Are prophets today real or false? This is one of the main questions being asked by Christians everyday. However, the complex nature of this question makes it suppressed by many Church leaders. This very question has brought lots of controversial teachings and beliefs in the modern Church. While some spiritual leaders believe that the gift of prophecy which leads to the office of the New Testament is available in some chosen people, others completely reject the idea. Some people do not even want to mention it in the Church while others prefer to take a neutral point. Perhaps it is because of the misunderstandings and mistakes which have been made in the modern day’s Church in the name of prophecies or simply because some people judge it right to reject the Biblical prophetic office and teach their own laws.

Whatever the case, is it sufficient for us to just sit back home on our comfort chairs and reject the Gift of prophecy because of our personal convictions. We must not abandon the teachings of God to teach those of men. It’s not about us but about God. So are Prophets today real or false? To bring elements of answers to this question, we cannot do so without referring to the Bible which is our chief tool in winning the Christian race. Should you just believe a friend, spiritual leader, or family member who says that Prophets today are no more? Believing without testing and finding out the veracity of this statement from the Bible is actually putting your salvation at risk as we can read from 1 John 4: 1-6. So let’s find out what the Bible says about this matter.

Do Prophets still exist?

We can not talk of the authenticity of prophets today if you do not even know if Prophets still exist or not. You certainly have some answer clues to this question somewhere deep in your heart. Might be you’ve left your thoughts to be influenced by friends, family members, and even spiritual leaders who say that prophets today are no more. Hence, pushing you to believe that every New Testament Prophet or the Prophets of our days are all false. But before you believed their words, did you even bother to find out what the Bible says about this very matter. Believing Spiritual teachings without verifying their veracity from the Bible is actually putting your salvation at risk. You’ve got to find out what the Bible says and also pray that God may lead you through His Spirit into All Truths just as Jesus Christ promised in John 14:17.

The Bible says that Prophets are there in our midst speaking the message of God, yet we are too stubborn to listen. Led us read from 1 Corinthians 12:28 – “In the Church, God has put all in place: in the first place Apostles, in the second place Prophets, and in the third place Teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.” This is a clear setting of the Church which was founded by the Apostles as narrated and written by Apostle Paul. Who then are we to upset God’s house? Could it be that we are much better than the immediate Apostles of Jesus Christ who bought about this revelation from God. If we are not then why the question “are prophets today real or false?”

The Spirit of prophecy is for all times

Why do we abandon God’s true teaches to teach those of men? God is the one who puts His servants in place and not us. He chooses who becomes an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor. Else you’ll be telling me that the Church setting above does not apply for today’s Christians. And that’s not the Case. The Bible is very clear on these things. We should stop relying on others to study the Bible on our behalves. Salvation is personal. Your spiritual leader will not answer your sins on the last day. He’ll answer for his while you answer for yours. If you are ignorant of God’s teachings, be ready to perish or you step out and seek to know what God wants. However, knowing what God wants is not sufficient, you’ll have to practice it as well.

Thus, are prophets today real or false? We’ll pour more light on this by saying that the Spirit of Prophecy is for all times. So what do we mean when we say that the Spirit of prophecy will last for all times? Let’s open our Bibles to Revelation 19:10 where we are told that the Testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of testimony. In order words, the revealed truth of Jesus Christ is what inspires the New Testament prophets as it keeps them busy in God’s vine yard till the next coming of Jesus Christ. So what can we say about that verse? That we’ll always have the spirit of prophecy with us till the next coming of Jesus Christ. Hence, saying that there are no more prophets these days is same as saying that the testimony of Jesus Christ is no more in our days. That’s why in our discussion of prophets today real or false, we’ll say that the spirit of prophecy is still in our midst.

What makes us believe that prophets still exist

Whatever we are saying or doing, we should always get our roots from the Bible. So let’s find out why New Testament Prophets still exist. This will bring light in the hearts of those who believe that John the Baptist was the last prophet. Is the Bible in agreement with this belief? I don’t think so because the Bible gives us a list of New Testament Prophets and their spiritual accomplishments in the Body of Christ for the glory of God the Father.

Let’s open our Bibles to Acts 11:27-28 – “About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.)”, Acts 21:10 – “We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea” and Act 15:32 – “Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength.”

The above verses in the Bible are clearly revealing New Testament Prophets who came many years after the death of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. Hence, John the Baptist was not the last prophet. Others might argue that the gift of prophecy was enabled just for the foundation of the church by the immediate Apostles of Jesus Christ. A view point which turns to be very wrong and error inducing. When we read from Ephesians 4:11, we are told that when Jesus Christ rose up from death, he shared gifts to the rest of mankind including you and me. These gifts among which is that of prophecy are given by the Holy Spirit. Thus, denying this gift is denying the presence of the Holy Ghost in or midst just as Jesus Christ had Promised to send. That’s why we could not omit this point in answering the question “are prophets today real or false?”

Are prophets today real or false

We’ve already proven the existence of prophets in the modern Church. In other words, we still have New Testament Prophets in our midst. Now that we know that prophets still exist these days, let’s focus on bringing elements of answers to the question “are prophets today real or fake?” We cannot easily say that they are all real neither are they all fake. Before the departure of Jesus Christ and all his immediate Apostles, they did not say that all prophets who will later come should be considered fake. Rather, they called on us to be careful because many false prophets will arise in the name of God to turn us from the real faith (Matthew 24:24).

False prophets can only come because true prophets are in existence. They appear to fight the good deeds of the true prophets in preparing the people of Christ for the last day. That’s why Apostle Paul called on the anointed to careful look after the flock which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers. (Acts 20:28-30). This clearly tells us that every called and anointed servant of God is given a number of people to cater and lead towards God. This is the case of today’s Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and teachers of the Gospel.

How to Know a false prophet?

Figuring out a false prophet is not that easy. Yet we are advised by Jesus Christ not to be quick in calling people false prophets or attributing their actions to Satan. It could be that they come from God and are using the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out miracles and wonders as signs that accompanying true believers in preaching the gospel (Mark 16:15-17). And if we hurriedly speak against them, we’ll be speaking against the Holy Spirit and as well being guilty of blasphemy. Our master, Jesus Christ says in Mark 3:28-30 that anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This also applies to those who attribute the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

That’s why we are advises by several authors of the written Biblical books to be slow in speaking. You can’t just wake up and see some one doing miracles and you start saying that he/she is false. By saying these things, you are putting your salvation at risk. What if they are not false, you’ll be guilty of speaking against the Holy Spirit. It will only show you how ignorant you are about the God you think you are serving. In short, it will be that you do not even know the God that you are serving. That’s why the first step in knowing whether a prophet is false or real is to start by deeply studying and understanding the Bible. You’ll also need to call on the Holy Spirit to be your guide in this process. The Holy Spirit can better answer your question of “are prophets today real or false?”

Biblical passage on how to know a false prophet

If you are among those who have been asking the question “are prophets today real or false?” We’ll invite you to open your Bible to 1 John 4:1-6 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world“. The Bible does not tell us that Prophets today are no more rather it calls on us to test the wordings, actions, and teachings of everyone who claims to be Prophet. So how do we test? The true test here is one which is based on Biblical Knowledge and the help of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why we started bringing answers to the question “are prophets today real or false” by inviting you to carefully study your Bible while depending on the Holy Spirit to help you understand as God intended it to be understood. Once you are equipped with the teaching of Jesus Christ, you’ll definitely be verse with His voice just as the scriptures say that “my sheep no my voice”. This is the only way to identify the voice of Jesus Christ through a prophet today. Hearing His voice through a prophet makes him real. If you can’t hear the voice of Jesus Christ or see his actions in a prophet, then he is fake. Whatever the case, always avoid blackmailing and persecuting men of God base on what you heard someone say. This will prevent you from error because the Bible did not ask you to rely on friends and spiritual leaders to test on your behalf.

Ways to detect a modern false prophet

We are still in the same line of bringing light on the question regularly asked “are prophets today real or false?” Let’s show you a few number of ways through which you can easily detect a false prophet and their teachings. Detecting them in time will save you from the risk of going to hell.

False prophets focus on preaching the gospel of prosperity

I’m not against prosperity because God asked man to leave the garden where he had everything for a life of hard work. And it is certain that if you work hard, you’ll definitely become rich and wealthy. The problem here arises when you begin to see yourself as a “small god”. In other words, it is wrong or sinful to offer a higher place in your heart for wealth and property than that offered to God. If you work God will definitely bless you. But you must always keep your blessings below Him and at His feet. Today, lots of false prophets have abandoned the teachings of salvation which were left by Jesus Christ to teach theirs.

They’ve made many people to believe that being a Christian implies that you won’t encounter any suffering or hardship in life. But is this true? No, for Jesus Christ said “a servant can not be greater than his master”. Himself suffered and was rejected in this world. we ought to carry our crosses and follow his foot steps without complaining. In everything or situation, let’s always give thanks to God. Work hard to make it in life but always put God first in everything that you do.

False prophets do not point out sin in the Church

We must say here that the primary role of a true prophet is to call the people back to the Christian faith. A true prophet won’t cover the sins of the people in order to win a crowd of Church members. He or she will prefer to speak the truth and better remain with the few that are willing to follow God. Hence, you should be very careful with prophets who are not out to help men and women to abandon their evil ways and follow God. This is one of the best ways to get answers to the question on prophets today real or false.

False prophets bring teachings different from those of Jesus Christ

Real prophets from God work towards propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the world in order to bring salvation. The false prophets are more into bringing strange teachings and twisting those of Jesus Christ to suit their evil nature. They are more into causing confusion and leading people astray with unsound doctrines. That’s why you must know the voice of Jesus Christ as a christian by reading your Bible at all times.

This brings us to the end of our writing on answering the question “are prophets today real or false?” You can learn more by reading our article on Prophets today.