“At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people; and many people’s love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah.” (Matthew 24:10-12)
“Dear friends, don’t trust every spirit. On the contrary, test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1)
“Beware of the false prophets! They come to you wearing sheep’s clothing, but underneath they are hungry wolves!” (Matthew 7:15)
I had a dream the other night, and as with most dreams, it was somewhat disjointed. I was with someone, I think it was a man, although I don’t know who, in a vehicle. I was in the passenger seat watching what could best be described as a drive-in theater, although it wasn’t a movie, it was a talk show. The ‘screen’ was the side of a mountain, and the guest was a woman who claimed she communicated directly with God. The host requested that the woman ask God if he would wear an Engelbert Humperdinck t-shirt when he came to earth. She closed her eyes, and with great anticipation, the audience waited. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and declared that God would indeed wear an Engelbert Humperdinck t-shirt when he came to earth. The audience cheered loudly, clapping and shouting because they believed they had heard from God.
You may find this amusing; I do not. The religious community believes and cheers on absurd and mindless claims made by false prophets. The next morning, I read Job and came away with a new understanding; it became apparent the three ‘friends’ were actually false prophets. I think it’s important to know what God said to these three friends before analyzing their words. “After Adonai had spoken these words to Job, Adonai said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is blazing against you and your two friends, because, unlike my servant Job, you have not spoken rightly about me…My servant Job will pray for you – because him I will accept – so that I won’t punish you as your boorishness deserves; because you have not spoken rightly about me, as my servant Job has.”” (Job 42:7-8)
Job’s friends made statements about God that were true (Job 11:7-8, 22:12, 36:26-32), although this did not mean God was speaking through them. The same characteristics of false prophets are evident today.
These false prophets claimed they were hearing from God. Eliphaz: “For a word was stealthily brought to me, my ear caught only a whisper of it.” (Job 4:12) Zophar: “…a spirit past my understanding gives me a reply.” (Job 20:3) Elihu: “For I am full of words; the spirit within me compels me.” (Job 32:18) “Bear with me a little, and I will show you that there is more to say on God’s behalf.” (Job 36:2)
Job’s friends had the attitude that Job deserved this calamity and describe evil with veiled accusations regarding him. “The wicked is in torment all his life…He raises his hand against God and boldly defies Shaddai…he will not remain rich, his wealth will not endure…He will not escape from darkness…For the community of the ungodly is sterile; fire consumes the tents of bribery. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deceit.” (Job 15:20-35) There are similar descriptions in Job 18:5-21 and 20:4-29.
The friends alluded to these descriptions as being applicable to Job, although in chapter 22, Job’s friend Eliphaz was straightforward with his accusations. “…you kept your kinsman’s goods as collateral for no reason, you stripped the poorly clothed of what clothing they have, you didn’t give water to the weary to drink, you withheld food from the hungry…No wonder there are snares all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you…” (Job 22:6-11) Elihu also directly accused Job of wrongdoing. “Is there a man like Job, who drinks in scoffing like water, who keeps company with evildoers and goes with wicked men, since he thinks, ‘It profits a person nothing to be in accord with God’?” “I wish Job would be kept on trial forever, because he answers like wicked men. For now to his sin he adds rebellion; he [mockingly] claps his hands among us and keeps adding to his words against God.” (Job 34:7-9, 36-37)
With these words fresh in our mind, let’s remember what God said about Job. “Adonai asked the Adversary, “Did you notice my servant Job, that there’s no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil…” (Job 2:3)
Job’s friends accused Job of deceit… “Your iniquity is teaching you how to speak, and deceit is your language of choice.” (Job 15:5) … and while accusing him of evil, they offered advice and hope. “If you will earnestly seek God and plead for Shaddai’s favor, if you are pure and upright; then he will rouse himself for you and fulfill your needs.” (Job 8:5-6) “If you will set your heart right, if you will spread out your hands toward him, if you will put your iniquity at a distance…then when you lift up your face, there will be no defect; you will be firm and free from fear.” (Job 11:13-15) “Learn to be at peace with [God]; in this way good will come [back] to you.” (Job 22:21, also verses 22-30)
Elihu makes the point. “Be careful; turn away from wrongdoing; for because of this, you have been tested by affliction.” (Job 36:21) These false prophets blamed Job for his calamity, attributing his misfortune to sin. We know this wasn’t true of Job. This behavior is reminiscent of false prophets throughout history and today, and also explains the mistaken belief of Job’s friends: ‘You’re suffering because of your sin and if you simply repent, God will do amazing things for you.’
The friends prophesied good things to come. “For you will forget your misery;…your life will be brighter than noon;…You will be confident, because there is hope…Many will seek your favor.” (Job 11:16-19) “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.” (Job 8:21-22) While God did in fact bless Job, his friends did not know this. Maybe they spoke partial truth and maybe they were right about some things, but remember what God said about Job’s friends; “you have not spoken rightly about me.”
Job recognized that his friends were not speaking for God. “but they [try to] turn [my] night into day, [saying,] ‘Light is near!’ – in the face of darkness.” (Job 17:12) God is speaking about false prophets in Ezekiel 13; “My hand will be against the prophets who have futile visions and produce false divinations…they have led my people astray by saying there is peace when there is no peace…” (Ezekiel 13:9-10) “…their dreams convey delusions, and the comfort they offer is in vain…” (Zechariah 10:2)
Job did not lose faith in God. “Even now, my witness is in heaven; my advocate is there on high.” (Job 16:19) “But I know that my Redeemer lives…” (Job 19:25) Job knew God. “But [God] has no equal, so who can change him? What he desires, he does.” (Job 23:13) And Job was steadfast in his trust. “Yet I am not cut off by the darkness; he has protected me from the deepest gloom.” (Job 23:17)
For centuries the religious community has been conditioned to believe lies. “…Yesha’yahu [Isaiah] was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites – as it is written, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’” (Mark 7:6-7, Isaiah 29:13)
““Don’t touch this!” “Don’t eat that!” “Don’t handle the other!” Such prohibitions are concerned with things meant to perish by being used [not by being avoided!], and they are based on man-made rules and teachings. They do indeed have the outward appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed religious observances, false humility and asceticism; but they have no value at all in restraining people from indulging their old nature.” (Colossians 2:21-23)
How does one become entangled in the web of false prophets? Jesus addressed this issue. “I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t accept me; if someone else comes in his own name, him you will accept. How can you trust? You’re busy collecting praise from each other, instead of seeking praise from God only.” (John 5:43-44)
Believing false prophesy begins by deciding to hear only what you want to hear. “For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear.” (II Timothy 4:3) This leads to, “I saw among the young men there, among those who don’t think for themselves, a young fellow devoid of all sense” (Proverbs 7:7). And finally, “If anyone teaches differently and does not agree with the sound precepts of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and to the doctrine that is in keeping with godliness, he is swollen with conceit and understands nothing. Instead, he has a morbid desire for controversies and word-battles, out of which come jealousy, dissension, insults, evil suspicions, and constant wrangling among people whose minds no longer function properly and who have been deprived of the truth, so that they imagine that religion is a road to riches.” (I Timothy 6:3-5) Itching ears → don’t think for themselves = mind no longer functions properly.
Believing lie upon lie depletes a person of all discernment. Finding truth comes from a personal relationship with God outside of religion’s man-made laws. There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Job understood this when he told God, “I had heard about you with my ears, but now my eye sees you;” (Job 42:5)
False prophets do not speak for God, promise unrealistic and ungodly hope, and give advice from what they know about God. Seek him out, he wants to be found. “When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me whole-heartedly;” (Jeremiah 29:13) God will return and set up his throne in Jerusalem. “For Adonai has chosen Zion, he has wanted it as his home. “This is my resting-place forever, I will live here because I so much want to.”” (Psalms 132:13-14) But he will not be wearing an Engelbert Humperdinck t-shirt.
*All scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless noted otherwise. Some names in the Complete Jewish Bible have been translated to English.