When Jesus was talking with His disciples about the end times and the sign of His coming, Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders, utoliko što, if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. What did Jesus mean? What will these false Christs and false prophets and their deceiving signs and wonders look like? What does the Bible say about false Christs and false prophets?
False prophets in the Old Testament
Not only in the New Testament do we read about false prophets. But also in the Old Testament, we read about false prophets, who were not sent by God.
Tvoji su proroci vidjeli isprazne i glupe stvari za tebe: i ne otkriše krivnju tvoju, da odvratim tvoje sužanjstvo; ali su za tebe vidjeli lažne terete i uzroke progonstva (Tužaljke 2:14)
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Tako govori Gospodin Bog; Teško ludim prorocima, koji slijede vlastiti duh, i ništa nisu vidjeli! Izrael, tvoji su proroci kao lisice u pustinji. Niste išli gore u jazove, niti su podigli ogradu domu Izraelovu da izdrži u boju na dan Gospodnji. Vidjeli su taštinu i lažno gatanje, izreka, Gospodin kaže: a Gospod ih nije poslao: i učinili su druge da se nadaju da će potvrditi riječ. Zar niste vidjeli ispraznu viziju, a niste li lažno proricali, dok ti kažeš, Gospodin to kaže; iako nisam govorio?
Zato ovako govori Gospodin Bog; Jer govorite ispraznost, i viđene laži, stoga, gle, Ja sam protiv tebe, govori Gospodin Bog. I ruka će moja biti nad prorocima koji vide ispraznost, i to božanske laži: neće biti u skupštini naroda moga, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, niti će ući u zemlju Izraelovu; i znat ćete da sam ja Gospodin Bog (Ezekiel 13:2-9)
Her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, videći taštinu, a proricanje im leži, izreka, Tako govori Gospodin Bog, kad Gospodin nije govorio (Ezekiel 22:28)
False prophets in the New Testament
In the New Testament there are many warnings about false prophets and false teachers. Paul, Ivan, Petar, Jude (and others) wrote about them. They warned the saints to be cautious
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, koji će tajno unijeti proklete hereze, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction (2 Petar 2:1)
voljeni, ne vjeruj svakom duhu, ali ispitajte duhove jesu li od Boga: jer su mnogi lažni proroci izišli u svijet (1 Ivan 4:1)
Jesus warned us about false prophets
Jer će se pojaviti lažni Kristovi, i lažni proroci, i pokazat će velike znakove i čudesa; utoliko što, kad bi bilo moguće, prevarit će i same izabrane. Gle, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Gle, he is in the desert; go not forth: gle, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together (Matej 24:24-28)
Čuvajte se lažnih proroka, koji ti dolaze u ovčjoj koži, ali iznutra su vukovi grabljivi (Matej 7:15)
And many false prophets shall rise, i mnoge će prevariti (Matej 24:11)
Jesus warned us of false prophets, and told us, how we can recognize false prophets. We can recognize them by the fruit they bear.
False Christs and prophets do great signs and wonders. Therefore we cannot rely upon their teachings, doktrine, čuda, znakovi, i čuda.
Jesus told us that we should look at their lives, and what fruit they bear in their lives. Do they walk according to the Word of God, and walk in His commandments? Do they bear plod Duha or the fruit of the flesh?
Na primjer, when a charismatic prophet or preacher, preaches wonderful encouraging sermons from the pulpit. And when (s)he does many signs and wonders, but in private, (s)he lives like the world.
When the person experiences depression, commits adultery, watches porn, goes to clubs/bars, leaves his/her spouse and gets a divorce, or is habitually living in sin, and do those things which go against the Word of God, you know that the person is not rooted and seated in Jesus Chris. The person is carnal and walks after the flesh, umjesto po Duhu.
When you look at the fruit, which a person produces, you will know if you’re dealing with a true shepherd or a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
How do you recognize false Christs and false prophets?
We have accepted too much garbage and false doctrines in the church. And because many Christians don’t examine the Bible by themselves and are led by the flesh instead of being led by the Holy Spirit, there is hardly any discernment anymore. Many Christians follow their pastors, (dobro poznat) propovjednici, proroci, and evangelists, without studying the Bible for themselves. They accept and believe their words, even if they contradict the Word of God (Pročitajte također: How doctrines of devils are killing the church? i Krive doktrine koje su uvreda za Boga.
Let us be serious and watchful and look at the fruit of the person; are the fruits they produce, fruits of the Spirit or fruits of the flesh.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, bludništvo, uncleanness, lascivnost, Idolatry, vještičarenje, mržnja, varijanca, emulacije, gnjev, svađa, pobune, hereze, Envyings, ubojstva, pijanstvo, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, radost, mir, dugotrajnost, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts(Galaćanima 5:21-24)
Isus kaže, that this is the only way, that we can recognize and discern true and false prophets and Christs.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:24, that these false Christs and prophets could even deceive the very elect, if Jesus didn’t warn us about them. Imagine that! These prophets seem so real, and so devoted to God, but the truth is, that they aren’t sent from God. Therefore be and stay watchful!
How do you recognize real from counterfeit?
The more you study the Bible; Riječ Božja, the more you will get to know the real Jesus Christ. If you renew your mind s Riječju Božjom, the easier you will discern, what is real (genuine) and what is false (a counterfeit). Ali opet….rekao je Isus, the only way you will discern false Christs and prophets, is to look at their lives and the fruit they bear.
Isus je nastavio i rekao, that if these false Christs and prophets say, that the Son of man is in the desert, you should not go there, or in the secret chambers, you should not believe it. You do not have to search for Jesus in places. You shouldn’t be led by supernatural manifestations, which could also be a counterfeit of the devil.
When Jesus returns, everyone will see Jesus, not just one person, or a few persons. He shall return at an unexpected moment. Jesus gave us the example of lightening to compare to His return. Jesus will return like a thief in the night, therefore we should always stay watchful and be prepared to meet Him at His return.
‘Budi sol zemlje’
