It is a fact of life that there will always arise some individuals among us who will claim to be prophets. Whether such claims are genuine or not, is another matter. The Lord our God, therefore, set a litmus test for humanity to distinguish a true prophet from a false prophet. He put in place one accounting equation based on acts of prophesy.
BY PROSPER TINGINI
In Deuteronomy 18 verse 18-22, the Lord spoke to the people through Moses, saying, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And if the people were to ask, ‘How may we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass, that is a word which the Lord has not spoken, the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need not be afraid of him”.
Whoever claims to be a prophet of the Lord and at any time makes a prophesy and if his words do not come true, then that prophet is a false prophet. If on the other hand the words of the prophet always come out true in all instances, then people should take heed of that prophet. He is a genuine prophet of the Lord. A true prophet is an inspired revealer of divine will. He speaks the truth and is a foreteller of the future and possesses a second sight not found in ordinary people.
Some people claim to be prophets for ulterior motives. They are bold enough to manufacture some predictions in the hope that what they say might happen. To them it is like a game of cards, wherein sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. They are gamblers who prey on people’s minds to derive particular benefits for themselves.
Prophets might also want to manifest themselves in various domains. Some can come as representatives of other spiritual realms, like the ancestry sphere. Others will claim to be reincarnations of some transmigratory beings of the past life. Yet others will exhibit the prophecy of some unknown gods. This group of prophets is not of the kingdom of the Lord our God.
It is quite common these days for some individuals to claim that they are representatives of Jesus Christ. They manifest themselves claiming many things which do not come to pass. What is the motivation behind such people? Why do the false prophets do what they do? What drives these people? Scriptures of both the Old Testament and the New Testament sections of the Bible speak of the proliferation of false prophets who have or will invade our planet earth. Their motives can vary, but what is a fact is that they will always be there amongst our midst. It is a prophecy already made known to mankind.
One common feature among all the false prophets is to attract a following. While they will seek to glorify themselves, they will always seek to gain an advantage from their followers. The most prominent gain is that of seeking to accrue wealth in whatever form. They are a new breed of religious entrepreneurs. They are in it for business purpose only. They are in it for the money.
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There is an invasion by a new active breed of “prophets” whose sole purpose is to fleece the public of their funds and property. They claim to be messengers of Jesus Christ and they will discourage people from following the laws and commandments of the Lord our God. They claim those commandments have lost their meanings and have been replaced by the new teachings of Christ, and they speak only of one commandment; that of loving your neighbour as yourself as if it is the only commandment spoken of by Jesus Christ. What is then surprising however is that, when it comes to offerings to the Lord, they then switch to the Old Testament section of the Bible to quote the laws on offerings, which are amongst the very laws they condemn. This is because not much is written about offerings in the New Testament. Jesus Christ spoke very little on offerings. In Zimbabwe for example, certain prominent prophets have devised methods to extract as much money as possible from their followers. Some charge as much as $300, just to have an audience with the “prophet”. Those who offer more will get special seats in the church or ministry. What an abomination!
Does the Lord our God classify people according to the size of their offerings? How about the poor or the unemployed who cannot afford to offer much, yet they are true believers of the Lord our God or true believers of Jesus Christ? Is people’s faith now measured by a person’s purse? How about the example given by Jesus Christ of the poor old woman who offered her last penny yet her offering exceeded that of all others? Beware of this new breed of religions entrepreneurs who come to people masquerading as religious prophets. Beware of messengers of the spiritual realm, of the dark world, whose specialty is in demons and evil spirits. Some of these are in the same league as practitioners of augury, witchcraft, wizardry and sorcery. They are an abomination to the Lord our God.
In Luke 21 verse 8, Jesus Christ warned, “Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he’, or saying, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them”. Mankind should take heed of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also in the same vein, the Lord our God warned in Jeremiah 23 verses 16-17, saying, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you’”. Let our eyes be opened so that we can be able to separate the false prophets from the genuine ones.
Prosper Tingini is a religious writer. He compiled a book titled, God’s Constitution For Mankind: The laws and commandments. His contact details are: 0771 260 195 or email: [email protected]
