True Prophets tell the Truth

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062817.cfm
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Matthew 7:15-20

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.

Matthew 7:15

So, there are true prophets. Says so right there in the text, by inference. The warning to watch out for the false ones assumes there are true prophets. Jesus, however, specifically wants us to know that there are wolves.

The general definition for all religious views of a prophet defines a prophet as the proclaimer of the will of God. In the Judeo-Christian frame of mind, a string of prophets proclaimed the will of God in an historical litany of expectation. Prophecy both signaled and marked the coming of one who would lead a nation, and subsequently the entire world, with an unstoppable rule. His authority would be complete. 

For Christians, that “one” was Jesus Christ. He’s the one who is quoted above in Matthew. Prophecy didn’t stop with Jesus’ coming. The will of God still calls upon prophets. How, though, are we to know who prophecies God’s will? Jesus described prophets several times just in Matthew’s recording - (5:12; 10:8, 10:40; 23:34)

Jesus, identified as one with Christ, did not deviate from the prophecies of the Jewish prophets. He said he fulfilled those prophecies. He often cites chapter and verse pointing out which ones were fulfilled in him. 

A prophet speaks more about what God is doing right now than what we can expect to happen in the future. Though, if God so wills it, a prophet can be charged with prophecies of the future. Jesus’ prophecies linked the prophets of old to the prophets of the coming Kingdom. A follower of Christ listens to Jesus’ call to do “the will of my Father in heaven.” This message is the same message that the prophets of the Old Testament gave to the Jewish people. 

What would be the point of being a false prophet? Why would anyone spend energy doing that?  At the base of every motive, and the root of every intent regarding proclaiming God’s will is a premise about knowing God. The false prophet has multiple motives and intentions. In almost every case their operative intention is to take over for God.

Both the previous and later chapters of Matthew do well to describe the failings of folks claiming to be prophets, ones who know God. Even if they are well intending, the misguided prophet believes a smattering of these things:

• God doesn’t exist, so they’ll step in
  
• God is busy with something else, so they’ll step in
  
• God has messed up, so they’ll step in
  
• God is not good, so they’ll step in

Another category are the over-eager prophets.

• God has picked them to fix the world, so they’re stepping up

The false prophet, though, goes one huge step farther. They mimic, infiltrate, or abscond the infrastructure set in place by others to honor God. They cover their evil intent with camouflage. 

All well-intending, over-eager and false prophets show their colors. Their fruits reveal their intent. 

Galatians 5:22 says, “… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . . " 

This is where the mimicking takes place. Prophets can fake all of these fruits of the Spirit. In fact, they can also perform works and miracles. Matthew 24:24 and 23:13, and look like the most righteous among us, 23:28.

The sign of a true prophet always comes down to proclaiming the will of the Father. Many of us will be misled. Many of us will be deceived. Well-meaning and over-eager prophets are actually no better than the insidious false prophets.

Matthew 7:21 explains the fate of the false prophet, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons vin your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ ”

The quandary of the believer often comes down to frustration over whom to listen to. This is why we must gather in Jesus’ name, coming to know him both personally and as community. Wolves will be in our midst, even in the Church, but by gathering in the name of Jesus they will be identified.

The gathering is done by the Holy Spirit. The appointment of leaders comes through that gathered community. If we don’t believe that, then we end up with well-intended, but false prophecy, and eventually some awful choices:

• God doesn’t exist
  
• God is busy with something else
  
• God has messed up
  
• God is not good

The truth looks quite different from that.

• God exists and speaks to us (God's love can be sharp and cutting)
• God has no limitations or lack of resources (God cannot be undone)
  
• God has been engaged in everything that has happened, and God will repair everything to himself (God's plan will prevail)
  
• God is good (dangerous, surely, but good)

This means, however, that wolves do roam, and that life is both dangerous and deadly. The prophet who does not admit that may be well meaning, but they are not telling you the truth.