More Didache paraphrase...

It's almost impossible for me not to want to jump up and down and point out what the early church fathers wrote concerning how a young church should discern if a person was truly a messenger from God or not. Where have these standards gone? How did we get here from there?
Ah well.....

Chapter 11 “How to Test Teachers, Apostles and Prophets”
If a person comes to teach you, and what he teaches lines up with the teaching found here, then you can welcome him and listen to him.
But if he comes with some “new” or alternate “truth”, realize that he’s trying to lead you away from the way of life, and is trying to drag you down the path of death! Plug your ears from that noise.
But if his teaching challenges you to be more like God who is good, and aids you in your understanding about God’s plan, then welcome him in as though the Lord himself is there.

Now, concerning the spokesmen and mouthpieces of the Lord who are traveling around, handle them in a way that is in harmony with God’s good plan.
If a spokesman, an ambassador with God’s message comes to you, receive him just as though the Lord is right there with you.
Now, he should only enjoy your hospitality for one day, maybe two if the situation calls for it. But if he seems content to hang out for three days, realize that you’re dealing with a false prophet.

When a true spokesman for the Lord leaves your company, he won’t take anything from you except what supplies he would need to get him to his next destination. If he starts asking around for money, this guy’s a false prophet.

Now, if a prophet is giving a message by the Spirit that is clearly by the will of God, don’t start second-guessing that guy’s motives or picking apart his words. This is treading too closely to doing what unbelievers do in distaining the work of the Spirit, and we know that is unforgivable.
But be warned, just because a guy may give a prophecy doesn’t mean he’s a bonafide prophet; his life and priorities will bear that out.
Here are the ways you can tell the difference between true and false spokesmen for God:
If a spokesman of the Lord says he has a word by the Spirit that you should prepare a meal and then gobbles it all up himself, that guy is a false prophet.
And if he teaches you to follow and live out the truth of God’s plan, but he doesn’t live it himself, well he’s obviously false too.

If a prophet has been proven to be a true spokesman for the Lord, and yet he uses strange, even weird illustrations, and even acts kind of funny; as long as he isn’t suggesting that you have to be weird too, then don’t worry about it. You don’t need to judge that stuff; God will deal with all that when everything comes to the end.
If you think about it, the Old Testament prophets were pretty odd ducks, and it could be it’s just a hazard of the job.

And if anyone tells you, supposedly by the Spirit, to give him money or goods of any kind, don’t listen to a word he has to say. On the other hand, if he says by the Spirit to give on behalf of others who are in need, that’s a different story, that could very well be by the Spirit.