FALSE PROPHETS
- those who falsely claim to utter revelations that come from God, to
foretell future events, or to have God’s power to produce miracles, signs,
and wonders. In the Bible, false prophets fell into three general
categories: (1) those who worshiped false gods and served idols; (2) those
who falsely claimed to receive messages from the Lord; and (3) those who
wandered from the truth and ceased to be true prophets.
In the Old Testament, Moses spoke of the punishment of
those who betrayed the faith. He ordered that any prophet who advocated the
worship of other gods be stoned to death (Deut. 13:1-18). During the reign
of King Ahab of Israel, false prophets were officially approved by Ahab and
his queen, Jezebel. The writer of 1 Kings speaks of "the four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at
Jezebel’s table" (1 Kin. 18:19). Later, 400 false prophets spoke words they
knew Ahab the king wanted to hear and assured him of victory at Ramoth
Gilead. Micaiah, the true prophet, who warned Ahab of defeat and disaster,
was put in prison on a diet of bread and water (1 Kin. 22:1-28).
A recurring characteristic of the false prophets is that
they often are found in the employment of the powerful and that they are
careful to speak pleasing, positive, and flattering words to their
employers. Jeremiah condemned the false prophets who were always saying,
"Peace, peace!" when there was no peace (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). The false
prophets preached a popular but false message: there would be victory
against Babylon (Jer. 28:1-17). Jeremiah said, "The prophets prophesy
falsely . . . and My people love to have it so" (Jer. 5:31). Even though
Jeremiah was a true prophet of the Lord, the false prophets were rewarded by
the king and Jeremiah was cast into a dungeon (Jer. 38:6).
In the New Testament, Jesus said, "Woe to you when all
men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Luke
6:26). He warned his disciples to beware of false prophets "who come . . .
in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matt. 7:15).
When speaking of the signs of the times and the end of the age, He also
said, "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. For false
christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so
as to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matt. 24:11, 24).
Later, the false prophet Bar-Jesus, also called Elymas
the sorcerer, was smitten with blindness by the apostle Paul because he
tried to turn the proconsul Sergius Paulus away from the Christian faith
(Acts 13:6-12).
Youngblood, Ronald F. ; Bruce, F. F. ;
Harrison, R. K. ; Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nelson's New
Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1995