2 Peter 2:1
“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”.
We have bad influences that affect us. The bible talks about the world, the flesh and the devil. Those are all strong influences, but are outside of the church. The false prophets represents those bad influences that are in religion.
The false prophet is a person or movement that is going in a direction that’s against or has a message that’s contrary to the bible. Often times it’s personality driven. It’s more about them than about God.
Don’t we all have a part of us that is selfish. That’s the origin of anything that’s antichrist. These selfish drives were satan’s core message. Isaiah 14:13,14, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly. In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” This was complete self promotion. He attempts to place himself above God.
Today’s verse speaks of the false prophet. These ones have enthusiasm for their message. They don’t check (or won’t) to see if it’s contrary to the bible. 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, 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.” It begins at checking our motives. If we are selfishly driven, we are off course. A ship can be off a few degrees and never reach it’s destination.
It’s when we are selfishly driven that we are prone to mislead or to be misled. That’s the spirit of the false prophet. 1 John 4:2,3 says that the one who confesses Christ is of God. We are to be yielded to Him. Even at the slightest impulse within us, we should know if it’s under His lordship. David in Psalm 51:10 cries out for a clean heart. That’s a good practice.
Lord, help us not to be selfishly driven. Help us to be yielded to You at the heart level.