False Prophet Predicts His Death To Be At Age 120
Jesus predicted that “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” (Matthew 24:11 NIV. News headlines frequently highlight the accuracy of Jesus’ prediction. One recent example of a false prophet doing this was made publicly on December 23, 2024.
“I have made and entered [into a] covenant with God and on December 6, 2056, I’ll see you all later. I’m out of here, 120 years old,” televangelist Kennth Copeland claimed on December 23, 2024, predicting the date of his death. This false prophet, like all false prophets, contradicts the Bible with his predictions.
“I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground. “—Isaiah 28:18 NLT. God will certainly not honor any supposed deal this false prophet thinks he’s made with God to live until he’s 120.
“For man also does not know his time [of death]; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds caught in the snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud suddenly falls on them.”—Ecclesiastes 9:12 Amplified Bible. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what any day may bring forth”—Proverbs 27:1 NAB. No human being, no matter how close he may be with God, knows the date of their death in advance, as the Bible makes very clear.
“But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’”—Deuteronomy 18:20 NASB. Based on these Bible principles, things aren’t looking too good for televangelist Copeland. Are we violating the Bible principle not to judge others by pointing this out (Matthew 7:1-5)? No, because in the same context in which he warned about the danger of false prophets, Jesus said:
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”—Matthew 7:16-20 NIV. Jesus tells us to pay attention to any supposed prophet’s words and actions. If they do not harmonize with the scriptures, that prophet should be rejected as false. This is the right kind of scriptural judging, not the unscriptural judging on personal opinions Jesus warned about in Matthew 7:1-5.
This is the problem with false prophets, such as Kenneth Copeland. God says, “I will raise my fist against all the prophets who see false visions and make lying predictions” (Ezekiel 13:9 NLT).