One of the stories I remember best from childhood is that of “Chicken Little” (also called “Henny Penny). An apple fell on Chicken Little’s head and she believed the sky was falling. She didn’t check her data, or look around to find out what might have happened. Instead, she took it upon herself to become a false prophet. Concerned, she made a trip to warn the king the world was going to end. In the process, she also convinced some of her friends the sky was falling. In their haste and fervor to promote a message – one that had no basis in fact – they wound up beguiled by a sly fox. He led them right into his den…and they became his dinner.
The story of “Chicken Little” holds a message for us today…maybe one we’d rather not embrace. It’s simple advice: don’t be misled by wrong information. Wrong information leads us into trouble.
Here we will examine signs of false prophets, specifically in the context of the end times. Let’s heed the warning and acquire right information as informed believers.
Running to and fro, with nothing
More and more, I meet an abundance of “Chicken Littles.” They run around online, claiming to be any variety of minister (prophets and prophetesses, etc.). This isn’t unusual, but they embrace false information and will hear no truth to the contrary. If you reject their message, you are met with hostility. They say nothing Biblical and do not know the first thing about prophecy, but here and there they go, flooding emails and inboxes with scare tactics and videos that are full of their own “revelations.”
I know we talk about false prophets in the context of those running money lines or prophesying cars, houses, and money over people. These false prophets of doomsday are just as destructive. Rather than using hopes of false prosperity, they use scare tactics. This creates a feeling of haste and absence of God in our world. Recognizing that most people are unaware about many spiritual things, they try to plug in studies, headlines, and opinions from random doomsday fatalists under the guise of “this is what God showed me.”
This is just as dangerous and demonic as false prophets creating false financial realities.
Their requisition of data lies in social media videos
Just because it’s contained in a social media video does not make it factual! In a podcast episode I did a few years ago examining flat earth theory, I learned how videos about such reached prominence on Youtube. Algorithms suggested people watch the video, and the more people watched it, the more suggestions others received to also watch it. The limitations of technology don’t assess quality of information or veracity. Because, like it or not, these platforms exist to make money (not inform), suggestions to watch something aren’t due to truth or accuracy. Rather, it’s about popularity, views, and increasing revenue.
Just because something has many views doesn’t mean it is of substance. Talking about something and sounding “technical” or “professional” doesn’t mean someone knows what they’re talking about. There is a social media video out there for every single topic under the sun and one that can supposedly prove every perspective, opinion, and theory in existence. If someone searches long enough, they can find a video that “seems” to prove any point they have.
I have nothing against watching things on social media. I utilize Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for both ministry and church. It’s a great forum to promote information as we get our message out there. Remember, that’s the reason why people are on social media in the first place (to be noticed and get a message out there). But not every message aims for factual data, and not every message is about God or finding God. Quality of information matters. If all someone has is a bunch of videos to prove a point, that’s not much of an argument.
…they also like internet theories
The internet can be a wonderful source of information. It can also be a dangerous mire of confusion and false information. As I stated about social media videos, they exist for no other reason than to get a message out there. We live in a world that’s missing genuine community, connection, and friendship. In place of the voids we have, we’ve placed information that’s often been proven false or of no value. For some reason, many of us continue to buy it.
False prophets like conspiracy theories. They’re dramatic, complex, and often sound far more elaborate than they really are. Convoluted teachings, however, fit right in with people who aren’t spiritual enough to hear from God, but want to promote ideas that are hard to disprove by a casual observer. Not wanting to dive deep into a world that’s not as interesting as it might seem, many observers absorb some of the false prophet’s false theories.
Their “revelations” are general and vague
Jesus is the One Who told us there would be signs and tumults in the earth. New words that recycle His words about that aren’t brilliant and insightful. It means someone has either heard or read enough of the Bible to recycle the prophecy to sound deep and intriguing. Saying political discord is coming that they heard on a television show isn’t brilliant and insightful, either. True end times revelations will be specific to nations, powers, governments, actions…and won’t be the same stuff that never happens that’s been recycled forever.
They don’t have their own message
In keeping with the points above, false prophets don’t have their own unique mandate or message from God. What they typically do is gather end times data from various sources – conspiracy theorists, preachers on television who don’t have any clue of what they are talking about, and internet videos – and promote that information rather than their own.
If we see the work of Biblical prophets, all of them had a specific mandate and word to deliver to the people. It wasn’t someone else’s and it wasn’t vague. Just saying they are called to “wake people up” or they have a mandate to “get people to pray” doesn’t fit the prophetic. Sure, prayer is great and waking up is great, but the end result of waking up is repentance, not fear. The end result of prayer is relationship with God, not paranoia.
They create paranoia
God tells us not to be afraid, and give no thought to tomorrow. This means we are not to do the following:
- Flee our countries
- Become doomsday preppers
- Stockpile groceries that will expire long before anything ever happens
- Stop watching television
- Stop eating
- Create our own arsenals
- Generally act like a bunch of basket cases while we “wait” for someone’s “prophecy” to come true
If you pay careful attention to this paranoid fever, everyone’s paranoia trap is different. Some think nuclear holocaust is coming, others think the power grid will go down, others think China is going to take over the United States, some think the dollar will lose its value…and so on, and so forth. If stuff happens, you can be as ready as you like, but having stockpiles of stuff will just make you more of a target when “whoever” comes after you. Being afraid doesn’t mean you are prepared, it means you are afraid. God does not want these thoughts, fears, and concepts to consume us. You don’t have more faith if you are paranoid; you are just fearful.
They oppose anyone who just doesn’t want to hear what they have to say
I can’t count the number of people who have blocked or deleted me because the following happened:
- They sent me some message I didn’t want about some end times facet.
- I told them I was not going to discuss their fear-mongering with them.
- They got insistent and rude because I didn’t receive their message.
I don’t listen to these false prophets anymore because I’ve heard enough of it. Listening to them proves nothing. I am not saying that as someone who is ignorant to matters. I spent years reading about different conspiracy ideas, up all night, in the dark when nobody – and I mean nobody – else was talking about it. Over the years, I’ve come to recognize the evil of this world isn’t quite that organized, nor is it that efficient.
Sitting around in fear of various things that aren’t facts doesn’t make them true. It doesn’t make me not an apostle, a Christian, a minister or…fill in whatever blank you’d like because I don’t want to watch yet another video on the same things that don’t make sense. When someone can’t even be respectful enough to stop talking or change the subject – that’s a sign of a one-tracked, paranoid mind.
Their answer to everything is that people should flee, rather than stand
One consistent facet to the false end times prophet is that it’s always better “somewhere else.” God isn’t in one place, but always somewhere else, lurking and hiding. The American ones think you need to go to Europe, the European ones think you need to go to Canada, the African ones think you need to go to the United States, and so on. Last time I checked, God encourages His people to “stand” – not to run off in fear. Trust me, the world is interdependent. If something happens in one area, it will affect the rest…or different things will happen somewhere else. Running off and separating yourself from the Body is not the answer. It just makes you more of a target.
They don’t know the first thing about proper signs of prophecy, the prophetic, and prophetic interpretation
Your little doomsday prophet might have an arsenal of “the end is near” paraphernalia, but they won’t have the first clue of what your dream means or of how to intercede before God. They’ve never had a vision of their own. They don’t understand the point of prophecy or the way prophets understood time (chronos vs. karios and how those times affect prophetic interpretation).
I recognize we all have different gifts, but prophets should have prophetic gifts – that’s a part of being a prophet. If someone does nothing prophetic, I may be going out on a limb here, but they aren’t a prophet. Much of end times prophecy is symbolic, which means it is only interpreted by revelation, and is not literal. If a so-called prophet doesn’t understand symbolism, they are not qualified to interpret end time events.
Also, Bible prophecy was not meant to be interpreted as it is plugged into news headlines, so be very cautious when that is a “prophet’s” approach…because such is not prophetic! It’s easy to think a prophecy is answered in a current event, but prophecy is much deeper than that – especially given the same prophecies are plugged into headlines over and over with no new revelation on anything else for years.
Do not be afraid
If you have encountered false prophets such as these, I encourage you to do as God has spoken: to stand. Do not be afraid. He has placed you here in this time for a reason, and it is not to feel like Chicken Little. End the endless research that goes nowhere, and seek His face for your purpose in this life. Allow God to lead you to people who aren’t afraid and teach you about empowerment rather than terror. Most of all, have people you can trust in your life who can help you sort stuff out when you just aren’t sure about it yourself. Chicken Little spread her misery around, as misery loves company. Such a pessimistic outlook is truly not Biblical and not the one God desires us to have.
Be faithful…be loving….be wise.
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