individuals had public positions as teachers tells us they were not newcomers or unknown individuals in the church. But like the word “false apostles” previously discussed, this word indicates that somewhere along the way, their gift had become corrupted and they no longer represented the “teaching” gift that Christ intended for them to be to the Church.

“False prophets” (pseudoprophetes, Matthew 7:15; 24:11; Revelation 16:13; 19:20)

This is the word pseudo — meaning false, deceptive, or untruthful — compounded with the word prophetes, which is the Greek word for a prophet. It is primarily used in the four gospels to refer to outright false prophets, and in the book of Revelation, it was used to depict “the false prophet” who will work side by side with the Antichrist at the end of the age. However, as in the other instances noted, the word pseudoprophetes may also describe a genuine prophet who has become corrupted and therefore, a false representation of the God-given prophetic gift.

Jesus Himself specifically warned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Pay careful attention to the fact that in this verse, Jesus depicted a particular category of “false prophets” that would come in “sheep’s clothing.” The words “sheep’s clothing” clearly shows intent and tells us that this category knowingly operates in disguise and projects themselves to be sincere when they are not.

But Jesus adds that this particular category of false prophets are also “inwardly ravenous wolves.” The word “inwardly” is translated from the Greek word esothen, a word that pictures something concealed or hidden and thus pictures a covert, clandestine, hush-hush, malevolent, underhanded, and surreptitious operation.

The word “ravenous” in Matthew 7:15 is translated from the Greek word harpax, a very specific word usually translated as extortioner in other places in the New Testament. It can also be translated to rob and pictures one who brazenly and yet sneakily and stealthily steals from another. And the use of esothen (“inwardly”) and harpax (“ravenous”) together in this single verse emphatically means the false prophets Jesus is describing are those who have their eyes on other people’s money and who are working clandestinely to worm their way into the midst of God’s people so they can coax money out of the pockets of others into their own pockets.

Jesus furthermore adds that this category of false prophets will operate like “wolves.” This immediately brings to mind the image of a wolf, but there is much more to this word “wolves” than first meets the eye. The word “wolves” is the plural version of the Greek word lukos, which is a word that indeed pictures a wolf or jackal, and it was used to depict wolfish individuals who come to attack, victimize, and take advantage of others.

Very importantly, the word “wolves” — the plural version of the Greek word lukos — was the exact slang word widely used in the ancient world to depict prostitutes who wandered up and down streets at night to lure men into their dens of immorality, where they seduced them — and in that opportune moment often robbed them. These sexual predators, who were called “wolves,” were famous for wandering the streets at night. They “howled” like she-wolves to make their presence known, and for this reason they were called “wolves.” Because this slang term was so well-known in Jesus’ time, when He spoke of false prophets as ravenous wolves in this verse, it is important to take it into consideration as being applicable to Jesus’ description of and warning about false prophets as “wolves.”

This means that just as prostitutes prowled the streets at night in order to sell themselves and their sexual services for money, Jesus tells us that false prophets will prowl through the church as they look for people to take advantage of with their errant ministries. Like “she-wolfs,” they will “howl” or advertise themselves to make their presence known — and they are so seared in their consciences that they gladly “sell” or “prostitute” themselves and their services as they give a so-called prophetic utterance for financial profit. By using this word “wolves” that depicts prostitutes, Jesus clearly states that false prophets are those who spiritually prostitute themselves for some type of advantage or financial gain.

Unfortunately, there were those who were false from the start, but there were others who started out pure, but who through the lure or advantage of profit veered off course and prostituted themselves. Rather than being pure vessels who spoke on behalf of God by the Holy Spirit, they began using their spiritual giftings for self-gain or self-promotion to work money out of sincere people’s pockets into their own pockets. Thus, due to their hidden agendas and ulterior motives, nearly everything in their so-called prophetic operation had become “false.”

The words “false prophets” are a translation of the Greek word pseudoprophetes, a compound of pseudo and prophetes. The word pseudo carries the idea of any type of falsehood, and it pictures one who projects an image of himself that’s false, one who walks in a pretense, or one who intentionally misrepresents facts or truths. The word prophetes is the Greek word for a prophet. But when these words pseudo and prophetes are compounded, the new word pseudoprophetes depicts outright false prophets or those who began as authentic prophets, but veered off course. Indeed some began as genuine, but have swerved and have thus become bogus in their prophetic operations.