Today we will cover a lot of scriptures that deal with false teachers and false prophets. They will show us how to spot them, and what is going to happen to them and those who follow them. Let’s start with false prophets. Here are a couple of verses that tell us how we can know for sure that someone is not speaking for God. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 “21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” If you hear somebody start their sermon with “Thus sayeth the Lord”...and then they proceed to talk about what will happen in the future, you should keep a close eye on what happens to see if they were right. If they end up not being right, a red flag should go up immediately. If God is truly speaking through someone, what they say will come to pass. If not, they were not speaking for God, they were speaking what they wanted to have happen. If God has truly decreed a thing, there will be no need for a “prophet” to be general or vague. How many modern day “prophets” said Trump will remain president? How many of them apologized and confessed it wasn’t from God when it didn’t happen? Almost none. There are churches that teach that a modern prophet doesn’t have to be right every time. This seems beyond ludicrous to me.
Now I’m not saying that the gift of prophecy is not active today. I’m just saying that everyone who claims to be a prophet...isn’t actually a prophet. You have to use wisdom and discernment to judge any prophesy you hear. Is the prophecy so generic that it could apply to almost any situation? Or is it specific enough to know if it has come true or not? Does it align with scripture. Lot’s of things can sound good, but they aren’t actually biblical. I know personally how exciting it can be to think that you’re hearing a new word from God over your life, but do you realize that God could have just as easily told you Himself, instead of going through a “prophet.” You can be close enough to God that you know His voice. Let me tell you about the worst prophesy situation I’ve ever been involved with. Laura and I were the worship leaders at a new church. There was a self proclaimed prophet who was in leadership at that church. Well, he prophesied in his small home group that the pastor of our church, was not supposed to pastor that church. Since he knew if his prophesy didn’t come to pass, then people would know he wasn’t a prophet, he took matters into his ow hands and led a revolt against the pastor...so he could install the person he said should pastor. Guess how long that church lasted after that? About a year, then it was gone. If you have to try and make your prophesy come true...you are not a prophet. You’re just someone who wants to control a situation and people. Jeremiah 14:14 “14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.”
True prophecy isn’t about feel good emotions or getting what you want. It’s about delivering a word from God with fear and trembling that you might be speaking from yourself instead of from God. This is not to be done lightly or with no thought of the consequences of being wrong. Let’s move on to what an actual false teacher looks like. Remember, as we have said the last two weeks, it’s not just someone you disagree with on a point of theology. You should be careful on whom you pass judgment. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 “3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. Paul was writing to the church in Corinth and warning them about false teachers pretending to be apostles. They had come into the church claiming to be apostles, but they were not. And what were these false teachers doing? They were teaching a different gospel, a different Jesus and a different Spirit, than they had already received from Paul. And by far the biggest problem is that the people in the church were accepting it. How could this be happening in the life of the original church? The same way it happens today. Like this: 2 Timothy 4:3-4 “3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Most people are not interested in being taught the truth. They would much rather be told a lie that makes them feel good about themselves. But just in case you’re one of the Christians who wants to know how to spot a false teacher, here’s how. Do you remember when we started this series a couple weeks ago I described how to spot a false teacher? It’s the same way federal agents spot counterfeit money. They study the real thing so much, that it becomes obvious when they are presented with a counterfeit. You have to be so familiar with the word of God that it becomes obvious when someone presents you with a counterfeit version of Jesus. But that is going to require some effort, and the vast majority of church folks are not interested in that. They just want a free ticket to heaven, and then to be left alone to do whatever they want. And the churches who preach that message will get their attendance...occasionally...and a few dollars...occasionally. What does a church full of those people look like today? It looks like this: This quote is from a self proclaimed “progressive” church website “We celebrate the mystery of Jesus, of our Scriptures, and of our faith. Our value of ‘reimagining worship’ means we are more interested in asking good questions than in having right answers. Every Sunday we preach from our Scriptures, but sometimes we will say, “I don’t know.” We sing about God every Sunday, but don’t be surprised when we use different pronouns to refer to God. We take Communion every Sunday -- and there are no requirements to receive it. There are no doctrinal or belief requirements either to volunteer or lead in church. We deconstruct and reconstruct beliefs on “heaven/hell,” “salvation,” and “sexual ethics” in small group discussions. We are here to reclaim the “good news.”
What? That is what is happening out there in the “church.” And how do the people in that church react? With thunderous applause. Do you know what their tagline is? “Ushering in the next 500 years of Christianity.” How does this happen? 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” An angel of light, that’s what a false teacher looks like. A false teacher will looks just like a disciple...at first, but their motives will be revealed soon enough. It takes a little time to see what’s really happening. Jesus taught this concept in a parable. Matthew 13:24-30 “24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Most people are content to let this parable be about people who are saved (the wheat) vs people who are unsaved (the weeds). The wheat goes to heaven and the weeds go to hell, the end. But did the enemy sow unbelievers into the church, where they would hear the gospel of Jesus and get saved...or did he sow false teachers into the church so they would destroy the harvest if you attempt to uproot them? Paul agrees with Jesus as to what will happen to false teachers. He says in the 2 Corinthians passage that the false teacher’s end will correspond to their deeds. In Jude we see what their end will be. They are compared to some famous old testament characters who were punished for their rebellion. Jude 3-4 “3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” This is the setup talking about who these people are. Notice that they crept in unnoticed just like the tares from the parable. They were perverting the gospel and denying Jesus. That’s the clear sign of a FALSE TEACHER. Jude 5-7 “5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of
the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” This is about rebellion against God’s original design. The first three examples are all tied together. The first one is about the Israelites who were not allowed to enter the promised land because they rebelled against God’s command to enter the land and destroy the people there. They allowed fear from a report about giants in the land to keep them from doing what God said. Because of this, they wandered in the wilderness until that entire rebellious generation died. The next example is the angels who rebelled from their proper dwelling in the heavens. These angels are the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 who took human women as wives and began the corruption the human race. The Nephelim giants were the offspring of those unnatural sexual encounters. Those giants were the ones God had told Israel to destroy when they were afraid to enter the promised land. What was the punishment for the rebellious angels? They are currently being kept in chains of gloomy darkness until the judgment day. We know this because of the next statement about Sodom and Gomorrah. It says they did “likewise.” What did they do? Unnatural sexual desire and immorality. It can even be said that the actual sin that is being mentioned here is actually not just homosexuality, but it’s the exact same sin as the angels who took human wives. You remember what happened when God and two angels went to warn Abraham’s nephew Lot about the coming
judgment of fire, because of the wickedness of their cities. They went to Sodom and were in Lot’s house that night. Genesis 19:4-5 “4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” When we read the story of Sodom, the men of the city wanted to “know” the two angels who visited Lot. The angels were in the form of men based on what we just read. Now the men of sodom didn’t know they were angels, but Jude certainly did when he wrote this, so he tied it together. The men of Sodom were not keeping within their proper position. So it was both unnatural desire Humans with angels) and also sexual immorality (homosexuality). The result for them was eternal death by fire and it’s also the result for false teachers. Jude 8-10 “8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” Jude brings it back to the false teachers and says they are doing the same thing. They rely on their dreams or desires, they defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme glorious ones...angels.
They are driven by and are going to be destroyed by their own instincts. They have given into their flesh and it has led them astray. When it says they have defiled the flesh, there seems to be a sexual sin overtone also, because of the previous reference to angles and Sodom. Remember what I read from that progressive church website? Did you notice the sexual overtones and how they will allow their flesh to determine what the Bible means? Jude continues with his comparison to old testament rebels. Jude 11-13 “11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. What was the way of Cain, Balaam’s error and Korah’s rebellion? Historical writings about Cain, the first murderer, tell us that when God exiled Cain for his sin, Cain in his pride did not show remorse for murdering his brother Able, but continued in his rebellious ways. He became one who intentionally spread wickedness to his family. Each generation from Cane was more wicked than the last. Pride motivated him to join with Satan to corrupt mankind, the very ones God had created to bear His image and do His will. False teachers are driven by pride and intentionally partner with Satan to spread their wickedness. They are not just making a theological mistake...it is intentional misdirection. In Numbers and Deuteronomy we read about the next example Jude uses. It’s Balaam, who, as you may remember, was the Old
Testament prophet who was paid by an enemy king to curse Israel, but he was not able to do it. Instead he ended up blessing them three times. That shows the greed he had, and how was willing to accept money from the enemy to damage God’s people. Balaam’s error is all about the betrayal of God’s people, while pretending to be God’s mouthpiece. But there is another thing that Balaam did that is not talked about much. When he couldn’t curse Israel, he told the enemy king another way to cause them problems. He told the enemy to send their woman into Israel to entice the Israelite men to take them as wives, and then lead them to worship their gods. This idolatry is specifically why God had instructed Israel not to intermarry with the other nations. This shows the false teacher’s plan to corrupt God’s people, by getting them to engage in sexual immorality and idolatry. And lastly we have the rebellion of Korah. Korah was a guy who challenged Moses for leadership over Israel. He was a Levite and one of the team leaders who moved the tabernacle when God told Israel to break camp and move through the wilderness. The levites were divided into three groups to move the tabernacle. The first group moved the tent coverings. The second group moved the tent poles which were large beams. Per God’s instruction these two groups were to have animals to carry their parts of the tabernacle. But the third group moved the holy things inside the tabernacle. This group was to carry their parts by hand. Guess who lead that group? That’s right Korah. And he was tired of having to work harder than the other guys. So he gather some guys and challenged Moses for overall leadership of Israel.
So Moses called a meeting and told Korah to bring all his guys and they would both burn incense and see who’s offering God accepted. Moses said that if Korah and his guys died of old age then Moses was not chosen by God to lead Israel. But if God opens the earth and it swallows Korah, then Moses is the rightful leader of Israel. Well, as you can imagine, as soon as Moses said that, the ground opened up and Korah along with all of his followers fell in and were killed. The point Jude was making about Korah was this: False teachers are in rebellion to God appointed leadership and they along with their followers will pay the price for leading people astray. Jude made some serious comparisons between false teachers and some seriously bad guys from the Old Testament. We have to be aware of what the Word of God says. We must study, if we are to recognize false teaching when it arrises. 1. Do you see the signs of false teaching in the church today? 2. Do you see how sin has crept in unnoticed by being called love and tolerance? 3. Do you see the enemy partnering with “pastors” to corrupt the church by mixing with the world? 4. Do you see the punishment ahead for those false teachers and the ones who follow them in their rebellion? This is the truth: Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty for sin. If you accept that truth, repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus, you will be saved. That is the good news.
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