Fifth, false prophets and teachers will give demonstrations of power. Jesus warned, "There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders..." What does Jesus mean by this descrip-tion?

The word "great" comprises two meanings. One of them describes quality, like a great meal, tasteful as well as healthful. Further, it means quantity, abundance. Thus, a great meal can include the quality of the food as well as the amount of the food. So, false prophets and teachers will provide signs and wonders of high quality and abundance. They will not give some trick or slight of hand, but high quality actions, and many of them.

What does the word "signs" mean? It describes some unusual occurrence that transcends the common course of nature. These false christs will do magnificent things, something beyond what can ordinarily happen. They will use those occurrences and multiple occurrences as evidence of their calling. "See, I told you. I told you I was the Christ. I told you I was from Jesus, and I had his message. Look what I have done."

Not only will they have these attesting signs but wonders, too. The wonders talk about the miraculous. A false Church leader may have the ability to perform miraculous things, supernatural things, things not commonly done by people. Some false leaders will do miraculous manifestations and claim a special anointing of God upon them.

Now, you can see why they will sway many people to follow them. No wonder many conclude, "Oh, he is so good, clever, and comes in the name of Jesus. He even uses His name every now and then. In his message, he talks about Jesus, and he does all wonderful things that no human can ordinarily do. Surely, he must be a good man. Surely, she must be a good woman for me to follow. Most assuredly this one is a prophet of God."

Moses gave to us a description of this very thing in Deuteronomy 13 centuries before Jesus did. Long before anyone rose up and did it, Moses described this exact occurrence to help us know how to make the distinction. How do we know? How can we discern the difference between the false and the true, the true messenger of God and the false messenger of God? Sometimes they say similar things. So how can we know?

Moses issued this warning: "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass..." That describes what we just considered. Did not Jesus say that this would happen?

Then Moses gave the discerning moment. If along with the sign and the wonder and that (s)he performs, if (s)he also says, "Let us go after other gods," don't' follow that one, because (s)he is a false prophet.

Note the point that Moses makes here. When someone comes in the name of Jesus and calls out to you to follow his/her teachings, examine what this leader teaches in addition to the supernatural demonstrations. Do the teach-ings lead you to Christ? Do they develop the doctrinal truths of Scripture and point out to you what the Bible says? Does (s)he give another gospel, something not presented in Scripture?

Isaiah the prophet counseled God's people on this issue, too. He said, "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?" Then Isaiah described how to evaluate these circumstances: "To the law and to the testimony." When he mentions the law and the testimony, he means the Scriptures, called the law and the testimony in that day. In essence Isaiah instructed the people of God to go to the Scriptures. "If they (the false prophets) speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

The Scriptures are the final authority. Take the message that they proclaim and evaluate if it agrees with scrip-ture. What do they say about the gospel? Frequently, this point identifies the first point of deviation. They reject the cross. They reject salvation through Christ alone. They reject salvation through his blood. They reject the payment of blood of Jesus for the penalty of sin for people like you and me. They teach you something else.

Jesus loved His disciples, and He gave to them a warning, "Take heed that nobody deceive you. For many shall come to you with my name saying, ‘I am Christ.'" They shall come in the name of Jesus saying, "I am the mes-senger of Christ. I am His prophet. I am His apostle. I am His teacher and messenger. Listen to me. Follow me. Look at all of the things I can do. I must have the anointing of God upon me. That certainly is the confirmation that I am his messenger because look at what I am doing.'"

The Church today needs to heed this message of Jesus. False prophets, pastors, and teachers abound. They in-fluence multitudes with their deceits and apparent confirmations from God. The evil one uses them to divide and destroy the Church. With increasing occasions, the followers of Christ must regard His warnings. We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to discern the false from the true so that we may again experience God's glorious manifest presence in our lives.