Call it a trend. I read earlier this week about a South African pastor who sprays his congregants with insecticide in the name of curing what ails them. Health authorities have intervened but apparently a false prophet down the street didn’t get the message.
“Prophet” Rufus Phala encouraged his church members drink Dettol, a disinfectant, in order to receive a healing. That’s according to Punch. In case you aren’t familiar, Dettol is a liquid antiseptic and disinfectant that has the potential to cause lethal toxicity.
“I know Dettol is harmful, but God instructed me to use it,” the false prophet said in a video South Africa’s Daily Sun ran. “I was the first one to drink it.”
The rise of the so-called “chemical healing” prophets is disturbing but not surprising.
Jesus said watch out for false prophets—they come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15). Maybe if He had mentioned chemicals these poor sickly people would not be falling for error. Then again, when you’re desperate to get healed you’ll try just about anything.
Most of the false prophets I see today aren’t carrying chemicals. That would be too obvious in the Western world. Instead, they are carrying smooth sayings that work to wiggle big money out of small pockets. They are promising weight loss wonders and money miracles if you sow every last penny in your purse. They are conjuring up fake testimonies for Facebook to prove their anointing.
The Lord is releasing the angels of abundant harvest. Read the full prophetic word at angelsprophecy.com.
False prophets are also actively working to divide relationships with fabricated accusations rooted insecurity and pride. When you have to call yourself a general, a grand master bishop, or almost high exalted anything, you’re straddling the line of great fall that comes after great pride.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t think all false prophets start out as false prophets. I think there is a doorway to deception—several doorways, actually. One is greed, another is pride and there are others we could talk about.
Would that every prophetic person walked circumspectly, minding his Father’s business and staying in their metron, resisting the temptation to control others and humbly helping the next generation rise up and fill their calling.
But the reality is the wheat are growing with the tares, so we’re left checking our own hearts and praying for discernment as the false ones keep rising rapidly giving the rest of us a bad name.
So let’s keep praying. I believe we can still turn this thing around. As Jehovah told Elijah, there are yet 7,000 who have not bowed a knee to Baal. We win!
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Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer’s Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.