What is a prophet and how do we discern from real prophets and false prophets?

A prophet is someone who carries a message from God for the general population. They are usually used by God in preparation for something He is about to do, for example, John the Baptist knew that Jesus, 'one who was greater' than he, was coming and John's job was to prepare the people for the message of repentance of sin that Jesus would bring. (See for example, Luke 3). Or the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, who foretold the coming of Christ. Real prophets are few and far between. The last real Christian prophet on earth was Jesus Christ himself. Discerning who is real and false is pretty easy these days because real prophets in the sense of pre-Christ, don't actually exist. Many Christians today claim to have the gift of 'prophecy', which is not the same as being a prophet, but again very few do actually have the true prophetic gift. There are many churchmen and other religious zealots who claim to be prophets but they lie.





Discernment in the Christian sense is something that comes from knowing biblical truth by having it revealed by the Holy Spirit and has to be cultivated. There is no way that someone can tell you how to discern anything but you must discern for yourself from a background of knowing biblical truth. For example, some pastors today who hold to prosperity theology claim to have gifts of prophecy. But they will preach things like, 'if you are really blessed by God then you will have riches to prove it'. Now, anyone with a true understanding of God's nature knows this is plainly wrong and when it is tested against scripture, in its full and proper sense and context, then it is also wrong. For example, 1 Timothy says in chapter 6: 3-7 that:





'If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it'.





Many of today's so-called prophets in some churches are flying in the face of actual biblical truth about God's will for the world. The bible also says that many antichrists have already gone into the world and, to my mind, this is plainly evident. You don't need a PhD in theology to work it out, just a discerning spirit and knowledge of what the bible actually says so that you can test everything. 1 John 2:18-27 says 'Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.' He then goes onto say that he is writing about 'those who are trying to lead you astray' and talks of God's anointing to those Christians he is addressing as something which 'teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit - just as it has taught you, remain in him.'





In verse 4, 1 John then tells his friends to 'test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.' He then goes onto say that 'They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognise the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.'





Unfortunately many people today have convinced others that they are from God and it is not tested by those who listen.


What is a prophet and how do we discern from real prophets and false prophets?
Prophets were given extraordinary miracles to prove the existance of God.





Moses, turning the dead sea to blood, rod to snake, ectra





Jesus, brought the dead to live, cured the lepers ectra





Muhammad, split the moon to half, water sprang out from his fingers, The Holy Quran ectraWhat is a prophet and how do we discern from real prophets and false prophets?
Rev 19:10, ';...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy';, and those who have His testimony are true prophets. Prior to Jesus, prophecy was looking forward to the coming of Christ, but today's prophets look back to when He came into the world.





How do we discern the real prophets from the false:





Deuteronomy 18:22, ';When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, IF THE THING FOLLOW NOT, NOR COME TO PASS, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him';.
there is no way lol