“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:16)
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end wilcorrespond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
“My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people…” (Ezekiel 13:9a)
“And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)
The above declarations & admonitions and scores like them are found within the Bible. Clearly, not everyone who says spiritual things speaks for God. The things they communicate more often than not make use of spiritual vocabulary. What they say with their spiritual words, however, is typically if not purposefully vague.
This obfuscation, this opacity, is key to the success of a false teacher or false prophet. Cleverly crafted, false messages can sneak past the proverbial radar of even the most avowed discerner.
If we cannot easily see which messages are false, what hope do we have? Thankfully, the Bible provides guidance for that as well. In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 we read, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’ – when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”
An intelligent and talented false messenger knows this passage, and others like it. How then could that same false messenger continue to operate with that knowledge? The answer: by being vague. Astrologers, along with all manner of fortune tellers, carnival barkers, scam artists and politicians know this: if your prediction statement is vague and can be twisted in opposite interpretations, you cannot be easily labelled as a false messenger. If the plain contextual (sometimes dog-whistled) interpretation of a prediction or other type of message proves false, the messenger can fall back on the tried-and-true defenses. These rebuttals range from “you misunderstood me” to “I didn’t claim to understand the message; don’t shoot the messenger”. Deflections and all manner of typical defense mechanisms are brought to bear by the false messenger in defense of their “good name”. It’s their public identity as an unusually gifted messenger that stands to be besmirched.
Can a false messenger be pinned down? The slipperiest and most cunning won’t let themselves be pinned down. They can, however, be ignored or marginalized. Will they go quietly? No. They’ll take shots from the shadows. They crave adoration and position. Their will is bent on achieving, holding, and if lost, retaking those things.
If you truly understand the gospel, and I sincerely hope you do, you can hold tight to the gospel of Truth. It doesn’t look like allegiance to anyone or anything other than Christ. If someone is trying, explicitly or through vague implication, to distract you from the glory of God, ignore them. They aren’t worth your time, even if you have eternity to look forward to.
David A. Larson 