The phrase “and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1) is given a much clearer rendering in the Amplified Bible and it reads “and doctrines that demons teach”. Demons teach them by possessing human vessels that yield to their wiles. The human vessels, many of whom are originally anointed of God become satanic mediums or as the case may be anointed diviners.

Balaam was a prophet of God. His prophetic ministry drew its existence from God’s anointing. The strength of his prophetic operation was not in doubt. His visions and utterances were God-given and profoundly accurate. However, his ministry still had the weakness of the prophetic – lust for material gain. Every prophet of God, major or minor, that ever finished strong learnt how to stay true and loyal to God. All of them had to trade comfort and pleasure for a healthy relationship with the Lord. As a matter of fact, most of them functioned outside the social mould of their nations. Their social standing was weak and they were considered to be some sort of Pariahs – irreparable outcasts.

They had to subject themselves to rigorous processes of self-denial until the affinity for material comfort and gain was subdued. They had to be that tough because their visions and utterances involved giving direction to their nations, rebuking and giving hope to the people, and keeping governments in check. In short, most of them, especially the major prophets, had to have a direct interface with kings.

Familiar spirits have the ability to possess human beings and furnish them with the ability to foretell with a great degree of accuracy. The little slave girl who disturbed Paul and His comrades by giving the town accurate information about them and their mission operated by familiar spirits.

Her declaration concerning Paul and his comrades was accurate, but the spirit that inspired her was foul and not from God. This also made her false. Her declaration was not inspired by God and so grieved Paul. (Acts 16: 16-18).
A false prophet is not a person who gives prophesies that doesn’t come to pass, but one whose speaking is not inspired by God; for familiar spirits could peep into the future and foretell accurately things that shall happen.

That the things they inspire people to say come to pass doesn’t authenticate their genuinety. God’s prophets are those who are under the rule of Christ in life and character and whose speakings are completely inspired by Him. False prophets are those not under the rule of Christ and whose speakings are completely not inspired by Him. It takes a man or woman who is continually under Christ’s rule to be inspired by Him perpetually.

Nostradamus, the popular man who saw tomorrow foretold accurately events that have given shape to modern history. One of which is his sensational prediction of the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States of America: an incident that left an indelible scar on the history of the United States as a nation claiming thousands of lives and leaving behind a trail of damage worth billions of dollars. It was the fiercest attack the United States suffered since the Second World War.

Does all this make Nostradamus a prophet of the Most High? Never! He was a strong astrologer who perfected his art and left a legacy that would remain a point of reference centuries after his death. Being an astrologer, he could not have been inspired by God; for astrology in itself is a dark art which is essentially diabolic by all means.
A man could be a prophet anointed by God and still be false as long as he is out of alignment with the dominion and rule of Christ. Such a man can once and again fall under the influence of familiar spirits making him a viable tool in the hands of the devil.

Satan doesn’t engage gifted men who are not under the rule of Christ in a fist-for-fist combat. He only borrows them until they are eventually overwhelmed by the spirit of the antichrist. May we catch the revelation of Christ’s authority and yield ourselves to be led by His spirit so that the spirit and principle of the antichrist will not have any access whatsoever into our universe.

CULLED FROM KINGDOM RECALIBRATION VOLUMES 1&2 BY AROME OSAYI