False Prophets & False Christs
Matthew 24:23-24; 1 John 4:1-6
April 19, 2009
General Intro:
I’m going a bit out of sequence regarding the Scripture passages we’re going to be looking at the next few weeks.
As we work through the gospel according to Matthew, I’ve been going from section to section, the way they’re laid out here in the Bible, which would mean that we should be looking at verses 15-22.
But as I mentioned before Easter, this is a very hard passage, and there are so many different interpretations of portions of it, even among conservative commentators, that I want to take some more time to be able sift through it and give you something useful.
We will be touching on the passage, eventually. I’m not going to ignore it simply because it’s tough to wrestle with.
It’s good to wrestle with tough passages, because then you don’t take anything for granted, and you’re not likely to just swallow something just because it’s the first thing you read about it.
But for now, we’re going to move on to another section of this chapter, okay?
The guy on the screen is Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda. He lives in Florida and claims to be the second coming of Jesus.
He also claims to be the anti-Christ, and has “666” tattooed on himself.
People are flocking to him and are part of his church in 24 countries.
They give their lives, their money, and anything else they can give, and many are even having “666” tattooed on themselves to match his because they believe he is Jesus returned.
But he is a false Christ. Jesus warned us about such people, and we’re going to talk about them and false prophets today.
God: The section of this chapter that we’re beginning to look at contains a ton of stuff that we need to look at and understand.
And unlike the issues of the abomination and the tribulation, these are things that are a bit more black and white, and the great thing is, the different interpretations of these other things don’t affect what we can learn from these verses.
In other words, understanding and applying these verses here don’t hinge on having everything completely figured out in the previous verses.
We’re also going to be looking at another passage of Scripture that dovetails nicely with this one.
First, we look at Matthew 24:23-24 (p. 701) –
23 “At that time if anyone says to you, ’Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ’There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.”
False Christs and false prophets have been around since the time of the New Testament and are still around now. They’re nothing new.
They’re sneaky – they don’t won’t wear signs that say, “I’m a false prophet – don’t listen to me!” Or, “Hey – I’m claiming to be Jesus returned, but I’m not really Him, so you can just ignore me!”
They’re usually smarter than that. They can look good, smell good, talk good, and can hide the lies very well.
They often hide their lies in a cloak of truth. In other words, they’ll say enough true things, or things that seem true on the outside to get credibility for the rest of what they want to give.
For instance, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus died. But they deny that He was God. They quote Scripture left and right, but they have a ton of false teachings that if followed, will lead a person straight to hell.
Another example is what I call the “angel cult” that was real popular a few years ago, maybe it still is today.
Angels are biblical. They’re mentioned throughout Scripture. They’re very real – as real as you and I.
But where does Scripture say we’re supposed to pray to angels, or worship angels, or believe that we have the authority to order them around? No where.
And yet, a lot of people around the world, looking for hope in a desperate world are being told that angels will take care of it all, if they’ll only trust in them, or wear a certain angel charm, or pray to a
certain angel or certain kind of angel.
These people seem to forget that we’re supposed to pray to God and God only. Not to angels, not to saints, not anybody. God calls that idolatry and He hates it.
My point here is to show that false prophets disguise their lies by cloaking them with just enough “truth” to pass a quick inspection. They are very sneaky.
You wouldn’t believe how slick some of these people are.
The website of the guy I talked about in the beginning is really well done, and a person who isn’t real familiar with the Jesus of the Scriptures could be taken in easily.
They can also rely on the power of celebrity endorsements. Look at the power of Oprah Winfrey. If she endorses a book and has the author on her show, and that person is promoting a version of Jesus that is contrary to Scripture, then literally millions of people go and buy the book, ready to accept anything in it because Oprah tells them to.
Can you imagine the impact if she were to really give her heart to Christ and live for Him, with the Bible as her guide instead of the nut-cases she has on her show?
Jesus says in verse 24 of our passage here that some false prophets and false Christs will be able to perform great signs and miracles, trying to deceive the elect – those who have truly believed in Christ.
Folks, you have to understand that just because someone might be able to heal a sickness or perform a miracle doesn’t mean they are sent from God.
In the face of something miraculous it would be very easy, I think, for many people, especially those who aren’t solid in Christ, to be deceived.
When someone performs a miracle or heals somebody or whatever, and they speak for a Christ that is not of the Scriptures, they are a false apostle or a false Christ.
The miracle doesn’t prove anything. It’s what they’re doing and teaching about Christ that will reveal them for who they really are.
People fall for the lies of false prophets and false Christs all the time, and it’s very important for us as the Church to be able to distinguish between the false and the true, not only so we can know the difference, but so we can help others find the real Christ.
So let’s talk about how to tell if someone is a false prophet or a false Christ. Here are what I believe are the three main ways to find out:
1. They contradict Scripture.
They make claims or present teachings that are contrary to Scripture.
For instance, they may claim they are the Christ who has returned secretly, when Jesus tells us in this chapter that when He returns everyone will know it and recognize Jesus.
He’s not coming secretly. It will be the most public event in all of history.
Or a false prophet may say that Jesus is the spirit-brother of the devil, as the Mormons teach. That’s incredibly contradictory to Scripture.
We could go on and on about different teachings that are out there that contradict Scripture.
But remember, most of these claims will be cloaked in some truth. You’re probably not going to hear someone claim that Jesus is returning as a purple elephant in a ballet tutu.
God makes it very clear: His prophets will speak only what He tells them, and He never contradicts Himself.
Therefore, if a person claims to speak for God or claims to be His mouthpiece, he must be in line with Scripture or he is lying. He is a false prophet or a false Christ.
For the next two ways to help identify false prophets and false Christs, I want to look at what the apostle John says in the book of 1 John, in chapter 4 (p.863).
In the first three verses we find this:
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
The second way to tell a false prophet or false Christ, according to this passage is that…
2. They deny Jesus came in the flesh.
What’s all that about? Of course He came in the flesh, right? He walked the earth, did all sorts of stuff. Jesus Christ was a man and so of course He came in the flesh.
Something we need to understand is that “Christ” is not a name, but a title.
It’s the Greek form of the Jewish word for “Messiah” or “Anointed One.”
The issue here in 1 John is that there were a number of people who believed in the Christ, but didn’t believe He would come in human form.
They believed in the “spiritual” stuff, but rejected anything to do with the material world.
The apostle John who wrote this letter is the same one who in his gospel says that –
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning…14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
John is saying that the Messiah – the Anointed One – the Christ – was the divine Son of God.
Not just a man. He is God in the flesh.
False prophets and false Christs deny this.
Here’s the third way to tell a false prophet and false Christ:
3. They speak about Jesus from a worldly perspective.
Look at what John says in verses 4-6 –
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
There are plenty of ideas about Jesus right now, and I’ve discussed some of them recently.
The world says things about Jesus that aren’t true, while Scripture describes the truth about Jesus.
The world says things like Jesus was just a nice, holy man, a good spiritual teacher.
But the Scriptures say He is God. And that He died, was resurrected, and will one day come back to judge the world and take His people with Him to live in heaven forever.
You: Okay, so we know that there have been, are currently, and will be false prophets and false Christs. So what do we do about it?
We need to know the Christ of the Scriptures:
> Hear/Read/Study the Scriptures for information about Christ.
(Learn about Him.)
Remember, the gospels are eyewitness accounts of Jesus written down by those who were with Him when they happened or by those who hung out with them or investigated the claims of the apostles about Jesus.
The Bible is the primary source of information about Jesus, and that alone makes it the most trustworthy source.
Learn about Him. Get the correct information about Him. Learn the truth about Him so you can spot error.
But it’s not enough to just to an analytical study about Jesus. That will give us information, but it’s not everything we need to really know the Christ of the Scriptures. So we also need to…
> Memorize/meditate on the Scriptures for application for Christ.
(Live for Him.)
This is where we ask God to help us put the Word of God into our lives so we obey it.
This is where we become doers of the Word, not hearers only. We’ve got plenty of people who are hearers only. The Church of Jesus doesn’t have nearly enough people willing to actually put the Word of God into practice.
They’re fine with just hearing it on Sundays, then forgetting all about it until the next Sunday.
But if you really want to know Jesus the way you need to to be able to distinguish truth from error about Him, you need to be a doer of the Word.
Meditating on it – chewing it over, asking God to help you understand it and how to put it into practice, and then actually doing it – helps you know Jesus better.
And here’s something else you need to do to know the Christ of the Scriptures so you won’t be deceived and so you can help others avoid the deception is to…
> Pray the Scriptures for transformation by Christ.
(Live like Him.)
Some of you prayer warriors here today can tell you that one of the most powerful ways to pray is to pray over the Scriptures, asking God to make them true in you, so you can be more like Jesus.
For instance, when reading and studying and meditating over a particular episode in Jesus’ life – for instance, like His treatment of the woman caught in adultery, you can pray that God would give you the same kind of compassion that doesn’t condone sin but offers forgiveness and restoration through Christ.
While you’re in the Word, ask God to make it live in you so you can live more like Christ. Ask God to transform you through His Word to be more like Jesus.
Commit today to check everything you hear about Jesus against the Scriptures.
What can you do right now to help you get the right foundation?
* Read all four gospels by Christmas.
* Do a book study on one of the gospels by Christmas.
Commentaries, books on how to do book studies, etc.
We: Folks, you want to know a sad truth?
Many in the Church of Jesus around the world are ignorant of the Scriptures, and because of that, many people who get sucked into cults are those who were part of a church before then.
Few people in cults have no spiritual background.
I say we need to be a people who aren’t ignorant of the Scriptures and the God of the Scriptures.
I say we should work to be a people who are protected against the schemes of the devil because we know Christ and the Scriptures intimately.
And I say we need to be a people who can help others see Christ for who He really is so they can avoid the trap of the devil.
It doesn’t start with me and sermons on Sundays. It starts with you getting in the Word for yourselves.
Any my hope and prayer for you over my years here has been that you will be a people who falls in love with the Scriptures and Christ so much that you can’t get enough of Him.
When this happens, people will see Christ in you, and want to know more about Him from the Scriptures.
And because you’re in the Scriptures yourself, you can show them and they can put their faith in Christ.
And that would thrill my heart more than you know. Let’s pray.
