False or
True Prophets?
By Nita
Johnson (http://www.worldforjesus.org/) — date:
February 2001
How do we distinguish between a false prophet and a true prophet? Can a true prophet miss it and give a false word? Why would God allow such a thing? In this hour when the prophetic ministry is becoming more widely accepted and is more visible, we are seeing proportionately more mistakes, miscalculations and even untrue words being uttered. The first response that many good hearted Christians have to hearing a prophet miss it, is too reject the prophet. In fact, some might argue that that is what the Lord wants us to do based on Deuteronomy 18:20:
“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
In one
sense those who believe that are right. In another, they are not. Let me
explain:
What is it
that the Lord really wants us to reject? He wants us to reject the false
prophet! What distinguishes a false prophet from a true prophet? Is it that a
true prophet never makes mistakes? Not at all! That question is handled in the
same text:
“And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:21&22
The Earmark of a
False Prophet
The
earmark of a false prophet is one who has it in his heart to deceive the people
of God and eventually lead them into worship of someone or something other than
the one true God. False prophets may prophesy many correct things and be false
still. If a person has a prophetic gifting but is unsaved, the enemy can distort
it and use it for his own gain. Further, a person can have a prophetic gifting
and be a Christian but have a wrong heart, which will incite those persons to
use the gifting wrongly.
I once met
a man who had a very clear prophetic gift. When he spoke under the operation of
that gift, he could give accurate words that would cause you to believe he was
quite a prophet. Yet, I felt something was amiss. Whenever I was around him I
felt very uncomfortable. I didn’t want to let him prophecy in my services even
though every word that I had heard him speak was correct. I didn’t understand my
mixed emotions so I felt a little guilty. Finally in my frustration I went to
the Lord and cried out to Him until the wee hours of the morning for
understanding of the situation. At last He spoke to me. He said, “This man was
once a true prophet, but like Balaam he sold his gifting for the love of money.
He prophesies to rich women whatever they want to hear so they will give him
their money. As a result he has opened the door to a spirit of the occult.” I
was shocked and grieved, and I wept and wept. The next day I confronted the man
on his practices and told him that if he ever wanted to flow in the pure again,
he better repent and turn his soul over to God for discipline. He had become a
false prophet speaking many true words by way of this spirit from the occult.
What made him impure and false? the love of money. The other sad thing about
such a failure is that following someone like that can hurt the people of God
who do not have discernment. Eventually he will begin to miss the mark of true
prophecy more than not and ultimately lead the people who follow him astray.
I once sat
in a service when I was but a babe in Christ. The speaker was a popular speaker
and had been on Christian television shows many times. I watched the audience as
he spoke and then began to prophesy. Everyone was overwhelmed with his gifting.
He would call out people’s names and speak about very specific things in their
lives. It was quite amazing! Again, I was very young in the Lord and found
myself quite amazed that God would speak to people like that. When he was done,
the pastor raved about him repeatedly then called him up to take up his own
offering. The next hour was spent taking up offerings for this thing and that.
He wanted tires replaced on his motor home among other things. The offering he
gathered for that one item far exceeded the true price of the tires. He lied to
the people about the cost of each thing for which he took an offering. I was
shocked and hurt. Further I couldn’t understand why the Lord would give such a
gift to someone who would later steal from the sheep. So, I went to prayer.
Early in
the morning the Lord finally spoke to me in a vision. I saw that this man was
impure in many ways. He was an adulterer, and his gifting was impure. In part,
he operated with a team of people who would feed him information about
individuals in the audience. So he obtained his information in that manner. What
he didn’t get in that way, he received through a connection with an unclean
spirit of soothsaying which in the vision I saw standing beside him in the
services. I started a fast on his behalf the next day. After a lengthy fast I
felt a release that God was going to deal with him. When he finally did many
years later He exposed him and brought his ministry to an abrupt end. He had
made himself a false prophet through the love of money.
Up to this
point I have spoken only about false prophets in the Church. Many and varied are
the false prophets outside of the Church. They often eventually become leaders
of their own cults. Most true Christians know to stay away from them. But even
so they can be recognized by the fact that their doctrine does not line up with
the Bible. They cannot bear the true fruits of the Spirit, as they do not have
the Holy Spirit. Discernment can reveal that anything that would remotely assume
the guise of true holiness would in the end be false.
I once met
a man who had fallen from grace and continued in what he called the ministry. He
traveled around with a team of people holding meetings in hotels. Again he
gained information on people through trickery and used the information in the
services to come across like a true prophet. His doctrine was very impure and he
milked the people who attended his services for every dime he could get.
Finally, the Lord gave me a corrective word for him. It was a strong warning of
impending judgment if he didn’t repent and humble himself before the Lord for
discipline, and give his life back to Him and walk before Him in purity. I
happen to run into him a couple of years later and he told me that he had taken
the Word seriously and did what the Lord required of him. He further assured me
that his life was now clean before the Lord.
That was a
happy ending but many such false prophets simply end up heading their own cult.
Remember the tragedy of Ghana so many years ago.
The day is coming when it is going to be very difficult to recognize the true from the false if we do not have discernment. The false will speak many true things. They will perform many miracles. The doctrine that they will teach will initially be true, but as time goes on they will begin to filter their own doctrines in with the pure until they take their hearers totally away from the true faith. They will even have what initially appears to be humility. But it will be a false humility. They will reject correction and answer to no man. Although they will teach on love, they will do it to gain the hearer’s love and devotion not because they practice true Christian love. Only the gift of discernment will help the Christian know the true from the false in the days ahead.
There will
be those who have never known Messiah. Others will be of the type who once knew
Him, but for love of money opened themselves up to deception and the occult. In
both categories once they get your heart, they will go after your money, after
they get your money, they will go after your soul.
Of the
true prophets there are two categories. The first is the immature prophet. The
second is the mature prophet.
The
Immature Prophet
We will
begin by discussing the immature prophets, as those who are in this category are
the ones who unwillingly cause the most trouble in the body of Christ.
There is a
true recognizable call on the lives of these men and women. They love the Lord
and are in various degrees of refinement, therefore their love for the Church
will vary according to their divinely given ability. The Bible says we will know
them by their fruits. So there will be fruits to their ministry. One thing that
will always accompany the true mantel of a New Testament prophet is the gift of
healing. That doesn’t mean that every prophet who flows in the gifts of healing
are true. But every true New Testament prophet will flow in the gifts of
healing. An immature prophet will not always manifest the fruits of the spirit
and as a Christian we need to give room for that if we see him trying to learn
the ways of the Lord. On the contrary, if we see that he is not attempting to
grow in the graces of the Lord, and he continues to hurt people as a result, the
Church needs to make him accountable for his behavior.
He will at
times prophesy amiss. One thing that can happen is that he hears a word from the
second heaven, perhaps a word depicting Satan’s intention, but he doesn’t know
to press on through to hear the Lord’s wisdom about the revealed secret.
Once in a
service I saw a vision of a man in a coffin. Well, that isn’t the kind of word
you want to run and tell everybody. So, I stopped and asked the Lord why I was
being shown this about this individual. Then I waited desperately hoping for an
answer. Finally, the word of the Lord came to me saying, “This man is about to
engage in this particular sin. (He named the sin) If he does, it will cost him
his life. If he will stop and turn back now, I will heal him and save his life.”
So, I drew the man aside and shared what the Lord had given me. He immediately
repented, and his life was spared.
Someone
who didn’t know that the Lord would speak in this manner might have spoken out
the word of coming death because of the vision and given the hearer no hope of a
future. All those who would have heard would have said surely this person is a
mature prophet for they spoke of the man’s death, and it came to pass. Whereas a
prophet a little more familiar with the Lord’s ways would have sought to spare
the man’s life, and if others had known about the prophecy of this man’s
potential death, perhaps would have been called by others a false prophet
because the man lived and did not die.
I can
remember once at the very beginning of my ministry I called out a word of
knowledge about a healing. A woman came up and received prayer for the issue I
named. After the service she found me and asked me if she was healed and if she
could quit taking her medicine. I asked her how she felt, knowing that if she
was healed of the particular thing she came up for she would know it
immediately. She said great. So I foolishly told her that she could discontinue
her medication.
A couple
of days later her husband tracked me down and asked me to come to their home for
she was having a seizure. We ended up calling emergency services to get her help
and she went back on her medicine. I asked her why she lied to me. The healing
she came up for was not her problem at all. She explained that it was because
she was embarrassed to tell her real need. Her embarrassment nearly cost her
life. Further, I nearly left the ministry. I felt that I could no longer be
trusted with the gift because of my mistake. Thankfully some friends who had
been around the ministry for many years talked me through it. I showed my
immaturity in the way I handled the whole episode.
An
immature prophet is more likely to prophesy in part, and in doing so at times
look like a false prophet. As he better learns the ways of the Lord, his
prophecies will be more complete. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 13
that we all prophesy in part as though looking through a dark glass. As a rule
the more mature the prophet the clearer his word will be. But even at that,
sometimes the very mature prophet will still hear some words in riddles just
like Aaron and Miriam did.
Sometimes
an immature prophet will simply prophesy amiss. The Lord will allow it for the
prophet’s refining. He may prophesy out of his soul and miss the mark of a true
prophecy. Again, Deuteronomy tells us not to fear him, he is prophesying in
presumption. What then is the Church's responsibility in such a case? Don’t turn
against the prophet. Pray for him or her that the Father will continue to purify
the gifting in the vessel.
The
prophets of today are not of the same caliber as the Old Covenant [Testament]
prophets. I was once taken to heaven and escorted behind a thick royal blue
curtain where I found waiting for me every Old Testament prophet sitting at a
long dinner table. The table was fit for a King. I was told to sit down and
commune with them for a while, which I did. The presence of Yahweh was so
overwhelming I couldn’t stay there long. I wanted to stay forever, but my spirit
was not able to bear the Shekinah presence that seemed to dwell within that
veil. It was too weighty for me.
After a
short time the angel that had escorted me behind that veil to dine with the Old
Testament prophets came and escorted me out of the room and to another room,
hidden behind a blood red veil. Behind this veil was another dining room table.
Seated at this table were the New Testament prophets. Again I was in awe but I
immediately noticed that the presence behind this veil was not nearly as weighty
as the presence behind the other. I was immediately able to bear this presence
and could have stayed as long as I wanted without trouble. I asked the angel why
this was so. He instructed me that the New Testament prophet does not bear the
same weight as the Old because each believer now has the Holy Spirit in himself
or herself. The Lord now expects the believer to live by the life and direction
of the Holy Spirit rather than by the prophet, like the Old Testament believers
had to do.
Especially
after entering in behind the second veil and finding less of my Father’s
presence I wanted with all my heart to remain behind the first veil, but I knew
that I couldn’t. I couldn’t because of my own limited capacity and because the
lesson was complete with what I had been given, so it would not be permitted.
Because
the New Testament prophet carries a lesser weight of responsibility, the Lord
chooses to refine them in the presence of the Church instead of off in some cave
somewhere where they are unknown to all but Himself. As a result, he uses the
refinement of His prophets as a tool to further refine His Church. This teaches
us to keep our eyes on Jesus and not on man. Further, it teaches us to love
authority even when they miss it and to cover the prophet in love while they are
being refined and purified by the Father in our presence. It is much more
difficult for all of us this way. It is very humbling to the prophet to miss it.
Further, the more mature the prophet is, the more they grieve over any injury
that may be done to the Church if they give a false word. As for the Church, we
have to keep putting our love blankets out there to cover the failures when all
we wanted to begin with was a pure word. So, it is difficult for everyone, but
the Lord is ever patient and wise, and His ways are perfect. And we learn to
trust Him through it all.
There are
I believe a couple of different ways a prophet can miss on a word. First, might
be that he may hear many other prophets giving a word for a specific time and
feel in his heart that it is a good word, so he joins them believing that he and
they are all giving a pure word from the Lord. Something similar happened to me
a couple of years ago. I had sought the Lord diligently about an issue that many
were prophesying about. Everyone I heard said this event would occur. Still I
believed it would not and that is what I told everyone. Then one day I either
listened to a tape or read a memo from a very trusted prophet that concurred
with everyone else saying this seemingly inevitable event would in fact happen.
So, I thought I must be missing it if he is saying it is going to happen, I must
be off. I sought the Lord again. That night I had a vision saying, “Tell My
people to have the faith of Abraham.” I automatically thought Messiah was saying
that the event was going to occur and the other prophet was right, I was wrong,
and the people needed to have faith and they would make it. Following that I
began to read up on many reasons why it would by necessity occur, the chance of
avoiding it was all but impossible. I watched Christian T.V. shows that all
agreed. So I published an article trying to help people deal with the coming
woe. It was more a teaching article than prophetic, however, it had enough
prophetic dialogue that people construed it as such. When it didn’t occur I felt
terrible. I didn’t know who I might have hurt, I was in agony. Again I wanted to
leave the ministry. I couldn’t understand why I allowed myself to be swayed even
by the very respected prophet, who incidentally changed his mind some time
later, I just didn’t know that. With much prayer the Lord was able to encourage
me to stay in the ministry and learn the lessons. Many months later the Lord
told me in a vision that He allowed me to be wrong on this issue. He said, “As
hard as it was for you to be humiliated in that manner, you are a better person
today for it.” I don’t know if I will ever get over that one, but I understand
that the Lord had a reason for allowing it as He does for all prophets who have
not yet reached the high pinnacle of maturity. I don’t miss it often but it
seems when I do, it never ceases to be utterly painful. I am sure I felt what
Ezekiel felt when the Lord reprimanded him for missing it.
A second
way a prophet might miss it is by interpreting a Word the Lord has given. The
Lord may give a vision or dream or simply a word. The prophet might give the
word then attempt to explain it by giving his own interpretation.
A
wonderful elderly man who is a prophet and highly respected in the body of
Messiah, said recently, the only time he misses it is when he tries to interpret
the word of the Lord.
The Mature
Prophet
The Lord
once showed me in a three‑part dream that the mature prophet will not miss the
mark ever. I don’t know if we have any in that category today in America. That
is the mark of a mature prophet, he is always right in the prophetic word.
The Church may not necessarily realize that every word is correct for one reason or another. But the mature prophet will not miss it ever!
I once
gave a word about the great evil spirit known as Basilisk. I prophesied about
many calamities that he had planned for a certain year. Shortly after publishing
that prophetic word I was invited by a group of intercessors to join them to
intercede for America against this spirit. We opened the invitations up to the
nine‑targeted states hoping to get qualified intercessors from each state to
stand in the gap for their particular state. As it turned out each of the nine
states were heavily represented but one. That one state which was North Carolina
was not at all represented. So we all spent the weekend in worship, repentance
and intercession on behalf of the nine states. As a result the eight states that
were represented were all spared the calamities for which they had been
targeted. North Carolina experienced a hurricane that year that nearly wiped out
an entire city. The estimated damages were in the millions. So, the one state
that was not present had no protection against the beast.
However, because there was no crop damage done to the other states, I was accused of being a false prophet. When I brought the hurricane damage done in North Carolina to the attention of my accusers and shared that it was the only state that did not attend the weekend of intercession, they were silenced. I bring this up because many are the times that Yahweh will give a strong word of warning, and with it He will give the wisdom to avoid the prophesied disaster. If heeded, the prophecy will never come to pass. Jonah experienced the same quandary regarding the tender mercies of the Father. He prophesied the complete destruction of Nineveh. Yet he knew all along that if the people repented Yahweh would not send destruction. He didn’t give an either/or kind of warning. He simply said that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days. When the people repented Jonah got angry because he knew the city would not be overthrown, and he would be made to look like a false prophet. Yet, that was exactly why he was sent. He was sent to spare the city of its final judgment. Jonah may have walked away looking like he had mud on his face, but the Father’s precious will had been achieved.
The mature
prophet sits under a strong discipline from the Lord to insure that his heart
will stay humble enough to stay pure. He either has or will go through many
rough roads of chastening by the Lord to keep his eyes centered on the Lord’s
glory instead of his own, thus the Lord can afford to use him in that manner. A
mature prophet will walk in an uncommon love, and the fruits of the spirit will
be markedly manifest in his life and ministry.
First and
foremost the mature prophets live in splendid isolation in prayer before the
Father. Because they live so close to Him, they are men and women who know the
heart of Yahweh. They know his heart and live to protect and defend it. They
live in absolute obedience to Him. They have gone through the boot‑camp of
intense training in the area of obedience and will suffer great hardships to
honor the Lord’s ownership of them. Paul speaks of the very heart of the mature
prophet when he writes:
From now
on let no man trouble me [by making it necessary for me to vindicate my
apostolic authority and the divine truth of my Gospel], for I bear on my body
the [brand] marks of the Lord Jesus [the wounds, scars, and other outward
evidence of persecutions – these testify to His ownership of me]!
Galatians 6:17 Amplified Bible
Today’s mature prophet, like the prophets of old, lives in an uncommon consecration to the Lord. He is their love and their life, whether married or unmarried they are married to Him. This sort of devotion requires a rugged and uncompromising individualism. The Lord once showed me in a profound vision that the personality of the prophet can be seen in Esau. They are marked by a rebellious individualism but honest in their own sort of way. They tend to say whatever they see with no holes barred. They don’t mince words, many times to the chagrin of the listener. They say what they mean and mean what they say even if it is all wrong. Like Esau knowing that his parents didn’t like the idea of him marrying the foreign women, married them and brought them home. He wasn’t the type to do it behind his parents’ back. Therefore, even though it was wrong, he was still honorable about his wrong.
The Lord
takes these personalities and turns them into John the Baptist in their
maturity. And like John they are men and women who are capable of standing
against the wind of popular thought and ideology and definitely not reeds blown
by the wind. The greatest difference is that they are individualistic before man
but uncommonly humble before the Lord.
Their
message is first to the bride of Christ, then to the rest of the Church, and
finally to the lost. Their song is the song of the spirit—a call to life in the
spirit. They are preachers of righteousness, revealers of future events, and
they can literally be said to be God’s mouthpiece on earth. (Isaiah 40:3)
There are
various levels of immature prophets, as well as mature prophets, just like there
are various levels of immature and mature men in the natural. However, once a
prophet reaches what the Lord considers to be mature, he moves into a whole new
dynamic in the prophetic. The Father will then trust him with things he will
never trust another with, and like I mentioned earlier, they will never miss it.
Their word, like Samuel’s, is always a sure word.
Until a
man or woman reaches that level of maturity however, they will occasionally give
an incorrect word. Out of thousands of words that I have given in the last ten
years alone, I can say I have probably missed it four or five times. It is
always painful, and always I weep many tears, but I know that the Lord uses
these painful times to refine me.
As part of
the body of believers, we are to have patience and mercy upon those prophets who
are still being developed. We are to pray for them and cover them until the
Lord’s work in them is finished and they, like the beloved Samuel, come to a
place where their word will never fall to the ground. This pleases the Father
and will keep us, His children, from raising man too high in our hearts and will
keep Him on the throne of our hearts where He belongs. Remember we are all being
fine tuned in the Church, wherever and whatever we do in His name. Therefore, we
want to give the same grace we desire to receive in our mistakes.