The usual, the teaching is not drawn from Scripture; rather read into to fit their wayward theory. Pride is always a good indicator, a true servant of the Lord points to Christ and not themselves. And of course what they predict does not come true. Then after the false prophecy, they are silent for a while, hoping you forget and then wow you with a new date or teaching… They feed on those who do not read the Bible and do not think. In addition, 1 Peter gives us the main template of the false teacher and prophet, by showing us what a real one is like:
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched (the Scriptures) intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. 1 Peter 1:10-12
They searched the Scriptures, not forced presumptions into the Text. They taught what God told them too, not what they wanted to. They shared and lived out the Grace of our Lord, they preached the Gospel, and they pointed to Christ not making a name for themselves…
“It was revealed” is about the mysteries to which God gave the O.T. prophets a glimpse—of things to come that were to benefit and encourage future generations, like us today. For us, a real prophecy or a Gospel teaching is the Message of the Gospel, the true Truths directly from God’s Word the Bible being infused by the Holy Spirit and then lived out in our lives; it is that Jesus Christ, being fully God, lived in behalf of us, took our place for God’s wrath, suffered in our place, and redeemed us. It is a call to us to be the messengers of the Gospel along with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:25-27, 45-47).
God wants us growing in Him, not speculating on nonsense and wasting Kingdom time and ‘debating’ others away from the faith. He wants us to be contagious with his Truth and grace. He wants to see if our faith and commitment is real and brings us into situations where we can learn and grow in faith and so receive our reward. God’s purpose is to refine us, form us, mold us, improve us, restore us, grow us, and strengthen us. This we need to pray and contemplate our attitude, mindset, and deeds so we can make sure we are pointing to Christ and not ourselves. We are to seek our repentance and so we will “wake up,” see our error, and seek Him (Gen. 11:1-f; Deut. 8:2; 13:3; Judg. 2:22; Job. 23:10; Rom. 5:3; James 1: 2-4, 12-16; 1 Pet. 4:17; 5:1-4, 8).
