In religion, a false prophet or pseudoprophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, it is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to the deity and sets themself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term is sometimes applied outside religion to describe someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.

The Devil whispers to the Antichrist; detail from Sermons and Deeds of the Antichrist, Luca Signorelli, 1501, Orvieto Cathedral.
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Judaism
See also: Prophets in Judaism, Nevi'im, and Jewish Messiah claimants
Jesus is rejected in every branch of Judaism as a failed Jewish Messiah claimant and a false prophet.[1][2][3]
"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you" (Deuteronomy 13:1–5).
The Books of Kings records a story where, under duress from Ahab, the prophet Micaiah depicts God as requesting information from His heavenly counsel as to what He should do with a court of false prophets. This depiction is recorded in 1 Kings 22:19–23:
"Micaiah continued, 'Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne with all the host of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left.' And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'"
"One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, 'I will entice him.'"
"'By what means?', the Lord asked."
"'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said."
"'You will succeed in enticing him', said the Lord. 'Go and do it.'"
"So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you."
It is possible that Micaiah meant to depict the false prophets as a test from YHWH. It is also possible that it was meant as a slur on Ahab's prophets, such as Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah.[4]
The penalty for false prophecy, including speaking in the name of a god other than YHWH or speaking presumptuously in YHWH's name, is death (Deuteronomy 18:20). Likewise, if a prophet makes a prophecy in the name of YHWH that does not come to pass, that is another sign that he is not commissioned of YHWH and that the people need not fear the false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:22).
The Jewish Koine Greek term pseudoprophetes occurs in the Septuagint (Jeremiah 6:13, 33:8-11, 34:9, 36:1-8, Zechariah 13:2); Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 8-13-1, 10-7-3, The Jewish War 6-5-2); and Philo of Alexandria (Specific Laws 3:8). Classical Pagan writers used the term pseudomantis.
Christianity
Main article: Historicist interpretations of the Book of Revelation
See also: Christian eschatology, Prophets of Christianity, and List of people claimed to be Jesus

Fate of The False Prophet, Revelation 16, Beatus de Facundus, 1047
Christian eschatology originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus.[5] Throughout the New Testament and some of the early Christian apocryphal writings, Jesus warns his disciples and apostles multiple times of both false prophets and false Messiahs, and believers are frequently adjured to beware of them and stay vigilant.[6][7][8]
Gospels
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:15–20), Jesus warns his followers of false prophets:[6][7][8]
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits."
The canonical gospels address the same point of a false prophet predicting correctly, and Jesus predicted the future appearance of false christs and false prophets, affirming that they can perform great signs and miracles, for example, in the Olivet Discourse given on the Mount of Olives:
"And Jesus began to say to them, 'Take heed that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, I am he! and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet. […] And then if any one says to you, Look, here is the Christ! or Look, there he is! do not believe it. False christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed; I have told you all things beforehand'." (Mark 13:5–7, 13:21–23)
"Take heed that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. […] And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. […] Then if any one says to you, Lo, here is the Christ! or There he is!, do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Lo, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, Lo, he is in the wilderness, do not go out; if they say, Lo, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it." (Matthew 24:4–5, 24:11, 24:23–26)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus brought out an ethical application for his disciples using the analogy of false prophets in the Old Testament:
"Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.