Beware of False Prophets (Matthew 7:15)

Hello, my dearly beloved, welcome to the month of February edition of the Divine Truth. I want to admonish you on what I titled “Beware of False Prophets" (Matthew 7:15). 

One of the ways you know a false prophet is that they strengthen and direct your faith to mediums. They build your faith to depend on medium instead of Christ or His Word. They give you things like anointing oil, anointed water, pictures etc. There was no time in scriptures when Jesus gave material medium to people to solve their problems. No! Nothing of such ever happened. Some He prayed for. Others, He spoke words, even when He used medium like clay or spittle, He never formed a doctrine out of them. Whatever is used or said once in the Bible especially in the New Testament, do not form a doctrine out of them because they aren’t.

Luke 6:19 said that the whole multitude sought to touch Jesus, for there went out virtue out of him, and healed them all. When the Bible says they touched Him, the truth is they actually touched His clothes like the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:30, “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said who touched my clothes?” This experience can be taken as a doctrine because it happened severally in Jesus’ ministry and was also experienced in the ministry of Paul the Apostle. Acts 19:11-12, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

One thing I want you to realize is that the Apostle Paul did not give the handkerchiefs or aprons to them but they responded to Paul’s message because he may have told them that he was anointed and since they could not take his clothes with them, they responded by their faith to touch him with their handkerchiefs for their loved ones who didn’t have enough strength or means to touch his clothes on their own. But it would be wrong of Paul to start distributing handkerchiefs and aprons to the church as a means of healing the people.

After Jesus preached a strong message to the multitude in John chapter 6. The people got offended and stopped following Him. The multitude turned their backs at him. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will you also go away.” – John 6:67. Now listen to Peter’s response in John 6:68, “Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the word of eternal life.” Jesus has the word of eternal life not the anointed water of eternal life. Not the hand bangle of eternal life. Not the anointed oil of eternal life. But He has the word of eternal life.

In Matthew 8, a centurion’s servant was sick and Jesus intended to got to his house to pray for him but the man objected and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” – Matthew 8:8. The centurion didn’t say give me the anointed water only and my servant shall be healed. He didn’t ask for mediums but for the word. Psalm 138:2 says that, God has magnified His word above all His name. If God has magnified His word above all His name, then tell me what can come before or in place of God’s word. It is either His word or nothing else because in His word all things consist – Colossians 1:17.

This is not to say we cannot use mediums as channels of God’s blessing, if God chooses to use them once in a while. But we must not make a doctrine out of them. We must not depend on material medium as a way of reaching God or His power but in His word through the Holy Ghost.

Paul’s admonition to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 4:2 was that he preach the word in season and out of season. He didn’t say sell and distribute handkerchiefs, aprons and anointed water and oil. As ministers of God, we are called to preach the word that is our primary assignment. Anything short of that is from the pit of hell. – Beware !

God bless you and see you next month