We hear about both false teachers and false prophets in the Bible. But, what are each of these, and how do they differ? Let me use my favorite cult, Jehovah’s Witnesses, as an example of both false teachers and false prophets.
False teachers are people within the body of Christ, the church, who teach non-biblical doctrine and try to draw people into their error. C. T. Russell, the founder of the Watchtower Society is a good example. He was part of the Adventist Movement in the late 19th century, the movement that brought us today’s Seventh Day Adventist. But, because of his doctrinal errors and he continually pushed these as biblical, he left the movement in 1881 and started the Zion’s Watchtower and Tract Society, later to be known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Russell was a false teacher. He continually taught false doctrines.
False prophets are a little different. While false teachers teach false doctrine, a false prophet takes it a little further. He falsely claims to speak in God’s name and to predict things that are to come.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (ESV)
21 And
if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’—
22 when a prophet speaks in
the name of the LORD, if the word
does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has
spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
The two tests of a prophet are the same today as they were when Deuteronomy was written. If someone (1) speaks in the Name of the Lord and (2) what he predicts doesn’t come to pass, he is a false prophet , and you shouldn’t listen to him. Giving an opinion something will happen or even making a personal prediction do not make you a false prophet. Claiming it’s God’s prediction is the key.
So, false teachers pervert God’s Word, and false prophets make predictions in God’s name that do not come to pass. Have we ever seen someone speak in God’s name predict something that didn’t come to pass?
In the April 1, 1972 Watchtower Magazine, in an article entitled, “They Shall Know That A Prophet Was Among Them,” the magazine asked this question: “So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet?” In the next paragraph, the magazine identifies that prophet: “This ‘prophet’ was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was a small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses.” The entire article points to the claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses in general and, the Watchtower Society in particular, are God’s prophet. They speak in God’s name.
So, did “God’s Prophet” ever predict anything which did not come to pass?
“In this chapter we present the Bible evidence proving that the full end of the times of the Gentiles, i. e., the full end of their lease of dominion, will be reached in A. D. 1914; and that that date will be the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men.” (The Time is at Hand, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1909 edition p. 76)
That’s a false prophet. (See also https://answersaz.com/1914-2/ for more on Watchtower Predictions)
Be careful, though. The temptation to identify everyone as a false teacher is great. Don’t let it get a hold on you. Just because someone teaches something you disagree with is not evidence of false teaching. In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus lays out just how you should address any differences whether doctrinal or personal:
Matthew 18:15-17 (ESV)
15 “If
your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him
alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by
the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church,
let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
You may be wrong and falsely accusing someone when all they did was misspeak or make a mistake. You may also be wrong yourself. Jesus set up a great system here. Use it.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 