History Main / FalseProphet

* ''Literature/TheLastBattle'': With the help of a lion skin and his dimwitted friend Puzzle the donkey, the talking ape Shift subjugates the Narnians by insisting Aslan wants them to submit to the invading Calormenes; in the meantime he sets himself up as a prophet and demands food and riches. Later he insists that Asian and the Calormene god Tash are the same being, Tashlan. Interestingly, Aslan doesn't punish Shift for his blasphemy... [[spoiler:The demonic Tash himself does.]]

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' arch-villain Judge Death does not usually see himself as any kind of messiah, but he's more than happy to use the various Death Cults to advance his goals, which is more killing. The Mortarian sect in particular elevated him to a GodOfEvil and happily marched towards slaughter before they realized that it was a sham. As Death eloquently points out:

This trope is closely related to the FakeFaithHealer, GreedyTelevangelist, PhonyPsychic, and ScamReligion. Compare DarkMessiah for another savior figure that uses unethical tactics, but may actually be genuine in their faith and intentions unlike a False Prophet. Compare with NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist.

* in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse,'' it's revealed that BigBad Emperor Belos is this. [[spoiler: He claimed he could speak to "the Titan" (God, essentially) and used that to climb his way to the top. But he was making it up all along, because his real plan was to destroy witches and The Boiling Isles, as he's actually a human witch hunter.]]

* Literature/TheBible contains several denouncements of false prophets, especially towards the end of the Old Testament when Israel and Judah turn away from God and ignore the warnings that he's about to send them into exile.[[labelnote: *]]Jeremiah 23:9-40 is a long example.[[/labelnote]] Jesus also warns his followers about false prophets more than once, in one case [[AWolfInSheepsClothing naming another trope]] in the process. He gives particular warnings about anyone claiming to be his SecondComing, essentially saying that it'll be blatantly obvious to everyone when it really happens and in the meantime anyone making such claims is a false prophet.

* in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse,'' it's revealed that BigBad Emperor Belos is this. [[spoiler: He claimed he could speak to "the Titan" (God, essentially) and used that to climb his way to the top. But of course, he was making it up all along, because his real plan was to destroy witches and The Boiling Isles, as he's actually a human witch hunter.]]

* Father Anthony Comstock of ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' passes himself as a prophet, using the Lutece twins' research about using tears in the space-time to predict the future and create advanced technology from other universes.

Subtrope (and a basic form) of {{Hypocrite}}. See also ScamReligion and FakeFaithHealer. Compare DarkMessiah for another savior figure that uses unethical tactics, but may actually be genuine in their intentions unlike a False Prophet. Compare NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist. Sister trope to PhonyPsychic.

Subtrope (and a basic form) of {{Hypocrite}}. See also ScamReligion. Compare DarkMessiah for another savior figure that uses unethical tactics, but may actually be genuine in their intentions unlike a False Prophet. Compare NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist. Sister trope to PhonyPsychic.

->''Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.''

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Father Cornello, the prophet of the religion worshiping the Sun God Leto in the village of Leor at the start of the manga and BOTH anime series, turns out to be nothing more than a con-man. His "miracles" are all the result of the power of an incomplete Philosopher's Stone he has, and his sole reason for founding his religion is to establish a powerbase of religious fanatics he can use as foot soldiers.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Griffith, the main antagonist for a majority of the manga's run. [[spoiler:After betraying the Band of the Hawk in exchange for power and a position among the god hand, Griffith re-enters the human realm and poses as a savior for humanity who would "vanquish the shadow that blots out the sun" when he is actually a harbinger of death and destruction. His image as humanity's savior is mostly based on (a) A premonition seen by people throughout Midland and (b) backing from the Holy See, based on the religious organization of the same name.]]

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Griffith, the main antagonist for a majority of Berserk's run. [[spoiler:After betraying the band of the hawk in exchange for power and a position among the god hand, Griffith re-enters the human realm and poses as a savior for humanity who would "vanquish the shadow that blots out the sun" when he is actually a harbinger of death and destruction. His image as humanity's savior is mostly based on (a) a premonition seen by people throughout midland and (b) backing from the holy see, Berserk's equivalent of the catholic faith.]]
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Father Cornello, the prophet of the religion worshiping the Sun God Leto in the village of Leor at the start of the manga and BOTH anime series, turns out to be nothing more than a con-man. His "miracles" are all the result of the power of an incomplete Philospoher's stone he has, and his sole reason for founding his religion is to establish a powerbase of religious fanatics he can use as foot soldiers.

* ''VideoGame/GrandiaII'': Pope Zera Innocentus is the leader of the Church of Granas, and viewed by many to be the wisest and most powerful leader the church has had. With monsters on the rise and apparent curses appearing across the land, the people have turned to him to lead them lit of these dark times. In point of fact, Pope Zera and his subordinates are the one causing the curses and monsters because he knows [[spoiler:his god Granas is dead, and he wants to revive, then later become, Valmar because humanity needs a god to serve.]] What keeps the Church of Granas from being a ScamReligion is that only Zera and his inner circle are aware of the spoilered information.

Subtrope (and a basic form) of {{Hypocrite}}. See also ScamReligion. Compare DarkMessiah for another savior figure that uses unethical tactics, but may actually be genuine in their intentions unlike a False Prophet. Compare NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist.

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': [[FatBastard Darth Baras']] EvilPlan is to deceive the entire Sith Empire into believing that he is the Voice of the Emperor, whose job is to speak on the [[ShadowDictator The Emperor's]] behalf. If he were to succeed, he would become the defacto ruler of the Sith Empire, and everyone would worship and obey him just as they would The Emperor.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': The VillainOfTheWeek in "99 Problems" is the Whore of Babylon, whose goal is to damn as many souls to Hell as possible. She does this by convincing the citizens of a small town that she's a prophet and manipulating them to commit heinous crimes by using their devotion to God against them.