Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

Week 3, June 21, 2026

LESSON 3

Identifying a False Prophet

Lesson Text:

Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Micah 3:5-7; Jeremiah 23:21-32

Memory Verse
"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible."
Matthew 24:24

Key Terms
authentication • the process or action of proving or showing something to be true, genuine, or valid.
self-aggrandizement • the action or process of promoting oneself as being powerful or important.
transactional • interested only in what one can get out of a person or situation; business-like; mercenary.

Suggested Emphasis

We have considered before the role that a genuine prophet of God has as a conduit of divine revelation to the people (see Lesson 2). God saw the prophets as having an integral role in correcting the turpitude of the nation. "If they had stood before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds" (Jer. 23:22, NLT). True prophets, therefore, helped the people do what's right. False prophets, conversely, contributed to the people's proclivity for sin: "for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up" (Is. 9:16, ESV). So, it is all-important to learn how to distinguish true prophets from the counterfeit. In this lesson we will examine three markers that identify false prophets.

Emphasis 1:

Someone Who Teaches the
People to Follow False Religion

As Moses prepared the children of Israel to possess the Promised Land, he warned them of error that would rise in their midst. "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams" (Deut. 13:1-3a, ESV). Notice that the so-called prophet gives a prophecy that actually comes to pass. Yet if that prophet enticed his hearers to follow other gods, he was entirely disqualified and was deserving of execution (Deut. 13:5). Moreover, God said that a situation like this was a test of the Israelites' faithfulness: "For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 13:3b, ESV). Moses admonished the people that they were expected to keep their covenant promises despite the temptations they would encounter. They had to "hold fast" to the faith. It is of no consequence that such a prophet prophesied accurately. Accuracy is not authentication; faithfulness to revealed truth is much more important. So, by implication, evidence of a true prophet is calling the people to right relationship with their God.

Emphasis 2:

Someone Who Prophesies for Material Gain

Throughout Israel's history, the Lord rebuked instances of destabilizing behavior by the prophets. For example, some 700 years after the time of Moses, the prophet Micah had a dire warning for his contemporaries, "Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry 'Peace' when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore, it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God" (Mic. 3:5-7, ESV). The message was specifically to counsellors of the princes and rulers. These "palace prophets," since they were sustained at the king's table, had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. They wouldn't speak truth to power because it threatened their standing at court. Moreover, Micah accused them of being so transactional that they would curse anyone who refused to give them material support (Mic. 3:5b). The judgment pronounced against them is that whatever meager spiritual insight they currently possessed would be taken away.

In an important sense, this passage appears to be discussing a different character of falsehood than what Moses warned about. The individuals Micah challenged were not actively trying to seduce God's people into false worship. They were leading the people astray as a consequence of prostituting their gift for personal gain. They were "following the way of Balaam... who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Pet. 2:15).

Emphasis 3:

Someone Who Prophesies
for Attention and Status

Finally, another type of false prophet is the person that sought self-aggrandizement by the display of a prophetic gift. Jeremiah famously exposed these charlatans. "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal?" (Jer. 23:25-27). The Lord's purpose is not to disparage dreams as a prophetic medium; God affirmed that He may speak through dreams (Num. 12:6), among other places. However, "too much activity gives you restless dreams" (Eccl. 5:3a, N LT), as our subconscious minds often ruminate over the busyness of our days. Clearly, dreams are not always trustworthy oracles. Nonetheless, God allowed prophets to tell their dreams as dreams, but they were supposed to accurately speak His word. The Word of God is weightier than dreams and visions: "What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD" (Jer. 23:28b). This ultimately is why Jeremiah accused the dreamers of "reckless boasting" (Jer. 23:32, NASB). Like Job's friend Eliphaz (Job 4:12-14), the dreamers drew more attention to themselves for having "supernatural power." But someone trying to exalt himself in this way "shall not profit this people at all."

Missions Application Questions

Why can we say that accuracy of predictions is not enough authentication for a prophet?
What character flaw was exposed in the court prophets in ancient Israel?
How does ambition and a hunger for attention corrupt prophetic gifts?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray for prophets to remain humble in the communication of God's message to his people
Let us pray to discern the character of false prophets so that we can avoid them.
Let us pray that the Church exercises discipline against false prophets.