As the Lord was proclaiming the future deliverance of Israel, He said, “I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them” (Zechariah 13:2). This is not just something that happened thousands of years ago in the biblical record. It is happening today.

The word “prophet” here refers to a person in an official capacity who is the spokesman or speaker representing someone other than themselves. Today, some of these false prophets represent our politicians and errant leaders within the Church. We have limited the definition of “false prophet” to what happens in the Church. It has a wider understanding encompassing spokesmen who speak of things contrary to Scripture and God’s heart and require that we accept their falsehood. 

The “spirit of impurity” in the above verse is what comes along with the words spoken by a false prophet. Some translations use the word “unclean to describe this impure spirit. It means to speak against what is ethical and religious. This is not about a dead and lifeless representation of religion. It is a good and right expression of our faith.

Whenever a false spokesman declares what is not ethical or right, what comes with them and empowers their message is an unclean spirit of impurity. This spirit must be discerned to understand its intent. The only measure to determine whether a spokesman is a false prophet is the truth of God expressed through His word and the created order. It is not about what agrees and aligns with failed human logic or appearance. Only knowing the truth will allow us to determine if we are hearing a prophet with a true message or a false one that desires to wrap our minds with the confusion of an unclean spirit.