18th October 2026

Beware of False Prophets

Message delivered 18th October 2026.

Readings:

Psalm 22 v 1 – 21.

Isaiah 53 v 1 - 12

Good morning. A prayer.

"Lord God, grant me clarity in proclaiming your truth and open the ears and hearts of all who listen. Let your light penetrate our understanding and draw us closer to you. Amen."

I want to speak to you today about prophets, prophecies and, in particular, false prophets. It is a subject that has long been of interest to me. Please indulge me.

So, let’s get a few statistics out of the way first.

The Protestant Bible contains 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. It spans a period of nearly 4,000 years of recorded history within its narrative, while the writing of the texts themselves took place over a period of about 1,000 to 1,500 years. The New Testament spans only around 100 years.

How many prophecies are there in the bible? According to J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy, the Bible contains 1,817 total prophecies (1,239 in the Old Testament and 578 in the New Testament), covering 737 separate subjects, although, as you might suspect,  different scholars argue that there could be as many as 2500.

How many fulfilled prophecies are there in the bible? There is no single agreed-upon number of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible because the exact count depends on how scholars define and categorise a "prophecy." Traditional and scholarly estimates state that around 2,000 prophecies have already been fulfilled.

What about unfulfilled Prophecies? The remaining hundreds of prophecies deal with future events, such as the Second Coming of Jesus, the millennium, and end-times events. I don’t want to dwell on unfulfilled prophecies as they belong to the future, a land that I have no wish to visit or speculate about. God has His plan for me, for all of us. I am comfortably assured that Jesus Christ, my saviour, will return some day, and that is good enough for me. I have no idea when. It could be tomorrow. It could be in a 1000 years’ time.

At home, we get occasional visits from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, where the discussion usually centres around one passage or another from Revelations, or some another apocalyptic text. I always engage with them and usually we end up agreeing that the world is not as God would want it to be. I really don’t understand those guys though. Where’s the joy? Do they wake up each morning in despair? I wake up each morning with a positive view on life: if the weather is good, to beautiful sunrise skies, views of the mountains, and the Razès plain in the foreground.  I like to look at the good news of Jesus Christ, not the ‘last days’ and the possible end of the current world system.

How about Messianic Prophecies, those about Jesus Christ? Depending on the scholar's list, counts of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, range from around 300 to 330 specific prophecies. Key predictions include His birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), specific details of his crucifixion (Isaiah 53), and his betrayal.

Let’s look at a few of these. Just a few, I promise.

A Promised Ruler from Bethlehem.

From Micah 5

1 Marshall your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned, until the time when she who is in labour bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

The central promise is a ruler from Bethlehem. Jesus of Nazareth's birth in Bethlehem fulfils this prophecy (Mattew 2 v 6).  Yet verse 3 clarifies that this ruler will not come immediately to prevent the present disaster.

The Book of Micah was written in the 8th century BC. As we often see, things don’t always move quickly in biblical times, and this prophecy was not to be fulfilled for another 750 years or so.

Matthew 2 verse 6 references the prophet Micah, when King Herod asked where the Messiah was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea’ was the reply, ‘for this is what the prophet has written.’ You know the rest – Christmas is not far away, and this story will be mentioned then, I feel sure.

The Virgin Birth.

The primary Old Testament prophecy of the virgin birth is found in Isaiah 7:14, written (according to the experts) around the 8th century BC:

"Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel."

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the promise of a Messiah is clearly given. These messianic prophecies were made 100s, if not 1000s, of years before Jesus Christ was born, and clearly Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever walked this earth to fulfil them. In fact, from the books of Genesis to Malachi, there are over 300 specific prophecies detailing the coming of this ‘Anointed One’. In addition to the prophecies detailing the virgin birth, His birth in Bethlehem, His birth from the tribe of Judah, His lineage from King David, His sinless life, and His atoning work for the sins of His people, the death and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah was, likewise, well documented in the Hebrew prophetic scriptures, long before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, occurred in history.

The Death of the Messiah.

Of the best-known prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the death of the Messiah, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 certainly stand out. Our first reading, read to us by Carolyn, was from Psalm 22, which is especially amazing since it predicted numerous separate elements about Jesus’ crucifixion, a thousand years before Jesus was crucified. Here are some examples.

He will have His hands and His feet “pierced” through (as verse 16 and attested-to in John 20:25).

His bones will not be broken (a person’s legs were usually broken after being crucified to speed up their death. Indeed this was done to the other two who were crucified with him, but not to Jesus (as v 17 and attested-to in John 19:33).

Men will cast lots for His clothing (as v 18 and confirmed in John 19:24 and  Matthew 27:35).

Our second reading, read to us by Philip was from Isaiah 53, the classic messianic prophecy, also details the death of the Messiah for the sins of His people. Written in the 6th century BC, Isaiah provides details of His life and death.

Continuing with Isaiah 53, we hear that:

He will be rejected (v 3, alluded-to in Luke 13:34, quoting Jesus who said, ’Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.’)

The Messiah will be killed as a vicarious sacrifice for the sins of His people (then in 2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Messiah will be silent in front of His accusers (then in 1 Peter 2:23).

The Messiah will be buried with the rich (then in Matthew 27:57–60).

The Messiah will be with criminals in His death (then in Mark 15:27).

Christ’s Resurrection

In addition to the death of the Messiah, His resurrection from the dead is also foretold. The clearest and best known of the resurrection prophecies is the one by King David in Psalm 16:10, also written a millennium before the birth of Jesus: “because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead; Nor will You let your faithful one see decay.”

When Peter preached the first gospel sermon, he boldly asserted that God had raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24*). He explained that God had performed this miraculous deed in fulfilment of David’s prophecy in Psalm 16. In fact, Peter quoted the words of David in detail, in Acts 2, as contained in Psalm 16:8–11:

24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

25 David said about him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,

27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.

28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

Like Peter, Paul also declared in Acts 13, that God had raised Jesus from the dead, in fulfilment of Psalm 16:10. (Acts 13:33–35**).

Referring back to our first reading, from Psalm 22, the resurrection of the Messiah is strongly implied in verses 19–21, where the suffering Saviour prays to be rescued from the mouth of the lions (a metaphor for Satan?). This desperate prayer is then followed immediately in verses 22–24 by a hymn of praise in which the Messiah thanks God for hearing His prayer and delivering Him.

But enough! Let’s move on to the final part of my message today.

False Prophets

Within Matthew Chapter 5, we read of the amazing Sermon on the Mount. In that great sermon, Jesus speaks of true and of false prophets. He warns his followers to watch out for false prophets. The passage from Matthew 7, verses 15 to 20 reads:

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

16 By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them.

A false prophet in the Bible is a person who claims to speak or act on behalf of God, but delivers lies, self-invented visions, or teachings that can lead people into idolatry and sin.

Jesus was warning his disciples – and, by extension, us too - about false Messiahs and false prophets who will come in the end times to trick many people.

Some Key Characteristics of False Prophets.

• They speak presumptuously in God's name without being sent or commissioned by Him (Jeremiah 14:14, Deuteronomy 18:20).

• They often tell people what they want to hear—such as proclaiming peace and safety when judgment is near—frequently for money or personal gain (Jeremiah 14:13, Ezekiel 13).

• Jesus warned that they appear gentle and righteous on the outside, but are inwardly deceptive ("ravenous wolves") (as I have just read, Matthew 7:15).

• Some can perform signs, wonders, or accurate predictions, but use them to draw people away to serve other gods (Deuteronomy 13:1–3, Matthew 24:24).

• False prophets rarely look threatening; instead, they often appear charming, academically accomplished, or deeply religious.

• They frequently omit uncomfortable or foundational doctrines—such as sin, repentance, and judgement—in favour of ‘comfortable things’ that appeal to human desires and confirmation of their ideas.

• Believers are instructed to evaluate leaders not by their charisma, titles, or miraculous claims, but by their long-term character, alignment with Scripture, and moral integrity.

After Jesus and the Gospels, Paul, in his letters, also cautions against false leaders. In Acts 20:29-30, he tells the Ephesian elders, wolves will come among them to eat the flock. Peter addresses false prophets who teach harmful things, leading people astray, twisting the truth for personal gain (2 Peter 2:1).

In short, scripture tells us to watch out for men and women who claim to be God’s prophets, but who have ulterior motives.

Out there, in the increasingly secular, anti-semitic, anti-Christian world today, at our age, we hopefully all know about traps that are laid to trick us. Even so, the tricksters are very good at what they do and we have to be alert against them. Whether it be through scammers, advertisements or smooth talking salesmen, the predictions and promises that they make can easily be accepted as trustworthy. We all know about politicians and the media and their sense of truth,  the claim that your electricity bill will go down by £300 next year, etc. And pigs might fly!

Just remember, God is watching over us.

A prayer to close.

Heavenly Father, I come before You seeking Your truth and light. Guard my heart and mind from deception, fear-mongering, and manipulation. Grant me the spirit of discernment to test every spirit against Your Word. Expose any false voices, nullify every ungodly pronouncement or curse spoken against my life, and anchor me firmly in the truth of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:

*The book of Acts was written by Luke, and Acts 2:24 is part of the sermon delivered by the Apostle Peter at Pentecost.

**The book of Acts was written by Luke, and Acts 13:33 records a spoken sermon delivered by the Apostle Paul during his first missionary journey in Pisidian Antioch.

                                                                                                        Jess Jephcott – 18th October 2026