False prophets, then and now

Know anyone who walked on water lately?

Throughout the Torah, we read about Moses and the elders of Israel, and their spiritual greatness, including prophecy. God spoke to Moses like no other prophet in history.

But there are prophets … and there are prophets.

This week in Re’eh (Deuteronomy 13: 2-6), we are told that there may well arise a false prophet in your midst—one who may perform miracles and wonders. And you may be very impressed and ready to follow him.

But we are cautioned. Should he tell you to follow other gods and go down the road of idolatry, then he is nothing more than a false prophet. Do not listen to him. That person is leading you astray.

He may perform miracles. He may predict the future with uncanny accuracy. He commands a following, a fortune, even a fan base. So why does the Torah tell us not to listen to him?

It’s one of the more startling laws in this week’s reading. A prophet arises. He gives you a sign or a wonder, and it comes true. By any reasonable measure, this should be impressive.

And yet, the Torah says: If this man tells you to abandon the ways of God, do not listen to him, even if his miracle checks out. Even if he’s three for three on predictions. Even if he’s dazzling.

Why? Because miracles alone prove nothing. A magician can also do wonders. Impressive is not the same as true. The real test was never going to be “can he perform,” but “does he lead you closer to God, goodness and virtue or further away from it?”

If he fails that test, all the wonders in the world don’t make him kosher.

And speaking of kosher: This is the same reading in which the Torah gives us the laws of kashrut all over again. At first glance, these two topics seem unrelated. False prophets and dietary law? But look closer, and the connection is obvious. The false prophet’s whole pitch is a version of “it doesn’t matter what goes in, only what comes out.”

Results are what count. Never mind the method; look at the outcome. And the Torah’s answer, delivered in the very same breath, is no. What goes into your mouth matters as well. Some things you simply don’t put in, regardless of how good the result looks on the other end.

Which brings us to today’s false prophets. They don’t wear robes, and they don’t perform card tricks. They wear tailored suits or ring lights or campaign posters. But they’re peddling the very same lie. Results justify everything, and if you’re succeeding, then you must be doing something right.

Consider the prophets of financial success. They’ve made it. The bank balance doesn’t lie, or so we’re told. And when someone that successful tells us to bow down—to worship money the way they worship it, to adopt their values because they clearly “work”—that’s not so different from the Golden Calf. Gold is still gold, whether it’s shaped like a statue or sitting in an account.

Then there are the prophets of social success. Glamorous, magnetic, adored—a life that looks, from the outside, like something out of a glossy magazine. And when that voice whispers “come, worship what I worship, live as I live,” we’re tempted to listen because look how well it’s working out for them. But it’s still idolatry. It’s just wearing better clothes.

Perhaps most testing of all are the prophets of political success and raw power. They rise. They control cities, countries, budgets, headlines, the fate of nations. And sometimes (let’s be honest), they get there by backstabbing, conniving and lying their way to the top.

Here is where good, honest people need to be very clear-eyed. Success does not validate the methods used to achieve it. The ends do not justify the means. The rip-off artist who gets rich may be laughing all the way to the bank, but he still doesn’t prove that crime pays. The playboy who seems to have it all doesn’t prove that a life without boundaries is the smarter way to live. That powerful but corrupt “son of a politician” may be nothing more than a passing rage.

Yet sometimes, when we watch all these false prophets, a small, uncomfortable voice inside us says: “Maybe I’m too nice a guy. Maybe that’s my problem.”

So, know that being good, decent and honest is not the exclusive property of the dumb, the timid or the unimaginative. Living a moral life is not only for fools and suckers too afraid to “live dangerously.” Yes, sometimes what looks like conscience is simply cowardice taking credit it doesn’t deserve; we tell ourselves that we’re too principled to cut corners when really, we’ve just never had the guts.

This is the actual test the false prophets present us with, and it’s a real one. Are we good because it pays to be good … and we’re terrified that lightning will strike us down if we step out of line? Or are we good because we love God, and we believe, down to our bones, that this really is the right way to live?

When we watch the success of the immoral and nice guys finishing last—and we’re still not shaken—that’s when we prove something important to God and ourselves. Our goodness and integrity were never a business strategy. It was a conviction.

And here’s the part I believe with complete faith: Ultimately, there is a payoff for goodness. Sometimes, it takes a while. Sometimes, it doesn’t show up on our timeline at all, and the fullest reckoning only comes in the World to Come. But more often than we expect, it does manifest right here—just not on demand and not overnight. Patience is part of the deal.

False prophets and prophecies will come and go; they always have. But the truth of God and His way of life endure forever. May we all pass the tests placed before us and not be disillusioned by the false prophets of success, glamour or power.

As I always say, we need two things in life: patience and faith.

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