What does Luke 6:26 mean?

Public approval can lead to wealth and satisfaction, but also to God's judgment. When the world speaks well of believers, we need to consider why. There are positive, godly reasons the non-believing world might approve of us (1 Timothy 3:7; 1 Peter 2:12). But that should never happen because we send a message contradicting God's Word, making people feel better about the world. The Old Testament was filled with false prophets who preached peace when there was no peace (Jeremiah 14:13–16). Today, we see this even in the church. The prosperity gospel claims that God wants everyone to be healthy, wealthy, and fulfilled. The message ignores God's warning. Those who are satisfied with what the world offers will have even that taken away in eternity (Luke 6:24).

The Mosaic law is clear that any prophet who predicts something which does not come true is not from God and their message should be ignored (Deuteronomy 18:21–22). Most notably, prophets tended to tell the kings of Israel and Judah that their adversaries would not attack and take the people into exile (Jeremiah 6:14). The Bible explicitly mentions motives like greed (Jeremiah 6:13; Micah 3:11) though demonic involvement is also a possibility (1 Timothy 4:1).

As the end times grow nearer, more false prophets will lead people away from Christ (2 Peter 2:1–3). They may be praised by the public, escaping the horrible deaths of Isaiah and Jeremiah, but their end will be worse. They will face God's judgment and spend eternity in hell.