I have encountered some teachers who have made false predictions on the end-times and have not been held accountable. What should I do about this?
Yeshua the Messiah prophesied in His Olivet Discourse, “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many” (Matthew 24:11, NASU). This has obviously been going on for a very, very long time, and will certainly not stop anytime soon. Church history is full of figures over several millennia who have made predictions on the end-times and the return of the Lord, which have not come to pass. What we may experience today about certain people claiming that “Date X” is the time when Yeshua will return, or that any number of events will take place—and then they do not occur—is not something which is new. We should not be surprised when a prediction is made which does not come to pass.
The Torah originally directed Ancient Israel, “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22, NASU). This principle certainly applies to us living today as well! If someone makes a false prophecy prediction—and insists that this is something which God has revealed—then we should no longer listen to this person about anything. This proves that the so-called “prophet” or “man/woman of insight” was never speaking in the authority of God, and at best was speaking in his or her own authority. We have the responsibility to avoid people who have made false prophecy predictions. While they can be forgiven of their error, they should not be allowed to be in a position expositing upon the Scriptures ever again. Those who make false prophecy predictions are likely to do so again, if not repeatedly.
