Do not be deceived by fake news
"Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, The Lord has said, You shall have peace; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, No evil shall come upon you." For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury, a violent whirlwind! it will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days, you will understand it perfectly." Jeremiah 23:16-20 NKJV
Imagine with me for a second that you owned a washer machine factory, and your company made the best washer machines on the market. To help people get the most out of their machines you wrote an instruction manual detailing how to care for the washers, and what not to put into it. For a while, everything is going great for a season. Then some strange complaints start to pour into the customer service department. Company salespeople have gone around and told customers that heavy rocks can be put into the machines without any bad side effects. On top of that lie, the salespeople have informed the customers that no matter how they abuse the machines and try to make the washers do things it was not designed to do, that the maker will honor the warranty and everything will turn out fine. Now ask yourself, what would you do as the company owner to those salespeople?
In the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah, God is pouring out His complaint with the false prophets that are telling the people lies in God's name. Instead of turning the hearts of the people toward God they were encouraging and participating in wickedness. Instead of leading the people toward God they were gathering followers to themselves by telling them prophetic dreams that made everyone feel good. The result is instead of following God, the people were following these rock star prophets, which had made them worthless. A prophecy that does not originate with God is divination. True biblical prophecy always points the recipient back to God and can either correct, comfort, or strengthen. Divination always points the recipient back to themselves and will encourage sin, pride, and stubbornness
In this age be careful of the teachers and prophets that you listen to. Satan ministers can transform themselves into teachers of light. Remember the warning that Jesus gave concerning the end days. "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying I am the Christ and will deceive many."Matthew 24:4-5. Just like how the false teachers came in Yahweh's name and turned the people away with false visions so it will be now. False teachers and prophets will come in Christ's name, telling people that Jesus is the way of life. But these false prophets and teachers will lead many astray because sometimes they "proclaim the name of Christ". The warning that Christ and the apostles preached over and over again concerning the end times was, do not be deceived. Every prophecy, teaching, dream, and vision has to be judged by the word of God.
