Matthew 7:15
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
As Christians, we must not believe all spirits, the Word of God teaches us to test every spirit - 1John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Many people begin well in the Lord, and then go astray, prophesying falsehood. In 1 Kings13, a Man of God fell prey to the false prophesy given by an old prophet. This cost him his life. The old Prophet was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He had the title of a prophet but was full of falsehood, and actually coaxed the man of God to disobey God. We must test the Words we receive from people masquerading as men and women of God. We must ensure that their words are in line with the Word of God in the Bible. God has given us guidelines as to what to accept and what not to accept. We must adhere to this.
A wolf must appear as a wolf, but a wolf that appears in sheep's clothing is a wolf that is pretending to be what it's really not. The wolf in sheep's clothing comes in faking as a sheep, but has greedy and evil intentions. In Acts 16 :16-24, Paul and Silas were being followed by a slave girl who could prophesy about the future, and who testified that they were true men of God. As much as what she said was true, it was not by the Spirit of God. Beloved, we must be careful, because some of the messages from the wolves are camouflaged untruths, they appear not to be dangerous and may even be true words, however, because the spirit under operation is not of God, if we open up to their ministry, we will eventually be led astray. Paul discerned that the spirit under operation was not of God and rebuked it. The slave girl was hence delivered from the false spirit. But this angered her masters who used her evil gift for monetary purposes.
There are many false prophets in the church today who are operating under falsehood, working a lot of miracles, supposedly in Jesus's name, but in actual fact it is just for greedy reasons. We must be prayerful and discerning, lest we fall prey to these. Acts 20:29-30 , Paul warns that
“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Remember also that Jesus warned us - Mark 13:22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Therefore watch out for selfish and greedy people who claim to be sent from God. When we pray and study God's Word, and walk obediently with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to discern and expose every falsehood.
Kindly reflect on these scriptures:
2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Galatians 5:19-25 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
WHAT IS NEXT?
