False Prophets

Intuitively we understand the idea of false prophets. It is those who lead us stray from God through their words of warning. In the biblical sense prophets are not future tellers per se. True prophets are allowed by God to see what might happen if and when certain behaviors take place. False prophets use this concept to frighten us onto the wrong path. Christ warns us about them.

The Lord said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 7:15-21

Today’s warning is more important because it includes those who would lead us astray from within. A wolf in sheep’s clothing pretends to be one of you, all the while wanting to kill you. One example of a false prophet could be the preacher who claims we will suffer unless we give him money. There are many examples of this sort of false prophet.

False prophets can also take a more graceful appearance. They quote the Bible as a weapon against the Church. Among the most popular is the accusation that calling a priest ‘father’ is against the commandment of God. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23.9) There is only one problem with this accusation. Saint Paul himself uses the term in today’s reading from Romans.

Brethren, to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin.” Is this blessing pronounced only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Romans 4.4-12

If Saint Paul called Abraham our father, could it be that the warning in Matthew 23.9 wasn’t a blanket prohibition? Don’t we refer to the man who is married to our mother, our father? For Saint Paul, the term father refers to someone from our spiritual family. He even refers to ‘fathers’ as Abraham wasn’t the only one.

Most people, even non-Orthodox, call me Father. Does that mean they believe me to be God? Of course it doesn’t. But…..if a false prophet can create enough fear of divine retribution against anyone who calls me (or anyone else) father, then we can be led astray away from the Church. We will be led away from Holy Communion with God.

The funny thing about false prophets is they tend to run away when confronted. It is easier to lead willing people astray than to fight against the truth of the Church. So….ask questions. Ask questions of anyone really, not just someone you suspect to be a false prophet. If they run away from the conversation, even if the person wasn’t a false prophet, their absence eliminates the danger.

On the concept of calling clergy ‘father’ rest assured you are not disobeying God’s commandments. Just don’t consider your priest to be God, and trust that he is leading to Christ through love rather than fear.

Not all prophets are false. The Church has always had those holy men and women who were blessed to understand what might take place if our sinful actions do not change. Remember they are not future tellers. They are those who God has blessed with a spiritual vision of might happen if we do not repent.

If I say, “Unless you take you hand away from the hot stove, you will burn your hand.” This is not future telling. It is prophecy. You surely will be burned by the stove if you do not repent, and remove your hand. If instead I say, “Unless you pay me to turn off the stove, you will burn your hand.” This is false prophecy.

One last thing about contemporary prophecies about the end times. For the same reason the Church stopped reading Revelation publicly in the services, the Church does not put much public attention on such prophecies. Not only do we not know the future, we are expected to live like the end is coming now. We shouldn’t need prophets to prepare us for a future of punishment so long as we live holy lives now.