False Prophets

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This program is called 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today we are going to talk about False Prophets. Let’s turn to Matt 24:1-14, Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Verses 24&25, For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Verse 12&13,  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. In the King James Version it says, Because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. This is key. If you love yourself, as it is written in 2 Tim 3:1-5, let’s go there:  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! If you love yourself and your pleasures; if you love money and the world more than God, you will fall prey to these false prophets. But if you truly love God, you will love His Words and you will seek to obey Him and love your brother and sister. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. Love does no ill to his neighbor.

You know, if you are selfish and hard hearted, because of all your sinful ways, you can come to God and humble yourself and admit it to Him; He already knows, but He loves you, and if you really want to be changed, you can ask Him and He will begin to lead you in righteous ways to break you of your stubbornness and rebellion, and if you will stay with Him, and if you will cry out to Him when it seems like you can’t go on, He will come and help you. He will test you to see if you are serious; to see what’s in your heart. We love Him because He first loved us and gave Himself to suffer and die a brutal death for us, to pay our ransom, to redeem us with His own righteous, precious Blood from all our sins and perversities; to cleanse us and bring us into His wonderful family of true saints that love Him and worship Him and the Father in Spirit and in truth. To get there you must yield to Him every day in prayer and let Him continue to lead you, denying yourself, and your own desires, your own understanding; taking up your cross, the will of the Father for you, and following Him. Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. He will lead you beside still waters; you will never thirst, and He will lead you into green pastures; you will never hunger. You will always be sufficient in Him, if you continue with Him. If you say, Lord, I don’t think I want to go that way, I want to go this way, or, if because of your own wicked ways you start to follow a false prophet, the Lord may let you go that way and prove you, as you wander in that wilderness, to see if you will turn again and cry out to Him, or if you will harden your heart to your own destruction. It is a fearful thing! Jesus said, Take heed! Let no man deceive you! We have been warned.

These men and women are bold. They know the scriptures, and they walk in power, showing signs and wonders with all confidence, making merchandise of you with feigned words, words that they make up, as they twist the scriptures for their own agenda. Let’s turn to Matt 7:13-20, Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Then He said,  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. The sheep’s clothing is the Word of God. They speak the Word of God. They speak the truth. You look in the Scriptures and they’re speaking the Word of God, and you say, Oh, they’re speaking the Word of God, they’re teaching the Word of God, they must be of God. And by doing this, they will win your heart, unless you stay close to the Lord and stay in the Scriptures. The day will come when they will begin to speak lies, and if you are not in the Scriptures, if you are not following the Lord closely, you may be deceived. Right here Jesus said, you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Examine their fruits. What is the fruit of their ministry? What is happening to the people in their ministry? What kind of behavior do they exhibit? Do they walk in love? Do they glorify Jesus? Are they truly glorifying Him? Are they keeping His Words? Search the Scriptures. Ask God to show you, if you have any question about anything that anybody says to you.

Let’s turn to Jude, the Book of Jude, verses 1-25, Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:  (You know Jesus will preserve you, if you trust Him.)  Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness, or lasciviousness, and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you! 

But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 

raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Verse 16, These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 

These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Verse 24&25, Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Jude gives us a very important help in verse 20&21, But you, beloved…. keep yourselves in the love of God. This is the key. Jesus said, Continue in my Word and you will be my disciples indeed; you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John said, you have no need that any man teach you. Let’s go there, 1 John 2:24-27, Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. The Holy Spirit will continue to teach you the Lord’s Word. He will continue to reveal the Word of God to you and lead you in it. That’s what Jesus meant when He talked about continuing in His Word; you’re going to be His disciple indeed, and you’re going to know the truth, and the truth will keep you free from the lies! Amen! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He is no lie! He will lead you in all truth as you continue in Him, as you stay close to Jesus; always mindful of His sacrifice for you; His great love for you.

These false prophets are not sent by God to you. Therefore they are not walking in His authority, and they have nothing to say to you. They walk in the false authority and power of witchcraft. They are Satan’s ministers. Let’s turn to 2 Cor 10:18, For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. The Lord commends His true servants. Let’s move over to chapter 11: 13-15, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers,   do you see that? Satan has his ministers,   also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. God has promised throughout the Scriptures He’s going to render to every one of us according to our works, and that includes false prophets.

Prophecy:

I am God Almighty. You who are listening to my servant Rob this day, give heed to these Words; I am warning you today! Take heed to these Words! This is a warning from Me says the Lord. The days are growing dark. Many deceivers are rising up, and they will show signs and wonders, as it is written in My Word, and you must stay close to My Son. You must learn to walk in the Spirit. You must learn My Word. You must study My Word. You must know what it says. For they will speak lies with great convincing power, and you will be deceived. If you do not love Me with all your heart, you will fall away. So I am warning you now: Seek me with all your heart!