Beware of Fakes!
Friday's Devotion (3-30-07)
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7:15-20 (KJV)
There have always been false prophets on the earth, there are some now. As children of God we are given tools to tell the real ones from the fakes. Our main tool being the Bible (The Word of God.) If a "prophet," doesn't teach what is written in the Bible or if they do not show the fruits of the Spirit, then they are not a real prophet! By not teaching what is in the Bible, I mean if their prophesy contradicts the Bible. No true prophesy will contradict the written Word of God. Let's take the prophesies of Revelation for example: These are true prophesies for the end times. God is not going to change His plans for the end times. He gave us His written Word. If He were to change His plans then that would be confusion for us and God is not a god of confusion. He made the path of life so that we would find it and be saved. He wants us to be saved, He doesn't want us to go the wrong way or be confused about which way we should go.
What should we do if we come across a false prophet or teacher? Expose them for the sake of those they are deceiving. That's what I think we should do. Of course you can't just stand up and say, "This guy is a false prophet!" No, you need to prove it with the written Word of God! Even when you prove it, some will not believe you. So, don't be discouraged just pray for them. I'm not sure if I've ever ran into a false prophet, but I certainly have ran into false teachers. It's pretty much the same thing, they're leading people astray... That's all that matters. They're deceiving people, that is all that matters here. And if we don't look out for each other, then we are all in trouble. In these last days we need to stick together more than ever.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this message and for all things. Please forgive us of all our sins as we forgive all those who've wronged us. Help us to know the false prophets and teachers when we see them so we won't be deceived. In Jesus name. A-men!
God bless