- Characteristics of false prophets
- False appearance
- The decontextualization of religious texts
- They claim to be challenged by God
- Control and intimidation are his favorite weapons
- They put 'facts' before the word
- The false prophets in the Bible
- References
The false prophets are individuals who, unlawfully, pretend to be owners of virtues that really are not attributable to them. These false prophets usually use the word to persuade their victims, who they convince of their status as powerful beings or transmitters of divine messages.
They are present in the culture associated with religions, with special incidence in Judeo-Christianity. The first false prophets were denounced in the Holy Scriptures, that is, in the Bible.
Since then, there have been many famous false prophets who almost always responded to a pattern. This pattern is made up of a series of characteristics that we will list below.
The reasons for which false prophets act in this way can be very varied: personal gain, financial gain, discrediting other people or creeds and other malicious purposes.
Characteristics of false prophets
False appearance
False prophets often pretend what they are not, making themselves see to others as spiritual people full of wisdom and knowledge.
They use this to fool the most careless. They are impressed with their alleged closeness to the divinities, with whom they claim to have a close relationship.
The decontextualization of religious texts
These phonies always try to use religious texts in ways that support their theories. To do this, they decontextualize passages or freely reinterpret passages whose real meaning is different. They are usually good speakers and that makes their task easier.
They claim to be challenged by God
They often name God as their direct interlocutor, transmitters on Earth of the message and doers of the divine will.
With this attitude, according to many religious, what they do is take in vain the name of God, one of the first unbreakable religious rules. Thus, they are placed on a level very close to that of the divinities, instead of being below them, as they should be.
Control and intimidation are his favorite weapons
False prophets like to feel powerful and project that power onto their followers. They seek to be feared, not respected.
To achieve this, they often intimidate, threaten or humiliate followers who do not fulfill what they preach at face value. They use public embarrassment for dissuasive purposes when someone dares to contradict them.
They put 'facts' before the word
They are manipulative to the point of simulating events in order to deceive their followers. Unlike priests invested by religious authorities, they often disparage sacred texts.
They do it directly or indirectly. That is, they either manipulate the meaning of the scriptures or they try to make their 'miraculous' acts replace them.
The false prophets in the Bible
In the Old and New Testaments there are direct and indirect references to false prophets. In the New Testament, there are examples in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
In different passages, Jesus Christ anticipates the future arrival of false preachers or false saviors. Therefore, he exhorts all Christians to know how to distinguish between the true and those who are not.
Other passages in which the existence of false prophets is manifested even before the birth of Jesus Christ can be found in the Letter to the Corinthians and the Acts of the Apostles.
References
- "Deceivers and false prophets among us", Todd Tomasella. (2005).
- Bible verses about false teachers, on Bible Study Tools, at biblestudytools.com.
- 7 Traits of False Profets in Sheep's Clothing, on Charisma News, at charismanews.com.
- The False Profets, on Catholicism.org, at catholicism.org.