False Prophets and Teachers

Rev. Sudha Mehta©

photo from freebibleimages

Matthew 24: 4 Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.(CSB)

Mark 13: 5 Jesus told them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will deceive many.(CSB)

Luke 21: 8 Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them. (CSB)

2 Peter 2: 1There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. 3 They will exploit  you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.(CSB)

We are now looking at the signs that Jesus said we are to watch for in the end times. Just before His return these would indicate to us that His return is immanent.

The very first sign Jesus speaks of is that there will be many fake christs, and many fake teachers. Interesting, isn’t it?! One of the things that Satan is known for doing well is creating counterfeits to mislead humans. Understand that Satan is not and never will be a “creator” of anything. God is the ONLY Creator who Created something from nothing. All Satan can do is use what exists and make a counterfeit. The only reason to make a counterfeit of anything is that the real is so good and wonderful, that people would be eager to get it.

false messiah in Brazil from dailymail.co.uk

Have you seen a counterfeit Gucchi bag, or a designer dress? In cities around the World the counterfeit market thrives, people love to buy a designer lookalike of anything without having to pay designer prices.

Counterfeit purses photo from axemplate.com

No one ever imitates something that was terrible to begin with. Who would buy an imitation of brand that was terrible? Who would want to follow a leader who had no one following him?  There are famous speakers who attract large followings and there are terrible speakers who’s speeches are given in empty halls with a handful of attendees that come because they feel obligated somehow. Which of these leaders is likely to inspire people to imitate him/her? So, as they say imitation is a form of flattery! Good imitation is designed to mislead people away from the real and the true.

Counterfeit and real photo from pinterest

Many people are fine with buying a counterfeit since that is all they will ever be able to afford. Perhaps for many products it really doesn’t matter. However, that is not the case with all things. I find imitation food items are never as good as real ones. For example imitation chicken made of plant food. While it isn’t harmful, it doesn’t taste like real chicken to me. Likewise, I prefer a regular hotdog to a vegetraian hotdog. Vegetarians satisfy themselves with the plant based ones and that is fine, but it is not for everyone.

Counterfeits are dangerous when it comes to God, and His Word. In material and earthly things the choice is of less consequence. In the matter of spiritual decisions your choice determines  your eternal destination. You pick wrong and you end up damning your own soul. Follow the wrong god or the wrong leader teaching heresy and you end up in the wrong place. The apostle Paul found people in Galatia were very easily being led away into false teachings. He warns them saying:

Galatians 1: 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!(CSB)

Understand Jesus did not come to damn anyone’s soul, but the Soverign Savior will never force His choice on anyone. People choose between heaven and hell.

John 3:  16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.(CSB)

So, the fact that Jesus warned of this, is because He knew many would want to mislead people pretending to be messiah. These would be false teachers. In my lifetime alone I have seen many leaders claim they have the truth of Christ and yet they are false teachers teaching heresy. Be warned! Be discerning!! Be alert and aware!!! This is the warning from Jesus. To discern the truth one needs to know the truth. You do not have to study all the counterfeits, only the one real.

Sitting in the church pew for decades and being dependent on the pastor to be your only feeding source can lead to big trouble. The Word should be in your possession, in your daily routine, in your mind and in your heart. If you know the Word by reading, understanding and studying it, no one will be able to mislead you, for you own the standard by which to assess the teaching you hear on TV, radio or even your church. False teachers and messiah’s prey on the weak and vulnerable for they are easy to mislead. Your compass is your Bible! With daily prayer for understanding, wisdom and direction, you will not be led astray and lose direction.

false messiah sun myung moon from ucmdi

I could give you examples like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon, and many others that had the charisma, the charm to attract many to the cults they created. There are many false religions that have started with the leader claiming to be a savior. Remember, a counterfeit is not any good if it does not resemble the real. I even know of one in India who claimed to be the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are also false teachers who claim they have special anointings that really are not given by the Holy Spirit, but the unuspecting and undiscerning get swept by emotion and led away as dumb sheep.

Listen to the caution Jesus gives. He warned us that these false messiahs would multiply in the last days. If you wonder why, it is because Satan knows his time is short. Satan knows the Bible better than most humans, and he knows the character of God firsthand better than us humans. He knows he loses and that his end will be in the Lake of Fire, so he works hard to get as many of us humans to take down with him.

As Jesus instructed, the disciples took note and warned others.

2 Peter 2: 1There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. 3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.(NASB)

False messiah in Siberia photo from ratherexposethem.blogspot.com

I can assure you the church at large has plenty of false teachers who have infiltrated the folds like wolves in sheep’s clothing who can and do devour many dumb sheep.

What can you do?

Don’t be dumb!!

Matthew 7: 15“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit.(CSB)

I have heard this many times, “The church is full of hypicrites so I don’t want to go.”

I have news: there are many more hypocrites outside the church than in the church! If that is your reason (or excuse) for not going, check your own self, you don’t want to be a hypocrite yourself . . . do you?!

You should go to a good Bible believing, and Bible preaching/teaching church where there is good fellowship among believers. You will find a wonderful family to be a part of!

I told you I would also give you some of my sources that I learn from as we continue, so here is one: Dr. Chuck Missler, who left for heaven not too long ago, was for more than two decades my most infuential teacher. I have been blessed by God with many wonderful teachers, but none were better than Dr. Missler. I still have his teachings and watch, listen and read. You can find his videos on Youtube. His ministry that continues to disseminate his material is called Koinonia house, or KHouse. Dr. Missler used to challenge his students to be like the people of Berea whom the Bible describes as follows:

Acts 17: 11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men.(CSB)

The people of Berea listened to the teaching of Paul, but before accepting it, they went home and looked up to study the Scripture for themselves. Only once Scripture confirmed what they had heard did they accept Paul’s teaching. Following this good leader, I do the same. I challenge you to study and see if what I say makes sense. if I say something that does not match the Bible, then do not listen, walk away and be done with me. But if what I say matches up with what you see, then accept and follow along.

Dr. Chuck Missler from YouTube

Please understand this is not to be an exhaustive study in Prophecy, volumes have been written on the subject by scholars I myself respect and learn from . . . this is rather a simplified version for the average reader who may not have much knowledge of the Bible, but is hungry to learn.

I think all around the World today people are seeing conditions get worse day by day, and many would like to know what is ahead and that is what I wish to address.

I will say more on discerning so you can recognize a false teacher in my next post. Stay tuned!

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