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At first glance, Matthew 7:15 seems pretty simple, but underneath it speaks volumes. Jesus in Matthew 7:15 says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Sounds pretty simple—if you know who the false prophets are. And even if you know, depending on the circumstances, there’s a certain degree of work in identifying who the false prophets are. Those who are knowledgeable in such matters will ply their skills. But where did those skills come from? Nobody is born with them. Such skills, as with any skills, are learned, and that takes time.
To be able to identify false prophets, you would need an understanding of the Bible. The Bible goes a long way in distinguishing those who do God’s Will and those who just work for themselves and other earthly beings. Jeremiah 23:16 says, “...’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.’” Note that this Verse does not specifically identify such people as false prophets, but if you know if people are not talking from the Mouth of the Lord, then whatever they say what they represent as being from God is false. And if you’ve read enough of the Bible to know that only true prophets speak from God, it isn’t farfetched to know that so-called prophets that speak otherwise are false prophets.
There are a lot of things we can learn from the Bible, but it is also necessary to walk among people to know who a false prophet is when we see one. False prophets are not an abstraction; they walk among us. Whereas God says to do things that will promote the love of your neighbor, false prophets only promote themselves, hording their gains at our expense. 2 Peter 2:1-3 says that false prophets in their greed will exploit you.
If someone comes up to you in the street and says, ‘The end is near for all of us. Jesus says to give away what you have if you want a passage to Heaven. Give me whatever money is on you so you don’t have signs of wealthiness, and you will be one of the lucky ones who make it through God’s Door. I am a prophet,’ do you believe right then and there that he is a prophet of God? I mean doesn’t what he wants you to do sound familiar from your Bible reading? Did not Jesus tell a rich young man something similar, in Matthew 19:21, saying to “sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven,” and is not the end proclaimed by Jesus in Matthew 24:35? So, would you turn over what you have to the self-claimed prophet, believing him to be so? You probably know enough to believe that this so-called prophet is talking out of his a$$. You would be one of the more fortunate ones, to find it simple enough to discern who a false prophet may be. People like you can go right to Matthew 7:15, knowing who to look out for, as you probably in your experience have gone through the steps above.
To be able to identify false prophets, you would need an understanding of the Bible. The Bible goes a long way in distinguishing those who do God’s Will and those who just work for themselves and other earthly beings. Jeremiah 23:16 says, “...’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.’” Note that this Verse does not specifically identify such people as false prophets, but if you know if people are not talking from the Mouth of the Lord, then whatever they say what they represent as being from God is false. And if you’ve read enough of the Bible to know that only true prophets speak from God, it isn’t farfetched to know that so-called prophets that speak otherwise are false prophets.
There are a lot of things we can learn from the Bible, but it is also necessary to walk among people to know who a false prophet is when we see one. False prophets are not an abstraction; they walk among us. Whereas God says to do things that will promote the love of your neighbor, false prophets only promote themselves, hording their gains at our expense. 2 Peter 2:1-3 says that false prophets in their greed will exploit you.
If someone comes up to you in the street and says, ‘The end is near for all of us. Jesus says to give away what you have if you want a passage to Heaven. Give me whatever money is on you so you don’t have signs of wealthiness, and you will be one of the lucky ones who make it through God’s Door. I am a prophet,’ do you believe right then and there that he is a prophet of God? I mean doesn’t what he wants you to do sound familiar from your Bible reading? Did not Jesus tell a rich young man something similar, in Matthew 19:21, saying to “sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven,” and is not the end proclaimed by Jesus in Matthew 24:35? So, would you turn over what you have to the self-claimed prophet, believing him to be so? You probably know enough to believe that this so-called prophet is talking out of his a$$. You would be one of the more fortunate ones, to find it simple enough to discern who a false prophet may be. People like you can go right to Matthew 7:15, knowing who to look out for, as you probably in your experience have gone through the steps above.
