Certain buzzwords get people’s attention in the secular world. The media found out how to use this to their advantage, and clickbait became successful. It’s no different in the Christian world. There are things we gravitate towards, like prophecy. Whether for or against, it pulls people in.

I believe prophecy is a revelatory gift from God. Yet Satan always attempts to pervert what is God’s and offers us a counterfeit. We must have our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus and our ears to His word. I believe in authentic prophetic ministry and those called to office according to Ephesians 4. I recommend reading Ephesians 4:7-15 to see their job description. It says God has given, meaning God has called and appointed them into that position, not man—other verses like 1 Corinthians 12:28 echo this sentiment. 

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“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15-17). 

Who are false prophets?

Jesus warned His disciples more than once about deception. His admonition to them holds for us today: Always check the fruit. Jesus warned his disciples of the signs of the last days. He mentions wars, famine, pestilence, increasing lawlessness, and the rise of false prophets (see Matthew 24:3-14 ).

According to Jesus, a false prophet intends to deceive God’s people. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, they are pretenders and know what they are doing. False prophecy is used to discredit and diminish the authentic prophetic ministry. A true prophet is a servant of the Lord Jesus, but a false prophet is self-seeking. A true prophetic ministry points to Jesus, but a false one leads us away from the Lord. 

When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:22). 

If a prophecy didn’t come to pass, it was not from the Lord. That is, in fact, what this verse says. It also says that “the prophet” has spoken presumptuously, and we do not need to be afraid of him. Notice the Lord still calls him a prophet and not false. He spoke presumptuously, meaning he presumed to know what God was saying but got it wrong. The New Living Translation states it this way: If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.

Prophetic people, or any believers for that matter, are human and, therefore, susceptible to getting into the flesh and messing up. Notice the Lord tells the people, you shall not be afraid of him. Why would God tell people not to fear a presumptuous prophet? The reason is that being a false prophet in the Old Testament resulted in the death penalty. For God to tell the people not to fear means the prophet who presumed it was God was not “false” but spoke out of line. That is a lack of wisdom, not evil intent. Again, a false prophet intends to deceive.

According to Deuteronomy 13:1-5, false prophets want you to worship other gods. They deceive people through dreams, signs, and wonders. They incite rebellion against the Lord. They want to turn you away from the Lord. Also, it’s important to note false prophets target God’s people.

A Different Kind of “Prophet”

I felt a stirring to write this because Jesus warned us about the rise of false prophets in the last days, and I believe we have already seen it. Many Christians believe that mainstream media, not all but some, operate as false prophets. I have often questioned if I am being fed the entire truth or another narrative. Many times, the fruit of mainstream media is fear and panic; at times, it’s complicit in stirring up the emotions of the people negatively. You must ask yourself, “Does the media have the intention to deceive Christians?” If you answered yes, it can be said the media can act as a medium for false prophecy. 

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). 

Even Christians Can Be Deceived

Yes, even the sincerest, Bible-believing Christians can be deceived. I know because I was deceived. What follows may be hard for you to receive, but often, the hard things are what we need to hear. I ask that you prayerfully seek God about what I am sharing.

I was deceived by QAnon. I believe that QAnon was/is a false prophet. 

A Christian friend introduced me to Q in 2017. I was thrilled to read about “secrets” and “plans” for America. The posts were almost like riddles to be solved. As I read, I became excited that God would raise someone to save America from the bad guys. It not only seemed harmless—it seemed helpful. I checked regularly for new posts.

While sitting at my computer one day, I was ready to see what was new. I heard the inner voice of the Holy Spirit say, “You can read that, or you can listen to me.” Wow. I was clearly rebuked!

I had only followed Q for a few months, but after that encounter, I never opened another Q post or looked back. Instead, I repented for getting so caught up and sharing these messages with other believers. Thankfully, my friends saw the errors, too. 

Many will say Q “opened their eyes” to the truth about a corrupt government. While I’m sure there is indeed hidden corruption around us, did we need a secretive and exclusive platform to tell us? Doesn’t history reveal this? Doesn’t the Bible show us this and mention spiritual wickedness in high places? There is nothing new under the sun (see Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

Good or Bad Fruit?

The full identity of who was behind the screen has never been confirmed. But many speculated, elevated, and crowned whoever it was/is as some savior. It was a hot topic. When I pulled away, I could see the error and idolatry of it all.

Q glorified men over Jesus Christ, and some Christians did the same. A false prophet leads God’s people to fix their eyes elsewhere. There is only one Saviour, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Q filled people with confusion. For a season in time, people were saying that a former president who was assassinated was alive and attending Trump rallies. There were many other things just as bizarre and false as this, and people just ate every word, Christians included. God is not the author of confusion (see 1 Corinthians 14:33). 

Q caused division and discord. Believers and unbelievers were so nasty to one another; it was not only embarrassing but very disturbing. How could we let something like this divide us?  God has instructed His church on how to handle those who purposely sow division in Romans 16:17. Look at how the Message translates it: One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.

Q told people to “trust the plan.” It involves a man called to save America from corruption. The Bible says that Jesus is the hope of all nations, including America (see Matthew 12:20-21). While I believe and agree that God raises men and women for specific purposes and plans, the scriptures warn us that if we put our confidence in the flesh or any man above the Lord, we open ourselves to a curse (see Jeremiah 17:5).

Q puffed people up. “Secret intel” no one else knows causes pride and other bad fruit. The Bible addresses this. In the garden, the serpent tempted and deceived Eve. She wanted the knowledge of good and evil to make her like God. In the New Testament, Paul wrote, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” Receiving secret revelations puffed up Q Anon followers and caused pride, which should never be treated lightly. It caused Lucifer to incite a rebellion against the Lord, and that’s also what false prophets do.

Q filled people with fear, causing panic. Around 2020, many people were talking about massive blackouts because of the posts. People were terrified and panic-buying, and there was much fear. Yet, there were no blackouts at that time. Fear is not how God operates. God loves us, and perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

Q distracted Christians from God. Yes, Christians have spent much time poring over Q posts that could have been spent in praise and worship, intercession, loving our neighbors, caring for widows and orphans, or other things commanded in God’s Word. These activities could have born good fruit. 

Don’t Go in Circles

Right after the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, social media was ablaze with an abundance of clips from the rally. Many were praising God, some were offensive, and some called for prayer for our nation. I noticed that many shared a Q post from 2018, alluding to an assassination attempt. I saw the hashtag “trust the plan” and was grieved and logged out.

Did we need anyone to tell us that President Trump would be targeted? But of course, Q wants Christians to believe he knew it first. We are roughly four months away from our presidential election. If we see a re-emergence of those posts, let’s fix our eyes and ears towards heaven and seek the Lord. 

I ask this one thing for every intercessor and Christian reading this: Let’s not make the same mistake we made leading up to 2020. We were so lifted in pride that we assumed we had the presidential victory in 2020, but God didn’t allow it. Let’s not be like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness, going in circles and making the same mistakes.

While some things don’t make sense or add up, not everything is a conspiracy (see Isaiah 8:11-13). Do I believe that people can make nefarious plans? I do. It’s seen throughout the Bible and human history. There is nothing new under the sun.

I believe what the Bible says about nothing being hidden in His sight and exposing evil deeds. But where in the Bible does God tell us to spend our time focusing on the activities, plans, and schemes of evildoers? We can miss the mark spending our time that way, and I know I did. But we will never miss the mark seeking God, learning to listen to Him, and learning how to obey Him.

Here are essential things to remember to shape our prayers.

• Pray for believers not to become consumed by theories that give way to fear. 
• Pray for eyes to see and ears to hear, and pray into what He shows you.
• Pray for the church to return to the holy fear of the Lord. We want wisdom, life, blessings, protection, and more. We will find it if we choose the fear of the Lord. 
• Don’t “trust the plan;” trust the Lord and pray that HIS plans and purposes will prevail (see Proverbs 19:21).
• Pray that intercessors and Christians seek discernment in this hour. We need His Word more than ever. A sharpened sword will keep us from deception.
• Seek Him about our elections with humility. We can’t presume to know how this will turn out. He can humble us like he did in 2020 if we don’t repent from our pride and idolatry.
• Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Seek Him in prayer and contend for revival.
• Seek His face with fasting, humbling, prayer, and repentance (see 2 Chronicles 7:14 ).
• Pray for authentic prophetic voices to raise calls to intercession and to warn, guide, exhort, and strengthen the body of Christ. 

Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more (Psalm 105:4 WEB).

If this resonates with you, please share!

For an in-depth look at identifying false prophets, you can read an article I wrote last year, End-Times Deception on the Rise. 

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo credit: Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash.