Did you know a false prophet can actually give a correct prophecy? However, we still must not follow that prophet if the source of their power is demonic, says Pastor Joshua Reyes.
“False prophets and false prophecies are not the same thing,” Reyes says. “A false prophet will either prophesy out of an evil and prideful heart or out of deception. The prophecy itself may be correct, but the spirit behind it is unclean, making the prophecy false because the source is tainted. Always consider the source of the prophetic word.
“Paul and Silas were being followed by a demonized slave girl who was declaring that they were men of God to speak to people about the Messiah. She spoke truth, but the spirit behind it was demonic, so they silenced her and cast the demon out of her.”
Reyes also says we need to be careful to discern prophecies spoken over us because people can misinterpret what God tells them. Should we interpret those words from God literally or metaphorically?
For example, though Reyes is not musically inclined, someone walked up to him and said because God showed them a guitar, Reyes would therefore play the guitar for the Lord. But then another person walked up to him and said they saw a violin, and that meant God was telling Reyes he was an instrument God was going to play, and beautiful music would flow out of his life. The former was misinterpreted literally, while the latter was properly interpreted as a metaphor.
Just because someone misinterprets a word from God, however, does not mean they’re a false prophet, Reyes says on the Legacy podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network. And false prophets may even be so deeply deceived that they aren’t even deliberately misleading people, he says. Regardless, we must be on our guard, pray and use judgment as to whether to take someone’s prophecy over us as truth.
“Oftentimes false prophets are greedy and will prostitute these false gifts and prophetic words that they have so that they can have selfish financial gain,” Reyes says. ” … So false prophets will appear to have an anointing and [be] spiritually gifted because of the false miracles and signs that they perform. The enemy uses false prophets and prophecies to specifically deceive God’s people. … [But false prophets] can be redeemed if they submit to biblical correction and discipleship to get on the right track.”
To listen to the rest of the episode titled Recognizing False Prophets & Prophecies, click here.
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