TGIF-False Prophets, Signs & Wonders
by Wes Mason
Deuteronomy 13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 “If a prophet
arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a
wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder which he spoke
(foretold) to you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us follow after other
gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve and worship
them,’3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or
that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your
God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind
and all your soul [your entire being]. 4 You shall walk
after the Lord your God
and you shall fear [and worship] Him [with awe-filled reverence and profound
respect], and you shall keep His commandments and you shall listen to His
voice, and you shall serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 But
that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has
counseled rebellion against the Lord your
God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of
slavery, to draw you away from the way in which the Lord your God has commanded you to
walk. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
God gave Israel very strict commands regarding the dangers of
false prophets. If someone says thus saith the Lord
and it does not come to pass they are NOT a prophet. It’s easy to ignore this
person and everything they say. Yet sadly there are still masses of people who
follow after false prophets and teachers both then and now. Many today have a
long history of such bogus claims. In spite of overwhelming evidence of their
errors and lies, they still have followers. May the Lord open the eyes of their
heart to know his truth.
A very real danger comes from people claiming supernatural
powers and they speak a word that impacts the hearer often in a startling
manner. Psychics, false prophets and teachers, diviners etc. can show
people startling things. Things that can and do come true.
Yet those events do not mark the individual or group as someone appointed by
God to be his spokesman. “Signs and wonders” can be and are imitated by Satan
for the purpose of misleading us away from the Lord and his eternal truth as
Moses warned us in the previous verses.
If you remember the magicians of pharaohs court reproduced
several of the miracles of Moses and Arron. Yet they
clearly were not of God
There are many stories floating on the internet about so called
miraculous events in people’s lives. Dreams, visions, angelic visitations, near
death experiences and claims of visiting heaven and hell or out of body
experiences all are shared often with a great deal of sincerity. What are we to
make of them, how do we judge them?
First of all if you hear them or read such claims PRAY!! Pray
that the Lord will open your understanding to discern the truth of what is
being said.
Use the bible as the standard to compare
the claims being made. If the one making a claim uses the bible its often a lone verse or passage taken out of context to
support their position. The bible is the whole counsel of God revealed to
humanity. If the person making the claim is speaking Gods truth, the Holy
Spirit will guide you into that understanding as the spirit and the word are
ALWAYS in harmony and never contradict each other. In order to let God’s word
be a lamp unto your feet you have to read and study it to know his
truth.
Who is getting the attention, praise and glory for the claims?
What are the fruits of that person’s life? Are they honest,
moral, ethical, do they live a life that reflects the love, mercy, truth and
grace of Christ to Gods glory? Are the fruits of the Holy Spirit evident in
their lives? Do they love the Lord with their all?
Or are they being enriched by merchandizing those claims? Are
they selling books, tapes, CD, DVDs special “anointed” objects that bring
blessings? Do they have a huge house, private jet, boats, cars, motorcycles? Do
they live large and use God to justify it? Be very wary of such people.
There is an old saying, if you want hear God speak, read the
bible, if you want hear him speak out loud, read the bible out loud.
Psalm 119:105(KJV)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path.
May God keep us on his paths of truth and
righteous forever.
Amen
Wes Mason