Pseudo-prophets and teachers

 

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (NIV) Matthew 7:15

In the Old Testament, it is mentioned that “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Rightly so, because the prophets were basically the spokesmen of God - representing God before the people. By implication, the prophets’ basic duty was to give direction to God’s people and by extension to other nations (Jonah 1:1-2). The pattern of prophetic ministry in the Old Testament ended with John the Baptizer’s ministry (Luke 16:16).

In the New Testament, there were prophets too whose function was only intended to be temporal (1 Corinthians 13:8). God purposed that there be permanent teachers of His word subsequently. It is no wonder that the writers of the New Testament made this known both overtly and implicitly (1 Timothy 1:7; 2 Timothy 4:2-3).

Peter was just on point in stating that just as there were false prophets among the Jews, so there will be false teachers among Christians (2 Peter 2:1a). Teachers receive their messages from the written word of God. Thus for proper use and application of God’s word, they are expected to study conscientiously (2 Timothy 2:15)

Sad to state, however, that the proliferation of diverse teachings and “prophecies” has made it difficult for many to make clear eternal decisions. The word of God addresses this issue so as to rescue every willing heart from all falsehood.

Both the Lord Jesus and the apostles mentioned that many will be misled (Matthew 24:11, 24), others’ faith will be upset (2 Timothy 2:17, 18) and still some will be deceived with a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). With these warning signs provided, let us always measure ourselves to be sure we have not acceded to the errors of these false teachers and self-made prophets of our time.

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