How to Mask Out a Fake Preacher, Prophets

Out here today, there are many preachers, pastors, prophets, and other leaders of the church claiming to be speaking the Lord’s word but preaching and teaching lies instead.

The Bible has already warned us about this, and we, as believers, shouldn’t be worried as it must happen to show that it is towards the end of the age as the Gospel, according to Matthew, tells us.

“Be on your guard and do not let anyone deceive you,” Jesus warns (Matthew 24:4).

Thus, the holy book gives us the tools to tell who’s who and point out some of these fake preachers and prophets in our society today. Here is how you can know them;

1. They preach water but drink wine

To everyone whose conscience is clear, as a general rule of thumb, do what they say unless they are hypocrites, and Jesus, our saviour, warned against hypocrisy when he talked about the Pharisees, who considered themselves holier than thou in the context that they held top religious positions at that time and conducted themselves with pride.

To preach water but drink wine means to practice the opposite of what you say, and he who died on the cross spoke against these Pharisees and teachers of the law, terming them “blind guides,” leading people away from the path of truth.

The false prophets and preachers are no different as they are like the Pharisees of today. They tie on people’s loads that are heavy to carry, yet they are not ready to help them carry these loads.

The Bible says do not commit adultery, and they are the first to do so. How many preachers have been found with other men’s wives? These are false gospel teachers.

And it is not limited to only that. If you have to put up with a pastor who is often on the social and moral part of wrongs, stealing, lying, and doing all manner of things considered behaviorally defective, they might be spreading lies from the pulpit.

2. Oh! Their love for money

Micah, a minor prophet in the Bible, cried out about false prophets who promised peace to those who paid them and threatened war to those who didn’t (Micah 3:5).

This is seen today in many Christian churches where pastors and self-proclaimed prophets have set a limit (based on the prevailing economic conditions, inflation, and exchange rate) on the size of offerings and tithes supposed to be given in their church, and the war is; if you are not willing, don’t attend the sermons or the church meetings.

Really? When God loves and blesses a cheerful giver? Will their congregants cheerfully give to something like forced taxation? Obviously, no, and this is one unmistakable characteristic of every false preacher, as they have put money ahead of service to God’s people.

In the parable of the Shrewd Manager, Jesus said, “No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a servant will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

3. Their visions don’t come true

Deuteronomy 18:21- plainly states, “You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet’s message does not come from the Lord. If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear him.”

Prophet Ezekiel also condemned these people who gave false visions and misleading prophecies, and when God spoke to him, He told him to tell the Israelites that these foolish prophets were doomed (Ezekiel 13-).

4. Magic water, white cloth

Christian living is living like Jesus Christ himself, and these preachers who are giving out clothes and magic water in their churches are all false prophets. Why?

First, these items are being sold. The motive? Of course, the money. That is what they are all after. But they will defend themselves that oh, Jesus was baptized by water, and the holy water is its sign, but all these are pure lies. Why? Jesus is final, and he baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire, not water.

Some say that the pieces of cloth they give out are a symbol of Jesus’s powerful clothes in the case whereby the woman who touched his cloak got healed of the severe bleeding that had thrown her into agony for 12 years, but in the real sense, it is not the act of touching the cloth that healed her but more than that — evident when Jesus said to her: “My daughter, your faith has made you well.”

These preachers who are trying to do this are false messengers of God as don’t they know that the soldiers who crucified Jesus Christ divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing? The story is on Mark 15:24-.

Moreover, Prophet Ezekiel hard warned against these kinds of prophets who “sew magic wristbands for everyone and make magic scarves for everyone to wear on their heads so that they can have power over other people’s lives.” (Ezekiel 13:17)

5. To them, miracles are everything

Jesus performed many miracles in his life on earth, from changing water into wine to healing the sick and casting out demons, but he was not working on his own authority as he said in his last days to his arrest and crucifixion.

And through him, God, and the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles also worked many miracles and wonders, and everyone was filled with awe, as recorded in the book of Acts.

In the Old Testament, the prophets also did wonders, but we’re warned in Deuteronomy 13 that prophets and interpreters of dreams may promise a miracle or wonder to lead us into worshipping false Gods, and that is what Paul echoes in his Second Letter to Corinthians in which he warns Christians to stay on guard lest they get deceived the same way Eve was tricked by Satan’s clever lies.

He says that false prophets perform miracles and charge for it, and they are liable to spread the gospel of another Christ who didn’t die on the cross for our sins. They preach division and falsehood, and they are overtaken by the love of material things. Open your eyes!