The Difference between False Prophets in New & Old Covenant

The Difference between False Prophets in New & Old Covenant

False prophets in the Old Covenant were easy to detect. If they prophesy something and it doesn't come to pass, God is against them (Eze 13:8). In fact, they shall die (Deut 18:20-22).

The reason is simple as follows:

Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, and have seen nothing! - Eze 13:3

In the Old Covenant, it is impossible to miss God's voice because no one was born again yet. They didn't have the Spirit living inside them. The Spirit was always 'outside' (upon) them. The voice of God comes from without, and hence, they either follow the voice of God (God's Spirit) or their own spirit.

This is why if you prophesy wrongly in the Old Covenant, the consequence is death.

In the New Covenant, false prophets are NOT those who prophesy wrongly, but those who lead people AWAY from Christ (Matt 24:11, 1 John 4:1-3). That includes those preaching in the pulpit who draw people away from Christ-centred messages to themselves.

In the New Covenant, we are born again. The Spirit of God lives inside us. The voice of God comes from within. Hence, we get to LEARN and GROW in hearing His voice as we prophesy. There is no death sentence, but there is a responsibility in the hearers to test the prophecies (1 Thes 5:20-21).

Ezekiel is known to be a drama-mama prophet in the Old Testament. He did so many prophetic acts from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12. 

An interesting principle is this... after he obeyed God to do the prophetic acts, God's interpretation came. The Word of the Lord came to him. But you can see the progression as the Word of the Lord began to come to him faster and faster.

From chapter 13 onwards, almost every subsequent chapter begins with "And the Word of the Lord came to me". Ezekiel didn't even perform any prophetic act yet.

Obedience precedes understanding (revelation). As Ezekiel obeyed God through the prophetic acts, understanding was given to him more and more (Matt 13:12). Eventually, he received understanding (the Word of the Lord) directly from heaven without prophetic acts.

If we want understanding from God, we must first be willing to obey what He says without understanding. If we want to grow in hearing His voice, obedience is the key.