False prophets

1. FALSE PROPHETS
• Pretended to be sent by God
Jer 23:17-18 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and
they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath
marked his word, and heard it?
Jer 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
• Not sent or commissioned by God
Jer 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither
have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination,
and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Jer 23:21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Jer 29:31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the
Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to
trust in a lie:
• Made use of by God to prove Israel
(Deut 13:3) Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the
LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with
all your soul.
• Described as
- Light and treacherous
(Zeph 3:4) Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they
have done violence to the law.
- Covetous
(Mic 3:11) The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets
thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none
evil can come upon us.
- Crafty
(Matt 7:15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves.
- Drunken
(Isa 28:7) But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest
and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the
way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

2. - Immoral and profane
Jer 23:11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith
the LORD.
Jer 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk
in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all
of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
• Women sometimes acted as
Neh 6:14 My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the
prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear .
Rev 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat
things sacrificed unto idols.
• Called foolish prophets
(Ezek 13:2) Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them
that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
• Compared to foxes in the desert
Crafty, mischievous, and ravenous; always scheming something for their own interest; while they
would not risk their persons to avert the mischief which they had caused.
(Ezek 13:4) O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
• Compared to wind
(Jer 5:13) And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto
them.
• Influenced by evil spirits
(1Kgs 22:21-22) And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
22) And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the
mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
• Prophesied
- Falsely
(Jer 5:31) The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to
have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

3. - Lies in the name of the Lord
(Jer 14:14) Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and
divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
- Out of their own heart
Jer 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto
you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
Jer 23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of
the deceit of their own heart;
Ezek 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that
prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
- In the name of false gods
(Jer 2:8) The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors
also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not
profit.
- Peace, when there was no peace
Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when
there is no peace.
Jer 23:17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say
unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
Ezek 13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace;
and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:
Mic 3:5 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth,
and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
• Often practised divination and witchcraft
Jer 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither
have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination,
and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Ezek 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies
unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
Acts 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false
prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
• Often pretended to dreams
Jer 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak
my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

4. Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and
cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them:
therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
• Often deceived by God as a judgment
(Ezek 14:9) And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that
prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people
Israel.
• The people
- Led into error
Jer 23:13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people
Israel to err.
Mic 3:5 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth,
and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
- Made to forget God's name by
(Jer 23:27) Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man
to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
- Deprived of God's word by
(Jer 23:30) Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one
from his neighbour.
- Taught profaneness and sin by
(Jer 23:14-15) I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and
walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness:
they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15) Therefore thus
saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make
them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the
land.
- Oppressed and defrauded by
(Ezek 22:25) There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the
prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her
many widows in the midst thereof.
- Warned not to listen to
Deut 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the
LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all
your soul.
Jer 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto
you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

5. Jer 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to
your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of
Babylon:
Jer 27:15-16 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might
drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 16 Also I spake to
the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets
that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be brought
again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
- Encouraged and praised
Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to
have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false
prophets.
• Mode of trying and detecting
Deut 13:1-2 1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a
wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after
other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deut 18:21-22 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not
spoken? 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.
1John 4:1-3 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. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 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.
• Predicted to arise
- Before destruction of Jerusalem
Matt 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Matt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
- In the latter times
(2Pet 2:1) But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and
bring upon themselves swift destruction.

6. • Judgments denounced against
Jer 8:1-2 1 At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the
bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: 2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon,
and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they
have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered,
nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Jer 14:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent
them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those
prophets be consumed.
Jer 28:16-17 16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this
year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. 17 So Hananiah the prophet
died the same year in the seventh month.
Jer 29:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he
shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my
people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
• Involved the people in their own ruin
Isa 9:15-16 15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the
tail. 16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Jer 20:6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to
Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast
prophesied lies.
Ezek 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be
even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;