False Prophets - False Teachers

After seeing and being apart of many threads about certain "ministers" or "pastors" with people either saying they are false, and some saying no they are not i started wondering.

How do we discern who is false? how do we judge who is satan disguised as an angel of light? or from whom we should withdraw from?

My wish is not to bash a certain minister or pastor or church or denomination or anything of the sort. But rather discuss how to obey all the commandments in scripture from Jesus himself and the apostles to be watching out from these who will deceive many.

And seek out what scripture CLEARLY teaches about these things.

This verse to me speaks about those who preach "get rich gospels" from such run away. If they say belive in God he will make you rich and those gospels....

1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

then we have the wolves
how do we know who these are?

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

And Jesus also said this: to me this is a very serious thing he says "take heed", take extra special effort making sure no one deceives you. Many shall be claiming to serve Christ but in reality serve satan.

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

and here we have many who actually belive they are serving the real Jesus, but are decived

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

and this one, how can we recognize or expose satan when trying to come to us as an angel of light?

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Please try avoid naming names or ministries if possible please. Thank you

The Apostle Psul came against a few elements of his day 1)those who were legalistic, those who added circumcision and the law to the gentile church inorder to be saved. They had changed simple faith into a works religion, we have that today also. 2)those who mishandled the word of God 1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,
The teachings that don't promote godliness, that's the real bench mark for church doctrine, many of the prosperity teachings have an element of truth but are easy enough to turn toward the sinfulness of mans flesh, which is what is happening. 3) Jud 1:4 For certain men, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into promiscuity and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
These men pervert the gospel to a self serving gospel that eventually denies Jesus entirely, we see that through doctrines that accept certain parts of the gospel but than deny the ressurrection or maybe the virgin birth or some other pivitol element in church doctrine, they breed doubt in the heart and mind of those who follow them. There's more but this is a good quick list
:-) :-)

hmmhmm wrote:
After seeing and being apart of many threads about certain "ministers" or "pastors" with people either saying they are false, and some saying no they are not i started wondering.

How do we discern who is false? how do we judge who is satan disguised as an angel of light? or from whom we should withdraw from?

I personally think "NotMe" said it best on another thread:
From NotMe:
Paul warned the Corinthians about claiming to be followers of different teachers (some said they were of Apollos, other of Paul, third of Christ), for this divisiveness was a sign of their carnality. The Lord Jesus Himself knew what was in man and didn't commit Himself to any man (John 2:24-25). Neither should we, but we have one Teacher, the Christ (Matthew 23:8). The question is that as long as we trust in the authority of men more than in God, we are sure to be deceived, one way or another. You choose whether you are going to make some man's authority truth for yourself or make the Truth your only authority. Authority before men is worth nothing, regardless of what people--or the majority of people--may say. One day we will all appear before the judgement seat of Christ to give an account of what we've done in the flesh, to be confronted with Truth Himself, and what shall we do then with our doctrines, and beliefs, and preferences?

HE_Reigns wrote:
I believe brother, that the Lord gives His Sheep, who hear His Voice and won't follow another voice - Discernment.

[b]2Co 11:3-4[/b] [color=990000]But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his cunning, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
[b]:4[/b] For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.[/color]

These Churches were of "His Sheep".
Don't be so bold as to say that those who are following some False Prophets or False Teachers are not HIS own.

False Prophets & False Teachers are rampant in the Philippines, there is not a "sound" church there accept for maybe a few. However, there are more of His "sheep" than one might expect.

There is a state of one's spirit where they have calloused themselves to the Spirit of Truth so many times, that they are not considered His Sheep.

Who's Randles and whats ACT?

In the "end" - His Sheep will not follow another.

I really wish it was that simple, to say that everyone that follows a false doctrine or false teacher is false, but it is not, in the communion table of the Lord there is a principle of chastisement unto death (1Co 11:30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.) that needs to be noticed, this was to spare the person on the day of the ressurection so that they would not be judged with the world. The same will hold true for many who are duped by false teachers and false prophets. They'll partake of the wrong communion and be sickly and sleep for it but they themselves will be spared on the day of judgement, the Lord knowing the thougts and the intents of thier hearts.
Generally speaking>>>this is a blanket statement>>>not directed at anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The trouble as I see it in many that post so strongly against False Teachers and False Prophets or false whatevers is that by the end of the day everything is false, everyone in anykind of leadership is false and the person posting always is really one of the few who has the ultimate truth which leads to salvation, but they themselves have no disciples, generally speaking, and they aren't out actively seeking the misguided masses who are being lead by these false teachers and prophets. Which really makes thier sin greater by comparision than that of the false teachers and prophets, since they knew the way and did nothing to stop the misguided.

I would say that to stay free from deception one must be careful that they do not become fixated on only one form of deception. Most who frequent this site seem to be passionately opposed to the errors of Joel Osteen and the Rick Warren types, but these are just one of many deceptive teachings out there. An over emphasis on any one truth will always lead to a neglect of another. An over emphasis on "holiness" (which is typically seen not through the lens of NT scripture but rather through the writings and preaching of "holiness" preachers...) is just as dangerous as an over emphasis on grace. The majority of the errors Paul countered were not those in the "greasy grace" genre, (although he certainly did confront this...) or the prosperity types. Rather his biggest "beef" seemed to be with the legalists and those pseudo-watchmen types who took away the brides cloak of imparted and imputed righteousness by constantly beating the self-denial drum. (SOS 5:7-)

Perverted prosperity messages, greasy grace/seeker sensitive types, and watchman wannabe's are all in the same category to me. One is not more dangerous than the other. One leads you into selfish materialism, one leads you into lasciviousness, and one leads you into legalistic bondage, cross mocking, worship of the human will (yes even the calvinist), and ultimately far from the face of Jesus.

It is important to be balanced! So many of us live on the defensive instead of the offensive. Everything we do is in RESPONSE or in REACTION to sometime someone else did. We are always countering the false. This can ultimately lead to the creation of error in the name of correcting error. Most errors are just exaggerated versions of the truth (although this is certainly not always the case). Most error can be corrected by adding something more to the diet instead of subtracting. When we subtract in response or reaction to error, we are always left with a mutilated portion of the gospel.

I was getting really close to error once in my life because I developed an unhealthy addiction to repentance preaching. It was ALL that I listened to. If every message was not a slam in the face, I counted it as being compromised, cupcake Christianity. But why was I so addicted? I would search my heart for every little impure motive, every area of secret sin, you name it, I searched it out. Yet I was living a moral life as much like Jesus as I knew how. I had so separated myself from anything that may have smelled similar to something that looked like it may have smelled like something that tasted like deception, that I was missing about 99.9% of the gospel. I was living off of the "foundation of repentance from dead works..." (Heb 6) which the scriptures encourage us to grow beyond.

I was stuck. Yet in the midst of it I had truly deceived myself into thinking I was right and everyone else wrong. I would not even witness many times out of fear that my witnessing was being done out of impure motives. Sometimes even praying was fearful! Was I praying so that I would be anointed by God so that when I stood in the pulpit to preach men would look at me and say "What a holy man of God!"? AHH! Even my prayers and desire for intimacy with God had impure motives behind them! This constant examination of the motives and "navel gazing" had me crippled and dying. I was desperate to be more like Jesus and for revival. I prayed and fasted and fasted and prayed. Yet my doctrine was horrible. I reveled in concepts like "dying daily", "crucifying the old man" etc... I had no idea that these were total misinterpretations of scripture. Maybe that was why I felt so stuck!

I've come to see that those who are most desperate for genuine revival and most hungry to bear and manifest the character of Christ are also typically those who really don't know the true gospel of the NT but only that of the holiness camp. I have discovered that most of what is taught as "holiness" and the "deeper life" (by the way-since when are elementary truths the "deeper life"?) could not realy be seen through the teachings of Paul and the apostles when taken by themselves. It was only in addition to the writings and teachings of those with a repentance fetish that I could see the scriptures saying those things.

In Song of Solomon 5:7- , the woman tells of how she is desperately searching for the one her soul loves. (as i was) When she encountered watchmen who beat her, bruised her, and took away her robe. It is often those who are most desperately seeking Jesus who fall into the hands of abusive watchmen. The scripture says that the "bruised" her. Bruising is indicative of internal bleeding. It's an interesting note that she DID not have these internal problems until she met up with the "watchmen". In my life I was actually living in much more victory over sin, much greater intimacy with God, much greater efficacy in witnessing and preaching before I encountered the watchmen - the unbalanced holiness message. But the unbalanced words bruised me and actually created within me problems that were not there before. I was just lead to believe it was the "self-life". Then my robe of righteousness was stolen. I could no longer see myself through the blood of Jesus - only the bruised condition the watchmen had left me in.

I write this only to say that I was nearly deceived by a more subtle form of deception. It wasn't gross prosperity or greasy grace - rather it was an over emphasis on the elementary truth of repentance. The less I tinker with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the more I simply find my pleasure in intimacy with God in the garden, the more holy I live!

these are just my thoughts,
God Bless!
Jeff

Found an interesting and powerful word by Art Katz

(The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy)[url=ttp://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=5806&commentView=itemComments]Against false prophets[/url]

Logic wrote:

HE_Reigns wrote:
I believe brother, that the Lord gives His Sheep, who hear His Voice and won't follow another voice - Discernment.

What was Galatians about? Or 2 Corinthians for that matter?

[b]2Co 11:3-4[/b] [color=990000]But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his cunning, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
[b]:4[/b] For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.[/color]

These Churches were of "His Sheep".
Don't be so bold as to say that those who are following some False Prophets or False Teachers are not HIS own.

False Prophets & False Teachers are rampant in the Philippines, there is not a "sound" church there accept for maybe a few. However, there are more of His "sheep" than one might expect.

But does not Paul indicate that maybe the belivers in corinth, or some of them was not his sheep?

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

[b][url=http://www.benisrael.org/writings/online_books/anatomy_of_deception/taod_contents.html]The Anatomy of Deception[/url] by Art Katz[/b]

2Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly [b]bring in[/b] destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2Pe 2:3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

It seems to me we have to watch out when someone or when something new is "brought in". Something which was not there from beginning.

2Pe 2:10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,

And here it speaks about such teachers make our own flesh and lust and our self the center of attention

this whole chapter is interesting i think when talking about this

2Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2Pe 2:3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
2Pe 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
2Pe 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
2Pe 2:6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
2Pe 2:7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
2Pe 2:8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--
2Pe 2:9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
2Pe 2:10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,
2Pe 2:11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
2Pe 2:13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you,
2Pe 2:14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.
2Pe 2:15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
2Pe 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
2Pe 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."

I think one of the main characteristics of false prophet is preaching peace when there is no peace. Preaching material prosperity, when calamity and judgement is coming. Preaching that you are healthy when you are sick and you are to die in your sins. Preaching that you are rich and you are good, when you are blind, and miserable, and poor. This is called false security, this lie to the core. This is tragedy by any means. Because sudden tragedy will come.

Jer 14:13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, [b]the prophets say unto them,[/b] Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

Jer 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Jer 14:15 Therefore [b]thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not,[/b] yet they say, [b]Sword and famine shall not be in this land;[/b] By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Jer 14:16 [b]And the people to whom they prophesy [/b]shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

In other words, false prophet and a teacher gives you false comfort. It makes you comfortable in your sins and it leads you to hell and eternal destruction.

The Lord already warned us, we are without excuse, we are given enough admonition to recognize the false prophets.

2Ti 4:3 [b]For the time will come[/b] when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [b]after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [/b]
2Ti 4:4 And they shall [b]turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.[/b]
2Ti 4:5 [b][u]But watch thou in all things,[/u][/b] endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Here is the test. Is he itching your ears, leaving you comfortable in the way you are living in your sin? If yes, then run for your life with all your might.

If he is not speaking to you about the wrath of God, His righteousness, His holiness, His justice, your sin, you wretchedness, your need of mercy and grace in the light of His wrath! Run from him and save your life.

[b]A PLEAD TO THE PASTORS/TEACHERS/PROPHETS[/b]

Dear Pastor,

Preach to me no more sermons on God’s love, unless it is accompanied by a message of His holiness. Preach to me no more sermons of His amazing grace without mentioning from what His grace saves me. Preach to me no more sermons of my Lord’s mercy except it be contrasted with what He would otherwise be just and righteous to do.

I cannot understand this God of love without hearing of His many other characteristics. My God is woefully complex, but He has been reduced to a god of mere sentiment and romance, which god has no power to save. Explain to me the wrathful God of the Old Testament. Acquaint me with His jealousy; why is His Name Jealous? When God says He “hates,” tell me what is it He despises? Show me His anger in full that I might know the object of this anger and avoid it in my own life. Don’t down play and trivialize His anger, I know He doesn’t change.

Show me the horrors of hell that I might truly prize my salvation and seek to share Him with others. Teach me to be hopeful of Judgment Day but to share with those whom are lost they should greatly fear it. Declare God’s holy commandments that I might have a portrait of His purity and holiness and conversely, that I might know what sin is. Proclaim to me my sin – that I lie, that I cheat, that I hate and covet. Tell me of my helplessness to keep said commandments that you might impress upon me my dire need of a Savior.

Once I have a grasp of the abomination of sin, then and only then, show me my Savior! When I fully comprehend the depth and breadth of my personal sin, my original sin, my self-righteousness and my unbelief, then the Gospel will really be Good News! When I realize my nakedness before God, my utter bankruptcy with respect to sin, I might esteem my deliverance utterly. Pastor, teach me the meaning of repentance, that I might truly be forgiven. Show me true humility that I might know its semblance.

Declare to me the offense of the cross and expound upon its meaning. Tell me, Pastor, why does it offend? Don’t merely tell me this is God’s love; help me to see His perfect justice in this Event. Describe for me also the representation of His holiness and righteousness at Calvary. Explain to me that this is what I have escaped through a life laid down for Christ; that this is the hell I deserved and instead Jesus took the punishment. Tell me that on that day, He became sin for sinners.

Then permit me to see by example how to live for this beautiful Savior. Help me to see in you the life of the redeemed. Show me your love for the lost; teach me likewise how to pour out my heart for them.

Then finally, tell me of God’s wonderful love for me. Then I think I will really understand “how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” Then I know I will understand. Then I will be truly in His loving grip.

[b][url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=19934&forum=35#155687]Digged from SI archive.[/url][/b]

Just wanted to add Jesus' own words to the 7 churches in Revelation. I see those 7 churches as always having exsisted even to the present time. It's worth the read, as Bro. Ron Bailey says, read it more slowly.

generally when pastors preach to their congregations they are preaching to saved people. hence people that should be taught to repent without the help of a pastor.
Otherwise people will go to church to hear all the bad and how bad they are and I suppose this type preaching if not accompanied by an alter call leaves the saint condemed.

David

FireinmyBones1 or Jeff that was a really good Honest, Genuine, Sincere, Humbling, Self examining post, we need more like this here.
Thanks
Mr. Bill

by psalm1 on 2007/12/11 7:25:18

generally when pastors preach to their congregations they are preaching to saved people. hence people that should be taught to repent without the help of a pastor.
Otherwise people will go to church to hear all the bad and how bad they are and I suppose this type preaching if not accompanied by an alter call leaves the saint condemed.

David

paul in acts 20:27 says that he declared to them the full counsel of God. how many people can say that they hear the full counsel from the pulpit on sundays?? praise God that some do, but some do not. we need to hear the good and the bad (as some call it).

i don't think the type of preacher is what matters (ex. repentance, grace, etc), but rather preaching the word the Holy Spirit desires for you to give. being obedient to the Lord, saying what He wants you to say, ya know? and if one is doing that, they will declare all the will and counsel of God.

just some thoughts,
phil