Ezekiel 13:3 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!"
What comes to mind when you think of false prophets? A note in my Bible grabbed my attention recently. It said, "There are two kinds of false prophets: prophets that speak for false gods and prophets that speak falsely for the true God." Which of those is the bigger threat to you today?
If you spend time listening to opinion from this world and its philosophy, all you are getting is falsehood, all things being equal.Whether it is the morning program or an afternoon talk show, you will find falsehood promoted, pushed, and honored. I do not hate those folks, but it is fair to say that their philosophy and content is falsehood.
Having said all of that, I believe the greater danger for us today comes from people who claim the name of the true God but are not speaking for Him. God has a very harsh heart towards people who speak when He has not spoken. Verse 6 says that they "follow their own spirit" and "the LORD hath not sent them." Verse 7 calls their vision "vain" and their prophecy a "lying divination." God makes it crystal clear when He says, "Albeit I have not spoken."
Authority comes not only from speaking in God's name; it comes from speaking God's Word in God's name. We need to be careful, even when it comes to preaching. Is the preaching you hear authoritative? Has God said it? More than the "style" of preaching, is what the preacher says what God has said? We need to continually guard against two kinds of false prophets: those who are speaking for false gods (including the "god of this world" and the world's philosophy, opinion, etc.) and those who speak falsely for the true God. What we heed and what we hear ought to always be Bible-based. Our authority should not be what some person thinks or says; our authority ought to be what God has said.
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