I have a personal starting point for ruling out deception and false prophets; it’s based on my personal observations. 

(1)  Anyone who competes for God’s glory by magnifying himself, his ministry, his gifts or his position sends up a red flag to me. Unless he humbles himself and repents, even if he’s the Lord’s anointed, he is left open to deception through pride; he or she needs intercessory prayer.

(2)  If people talk more about the ministry of a man, and are looking to the man more than they honor, glorify and look to God himself, I see a red flag spelling deception. God’s name only, should prevail in our hearts.

(3)  When things spoken by man do not in the fullest context align with the scriptures, or are incomplete in the context given in scripture, I consider that word false. Partial truth can only take you so far; if one isn’t learning to know the voice of God speak to their own heart, then it’s time to let the pure word of God shine light onto your path. Partial truth will ultimately end up taking you to your death.

(4)  When a leader continually surrounds himself with flatterers and yes men, my heart grieves. Never envy, or desire to be included with those on any church’s inner circles. There are no closed circles drawn around those who walk with Christ.

Of men in history, John Wycliffe, (1328 – December 31, 1384) is one of those I admire. He exposed some of the insidious, diabolical, early abuses in the Roman Catholic church. During the latter half of the fourteenth century, great forces were at work in England. The medieval world was coming to a close but the new world was not yet ready to be born. The black death had killed 1/3 of the population and though the crusades were over, the hundred year war with France was still in progress. Peasants were growing impatient for a better life, and Richard the second, the ten year old puppet king was on the throne.

The church which had brought civilization and order to medieval Europe had grown in wealth and power; much of that wealth came through emotional and financial abuse of the people. Because there were no bibles in the English language, the gospel became diluted with superstition and half truths taught by the church.

Voices within the church began to call for reform. One of those voices came from Dr. John Wycliffe. He was one of the most brilliant philosophers and preachers of his age. He taught at Oxford University. It was his studies of the scriptures that released his enormous energies. His biblical research convinced him that the church had long since departed from the scriptures, and he called for drastic changes. He was an early dissident of the Roman Catholic Church, and his followers were known as Lollards. The Lollard movement was a precursor to the protestant reformation. For this reason, John Wycliffe is known as the morning star of the Reformation.

John wrote that even though something is believed by the multitudes doesn’t make it true, stating that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. He stood up against politically powerful and dangerous men, yet would not recant anything he was teaching or had written.

There can be no appreciation for the Reformation until one understands the great spiritual need of the western world preceding the 16th century. No Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant or Independent can simply gloss over the period of history from 590 to 1517. This period is a “black spot” to all who name the name of Christ, but it is church history.

There were abuses in the church that gravely affected the people. These were power abuses for the sole purpose of the churches accumulation of wealth. 1/3 of the land of England was owned by the church at that time. The church leaders were continually inventing ways to get richer and lived in luxury. There were numerous heart wrenching abuses; three of Rome's Scandals stand out to me above others.

(I)  Immorality of the Clergy.    Celibacy for clergy became Roman church law in 1079. This mandate tempted all kinds of immorality. “The abodes of the clergy were dens of orgies and corruption. It was a common sight to see priests frequenting the taverns, gambling, and having orgies with quarrels and blasphemy. Many of the clergy kept mistresses, and convents became houses of ill fame. “In many places the priest paid the bishop a regular tax for the women with whom he lived, and for each child he had by her. A German bishop said publicly one day, at a great entertainment, that in one year eleven thousand priests had presented themselves before him for that purpose. It is Erasmus who relates this” (D’aubigne).

(2) System of Indulgences.    Priest within the church were selling false claims known as papers of indulgences. The people believed they could commit sins, continue right on sinning, and still enter heaven. They were forgiven if they bought a paper of indulgence; those who could afford it bought these papers as a license to sin without a thought given to any consequence for sin. Not unlike how in recent times, mafia figure heads could be absolved from the sins of murder, when combined with large donations to the church.

(3)  Baptism of Infants.   The church exacted a price for the baptism of infants. The people were taught that babies would not go to heaven unless baptized. I’ve known mother’s who believe that to this day. For those who couldn’t scrape the money together, it was believed their baby would burn in hell for all eternity. (Even the very concept of hell was not taught according to scripture) The infant death rate was high during this period of history, so many were the poor who grieved needlessly, imagining their babies burning in hell. That fear no doubt caused some parents to steal, murder, or do whatever, in order to prevent that slanderous lie from occurring. King David said he would see his own infant son in heaven when he died, (even before the institution of baptism) but this wasn’t taught by the church.  John Wycliffe was teaching and writing about it all. 

However, this wasn’t the first time the church was used to make money. Jesus was furious when He found the Pharisees using His Father’s temple to make money; He made a whip out of cords, told them to get out, and drove both buyers and sellers away. He scattered their coins and flipped over the money changer’s tables. John 2:14, Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15. And he taught them saying, “Is it not written: “My house will be called a “House of Prayer” for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

It was the churches abuses and that of robbing the people that led to a revolt by the peasants; Wycliffe was blamed for it because he had been teaching the truth. The church clearly exposed, he lost his position at Oxford and was forbidden to teach, just as he’d been forewarned. He was even forbidden access to the libraries. However, his admiring, faithful students, took it upon themselves to copy all of his works and every single one of his books.

Relatively few peasants could read during this time, and thus, they believed what they were told by authority figures. Even so, Wycliffe envisioned improved literary realities. He came up with the idea to somehow, translate the Bible into the vernacular. He realized that the word was the bread of God and that the bible must be translated; all people needed further access to the word, so the truth of God’s love could be sealed to their own hearts. His students helped with the translations and he over saw the details.

Wycliffe taught that every man is a steward of the word of God, and is responsible to God for what he does with his life; all stand alone before God for his final judgment; Every man had a right to read the scriptures in his own tongue; Every man had the right to examine the scriptures for himself, so that the Holy Spirit could reveal the truths to those with open hearts. Wycliffe grieved for the people because of the deceptions of the church, and he realized that the interpretations of the bible could not be left “ONLY” to the church. Once the jewel of Oxford and throughout all England, he became a major thorn to the Roman Catholic Church.

Even after Wycliffe’s trials and death, his work continued to spread. Many of his followers were put on trial as well, and ordered to recant. Years later, in an attempt to erase his memory and continued influence, his bones were ordered dug up and destroyed. The Chronicler, fuller, wrote, they burnt his bones to ashes and cast them into a swift neighboring brook running hard by; thus, this brook hath conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon into seven, seven into the narrow seas, and they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine which now are dispersed the world over.

Since Adam and Eve, for every good thing there is an evil which continues to pervert, cause confusion, and bring forth a counter-part. Religion has been evil’s most insidious avenue of deception. And it stands to reason that it would be; false religion is the most intelligent choice in which to compete with God for the hearts of mankind. There is truth in every religion, mixed with the leaven of deception. The problem is, leaven spreads. . .   If it cannot be sifted out, what then?  The answer is found in the word.  Everyone needs to carefully examine the gospel of the kingdom for themselves.