False Prophecy—A Serious Biblical Error And False Doctrine
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, September 18, 2026 (Donate)
‘But the prophet who presumes to
speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks
in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ “And if you say in your
heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ “when a
prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to
pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has
spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18: 20-22,
NKJV)
According to the Bible, falsely claiming to speak for God is
an extremely serious offense. It makes a person a false prophet and in the Old
Testament they were to be put to death.
A false prophet isn’t merely someone who makes an ordinary
mistake. The issue is claiming divine authority for a message God didn’t give.
For instance, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, had an instance where he claimed
he attributed the words of Satan to God and this has been a mess for those professing
Islam ever since.[1] This was by
his own admission and is problematic.
What Makes A Prophecy False?
God provides several biblical tests—naturally, against God’s previous revelation. First, a prophecy attributed to God must come true. Recall that Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says that when someone speaks in God's name and the prediction doesn’t occur then that alleged prophet has spoken presumptuously.
Next, the message can’t contradict previous revelation. Even
if a predicted sign occurs, a prophet who directs people toward another god
or another gospel must be rejected (e.g., Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Isaiah
8:20; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4).
Also, a prophet can’t invent revelation. God condemned
prophets who claimed He had spoken when He hadn’t:
“I have not sent these
prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if
they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then
they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their
doings. (Jeremiah 23:21-22, NKJV).
Finally, false prophets can appear religious. Jesus
warned us to be aware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing
but are actually ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15)! And Satan himself masquerades
as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)! Christians must therefore test those claiming
revelation (e.g., 1 John 4:1-3).
Conditional Prophecy
As a caveat, you must understand a something important. The
Bible reveals that there are conditional prophecies that one could
mistake for a false claim, when in fact it isn’t. Some prophecies by God have
come with conditional judgment. One of those prime examples is with Jonah. If
Nineveh didn’t repent, they would be judged and destroyed.
As you find out, Nineveh wasn’t destroyed, so one might
mistakenly think, “oh, this was a false prophecy”—but it isn’t. Because the
destruction was predicated on whether they repented or not. Of course, Nineveh repented
at Jonah’s preaching, so the need for destruction was relented. The point is
that this is conditional prophecy.
Conditional prophecy must be distinguished from failed
prophecy. As seen, God sometimes makes judgment dependent upon repentance
or obedience (Jeremiah 18:7-10; Jonah 3:4-10). That is totally distinct and different
from making an unconditional prediction in God's name that simply fails.
Prominent Alleged Prophets And Prophetic Movements
Over the last 2,000 years, numerous individuals have claimed prophetic authority or special revelation. From a biblical perspective,
their claims must be tested rather than assumed—a few famous ones are:
- Muhammad
claimed revelations that became the Quran, yet its theology contradicts
biblical revelation concerning Christ and the gospel (and many other
accounts too!).
- J.
Smith claimed revelations, angelic encounters, and additional scriptures.
His claims (polytheism) must be rejected as they contradict previously
revealed Scripture.
- W. Miller predicted Christ's return in connection with 1843-1844. The
predicted return didn’t occur.
- E.G. White claimed numerous visions. One well-known 1856 statement indicated
that some people then present would remain alive until Christ's return;
all subsequently died.
- C.T. Russell and the early Bible Student movement pushed prophecies of Christ return in 1874, then 1878, and then 1914...that didn’t unfold as expected.
The same biblical standard applies to modern or independent alleged
"prophets." If someone says, the Lord told me this will happen,
and it doesn’t happen, Christians shouldn’t excuse the statement as a minor
mistake. If God didn’t say it, the speaker should never have attributed
it to Him.
God can’t lie (e.g., Titus 1:2) as it would violate His own perfect nature. Therefore, genuine prophecy
can’t originate with God and turn out to be false or errant. In context of
prophecy, the Bible says:
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not
despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every
form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, NKJV).
Claims of prophecy must be tested by God's already-revealed
Word, not by wild reinterpretations of God's Word to rescue failed prophets and their alleged prophecies.
Conclusion
There is an “elephant in the room” here. The Bible revealed
in the first century that the faith has once and for all been delivered
to the saints (Christians). The Christian faith is complete. It needs nothing
else—Christ has already obtained eternal salvation by His own blood. Consider
the words of the Holy Spirit through Jude:
Beloved, while I was very diligent
to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write
to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all
delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3, NKJV))
We no longer need any new prophecies—what we need is Jesus Christ. So one should be automatically be wary of any alleged "new" prophecies or prophetic books and claims.
□
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
defending 6-day creation and opposing evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years
working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and
researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers News. He
was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in
2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a
501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in
churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees
from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught
at SIUC for a couple of years as a Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of
undergraduate engineering and running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did
research on advanced ceramic materials to develop a new method of production of
titanium diboride with a grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test
Engineer for Caterpillar, Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science was coupled with a love of history,
philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and
updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia. Mr.
Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in
these fields.
*Image by generative program as requested by Bodie Hodge
[1] Silas,
Muhammad And The Satanic Verses, Answering Islam, accessed, September
18, 2026.
