False prophet
In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, it is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to the deity and sets themself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term is sometimes applied outside religion to describe someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.
Judaism
Jesus is rejected in every branch of Judaism as a failed Jewish Messiah claimant and a false prophet.The Books of Kings records a story where, under duress from Ahab, the prophet Micaiah depicts God as requesting information from His heavenly counsel as to what He should do with a court of false prophets. This depiction is recorded in 1 Kings :
It is possible that Micaiah meant to depict the false prophets as a test from YHWH. It is also possible that it was meant as a slur on Ahab's prophets, such as Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah.
The penalty for false prophecy, including speaking in the name of a god other than YHWH or speaking presumptuously in YHWH's name, is death. Likewise, if a prophet makes a prophecy in the name of YHWH that does not come to pass, that is another sign that he is not commissioned of YHWH and that the people need not fear the false prophet.
The Jewish Koine Greek term pseudoprophetes occurs in the Septuagint ; Flavius Josephus ; and Philo of Alexandria. Classical Pagan writers used the term pseudomantis.
Christianity
originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus. Throughout the New Testament and some of the early Christian apocryphal writings, Jesus warns his disciples and apostles multiple times of both false prophets and false Messiahs, and believers are frequently adjured to beware of them and stay vigilant.Gospels
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns his followers of false prophets:The canonical gospels address the same point of a false prophet predicting correctly, and Jesus predicted the future appearance of false christs and false prophets, affirming that they can perform great signs and miracles, for example, in the Olivet Discourse given on the Mount of Olives:
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus brought out an ethical application for his disciples using the analogy of false prophets in the Old Testament:
Acts and Epistles
In the Book of Acts, the apostles Paul and Barnabas encountered a false prophet named Elymas Bar-Jesus on the island of Cyprus:This particular story likewise best matches the model found in Deuteronomy. The claim here is that Elymas is trying to turn Sergius Paulus from the true faith, just like the false prophet described in the preceding verses. In these verses, we do not see Elymas prophesying as the term is popularly understood, so the model seems to fit this scenario best.
The Second Epistle of Peter makes a comparison between false teachers and false prophets and how the former will bring in false teachings, just like the false prophets of old:
The First Epistle of John warns those of the Christian faith to test every spirit because of these false prophets:
The false prophet of ''Revelation''
The most well-known New Testament false prophet is the one mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The False Prophet is ultimately cast into the fiery lake with burning sulphur:Another mention of a false prophet in the New Testament is the "antichrist spirit which denies the Son". In the New Testament, the word antichrist appears mainly in the Johannine epistles and in the plural, denoting those who deny and/or don't believe in the messiahship of Jesus. A similar term, pseudochrist, is used by Jesus in the Gospels. These terms seem to refer to a category of people rather than a single individual.
Islam
The Quran states that Muhammad is the "Seal of the Prophets" and Last and Final of the Prophets, which is understood by mainstream Sunni to mean that any ostensible prophets after Muhammed are false. All mainstream Muslim scholars' perspectives from both Sunni and Shīʿa denominations don't consider the Second Coming of ʿĪsā as the coming of a new prophet, since the Islamic Messiah had already been an existing prophet and will rule by the Quran and sunnah of Muhammad, bringing no new revelation or prophecy.Thawban ibn Kaidad narrated that Muhammad said:
Abu Hurairah narrated that Muhammad said:
Muhammad also stated that the last of these dajjals would be the Antichrist, Al-Masih ad-Dajjal. The Dajjal is never mentioned in the Quran but he's mentioned and described in the ḥadīth literature. Like in Christianity, the Dajjal is said to emerge out in the east, although the specific location varies among the various sources. The Dajjal will imitate the miracles performed by ʿĪsā, such as healing the sick and raising the dead, the latter done with the aid of demons. He will deceive many people, such as weavers, magicians, half-castes, and children of prostitutes, but the majority of his followers will be Jews. According to the Islamic eschatological narrative, the events related to the final battle before the Day of Judgment will proceed in the following order:
Samra ibn Jundab reported that once Muhammad, while delivering a ceremonial speech at an occasion of a solar eclipse, said:
Anas ibn Malik narrated that Muhammad said:
The Mahdi is the redeemer according to Islam. Just like the Dajjal, the Mahdi is never mentioned in the Quran but his description can be found in the ḥadīth literature; according to the Islamic eschatological narrative, he will appear on Earth before the Day of Judgment. At the time of the Second Coming of Christ, the prophet ʿĪsā shall return to defeat and kill al-Masih ad-Dajjal. Muslims believe that both ʿĪsā and the Mahdi will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice, and tyranny, ensuring peace and tranquility. Eventually, the Dajjal will be killed by the Mahdi and ʿĪsā at the gate of Lud, who upon seeing Dajjal will cause him to slowly dissolve.