Pastor: "God gave me a vision that Ron DeSantis will be the next president." Nooootttttt. Wrong!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. Stupid preachers are smoking funny cigarettes.
“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.” Happened all the time for thousands of years. Pointing out a false prophet seems rather passé, does it not?
But if it does come true, than they are a true divine prophet? Sounds like it's just a matter of odds.
Not as long as there are people who get conned by them, especially the ones smart enough not to make claims that can be definitively disproven or who can continue to convince their believers even after they've had claims disproven.
Yes and no. Generally, the protagonist of the Bible goes out of his way to make sure no one or natural event can also claim credit. So even if this did come true, since Desantis or many others could claim credit, the guy would still not be able to claim prophet status. A prophet needs to do something impossible otherwise like come back from the dead, split the red sea, etc. God doesn't like to share credit in the Bible. Another clear example of a false prophesy would be the prophecy of Tyre. It's clearly something Ezekiel is making up to gain favor with the king as the king himself could also claim credit. Prophecies need to be clear, non-cryptic, etc. This is why current textual understanding of Daniel, most of Revelation, etc. does not interpret the books as prophesy but rather historical and current events commentary.
They convince people they have a real connection to God and on the back of that sell books, videos, courses etc., directly solicit donations and push particular political policies, parties or candidates.
Lets take God out of your post. Sounds like every presidential candidate since nearly the beginning. Also sounds like every news commentator. That's not really much of a con. Prosperity theology is more of a con but no more of a con than Socialism.
I wouldn't say every presidential candidate but it's certainly true of many politicians to a greater or lesser extent. I certainly wouldn't apply the same thing to everyone who could fall under the term "news commentator". I'm not saying this kind of fake prophet are unique or even the worst examples in the general field but I would put them in a category with the prosperity theology you mention. I was mainly highlighting your apparent dismissal of calling them out, especially on such a clear cut basis. I'd suggest we need more of that kind of thing in general and it should be encouraged, regardless of whether it related to purported prophets or not.
