False Prophets Prophesy Lies

When prophets prophesy lies, God describes it as a ``horrible and shocking thing'' (Jeremiah 5:30,31).

We live in a day of much prophetic utterances. You would be wise to keep in mind that there is a possibility that some prophets might lie. Real examples are recorded in 1 Kings 13:18 and Jeremiah 27:16. In this context you should also heed the general warning which says: ``When words are many, sin is not absent'' (Proverbs 10:19a).

Again, God warns that these prophets prophesy lies in His name: ``The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds'' (Jeremiah 14:14).

He continues to warn not to listen to these false prophets who fill you with false hopes by speaking visions from their own minds. God says that these words do not come from the mouth of the Lord (Jeremiah 23:16). Prophet Isaiah points out that the prophets who teach lies mislead the people (Isaiah 9:15,16).

\emph{God also exposes one of the prime methods of such false prophets who prophesy lies. They say, ``I had a dream! I had a dream!'' (Jeremiah 23:25). If you listen to prophets of today, you'll often hear them say these words, ``I had a dream! I had a dream!'' We're not trying to say that all prophets who talk about their dreams are false prophets. But you should know that this is a method that God has exposed.}

Contrast with God's Word: God says, ``Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?'' (Jeremiah 23:28). So, God's priority is made clear here. He wants His servants to speak His word faithfully! The contrast is clear. The dreams of prophets is like straw (Jeremiah 23:28) when compared to the awesome power of God's word, which is like fire and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29)! They would be wise to know this truth: ``Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?'' (Lamentations 3:37).

Jeremiah has recorded God's warning about prophets who prophesied lies in God's name during his time (Jeremiah 27:10, 14--16). Prophet Ezekiel also has recorded God's warning about such prophets: They prophesy out of their own imagination. They follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. They are like jackals among ruins. The Lord has not sent them. Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, ``The Lord declares'' even when the Lord has not sent them or spoken to them. Yet they expect their words to be fulfilled (Ref. Ezekiel 13:2, 3, 6, 7).

Clearly, prophesying lies in God's name is characteristic of false prophets.

False Prophets Steal Words from One Another

This is yet another characteristic of false prophets. When they finish telling their dreams they start to quote each other to support their own agenda.

God warns about such behavior specifically: \emph{``Therefore,'' declares the Lord, ``I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me.''} ``Yes,'' declares the Lord, ``I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, `The Lord declares.' Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,'' declares the Lord. `` They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not sent them or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,'' declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:30--32).

Jude further explains that such godless men \emph{``boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage''} (Jude 16b). If you listen carefully to their talk you'll discover that this description is fully true.

God also warned against the false prophets \emph{because they distorted the words of the living God.} They did so by substituting their own words and trying to give it the authority of God's word. They thus tried to be ``the oracle of the Lord'' and pretended to give valuable advice or information. But the Lord warned that they should not use the words ``the oracle of the Lord'' (Jeremiah 23:36) when they were distorting the words of God.

Contrast with God's Word: God's word is truth (John 17:17) and they are unchanging (Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 5:18). But false prophets lie and steal words from one another and in the process distort the words of the living God.

We live in days when people give great importance to prophetic utterances than God's Word. The truth is that people do not try to read and understand the Bible. Instead they find it easy to listen to false prophets who steal words from each other to promote false hopes in the minds of people. \emph{The greater danger is that the false prophets squeeze in their own ideas into the explanation of God's Word.} Therefore, always remember that your safety from such people who quote each other is in reading the Bible with much prayer to God to help you understand His Word.

A Note of Encouragement: http://www.lovesark.net/biblenyou/brp07.html

False Prophets Fail to Warn

False prophets never warn people of coming judgment. Instead they give people a false sense of security by proclaiming peace, when there is no peace. God compared this false sense of security to a flimsy wall which the false prophets whitewash to make everything seem quiet, good, and beautiful on the outside. God warned that He will make this whitewashed wall of false peace collapse (Ezekiel 13:10--16).

Jeremiah also recorded God's complaint against these false prophets: ``They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. `Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace'' (Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11). God even pointed out how unashamed these kind of prophets are when they say so: ``Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not know even how to blush'' (Jeremiah 6:15a, 8:12a). The truth is that such behavior has become a habit with modern false prophets. They are not at all bothered that they are proclaiming false peace to the people.

When such prophets proclaim false peace there is a greater danger. Jeremiah lamented thus when the people of Judah were carried into captivity: ``The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading'' (Lamentations 2:14). It is clear that a true prophet of the Lord will declare to his people their sins and ask them to repent of the same to escape God's judgment. And only a true prophet of the Lord who is ``filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord'' can declare to his people their sin and transgression (Micah 3:8).

Jeremiah pointed out another wicked thing the false prophets do. They give people false hopes and speak visions from their own minds (Jeremiah 23:16). And they keep saying to people who despise God, `` The Lord says: You will have peace'' and to those who follow the stubbornness of their hearts, they say, ``No harm will come to you'' (Jeremiah 23:17). This kind of behavior has become very common with prophets of today. They pamper people, who despise God; and stubborn-hearted people who never repent, with soothing words. But the important question to be asked about such prophets is this: ``But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?'' (Jeremiah 23:18).

Contrast with God's Word: False prophets fail to warn. But God has appointed his prophets to be watchmen. They are to hear the words that God speaks to them and give warning to the people (Ezekiel 3:17, 33:7). And if he failed to give warning, God held the watchman accountable for the blood of those whom he failed to warn (Read Ezekiel 3:16--21 and 33:1--9)!

Would anyone dare to be a prophet of the Lord in the light of such severe accountability that God demands from him? Yet how many people proclaim themselves prophets of the Lord without declaring to people their sins!

Instead all you hear from them constantly is, ``God bless you!'' They fail to tell people that God's love to you is unconditional while His blessings are given to you based on your obedience to God's Word.

Conditional Answer to Prayer: http://www.lovesark.net/prayer/pathways/chapters/chapter018.html

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