Our Gospel warns us against false prophets.
Sadly, false prophets have been at work for a long time and are not something that are new. The Old Testament gives us prophets chosen by God who would be sent forth to proclaim a message. There were others who called themselves prophets, but were not authentic in their call to be a prophet.
Saint John writes to us in Sacred Scripture, “Many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Saint Peter writes, “There were also false prophets among the people.” Even the early Christian text known as the Didache warns, “if he teaches another doctrine opposed to this, do not listen to him.”
In our modern world there are false prophets. They lead the faithful astray by presenting to them a false doctrine. As people of faith we must know that the faith is something which is finite and true. It is not something that is changing with the seasons or popular opinion. Despite these false prophets we cannot give into despair that all has been corrupted.
Christ Himself reminds when it pertains to the Church, “the powers of hell will not prevail over it.”
These false prophets are easy for us to spot because the things they say and do are so contrary to the Church. We must also remain on guard against the subtle things which might seep into our life in order to corrupt our life of faith. The things that we allow into our home can be harmful to our life of faith and corrupt the way in which we look upon the world. Media or something else can become that false prophet which leads us away from the Lord.
Let us remain on guard against all false prophets. We must live out a spirit of discernment in order that we may not be swept away by them. The devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for souls to devour. We must resist him solid in our faith. The more that we gravitate towards truth and the pursuit of virtue the more that we will be able to remain attuned to God and His holy will.
Let us remain on guard against false prophets by staying close to the Lord and the fullness of faith that He has handed onto us.
