Hello everyone, this is a great topic! Lets remember Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal on the mount. How many false prophets were there? The king of Israel believed the prophets of Baal or he wouldn't have had them working for him. The true prophet is always in the minority and only does what God commands. Who was that? Elijah. Scripture ref 1 Kings 18:19-39
My studies on this subject have led me to 7 main biblical tests to prove whether a prophet is true or false.
#1 Isaiah 8:19-20 Isa 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. In other words if a prophet is in disagreement with the Law of God and the testimony of Jesus, he is false.
#2 Jer 28:9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him. Here we see that the prophets' prediction must happen.
#3 Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Here our Lord tells us that by their fruits you will know them. Do they live according to God's will or in their private life do they do their own thing?
#4 1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
#5 Num 12:6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Clearly the Lord will be known by the prophet, hence will obey. Jesus said to us " I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."
#6 Dan 10:15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.
Dan 10:16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.
Dan 10:17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.
Here we can see Daniel fell to the ground, had no strength, and had no breath yet he could still speak. This is a very unusual feat.
#7 Deu 18:22 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. Clearly if the prophecy does not come true the prophet is a fake.
In summnation, a true prophet must speak and live according to the Word of the Lord, his prophecy must come true, no strength retained, speak without breathing, What are his fruits?
There are more tests, 11 in all, biblically speaking. Furthermore, if the prophet fails even one test, he is not a true prophet of God.
On one other post, it was stated that David was not a prophet. I give you Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Thankyou
Notice Jesus calls David a prophet.

Welcome aboard BibleSeeker.

A good 7 that you've posted. I wondered if Deut 13 was one on the list that make up your 11?
When what the prophet or dreamer of dreams or the worker of signs and wonders, does or says 'does' come to pass, but they try to lead you to a different god or ways that are different than what God had/has commanded of His people.
Seems these are the ones that Jesus warned against the most when He spoke of the last days deceptions. When it's 99% truth and that 1% of spiritual arsenic - when if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived. Where Daniel said may happen - Dan 11:35 "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed."

This section reminded me of this "Inter-Faith" movement that seems to be in full force where I live -
Deu 13:7,8 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, 'from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth'; thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him

Thankyou for your response. Yes, I agree Deut 13 is most certainly relevant. Also, Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? I understand that not only the fruits of their outward actions are relevant but also their inward thoughts. It is possible to act a christian in the eyes of man without a complete surrender to Christ. God will know his condition, but it is harder for us to see it. This individual will be much more difficult to identify as a false prophet. I believe that's why God gave us more than one test. As you pointed out, "If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." God assures us with the little word "if" that it isn't possible, provided we are one of His sheep. Why is this a fact? In Joh 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. Again, there is an "if". We must do His will, then we will know. What is His will? Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. I understand this to mean the ten commandments that God calls perfect. Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Thankyou for reading.

Good thoughts. After much wrestling with this topic over the years, I believe the best test of prophecy is this: does this word sound like something Jesus would say if Jesus were here to say it. Does the word reflect the heart and mind of Christ?

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Jimmy H

Good words Friend, with just one comment about the law. All the law and the prophets are summed up in this - to Love The LORD your GOD with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and to Love others as yourself. I believe that Jesus went much further than the 10 Commmandments in describing each one - such as, "you have heard, love your neighbor but hate your enemy but I say.............." and "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." --- regarding just one of the laws - Thou shalt not kill.
He covered the 'Thou shalt not commit adultery' by adding - Whosoever looketh after a woman and lusts in his heart has commited adultery already.
It appears that the Law of The Spirit is Loving GOD & others. James calls it the Roysl Law, as you know. GOD commanded this in the OT in Lev & Deut but they concentrated on "the laws" and added quite a few more to them, yet the love of GOD and others was what was lacking in them, Jesus said. If we Love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and stength and love others as ourselves, how could we grieve Him in Any way?


I was happy to see you bring up John 7:17 as I was just reading a debate about "our wills" last night. This verse actually reads in the Greek, "If any man 'willeth'/wills to do His will ........" - there's a difference that brings hope to the struggling.

I believe GOD gives His Sheep 'discernment' as well. When all other tests are passed, there is still the assurance of a faithful Father giving us His Spirit of Truth, to testify of truth and expose the lies. Bless our Very Good Shepherd.

Thank you for the conversation and welcome again.

There is therefore no degree of delusion higher than that which is evidenced by those who profess to teach from the divinely inspired Scriptures that the immediate, continual illumination and working of the Spirit in men’s hearts ceased when the canon of Scripture was complete.

To deny the present prophetic gift in the Church is to deny also that very manifestation of Christ today to His own which the Scriptures teach is the only means to the reality of gospel Christianity. Is this not a denial of the very heart and power of the Christian faith? The fulfillment of Christ’s promise, “I will manifest myself to you” (John 14.21), brought the power of His presence through the Holy Spirit into the early church.

“And with great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection... and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (Acts 4.33, 5.14). Christ was surely living His life through these early members of the church who were aptly described as “these who have turned the world upside down” (Acts 17.6). We need faith to expect as real a fulfillment of Christ’s promise for today!

All the above was written by William Law, "An Humble, Earnest and Affectionate Address to the Clergy" (1761), and was renamed "The Power of the Spirit" by Andrew Murray; the quote is from page 69.

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Lisa