The Bible describes many people who claimed to be prophets without authority and a true calling from God. They spoke as if they represented God. People often found it difficult to tell true prophets from false ones. False prophets usually told people what they wanted to hear (see, for example, 1 Kings 22:10–14; Jeremiah 28:1–4).
Due to this difficulty and the Lord's merciful delay in judging his rebellious people, many doubted that God's message through his true prophets would come true (see Isaiah 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen during their lifetimes. Could the often-delayed punishment wait a little longer?
Ezekiel prophesied that in the upcoming judgment on Jerusalem, God would remove false prophets. This would help people identify true prophets (Ezekiel 13:8–9). God's judgment would happen without delay—the Lord would soon fulfill his words (13:11). Everyone would then know which words were truly from God and which words false prophets imagined.
Jesus warned that false prophets would appear in the future (Matthew 24:11–28). His early followers encountered many false prophets (see, for example, Acts 13:6–12; 2 Peter 2:1–3). Christians can often identify false prophets by their incorrect teachings about Christ. These teachings show that God's Spirit does not guide them (1 John 4:1–3).
Passages for Further Study
Deuteronomy 13:1–5; 18:22; 1 Kings 22:8–28; Jeremiah 6:13–15; 14:13–16; 20:1–6; 28:1–17; 29:21–32; 50:6; Ezekiel 13:1–23; 22:28; Micah 3:5; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; 2 Peter 2:1–3