Deuteronomy 13:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But that prophet or dreamer shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). What a sacred and divinely instituted law! If those who take the life of the body must certainly face death as prescribed by the law, how much more should the individual who leads another's soul into harmful deception and brings them into the pit of destruction—something that, according to the words of Christ, is of far greater value than the body (Matthew 10:28)? Therefore, God rightly decrees that liars and deceivers deserve death; He also commands the same fate for those who heed them with a careless and light-hearted attitude. When it was easy to embrace the truth with a sober mind, why, He asks, did one willingly turn to wickedness?

He states, “But if a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes to pass, and he says, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them; you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:2-4). Thus, it is evident that the false prophet performs miracles by God's consent, teaching us to disregard the signs when the miracle worker advocates against righteousness. Moses commanded that such a false prophet should be put to death to protect the people from corrupt teachings. He reminds us, “You shall purge the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 13:5). Furthermore, if a brother, friend, or family member, ensnared by falsehood, seeks to mislead others, the law mandates proclaiming the actions of this wicked teacher and calls for the first stones to be cast upon those who adhere to such corrupt doctrines, ultimately leading to a public stoning of the guilty party, in hopes of deterring others from following in their wrongdoings.