The Hallmarks of False Prophets and Teachers

“Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets]”.
Matthew 7:15-19 (AMP)
“But [in those days] false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will subtly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them, the way of truth will be maligned. 3 And in their greed, they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way]”.
2 Peter 1:1-3 (AMP)

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1 (AMP)

The warning scriptures above reflect the pervasive danger posed by false prophets and teachers all throughout the history of the church of God. The threat dates back several millennia before the birth of Jesus Christ. In the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, we encounter a personality called the serpent who twisted the commandments of God and inspired Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. This was the very first instance of a false teacher recorded in the bible. The word of God throughout the ages had been abused, assaulted, and attacked by false teachers and prophets, for temporal gains. The false prophets steal, kill and destroy the lives of many souls by intentional errors and manipulations of the holy scriptures. They promise false salvation.

“Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And [a]the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.” 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband [c]with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings”.
Genesis 4:1-7 (AMP)

Jesus Christ warned all his disciples on the threat of false prophets and false teachers to their faith and salvation. He gave them also the means by which they could be detected and exposed. Ironically, many false teachers seem to emanate from the body of Christ itself, they seem well-versed in the scriptures and the liturgy of the church. Hence, they are extremely dangerous once they metamorphose into false teachers or prophets and are difficult to discern. Ultimately, the Spirit of the false prophet and teachers will not triumph over the body of Christ as revealed in the book of Revelation.
20 And the beast (Antichrist) was seized and overpowered and with him the false prophet who, in his presence, had performed [amazing] signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image; these two were hurled alive into the lake of fire which blazes with brimstone.
Revelation 19:20 (AMP)

The Strategy of Deception by False Prophet

The first group of people who are prone to deception are unfaithfully professing Christians; these are people who are uncomfortable with some truth in the scripture, that condemns their way of life. This group easily fall prey to false prophets and teachers who champion their illicit desires and practises. The false teachers and false prophets offer psychological justification for them by massaging their egos with false doctrines and philosophies which are contrary to the commandments in the holy scriptures in other to gain followership, fame, and riches. They fail to understand that irrespective of what any man preaches to you, ultimately you are liable for your error in the sight of God.

“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold”.
2 Timothy 4:3 (AMP)

The second group of people targeted by false prophets are sincere believers who are faithfully serving God but are in the midst of the storm of affliction and troubles of life. They simply target your vulnerabilities due to the urgency to resolve the problem. They first give you words of encouragement from the scripture to disarm you, while they psychologically profile and assess the depth of your understanding and commitment to the Lord in other to devise an effective strategy of deception to capture your soul and money. Let us remember always that false prophets are extremely crafty and manipulative, they quickly adapt to cover their errors when exposed. They may suggest unscriptural solutions that border on rebellion against the commandments of God. Some are very brazen to suggest sexual defilement as a solution to your problem. The mission of the false prophets is to steal, kill and destroy something that is very precious in your life and family.

They deliberately twist the holy scripture into a psychological weapon to intimidate, gain control and
defraud their followers while building personal empires for themselves and their families in the name of the Lord. They may offer generic imprecise prophecies that is subject to myriads of interpretations which cannot be verified for authenticity. They are spiritual fraudsters who sell you sweet deceptive words in return for your money. They lead you astray from the path of peace, joy, and righteousness. They fabricate and introduce highly destructive false doctrines of their own imaginations and traditional beliefs to the people of God, to rob them of the wonderful blessings of Grace. They undermine the divine plan of salvation and bring reproach to the name of the Lord. They preach the doctrine inspired by demons. They incline men to chase after the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. They preach the doctrine of false prosperity and destroy the souls of men.
There are some notable false teachers mentioned in the Holy Scripture that subvert the faith of some believers in the New Testament through their doctrine. Hymenaeus and Philetus taught that the resurrection had already taken place thereby destroying the faith of some. The church’s history is littered with false predictions of the second coming of Jesus Christ. The sales of indulgences by the Catholic Church that are purported to grant you remission from temporal sins and reduce your punishment in purgatory based on the amount you paid were clearly false.
There is yet another subset of false prophets which are more diabolical than those using psychological manipulation to deceive people for material gain. This group deploy occult spiritual powers to perform signs and wonders to control the mind of people. On the surface, they preach and teach using the holy scriptures but they practise witchcraft and sorcery to gain legitimacy. Simon the sorcerer was reputed among the people of Samaria as a man with the great power of God, yet he was using sorcery to perform miracles and signs until he was exposed by the Apostles of Christ. The false prophet draws attention to themselves and not God, they dwell more on miracles and power and not righteousness. Ironically the messages of the false prophet appeal to the carnal mind and those who are ungrounded in the knowledge of God.
In the midst of all these, the Almighty God whose wisdom transcends all human understanding knows how to truncate the works of the false prophets and teachers in the life of people. He exposes their operations and lay them bare before the whole world, covering them with shame and humiliation.

“Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God [which He has laid] stands [sure and unshaken despite attacks], bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord stand apart from wickedness and withdraw from wrongdoing.”
2 Timothy 2:19
Let us test and measure every doctrine and revelation that we encounter with the gold standard of the scriptures according to the instructions of the Apostles. We are instructed to test the truth content of the message of every self-proclaimed teacher and prophet through the lenses of the Holy Scripture before we embrace their teachings. Jesus Christ instructed those false prophets and teachers may be discerned using the moral test of character, attitude, and behaviour. This implies that no matter how clever they are they will fail the test of virtues. They tend to boast in their anointing and brag about their achievements and not Christ, they patronise the name of our Lord Jesus to fleece the flock of God. They monetise miracles.

May the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding to discern false doctrines.

In conclusion, we must restrain the temptation to judge the entire church for corruption and deceit, despite the activities of some false prophets and teachers, there are countless multitudes of people serving God in all sincerity and truth.