“If our gospel be hidden, it is hidden by those who are being lost,
through whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unfaithful.”
2Corinthians 4:3–4a
There were false prophets among the [Old Testament] people,
just as there will be false teachers among you, . . .
and many will follow them.”
2Peter 2:1a, 2a
“False messiahs and false prophets will rise,
and they will . . . . mislead, if it were possible, even the elect.”
Matthew 24:24
From the above scriptures, the wise receive two important truths.
The first truth is that Peter’s prophecy was true, that there are false teachers among God’s children who have large followings, just as happened in the Old Testament. Many ancient Israelites are in hell now because they rejected the true prophets God sent to them, but the above scriptures tell us that they rejected them because they believed the false prophets who claimed to speak for God, but did not. They were turned away from the truth by false prophets! This was a grief to God and to the prophets He truly sent. God lamented, “I did not send these prophets, but they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied” (Jer. 23:21). And Jeremiah, seeing God’s people following false prophets, cried out, “My heart within me is broken because of the prophets!” (Jer. 23:9).
The second truth is that no matter how persuasive false teachers are, it is not possible for them to persuade the pure in heart to follow them, just as Jesus said. That promise lets us know that if we follow after the Spirit and keep our conscience clear, God will always be there to help us sense what is right and what is wrong. He promised through Isaiah, “Your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’ (Isa. 30:21a).
In trusting that precious promise, we can more easily obey Jesus’ command to be anxious about nothing (Mt. 6:25–32). Our heavenly Father does not want us to spend our lives worrying about whether or not we will be deceived. It is better to focus on loving Him and doing His will. If we do that, we will never be blinded by false teachers, for Jesus will be there, protecting our hearts from men who know how to look and sound good, but who are not. Keeping a clear conscience, we will hear, in even the most confusing times, God’s “still, small voice” whispering in our ear, “This is the way; walk in it.”
