“If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, ‘Let’s follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them,’ you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For Adonai your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love Adonai your God with all your heart and being.“-Deuteronomy 13:2-4
As irritating and as painful as it can be, have you ever wondered why we go through temptations, trials and tribulations in our lives?
Well, verse 4 of Deuteronomy Chapter 13 gives us the answer.
We’re told the Lord deliberately sends temptations and trials our way in order to test us to see “whether you really do love Adonai your God with all your heart and being”.
The example we’re given here in the beginning of Deuteronomy 13 is that of a false prophet who the Lord gives the power to know the future.
Through this “gift” of prophecy, this type of deceiving prophet will attempt to lead the people astray by suggesting they either follow after other gods or adopt some element of pagan worship into Israel’s worship of HASHEM.
When the people encounter such a prophet, the Lord makes it clear that they are NOT to listen to that person because the source of his suggestions are pure evil.
What are the people to do instead?
The answer is simple.
They are to put that false prophet to death.
That’s right.
We are given divine permission right here in God’s Torah to literally kill a man (or woman) for attempting to lead Israel away from their God.
There’s something else of key importance I want you to catch.
Did you notice that the indicator of whether a prophet is from God or not has nothing to do with whether what he prophesies comes true or not?
And it doesn’t matter that he claims to be a follower of the God of Israel either!
So what is the key factor we are to go by when determining whether a prophet is from God or not?
It is this.
Is what that prophet says in harmony with God’s written laws and commands?
Got that?
Let me say it again.
When encountering one who claims to be a prophet, if what he says is NOT in tune with God’s Torah, then say goodbye to that prophet.
Again, just because someone claims to be a follower of HASHEM while at the same time displaying miraculous signs and wonders doesn’t mean diddly squat.
The time when Moses confronted Pharaoh in Egypt is a perfect example of this.
In order to establish his authority in front of Pharaoh, God gave Moses the power to do all kinds of mind-blowing supernatural signs and wonders.
However, Pharaoh’s sorcerers were also able to perform the very same supernatural signs.
Of course, in a head-to-head and blow-for-blow battle, if the Lord chooses, there is no force in the universe that’s gonna be able to outdo Him when it comes to performing supernatural miracles and healing.
In response to Moses turning his staff into a serpent, Pharaoh’s magicians were also able to turn their staffs into serpents.
But then what happened next?
Moses’ serpent ended up devouring and swallowing whole all the other serpents.
So yes, the God of Israel does reign supreme in the miracle-working department BUT…
…understand that the signs and wonders of the magicians were also the real deal.
So let’s get this straight.
Just because someone claiming to be a prophet displays some degree of supernatural ability doesn’t mean anything.
So how can we know the truth?
We can know the truth through this very TORAH we are studying that enables us to measure and compare what we experience out there in the world with what is written.
God’s Word gives us the Truth.
All this talk about how to discern false prophets might seem ancient, primitive and not really relevant to our day and age but the truth is…
…this is an area where the modern church has been corrupted to the core.
It all started with the totally false doctrine that God’s Torah (and all the other books of the Hebrew Scriptures) had been done away with and should no longer be considered a source from which to learn God’s divine principles and patterns for daily living.
Boy, the extent to which the modern gentile church has been fooled in this area is almost beyond belief.
If I were satan himself, I couldn’t think of a better way to deceive gentile believers than to convince them that those very Scriptures which Paul asserted were God-breathed and valuable for teaching the truth no longer apply AND…
…instead replace it with ridiculously pious sounding but totally false doctrines created in the minds of anti-Semitic denominational leaders, theologians and religious philosophers.
Think about it man!
The institutional church has done that very thing the Torah warns us not to do.
They have both subtracted from and added to the Word of God.
They have literally abolished two-thirds of God’s Word and made that abolishment their official doctrine.
Holy peach cream tarts man!
The Messiah himself also warned us about this.
“Don’t think that I have come to abolish
the Torah or the Prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to complete.
Yes indeed!
I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away,
not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah
— not until everything that must happen has happened.
So whoever disobeys
the least of these commands and teaches
others to do so will be called the least
in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But whoever obeys them and so teaches
will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
-Matthew 5:17-19
Make no bones about it.
This is the accusation I level against the institutional church.
Through the ridiculous use of allegory combined with their anti-Semitism, church doctrines have not only caused mass confusion to all believers everywhere but have cause the worst possible harm to the very people of God to whom the Lord entrusted His Torah.
Let’s take a look at verse 6.
“and that prophet or dreamer is to be put to death; because he urged rebellion against Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from a life of slavery; in order to seduce you away from the path Adonai your God ordered you to follow. This is how you are to rid your community of this wickedness.“
What we learn from these verses is that the execution of a prophet is less a matter of punishment and more a matter of protecting the community at large from evil.
Executing a false prophet is like surgically removing a cancerous growth so it won’t harm the rest of the body.
Again, this is another one of those principles the church has managed to turn on its head with its so-called “law of love” doctrine.
The Torah makes it clear that murderers and false prophets are to be executed.
But the church with their ridiculous “law of love” doctrine says that these violent offenders are to be shown mercy and tolerance.
What is the result of this?
The result is that the evil remains to infect others.
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