False Prophets vs Pharisees How to Discern Spiritual Deception in the Church

In this powerful episode, Michelle dives deep into the difference between false prophets and Pharisees, exposing how spiritual deception, religious control, manipulation, and false teachings can operate within the church. Many Christians struggle with spiritual discernment and recognizing unhealthy spiritual leadership, especially when false prophecy, legalism, pride, fear, control, and religious spirits are disguised as holiness.

Michelle shares personal experiences, biblical truth, and practical discernment tools to help believers identify the fruit of true ministry versus counterfeit spirituality. This episode explores how false prophets often create dependency, confusion, and spiritual bondage, while Pharisaical religion focuses on outward appearance, performance, criticism, legalism, and control rather than genuine intimacy with God.

If you’ve ever questioned spiritual manipulation, church hurt, toxic church culture, narcissistic leadership, deliverance ministry abuse, or confusing spiritual experiences, this conversation will help you grow in wisdom, discernment, healing, and freedom through the Holy Spirit.

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Topics covered include:

* False prophets in the church
* The Pharisee spirit explained
* Spiritual discernment for Christians
* Religious manipulation and control
* Biblical warnings about deception
* Deliverance and spiritual freedom
* Healing from church hurt
* Recognizing unhealthy leadership
* Testing the fruit of ministry
* Spiritual warfare and truth
* Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit
* Biblical wisdom and discernment
* Freedom from fear-based religion

The truth of God brings freedom, clarity, peace, and alignment. Learn how to discern spiritual influences biblically, protect your relationship with God, and walk confidently in truth without fear, confusion, or manipulation.

✨ “Dependency fuels control and distortion.”
✨ “Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you.”
✨ “The truth brings freedom and alignment.”

Disclaimer:
This content is for spiritual encouragement and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health care. Please seek a qualified professional for any health concerns.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or thoughts of self-harm, please seek immediate help from a qualified professional or local emergency services.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi beautiful souls, welcome back to Red Hot True. I hope you're all doing really well today. If you're new here, I'm Michelle and I help people heal their soul wounds and get free from oppression through the love, power, and transformation of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm so happy to have you here today. If you're watching on YouTube, please subscribe. This really helps our channel grow and engage, share it with a friend. We really want to get this ministry off the ground and get this word to as many people as possible because we are a ministry that truly believes in freedom. And I have gotten free from so many things in my life, including chronic illness and mental torment, complex PTSD, freedom and healing is possible. I believe that there are certain things missing from the church and from ministry in general that we really need in our walk as believers. We need to have ways of dealing with our pain and our trauma, of healing these strongholds in our lives. Sometimes I think that there is a gap there. You know, there's either churches who just believe that it was all finished on the cross, and then there's churches who believe that you must constantly do deliverance prayers. And I think that there is a gap there in the middle that a lot of people don't fully understand, that there is a middle ground there. There is healing the soul and healing the trauma, tearing down strong strongholds, as well as deliverance. This is really important. If you truly want to be free, if you want to be sanctified, if you want to be cleansed, look back at my episode from last week, because I really talk about obedience to God and why sanctification and crucifying your flesh is so important on your journey with the Lord. This week we are talking about discernment in the church, knowing the difference between a false prophet versus a Pharisee spirit. I think this is an interesting topic, and I think it's something that many people get confused as well. And it's just important to understand what these people look like, how to avoid them on your walk, because you don't want to be snared by a false prophet, and you definitely do not want to be controlled by a Pharisee. I do think that there's a big difference between these two. I've come across both in my walk with the Light. Not every spiritual influence that feels intense is from God. There are two major patterns that we see, both in scripture and today. So false prophetic influence involves deception and misdirection, and pharisical control involves legalism and oppression. So there are differences here. They operate differently, but both can keep can keep people stock, burdened, and out of alignment with God's truth. So let's take a look here. False prophets, when truth is mixed with deception. Jesus warned clearly that false prophets would come. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7 15. They don't always look dangerous, they often appear very spiritual, very insightful. They may come across as anointed, they may come across as holier than Tao. They may have a seemingly purity about them. They may even show up in perfectionism and performance and seem to do everything right on the surface. But the issue is not about their appearance and how they come across, it's the fruit and the direction that they are leading people. So how false prophetic influences operate, for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. Second Corinthians 11 13. The Bible warns clearly about this. These people put themselves in that seat, you know, where they give themselves very high ranking or very big labels, like I'm a prophet, I'm an apostle, I'm this, I'm that, but they're mixing truth with so much distortion. And they're speaking from a place that is not really grounded in God's word. They're drawing people toward themselves instead of towards Christ. And this is a huge red flag because if a ministry is fueling dependency, where they're like, you need me to set you free, I have the answer, I have the solution, I know how to fix you, I know how to take all your problems away. That can fuel dependency. And you don't want to become dependent on a person because you don't actually need a person to set you free. Your deliverance does not depend on a minister or somebody else being that middle person between you and God. You can walk, I I did self-deliverance and I teach self-deliverance. I also do some mentorship with people who want extra support, but I'm still leading them towards Christ. I do not want them dependent on me. That is draining, it is exhausting, it is tiring. I have nothing to gain from having people leeching onto me. That is for sure. I don't I don't know why these false prophets want people so dependent on them. I think they need to be needed. Maybe they have their own wounds. They need to be validated, they need to feel important. They maybe want more money from you. I'm not sure. But for me, I definitely do not want people dependent on me. I already have enough between Chris, the kids, and my dog, which makes me exhausted every day. I don't need anybody else depending on me right now. But they create reliance on ongoing words or external direction. They speak a lot of nonsense, you know. I remember like I used to do so much work with this woman, and I became so dependent on her because when I met her, I was so vulnerable and so fragile. I was actually really sick at the time. I was reacting to the marina coil, and it was leaking too much of the hormone into my bloodstream, and it was going into my brain. I have never been so sick in my whole life. The symptoms were horrific. This person actively encouraged me, encouraged me not to seek medical care, and instead told me that this is a spiritual problem and we need to solve it together. And I literally jumped through 500 hoops to try and heal me, and nothing worked because what I actually needed was for that marina to come out of my body. It was during this time actually that I found Christ and the Holy Spirit revealed to me around that time that what I actually need is for this thing to be removed. And it wasn't until I came away from this person that I started to see like the confusion, the distortion, the dependency, the beliefs, you know, that she had projected onto me. And I take accountability for it. I mean, I'm a grown woman, I shouldn't have been so dependent on this person, but hindsight is 20-20, and it's like when I look back, I just see how that was such a trap. It was a snare. It was the enemy trying to bring stagnation and delay to my calling. Because when you are stuck with somebody like this who's ministering to you all the time and telling you what you need every day, and and you are literally like looking up to them, like a child looking up to their mother, you know. Like I literally, this person I think became an idol in my life because I just really trusted them so much. And I didn't see how distorted it was. And then I remember about six months after I stopped speaking to this person, I watched one of their teachings, and it was just absolute gibberish, like nonsense that this person was talking. It made no sense what they were saying. And they were talking about the Kabbalah tree and how they were actually teaching like such a prosperity gospel at this point, because at this point they had become Christian and just teaching like such arrogance and pride around money and how the Lord had blessed her because she must be special, you know, in some way compared to other people. And it was just so distorted. Like, why hasn't the Lord blessed you? If the Lord hasn't blessed you yet, then there must be something wrong with you, or you're doing something wrong. And this is not the gospel. Like, I was like, what am I listening to? There's so many people, good Christians, you know, who are struggling financially, who are in poverty, who have poverty crisis, who may have come from a family that worked hard their whole lives but always struggled. They have beliefs and programming, conditioning that causes them to maybe fear or even reject money. And it's more of an internal nervous system issue, is what I learned, than anything to suggest that you were doing something wrong or you're you're outside of God's favor. It's not about that. So it's just very distorted. And these false prophets will have these very distorted beliefs that are not rooted in reality, they're rooted in ego and pride, but they will project them. And you will notice that when you listen to their teachings, you're feeling confusion, you're feeling fear, you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious. My anxiety levels were the highest they've ever been, I think, when I worked with this person. The fear in me was up here. And it was because we were constantly praying against witchcraft, we were constantly healing my son. When my son needed to see a dentist, you know, he he didn't need constant prayer. It was just really exhausting and really stressful. And when I look back, when I remember that time in my life, I still feel so much fear. And the the peace that has come over me since I came away from this person is just night and day. So just understand that that you can be snared by a false prophet, and they do bring so much confusion, instability, emotional dependency, constant searching for answers instead of being grounded in peace. It brings so much disorientation rather than clarity. And spirits that there are demonic spirits that are at work here. It's important to understand that as well, that there is deception, divination, confusion. Even Jezebel, witchcraft, these spirits are at work when you were working with these people. They could have pride, which is Leviathan. There's different types of Leviatons. I don't think we need to understand all the ins and outs of every demon, because there's freedom in Christ. He's able to deliver us without us knowing every detail. But I think back then I used to just go on so many different rabbit holes, and there was a lot of OCD happening because of the fear. So if you have been struggling with this, then understand that that is not coming from God. God doesn't want you to be constantly performing, constantly jumping through hoops, constantly working hard. And I do believe that there was an energy exchange that was happening between me and her. I don't know how to explain it, but the soul tie that we had was taking from me. It was taking energy, taking finances, you know. At that time, our finances were the worst that they have ever been. We were barely getting through the week, despite Chris working 60, 70 hours a week. We were barely surviving. By Wednesday, I had no money left. I don't know how it was so bad, but all I know is that when I cut the soul ties with this person and with her family, I saw an improvement in our circumstances. Like we were no longer in such extreme survival. There was a little bit more comfort, a little bit more ease. I could feel God's grace moving again. I could feel him bringing me blessings if I was stuck, if I needed something, it would always come because the Lord does help us, you know. But it just felt blocked. It felt like this energy was constantly being, I don't know if energy is the right word, but it was just there was this supply issue happening. And I don't know how or why it was able to happen, but it was like everything good that was meant for me was going to her. And I was getting more and more and more depleted and bled dry. And this false prophet was being elevated. And I think this is what happens, you know, because there's so much witchcraft happening and there's these soul ties, and when you're so dependent on them, the enemy is able to work. And these people seem to get richer and richer and richer, and they grow these mega churches. And I'm not saying that all mega churches are like this, so don't quote me on that, but there are certain ones where there's a lot of questionable things happening, and you can see the idolatry, you can see the greed, you can see the false teachings, you can see how these people are acting more like Hollywood than church. So it's just important to understand like these people, they're elevating themselves. And the people underneath them, the Bible says that Jezebel's children will be put to death or be put to sleep. This is spiritually. You're being put into a spiritual slumber. And this person is able to take more and more and more from you. They take your favor, they take your blessings, they elevate themselves, they gather more people that are dependent on them. And I remember seeing it in what's that documentary? I can't remember that woman. She was like an influencer and she had all these kids. She was a stay-at-home mom. She literally spent all of her time posting content about her children and her perfect life and painting herself as like this perfect mother. And then she came into agreement with this woman. And I believe this woman is the false prophet, you know, in the story. They're both in prison now. And I can't remember their names. I'll try and find it afterwards and put it below, and you can go and watch the story or the documentary. But I believe that this woman, who was already questionable as a parent and already maybe falling short in some ways and struggling with control and certain things, became ensnared with this false prophet, and they pushed the husband out of the home. So any safety or protection that the children had was gone. And then the children ended up being abused, and now both these women are actually in prison. So this is what happens. Like when the false prophet comes in, so much control starts to happen in that person's life where that veil of deception and confusion is coming over them. There's mind control, there's Jezebel, there's witchcraft. So it made a bad situation ten times worse, and those children ended up severely abused. So I think that's a really good example of how these people can actually work, and they can cause maybe a situation that was somewhat stable to become so unstable very quickly. So let's move on to Pharisees then. Pharisees in the Bible, they control people through the law, through fear, and true burdens. They're not leading people into deception through mysticism, true occult practices, or true confusion, deception mixture. They are controlling people through religion. And honestly, I think this is a bit worse. Pharisees are even more dangerous than the false prophets, you know. I both can be dangerous. Both have been dangerous. You see different cults and religious trauma that has happened throughout history. Like you see, even what happened with the Catholic Church here in Ireland, where there was so much abuse. There was just so much happened. Mass graves, babies, mother and baby homes. I was born in a mother and baby home. I was born in probably one of the last ones in Ireland because they closed down in 1996. I was born in 89. And by then they weren't as bad. They weren't as severe. You know, they were the nuns were a bit kinder to my mother, I believe. But still, like there was so much that happened. And that's a really good example of these religious spirits that are ruling the church. I believe my grandfather had a religious spirit because the Lord showed me Baal that was moving through our family, and Baal had put a veil over my mind to put me to sleep. And Baal is like the ruler that's over Jezebel. So there was lots of narcissism, abuse, incest, and terror in my family. And Baal put me to sleep. So I ended up with so much dissociation and confusion that I didn't remember most of the trauma until years later. So it just shows like how these spirits can be at work and people can get away with things for a very long time because these religious spirits are also working through a level of witchcraft with Jezebel, but it's just done in a different way. And it is done through so much fear and so much confusion. Jesus spoke really directly about these spirits. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders. This is the yoke. You can be carrying like a very heavy yoke from your generation, but they themselves are not willing to move with their finger. Matthew 23, 4. So these people will put these heavy burdens on you and these expectations, this pressure, this performance. They're constantly clicking their fingers at you, and they they set these really high standards for the people around them, but they may not be abiding by these rules themselves. And they really control people through legalism, which is rule-based righteousness. The Bible tells us not to follow the law. Like we are not under the law, we are under the New Testament. And that doesn't mean that we just completely discard the Old Testament. There's many lessons and things that we can learn and that we can take with us, particularly from the Psalms. I love the Psalms. But at the same time, we are not following a list of strict rules. We are walking through sanctification with the Lord. And I talk about that in my last video in so much detail. They will control you through fear, guilt, and intimidation. The emphasis is often on the outward appearance and the behavior rather than the inner transformation. Because as born-again believers, we should be experiencing transformation, healing, and freedom. You will feel God moving in your life, you will experience miracles, you will be able to walk with the Holy Spirit, and you may get visions, you may operate in some of the gifts, but these people may actually deny God's power and instead will use scripture as a weapon in their hands. You know, I remember a pastor saying to me, That's not biblical, that's not biblical, and he kept using those words. What he was saying was a lie, because my work is biblical, it is rooted in God's word. And even though back then I was still early in my walk and I was still learning, I was still trying my best to be obedient. So the way that he was weaponizing scripture, even if there was error, even if there was some confusion, I was under the influence of a false prophet back then and I was vulnerable. I needed help, I needed support, I needed somebody to guide me in the right direction. Instead, this person traumatized me and ran me out of the church. You know, there is no help there. There's no support, there's no there's no care. And that is a Pharisee. There's a lack of compassion, a lack of understanding. I mean, as believers, we are going to make mistakes, we are going to be in error sometimes. There is going to be confusion, and we can all fall prey, especially during a vulnerable season. And sometimes we just need guidance and love. We do not need somebody stomping all over us, stomping all over our calling. Instead, they can point out the error or the confusion without stomping all over you. And I think that's really important to know the difference because the fruit of the spirit is love, patience, gentleness, kindness, compassion. This person was not showing up that way. For they preach, but they do not practice. Matthew 23, 3. This pastor actually admitted that he gets most of his sermons just from listening to other sermons. And I think that this is an issue in the church where there's a lot of popular teachings that are just parroted out. Parrot talk, you know. This is how you become a puppet, in my opinion. This is not coming from God. The revelation should come from within. The Holy Spirit should be speaking to you and moving through you and should be asking you to talk about certain things, and you should feel guided by the Holy Spirit, not just copycatting somebody else's work. How do you know that that person you're copying isn't a false prophet? It's really important that you're showing up, that you're studying the word, that you're using experiences that you've gone through in your life, that you're allowing the Holy Spirit to be at work and for the Spirit of God to move through through you. Because if you're not allowing that, then how do you know that it's not just the enemy in your ear? It's really important that the Holy Spirit is free to move through us as born-again believers, because he will bring revelation, he will bring people, he might sit somebody beside you that needs a word from the Holy Spirit that day. But if you're constantly trying to block the Holy Spirit, then that's putting out the light of God. And the Bible calls us to be the light of the world. If you're not allowed to be the light in somebody else's life beside you because there's so much control in that church, then that is not coming from God. You'll feel a lot of exhaustion and anxiety instead of growth, as well in these places. Jesus said, You shot the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. Matthew 23, 13. This is definitely what happened to me at that church. Like while we were having that conversation, I remember feeling my heart sink and I saw a vision of the pastor closing the door of the church on me. And I felt so rejected in that moment. And I felt very wounded and very broken in heart because I had already helped numerous people at that church, including one of the pastor's wives. And I had developed relationships and people that I really cared about and people that really needed help and they needed the Holy Spirit because they were they were being denied it. They were being blocked from it. And I knew that day that my time there had come to an end, that this person was an oppressor, that they were going to try their best to stand in my way. I knew that no matter how much I explained my work, he would never see the truth of it because the Holy Spirit was missing. So sometimes you just have to understand when to leave, when not to waste your time, not to waste your energy. Don't try to prove yourself to people. If somebody is a Pharisee, they're never going to see you. They, the Pharisees in the church, they literally accredited Jesus' work to was it, was it Baal or Beelzebub? I can't remember. They attributed it to a false God, to a demon, because they didn't, they could they couldn't see God when he was right in front of them, you know. These are Pharisees. I think the difference between the false prophet and the Pharisee is the false prophet wants to be God and wants to be the best and be validated and affirmed and wants to be the only one in the room that can communicate with God. And they're like, I am the prophet, you know. You see this a lot in the FLDS and these cults. And then with Pharisees, they'll turn their back on God. Like they claim to speak for God, but they will literally fold their arms and turn away from him. And they're so righteous about it. They think they are so right that they're right and you're wrong. I wonder when this Pharisee pastor meets the Lord, will the Lord remind him of this encounter and be like, I was in the room with her. I was right beside her. I sent her, and you hurt her. I just wonder, maybe that's my own ego talking. But how is God gonna deal with these people? I'm not the only person that he has hurt in this way. I'm not the only believer that he has shut the door on, or that he has tried to turn away from God. I'm sure there's gonna be some consequences to that. So let's just do the key differences again between the two. The false prophet leads you away from truth, the Pharisee burdens you with religion. The false prophet uses deception and distortion, but the Pharisee uses control and legalism. The false prophet creates confusion, the Pharisee creates fear and pressure, and the false prophet pulls you into dependency where you become so dependent on them. The Pharisee pushes you into performance. Both can keep people stuck, but in different ways. And discardment is so important. And I think when you're a new believer, you're going to struggle with discardment. You could have a strong intuition, you could have a good gut instinct, but you're you still have to sharpen that sword, and that's going to take time. It doesn't matter how intuitive you believe you are. Discardment is something that grows with time as a believer in Christ. And it took me time as well, because I didn't trust myself when I came home to Jesus. And I needed time to learn to trust him and also to learn to trust me again. And I think there's a lot of false teachings within Christianity where they're like, do not trust yourself because of that scripture that says the heart can be deceitful. Yes, the heart can be deceitful. Like our emotions aren't always facts and our thoughts aren't always true. And we have to question these things. That's really important. But at the same time, you have to trust your instincts and your wisdom and your your education, your experiences, the things you've been through. There's certain things where you can trust yourself, but when you've gone through abuse, all that self-trust is wiped away. And it's a whole process of relearning. And I went through abuse in many different situations in my life with my family. I went through family scapegoating, which was the most traumatic thing that I've ever gone through. Then I was snared by a false prophet for three years. Three years I worked with that person. And then this Pharisee in the church. And I was under this person's rulership for nine months, you know. Well, maybe not nine months because he was gone for some of that time. But when he came back, it must have been six months of confusion and deception and distortion. So there it takes time, you know, to really learn to trust yourself after going through all of that. And the Lord will walk with you to help you sharpen your discernment. In 1 John 4:1, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. So you can have the Holy Spirit moving through you, and you can have a spirit of torment or accusation or deception like sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear, and you have to be able to discern between them. You have to understand when you're under attack. You have to question the fear, the control, the shame, the confusion. Like I said, sometimes there is a root there. There could be something in you that needs to be uprooted. There could be a soul wound that needs to be healed. I do have a playlist full of Holy Spirit-led prophetic healings, and these are to uproot these strongholds within us. So definitely check those out. Discernment isn't about being suspicious of people, it's not about fear, it's not about attacking people, but it's about recognizing what produces truth, freedom, and alignment with God. I remember in that church as well, and in the churches that they aligned themselves with, because I met a few of the churches that they were in alignment with in America. They came and I sat with many of them and had different conversations. And there was a very strong sense of accusation moving through these people where they would constantly accuse people. There was a lot of talk about false prophets. There was a lot of talk about deception. There was so much control and fear. And there was a spirit of offense that was moving through the whole church. And I think you have to recognize this, that this is not coming from God. Like, yes, we have to be careful that we are not falling under deception and we are not being snared by these false prophets. But that doesn't mean that every single person who teaches something slightly different to them is a false prophet. That's completely denying the Holy Spirit again, because somebody may operate under a different framework. Somebody could be called to speak on a certain area. Like for me, I do a lot of work around trauma and I help people heal from trauma. And I don't just use the Bible and the Holy Spirit to do so. I also do nervous system support regulation lifestyle. So I incorporate different tools and even recommend things like IFS therapy. So when you are called to a certain area of ministry, there's going to be certain things that you teach that may be different to what they teach or understand because they're called to a completely different area. And just because somebody operates in a different framework or a different way does not mean that they're false. That's not what a false prophet is. A false prophet is leading people away from Jesus Christ or leading people away from his will, his truth. There's deception, there's distortion, there's confusion. It comes with a lot of confusion and fear and it keeps people stuck. So you have to understand what a false prophet actually is before you start throwing those types of accusations around. But these people used to constantly accuse and everything was so rooted in fear and control. So just recognize if that's happening as well in your church around you because that's not good for you. It's not good for you to be paranoid. Instead of asking, is this person right or wrong? Ask, does this lead me closer to truth or further from it? Does this produce peace or confusion in me? Does this create freedom or pressure? And does this point me to God or make me dependent on a person? Jesus said you will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7 16. So that is the standard. It's not intensity, it's not charisma, it's not fear, but fruit, fruit of the spirit. Are they loving, gentle, patient, kind, compassionate with you? And when they pray for you, or when you do healing or deliverance with them, are you experiencing freedom from that thing? Or are you going home confused, tired, groggy, sick? I remember vomiting after being exposed to witchcraft through a deliverance minister. So the fruit will be negative if that person is operating under a different spirit. Both deception and control can keep people bound, but truth does something different. It brings freedom, it brings alignment, and ultimately you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8 32. Father, I pray for every person listening today. I pray that you will lead them into all truth, that you will remove any spiritual blindness, that you will remove any veil over their minds. If there is any deception, confusion, or even mind control, Lord, that you will bind it up and cast it to the abyss. If there's any familiar spirits that are leading them astray, I pray that you will burn down any altars that give those spirits rights to stay and uproot any anchors, break every chain, and dismantle every throne in Jesus' name. Lord, allow them to walk in freedom with your Holy Spirit leading and guiding the way and protect them, cover them in the blood, and renew their mind. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. So I pray that this teaching today helps you. Let me know what you think below. Have you ever experienced a false prophet or a Pharisee? And I will see you guys in the next one. I love you lots. Bye. Remember to stay close to Jesus because freedom is yours.