Today’s Devotion: Deuteronomy 18

Palm readers, horoscopes and Tera cards don’t pass the test. The last verse in chapter 18 tells you how to know what is truly from God and what is false. Deuteronomy 18:21-22, “You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.”

Now what about today? This test would disqualify everyone on the contemporary scene who claims to be a “prophet” by predicting the future. I have heard of instances where someone has hit the nail right on the head, but more often they’ve miss the nail altogether. We never hear of their misses; we only hear of their accurate guesses and I admit – some are freaky accurate.

One very common prediction are the people predicting the end of the world on a certain date, the rapture of the church on a certain date, calamities that will come to a particular section of the country on a specific date, and a myriad of other such theories. My husband and I were married on December 31, 1999, which was supposed to be the eve of the end of the world. As soon as the calendar turned to 01-01-00 it would be the end of the world as we know it; that makes me think of the song by REM. Needless to say, the world didn’t end and we just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.

If we applied God’s test to these self-acclaimed prophets, they would be out of business in short order. A true prophet must be accurate in every detail every time. But do you know that there are no warnings about false prophets for the church today? Why? Because there is no more prophecy to be revealed. Everything has been revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word. Our warning today is not against false prophets; our warning is against false teachers. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you …” (2 Pet. 2:1). The warning to us is to listen very carefully today, because there are many sweet, soothing voices that sound very pious, but are not teaching the Word of God. Oh, how important it is for us to beware of false teachers!

McGee, J. Vernon (1984-01-06). Thru the Bible Commentary, Volumes 1-5: Genesis through Revelation (Thru the Bible 5 Volume Set) (Kindle Locations 21921-21931). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.