How can you tell when a false prophet is lying? When their mouths are open. But on a serious note, we can tell false prophets and apostles pretty easily—they always contradict the Scriptures.
Throughout the Scriptures, we see warning after warning to be on guard for false prophets and apostles masquerading as angels of light. They come to us in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15) who secretly bring in destructive heresies and deny the Master (1 Peter 2:1). This is why we are called to test every one of these spirits to see if they are truly of God (1 John 4:1).
And we’re going to do that right now by comparing the words of Nigerian “apostle” Joshua Selman to Scripture. In the video below, Selman says that not every word in the Bible is the Word of God. He then goes on to justify his statement by stating that some of the words in the Bible are demons speaking, unbelievers speaking, and even Satan speaking.
Listen:
Our first response to this should be from the attestation of the Scriptures themselves, that all Scripture is the Word of God.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16-17
That alone should be, full stop, enough to contradict the words of Selman and cause us to mark him as a false prophet and avoid him (Romans 16:17-18). But let’s dive a little deeper. Is what he is saying technically true? Are some of the words in the Bible of unbelievers, demons, and even Satan?
Well, technically, yes. But these words are still written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are quotations, and when they are written by those whom God called to write the Scriptures, they have become God-breathed words for the purpose of conveying God’s truth. The Bible does not quote words of demons and false prophets and portray them as commands of God or doctrines—they are there as examples to be refuted by the commands and doctrines of God. Satan’s words are ALWAYS dealt with by God and the context of these words ALWAYS makes that clear. There is no ambiguity.
Selman’s attempt to discredit the Scriptures is nothing more than an attempt to prop himself up as an authority in the Church so that he can commit spiritual abuse on the people under his leadership.
