What is a False Prophet?

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they?

17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad 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 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

--Matthew 7:13-20 NASB

What is a “false prophet?” According to 1 Corinthians 14:3, one who prophesies does so for another’s encouragement, exhortation, consolation (or comfort), and upbuilding. What then does a false prophet do? We act as a false prophet whenever we say things to people out of false exhortation, false comfort, or false upbuilding. Maybe we have good intentions by encouraging someone in their current direction or behavior, but sometimes the end result for them could be unhealthy and even deadly. For there is a way that seems right to a person, but in the end it leads to death. See Proverbs 14:12.

Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. See Proverbs 16:18. If ever our advice to another person is rooted in pride, then we will be blind guides who lead ourselves and that person into a ditch, setback, or even a pit of depression. See Matthew 15:12-14; Luke 6:39f. The culture at large encourages behaviors that promise satisfaction, joy, pleasure, comfort, taking the edge off, stress removal, solutions, or justice--and maybe there is a momentary stress relief or release--but that fine-sounding “solution” is often temporary at best. Over time, both historically and practically, those various “solutions” or sources of instant gratification only increase stress, misery, unhappiness, depression, suicide, crime, poverty, and death. See 2 Peter 2:1ff.

Pride, offense, bitterness, resentment, self-gratification, envy and jealousy, etc. leads to destruction, and many people choose death rather than life through their own foolish decisions of “active rebellion or passive indifference” towards God’s ways of love, wisdom, and humility the way He defines it. (1) See Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Proverbs 8:13.

By prioritizing or valuing any created thing or human opinion above following the “instruction manual” of the One True Engineer of everything through a personal relationship with that Engineer, we should not be surprised by why life doesn’t seem to be working out for us very well sometimes. If there is a lack of love, joy, peace, kindness, self-control, wisdom, humility, and vision in our lives, then could it be that we need to reconnect and remain plugged into the Source of all those things? See John 15; Galatians 5:22-23.

A false prophet comes to you in sheep’s clothing. What does that mean? There is an old saying that “The highway to hell is paved with good intentions.” Perhaps it is fitting that verses 13-14 talk about such a broad, popular, commonly walked “highway to hell,” which is also the path of least resistance. People won’t persecute you for going with the flow of the culture at large, but if you question the healthiness or sustainability of some things that the culture falsely calls “love,” “hope,” “joy,” or “peace,” then a “spitting cobra” or “ravening wolf” may start to manifest in their tone of voice during a discussion about such issues. See Deuteronomy 32; Psalm 58; 140.

So a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” will encourage a certain course of thinking and acting concerning a matter, but if this person is rooted and grounded in pride and bitterness, then at times they may start to attack you if you ask probing questions into their position or attempt to shed some light on the subject. See Romans 1:16-32; John 3:16-21. Eventually, they may even accuse you of being bigoted, wrong, phobic, backwards, uncompassionate, unloving, etc. rather than speaking gracious, kind words in a winsome manner. See 2 Timothy 2:19-26; Matthew 5.

Accusations come from pride; gracious words come from humility. God’s love nature and the nature of pride have nothing in common, for love is not proud or arrogant. Love and bitterness have nothing in common, for love keeps no record of wrongs. Lasting pleasure cannot come from pride and bitterness. An attitude of being easily offended and hurt by people will bring torment to a person rather than joy.

A person walking in true humility will not be hurt BY a person (bitterness as a result of pride or wounded ego), but will hurt FOR a person (compassion). Grapes throughout the Old and New Testaments represent love and joy, whereas thorns and thistles represent pride (conceit, placing one’s identity is something besides the One True God) and bitterness (offendedness, unforgiveness, resentment, etc.). Lasting joy cannot come from pride and bitterness, just as one does not gather grapes from thorn bushes.

A good tree that is rooted and grounded in love will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith (or faithfulness), gentleness (meekness or humility), and self-control (or a sound mind). See Psalm 1; Ephesians 3:17; Galatians 5:19ff. A bad tree is rooted in pride and bitterness, which produces unforgiveness, resentment, retaliation, rage (or wrath and anger), hatred, violence, gossip, slander, scoffing, bitter criticism, character assassination, etc.

Perfect love casts out fear, so a good tree will be filled with peace and confidence, for his or her trust is securely fastened to a good, dependable, faithful, never-failing Source of a perfect Father. See Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians 13:7; 1 John 4:18. However, a “bad tree” that is rooted in pride and bitterness will produce anxiety, fear, self-resentment, self-hatred, depression, etc., and will seek love in all the wrong places that will never bring lasting satisfaction. See Jeremiah 2:13; Proverbs 12:25.

A bad tree whose toxic nature never changes over time--a heart that is devoid of tenderness, love, humility, and grace towards God and others as evidenced by one’s words and lifestyle--will be cut down and thrown into the fire. See also Hebrews 6:7-8; John 15:5-6; Matthew 3:7-12; 13:41-42,47-50; Luke 13. (2)

Now if this all sounds like bad news to us, if we can identify some of that bad fruit of pride, bitterness, offendedness, self-hatred, resentment, unforgiveness, envy and jealousy, comparison, etc. in our lives, then what is the good news? How can we get rid of all those “yucky puckies” of pride, bitterness, and whatever hinders real love? (3) God desires to remove these thorns and thistles of pride and bitterness from our spirits, souls, and the negative physiological effects that these negative emotions have on our bodies.

It wasn’t just a coincidence, then, that Jesus had a crown of thorns shoved into his skull that day when God “made his soul an offering for guilt.” See Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 27:29-30; John 19:1-3. Jesus voluntarily went through that in order that every “root of bitterness” can be pulled from our incorrect ways of thinking. C.f. Hebrews 12:14-15.

Neuro-scientist Dr. Caroline Leaf has demonstrated through brain imagery how the negative thoughts and emotions that we don’t deal with will appear visually as “toxic thorn trees” in the brain. When we learn (over time) to forgive and to get rid of all bitterness (see Ephesians 4:31-32), then those “toxic thorn trees” eventually will be replaced by “lush, healthy trees.” (4)

Do you want to get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice? Do you want to associate with pride, or do you want to break agreement with it? God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Do you want God to oppose you, or do you want to walk in grace?

Daily we have a choice: life or death? Blessings or curses? Pride or joy? Bitterness or peace? Love or fear? God’s nature or demonic characteristics? Humility or depression? The choice is ours, and the only way to be rooted and grounded in love, is to surrender ourselves fully to the very Source and definition of Love, and then learn to stay connected to Him every day and every moment.

For more information on getting rid of bitterness through connecting to God in relationship, I recommend my post “Weeding Out Wormwood From Your Garden.”

1. Phrase in quotation marks taken from Would You Like to Know God Personally? A version of the Four Spiritual Laws, written by Bill Bright.

2. See post “Once saved, Always Saved?” for more information.

3. The term “yucky puckies” I borrowed from Dr. Henry W. Wright, and it refers to bad attitudes that only come to steal our joy, kill us with sickness, and destroy our relationships. C.f. John 10:10; Matthew 12:43-45.

4. See my post “Switch on Your Brain Ch. 1 Reflections.”