Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 26-29
Jeremiah 29:9
For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
In Jeremiah’s day there were false prophets. They were not sent by God, they spoke things out of their own heart, they spoke things easy to hear, they were more in number than the true prophets, and they were wrong, they prophesied lies. The sad thing about false prophets is that their hearers believe them. Because of this there is confusion. Who can a person believe? The citizens of Judah had to choose, believe Jeremiah or believe the Hananiah’s of the day.
History proves that Jeremiah was true to God’s message and that Hananiah was not. One preached that Judah would be in bondage to Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon for seventy years, and that while they were there that they should be at peace, build their homes, raise their families and harvest their crops. The other preached that within two years Judah would be returned to their homeland and the captivity would be over. One of these messages was easy to hear, one difficult. One promised great promises, the other promised captivity, One was popular with the nationalists of the day, one was not. One was true, and one was false. Within two months Hananiah, the false prophet, was dead just as Jeremiah had prophesied and for seventy years Judah was in bondage until Cyrus conquered Babylon and released the Jews to return to their homeland.
Hananiah was probably very popular. There is no record of him being put in the stocks; no record of him being put in prison; he was not under the threat of death. He was received, Jeremiah was rejected. But they didn’t reject the man, they rejected the God of the man. Jeremiah was a true spokesman for God at the time; he was sent from God 26:1, he was sent to God’s house 26:2, he was sent to God’s people 26:4, he was sent with God’s Word 26:2, and he was sent in spite of opposition 26:11.
Yes, there were false prophets, and according to the New Testament there will be false prophets today. Jesus said as much in Matthew 24:4-8. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then He said in verse 11, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. Even in the sermon on the mount Jesus warned of them. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15. Peter warned of them in II Peter 2:1; John warned of them in I John 4:1.
How then is the false prophet recognized? The Word of God. Read it, study it, live it, and memorize it, and the false prophet will be spotted from a mile away. Oh, yes, the Holy Ghost also plays a role, He will convict you of truth and warn you of false teachings. Every time. Here is a hint about spotting false teachers. Listen to all that they say about the Lord Jesus. If He is not the center of their teaching and preaching, be warned.
Dr. William T. Howe
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