False prophets are those who claim to speak for God or serve the interests of God’s church when in reality they care only for themselves. Throughout history there have always been such individuals in God’s church, individuals who seek their own glory and profit, and hope to exploit God’s people for the same.
False prophets were quite prominent, especially in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They were all preachers of comfort, promising peace and blessing when true prophets spoke of judgment of sin. They were also motivated by money, saying what people wanted to hear whereas true prophets spoke only truth from God even if it resulted in persecution. Finally, they always came from within God’s people. They were not outsiders who knew nothing of God, but people raised in the covenant community who knew something of the Bible and what God had promised. In the Old Testament, kings especially had to be careful that they were not lead astray by these men (see 1 Kings 22:1–53).
The pattern which was true in the Old Testament remains true also today. Various people are attracted to the good news of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation by grace through faith in him. Sadly, however, there are some who seek to be part of God’s church but unwilling to submit to Christ’s commandments. As a result, these individuals seek to teach and influence the church for their own ends. Most obviously we can consider the televangelists, men like Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, or T.B. Joshua. They promise riches, blessing, and healing for all those who have enough faith,
and they are reluctant to speak of sin or anything that might upset people. They travel around in luxury private planes—their greed and wealth obvious to all. Yet despite this, crowds flock to listen to these men and sit at their feet.
It is quite easy to point out the obvious false teachers who twist Scripture and do not teach orthodox doctrine. However, we should be careful of our own hearts and our own churches. Peter is writing to a church and telling them to be on their guard not against pagans from outside, but people in their own midst. It is easy to spot those who are obviously telling lies; it is harder to do so with people that you know and see every day.
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.