• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"Many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Text: 1 John 4:1

THE PROBLEM OF FALSE PROPHETS

This problem of “false prophets” existed for the longest time. This word of warning of the apostle John must not go unheeded.

1. Warning of false prophets (Old Testament)

a) Moses warned of false prophets.

b) A false prophet is identified easily.

c) His prophetic utterance will not be fulfilled (Deuteronomy 18:15-22).

2. Battling false prophets

a) Elijah battled false prophets in his time.

On one occasion he battled hundreds of false prophets (1 Kings 18).

b) Jeremiah battled false prophets too

He warned Judah of the wicked ways of the false prophets (Jeremiah 23).

c) Post-exilic prophet Ezekiel also fought false prophets.

He wrote forcefully against them (Ezekiel 13).

3. Warning of false prophets (New Testament)

a) The Lord Jesus warned of false prophets too (Matthew 24).

b) The Apostles of Christ actively resisted them.

i) Paul (1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 3)

ii) Peter (2 Peter 2)

iii) John (1 John 2-3)

iv) Jude (Jude)

FALSE PROPHETS IN THE WORLD

The intents of the false prophets have been the same through the centuries! The following things must be noted about them: –

1. They seek to deceive.

2. They seek to lead people astray from the Lord and His commandments.

3. They will corrupt the truth.

4. They will seek to offer alternatives to the truth found in the Scriptures.

5. They are destructive to the church and the individual.

6. They are correctly identified by the Apostle John as “antichrists”.