False prophets tend to be popular; they tell us what we want to hear. Those who would expose false prophets will find themselves objects of derision, and as such they must have the faith to persevere through withering criticism.
We see it play out in the Old Testament Book of 1 Kings, where the people turned from God and began worshipping Baal. (This is the “god” to whom worshippers sacrificed their small children in a vain attempt to appease that which was not there.)
In the 18th chapter we find Elijah, the lone prophet of God at the time, derided as a “troubler” of Israel by the Baal worshippers. It was an apt title: the false prophets – the RINOs of the Old Testament – didn’t like the trouble he was making for them by preaching about the true God.
As an aside, those false prophets didn’t care about the people of Israel, they were serving themselves. By promoting the false teachings of Baal, they were promoting themselves.
So at Mount Carmel a deal was struck. On one side would be the 450 prophets of Baal, on the other was Elijah. Each would be calling on their respective god to light a fire. As one might imagine, the false prophets had no success, while the God of Elijah answered with a consuming blaze.
The false prophets were seized by a suddenly repentant people and slaughtered in the Kishon Valley. This fiery display of God’s power brought the people of Israel back to Him, at least for a while.
And here’s the rub: false prophets only have sway with a people willing to be led astray.
We must keep our eyes fixed on God, on what is true even if unpopular. When others fall under the self-induced spell of a false prophet, we must speak the truth loudly and boldly. Even if we must do so alone, we must be “troublers” for the unrighteousness.
