More than three thousand years ago, man has separated politics from religion, since the time of Prophet Samuel. However, every modern day attempt on the part of man to bring religion back into politics always result in suffering, state-sponsored murder, genocide, wars, racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination, no matter how pure, sanctimonious, and self-righteous the motive is. Be it the evangelical movement in America or the Sharia Law in Moslem nations, secular or non-secular. People use God’s name or His words for the purpose of gaining power and other selfish purposes. God speaks harshly against false prophets, occult practices, and other means of sorcery. God describes a false prophet as one who “presumes to speak in My name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods” (Deuteronomy 18:20). In Jeremiah 14:14, God says these evildoers prophesy lies, offering “false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds.”
According to Scriptures, as an individual, I personally know many people (such as some so-called prophets in so-called spiritual churches)that should be put to death, though it is not my task to do the actual ‘putting’, see Deuteronomy 18:20; But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” Not all scriptures are literally intended, there are Nigerian GO’s and megachurch founders, white garment church members and leaders, who have been on ‘holy’ pilgrimage to Israel, and also have made false prophecies. Well, how does that stack up in light of Scriptures in Ezekiel 13:9; My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
Some years ago, church leaders in Nigeria were prophesying to Goodluck Jonathan that he was going to win re-election, and last year 2020, I watched an American lady evangelical preacher speaking in ‘tongue’ calling on angels from Africa, south America and elsewhere to help Donald Trump win re-election for the November 2020 US presidential election. This made me think that these people’s Bible obviously did not have the text of Jeremiah 14:14; Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds. For any person to actually believe that God would endorse a sexually depraved, lying, narcissistic, entirely devoid of empathy, and compassion, promoter of hate, bigotry, and racism, facilitator of death penalty, individual such as Donald Trump, simply because it was politically expedient for Trump to support certain policies such as “anti-abortion, pro-life, pro-Jerusalem as the political capital of modern-day Israel, and anti-immigration policies”, is the height of IGNORANCE and DELUSION. Apostle Paul described these so-called Christians in Titus 1:16; They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good. In Jeremiah 23:16; This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.
There is the added complication of some of the so-called prophets, GO’s, bishops, evangelical preachers, and church founders, who may have in the past or do occasionally perform signs or fake miracles, to convince people desperate for signs, well the Scriptures had something to say on that subject too in Mathew 24:24; For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. In desperate times, it is easier to believe stuff about improvement of one’s personal situation, than the worsening of circumstances, see 2 Timothy 4:3-4; For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. The Holy Spirit through apostle Paul gave advise to the Ephesian church about 2,000 years ago and the advise is still valid today, see Acts 20:28-30; Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
Though some people may acknowledge Christ Jesus with their mouth, but they do not do so with their heart which is of stone, 1 John 4:1-6; Dear 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. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but 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. You, 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. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We 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 of truth and the spirit of falsehood. This tell us everything we need to know about the American evangelical movement lobby groups, white garment churches and the Christian association churches in Nigeria including Pentecostal churches in various countries of the world. Mathew 7:15-20; “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
The Holy Spirit is succinct in 2 Peters 2; But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, revelling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”
So, what do we make of all these, well the Holy Spirit says in 2 Peter 1:20-21; Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, God’s patience, 2 Peter 3:9; The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. In addition to this, we should be on our guard against false teachings and false preachers and prophets who speak when the Lord has not spoken, or prophets who prophesy what their own human voice and desires are telling them. Individuals have to get off their butts and do due diligence to make themselves worthy of the greatest GIFT of all time, SALVATION. The Holy Spirit through apostle Peter said it in 2 Peter 3:14-18; So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Reference: https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-false-teachers/
