True and False Prophets

This is a re-post of an article I published on January 7, 2008. (I've deleted the original post in order to cut down on clutter.) I believe this is a timely word given the current emphasis on Todd Bentley, "The Florida Outpouring," and the Charismatic Movement in general.

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Jeremiah 14:14-16--Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, 'No sword or famine will touch this land.' Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve (NIV, emphasis added).

There are false prophets today--and it's a bit of an epidemic here in America. Everywhere you look--especially on the television--we find well-meaning preachers "prophe-lying" ear-tingling words that promise health, wealth, and prosperity to our nation when God is actually saying, "Repent! Turn back to Me! Intercede for America!"

But worst of all, what I learned from the verses above is that God didn't just hold the false prophets accountable--He also promised the same judgment to the people who listened to their words! We MUST be a people of discernment who will hear the Holy Spirit for ourselves and not just take the "holy man's" word for it. We must be seekers of the face of God and learn His true plans through:

• personal encounters with Him,
• the authority of the Bible,
• genuine fellowship with other God-fearing and God-loving believers, and
• accountability to mature believers who have proved by the fruit of their ministry that they truly are messengers of the One True God.

A couple years ago I had a really strange dream. In it, I was at a theme park where they had somehow discovered live dinosaurs. At some point, though, I saw a man dressed in an old sea captain uniform way up high on a pedistol (maybe a hundred feet in the air) with some sort of harpoon gun. One by one, he was shooting the dinosaurs and having them replaced with robotic replicas. I asked someone why he was doing this, and they said, "The robots are safer--no one can get hurt."

"But the real ones are alive!" I argued. My rebuttal fell on deaf ears. Soon, I began to fear for my own safety--not concerning the dinosaurs, but rather the haphazard sea captain and his deadly harpoon. In fact, I looked around and saw several more sea captains on pedistols. So I squeezed through a hedge and found myself outside the boundary of the park in a thick woods. There I discovered a group of people worshipping God, and they had several baby dinosaurs in cages.

I asked someone why the dinosaurs were in cages, and they answered, "They'll get set loose one day, but right now they're being fed and trained. Besides, no one cares to see the real dinosaurs anymore; they want robots. Soon people will realize that the sea captains have no authority, and then they will pay more attention to the value of the real dinosaurs."

That's when I woke up. After writing down the dream and praying about it, I sensed that God was shaking up the prophetic movement in America. I felt He was saying, "There are too many people elevating themselves in the Church and replacing My true, living words with cold, dead utterances. My true prophets are no longer welcome there because they are not considered 'safe.'"

Today there is great value placed on those individuals who do not pose a 'threat' to the authority figure's teachings. The true prophets--who, according to John Sandford, bring blessing, healing, judgment, warning, protection, discernment, and words of knowledge--are being systematically replaced by false prophets with ear-tingling words, empty promises, and great skills in group hypnosis and emotionalism. In so many cases, the prophet has been replaced by the personality.

But I personally believe there was a significant promise in that dream I had. God is raising up true prophets--many of whom are not inside the organized theme park we call "church." He is protecting them from being wounded and snuffed out by those in authority who prefer "robots." (I should add, though, that not all people in authority are like this, so don't let the devil convince you of that lie). God is feeding them and training them in the wilderness as they worship and grow in groups of genuine Christ-followers. Before long, the false prophets will be exposed for what they are, and the hearts and minds of the masses will be stirred for the true word of the Lord.

It's coming! I don't know when, but I think it has already started!