Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

2 Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

Jesus warned that many false prophets and teachers would come and deceive many people. Peter warned ofthe same thing, as did John in his epistles. There’s a lot of confusion over who these false teachers and false prophets are and many people don’t know how to identify them. So in this article, I’m going to show you five signs that you can use to identify false prophets and false teachers.

Sign Number One -Self Promotion.

False teachers and false prophets promote themselves. Even though they talk about Jesus, they’re ministries revolve around themselves. That’s why their ministry is named after them, and they have photos of themselves all over the place for everyone to see. They consider themselves to be more important than the message. They use titles of respect, like apostle, reverend, teacher pastor and Father. They invite you to a Billy Graham Crusade or an apostle so and so’s place or to see a particular speaker at a church, but they don’t invite you to a Jesus Christ crusade.

They don’t want to present the Jesus of the Bible to you. They want to present themselves. In contrast, Jesus said that the greatest person in the Kingdom of God is the one who considers themselves last and that we should not allow the people to address us with titles of respect because we’re all brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 23:8-12 “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”

Sign Number Two – Popularity.

False teachers and false prophets are popular. They tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. These conmen don’t have much conflict with the system because they teach things that people in the system already value. They are popular because they teach popular topics.

Jesus said, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets,“ Luke 6:26. Jesus didn’t teach a message that was compatible with the system. He said that he didn’t come to bring peace, but division and that even our own families would be divided because of him. When someone wanted to follow him, he didn’t try to sell the message with attractive baits. Instead, he told them clearly what the cost was for discipleship, and if people were not willing to leave their possessions, their family ties to take up their cross and to be willing to die for the Gospel, he wouldn’t accept them as disciples. True prophets are rejected by the system they despised and all kinds of evil things are said against them because the world cannot tolerate the true message of repentance that they preach. So when you see a religious leader and has a lot of popularity, you need to be hearing some spiritual alarm bells going off.

They preach popular messages. Messages to tickle the listener’s ears. They preach that God wants you wealthy and healthy. If you have enough faith, and tithe into their ministries, God wants to bless you. Some teach that we can speak what we want and God will provide.

In this clip , Kenneth Copeland says that he is a billionaire. “I am a billionaire, because the assignment that the Lord gave me, He said: ‘I want you to begin to confess the billion flow.’”

Paul points out quite plainly, there is a heavy, heavy cost in following Jesus: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches,” 2 Corinthians 11:24-28.

Don’t be deceived.

Sign Number Three – Disobedience.

False prophets don’t live according to the teachings of Jesus. They disobey Jesus and they justify their disobedience.

1 John 2:4 “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

These conmen hardly ever mentioned the teachings of Jesus. Instead, they talk about the law of Moses, the proverbs of Solomon, Paul’s epistles or any other scripture that they can twist for their own benefit, but they hardly mentioned the requirements that Jesus laid out for following him because they themselves do not practice them. That’s why even after people have been going to church for years, they hardly know anything about what Jesus taught.

They will even encourage their followers into disobedience.

In this video Pat Robertson advises that husband divorce his wife that has Alzheimer’s disease.

Another false teacher who had a huge impact on believers, particularly among the Baptists, was Peter Ruckman. He was not a prosperity preacher, He was sinful man. He was divorced twice. To quote David Cloud, “Divorces do not take place in a vacuum. They take place in an environment filled with anger, carnality, hostility, bitterness, and sin. That is not judgmentalism; it is fact.” In the pulpit, Ruckman was known to speak vile, crude and hate-filled words towards any who disagreed with or did not measure up to his standards.

Some of the choice names Ruckman calls men who disagree with him are “jackass,” “poor, dumb, stupid red legs,” “silly asses,” “apostolic succession of bloated egotists,” “two-bit junkies,” “two-faced, tin-horned punks,” “incredible idiots,” “egotistical jack legs,” “conservative asses whose brains have gone to seed,” “cheap, two-bit punks,” and “stupid, little, Bible-rejecting apostates.” Dr. Ruckman can get pretty vulgar. He calls the New American Standard Version “more of the same old godless, depraved crap” (Satan’s Masterpiece–the New ASV, p. 67). In The Unknown Bible, p. 100, Ruckman says, “You see how people get all screwed up?”

In contrast to Peter Ruckman’s vulgarities, the Apostle James wrote:
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy,” James 3:13-17.

Peter Ruckman was a false teacher with great influence. He taught there were multiple means to salvation, that abortion was acceptable, and he propagated the false teaching that there was a few billion years in a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. These are only a few of his false teachings; list of his false teachings goes on and on.

True Christians live in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Their role model is Jesus. That’s why their lives are consistent with Christ’s message.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Sign Number Four – Lying Signs and Wonders.

Jesus said that false prophets would be able to do signs and wonders, so impressive that they could almost deceive true Christians. He said that on Judgment Day, many people would say that they did miracles in his name, cast out demons in his name, and did all kinds of signs in the name of Jesus, but he’ll say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who always did evil.

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity,” Matthew 7:22-23.

In contrast, Jesus did genuine miracles and healed many people, but he would tell them not to publicize the miracle. He will try to hide his miracles as much as possible because the miracles were genuine. The miracles would publicize themselves without much advertising on his behalf, whereas the phonies, these are the ones who are always publicizing the supposed miracles they do themselves. More importantly, signs and wonders don’t prove anything by themselves. Even secular magicians are able to deceive many people with tricks and gimmicks that are able to produce the illusion of a genuine miracle. So put your faith in Jesus, not in signs and wonders, or you’ll be easily deceived.

Of course the self-proclaimed faith healers claim many, many miracles. Many people have been hurt and disillusioned by the false claims of these preachers.

Sign Number Five – Materialism.

False prophets and teachers love money. They preach about economic prosperity and having a comfortable life right now. They promote the middle class or high lifestyles and they promise economic and spiritual benefits to anyone who will give them money. But have they ever told you to give them money to the people who really need it?

“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Acts 20:35.

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” 1 John 3:17

“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor,” Proverbs 14:31.

The prosperity teachers tell you to give in order to recieve. The motive is what God will give you in exchange for “planting a seed” in their ministry. The money yu give is working for you, not for the Kingdom. In contrast, the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Jesus himself said that we cannot serve two masters, that we will love one and hate the other. Ask yourself, who do these preachers love Jesus or money?

The early Christians revolutionized the world because they believed in the teachings of Jesus. They lived together and shared everything that had one with another. They would sell their possessions and their properties and give them money to the apostles who distributed it to the people who were in need. They didn’t keep the money for themselves.

Now you have five signs that you can use to identify a false prophet or teacher. So when you see these signs in a religious leader, beware because they’re probably a charlatan.