Characteristics of False Prophets

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1 Introduction Characteristics of False Prophets By Mark Mayberry 3/3/2013 False prophets are momentarily popular (Jeremiah 5:30-31), but finally ineffective (Jeremiah 23:26-32). Jeremiah 5: An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it? Jeremiah 23: How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain? declares the LORD. 29 Is not My word like fire? declares the LORD, and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, The Lord declares. 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams, declares the LORD, and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit, declares the LORD. In both the Old and New Testaments, they fall under consistent condemnation (Ezekiel 13; Matthew 7:15-20). Ezekiel Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, Listen to the word of the LORD! 3 Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. 4 O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD. 6 They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, The LORD declares, when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. 7 Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, The LORD declares, but it is not I who have spoken? 8 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. 9 So My hand will be against the prophets who 1

2 see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, Peace! when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; 11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, O hailstones, will fall; and a violent wind will break out. 12 Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, Where is the plaster with which you plastered it? 13 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. 14 So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare; and when it falls, you will be consumed in its midst. And you will know that I am the LORD. 15 Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, The wall is gone and its plasterers are gone, 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, declares the Lord GOD. 17 Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their own inspiration. Prophesy against them 18 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt down lives! Will you hunt down the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves? 19 For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies. 20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt lives there as birds and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, even those lives whom you hunt as birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am the LORD. 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, but have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way and preserve his life, 23 therefore, you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am the LORD. Matthew 7: 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 produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce 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. Characteristics False Claim They make a false claim to inspiration (Jeremiah 23:16-22; 27:14-15; 29:8-9). 2

3 Jeremiah 23: Thus says the Lord of hosts, Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They keep saying to those who despise Me, The Lord has said, You will have peace ; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, Calamity will not come upon you. 18 But who has stood in the council of the Lord, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? 19 Behold, the storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. 21 I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds. Jeremiah 27: So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, You will not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you. Jeremiah 29: For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD. False Character They evidence falseness of character (Jeremiah 6:13-15; 23:11-15; Isaiah 28:7-8; 56:9-12). Jeremiah 6: For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. 14 They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, Peace, peace, But there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down, says the Lord. Jeremiah 23: For both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness, declares the LORD. 12 Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring calamity upon them, The year of their punishment, declares the LORD. 13 Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14 Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 3

4 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land. Isaiah 28: And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. 8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. Isaiah 56: All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat. 10 His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; 11 And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one. 12 Come, they say, let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so. False Content They proclaim a message with false content (Jeremiah 14:13-15; 23:25-32; Lamentations 2:13-14). Jeremiah 14: But, Ah, Lord GOD! I said, Look, the prophets are telling them, You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place. 14 Then the LORD said to me, The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them -- yet they keep saying, There will be no sword or famine in this land -- by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! Jeremiah 23: I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, I had a dream, I had a dream! 26 How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain? declares the LORD. 29 Is not My word like fire? declares the LORD, and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, The Lord declares. 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams, declares the LORD, and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send 4

5 them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit, declares the LORD. Lamentations 2: How shall I admonish you? To what shall I compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I liken you as I comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; Who can heal you? 14 Your prophets have seen for you False and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity So as to restore you from captivity, But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles. Examples Prophets of Baal/Asherah What about the prophets of Baal & the Asherah? Their claim, character and content were all false. As a consequence, the sentence of death fell upon themselves and their followers (Jeremiah 2:7-8; 23:13-15; 1 Kings 18:17-20, 40). Claim: False Character: False Content: False Consequences: Death Jeremiah 2: I brought you into the fruitful land To eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, And My inheritance you made an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, Where is the LORD? And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit. Jeremiah 23: Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14 Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land. 1 Kings 18: When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is this you, you troubler of Israel? 18 He said, I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baals. 19 Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel s 5

6 table. 20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 1 Kings 18: Then Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape. So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. Balaam, Son of Beor What about Balaam the son of Beor? Balaam was indeed a vehicle through whom Jehovah occasionally spoke (Numbers 22:1-21; etc.). While his character was false (2 Peter 2:15-16; Jude 11), the content of his public proclamations was true (Numbers 23:7-10; etc.). Nevertheless, his private counsel to King Balak contradicted God s pattern of morality (Numbers 25:1-3; 31:15-16; Revelation 2:14-16). The consequence of his counsel brought death and destruction to all involved (Numbers 25:1-9; 31:7-17). Claim: True Character: False Content: True in public, False in private Consequences: Death Numbers 22: Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho. 2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. 4 Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now this horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. 6 Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak s words to him. 8 He said to them, Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me. And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you? 10 Balaam said to God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, 11 Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out. 12 God said to Balaam, Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. 13 So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak s leaders, Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you. 14 The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, Balaam refused to come with 6

7 us. 15 Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than the former. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me. 18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God. 19 Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will speak to me. 20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do. 21 So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab. 2 Peter 2: forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. Jude Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Numbers 23: He took up his discourse and said, From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab s king from the mountains of the East, Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel! 8 How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? 9 As I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people who dwells apart, And will not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, And let my end be like his! Numbers 25: While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. 2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel. Numbers 31: And Moses said to them, Have you spared all the women? 16 Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord. Revelation 2: But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 7

8 Numbers 25: The Sin of Peor While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. 2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel. 4 The LORD said to Moses, Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel. 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor. 6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. 9 Those who died by the plague were 24,000. Numbers 31: So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11 They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12 They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho. 13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 And Moses said to them, Have you spared all the women? 16 Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. Old Prophet in Bethel What about the old prophet from Bethel? His claim to the prophetic office was true, his character/motivation seems genuine, but the content of his message was false. The consequences of his message brought death to the young prophet who heeded his words (1 Kings 13). Claim: True Character: True Content: False Consequences: Death 8

9 1 Kings Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you. 3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out. 4 Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, Seize him. But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 The king said to the man of God, Please entreat the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. 8 But the man of God said to the king, If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came. 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel. The Disobedient Prophet 11 Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father. 12 Their father said to them, Which way did he go? Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said to him, Come home with me and eat bread. 16 He said, I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a command came to me by the word of the LORD, You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came. 18 He said to him, I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water. 20 Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, Thus says the LORD, Because you have disobeyed the command of the LORD, and have not observed the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, Eat no bread and drink no water ; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers. 23 It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. 25 9

10 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 Now when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it, he said, It is the man of God, who disobeyed the command of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him. 27 Then he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle the donkey for me. And they saddled it. 28 He went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. 29 So the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back, and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. 30 He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! 31 After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria. 33 After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places. 34 This event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth. Conclusion In summary, note the differences in the aforementioned examples regarding claim, character and content. The one consistent mark of a false prophet involves content. Prophets: Baal/Asherah Balaam Old Prophet Claim False True True Character False False True?? Content False True in Public False in Private False Consequences Death Death Death Truth may be proclaimed sincerely or in pretense (Philippians 1:15-18). Philippians 1: Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 10

11 Error may be promoted through ignorance (Matthew 7:21-23) or malice (Acts 13:6-10). Matthew 7: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? 23 And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. Acts 13: When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Yet, the preaching of truth liberates (John 8:31-32) and the proclamation of error enslaves (2 Peter 2:1-3). John 8: So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. 2 Peter 2: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. Therefore, let us guard against those who would speak perverse things, and remain ever committed to the Word of Christ (Acts 20:28-32). Acts 20: Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 11