False Prophets
We must be on guard against false prophets
who will proclaim that all is well
even though God's judgment may be near.
Here now is Dr. Gene Getz:
The key phrase in this Principle is
"all is well."
Don't worry. Don't worry.
All is well.
Now this related to false prophets.
And so Ezekiel faced competition, as it were,
with those who were speaking
doctrine that wasn't true.
And so we have a statement from the Lord
to Ezekiel about false prophets:
This is what the Lord God says:
Woe to the foolish prophets who follow
their own spirit and have seen nothing. ...
Now I've highlighted the concept
of "their own spirit"
because that raises a question:
Where is this coming from?
This false doctrine?
Well the essence of it here He says
is their own spirit.
But He says it's nothing.
It's not true.
He goes on to say in verse 6:
. . . They see false visions
and speak lying divinations.
They claim, 'This is the Lord's declaration,'
when the Lord did not send them,
yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
The question that raises in my mind:
Is this reference to self-deception?
In other words, do these false prophets
really believe that what they're saying is true?
Well I assume it is.
I assume that they think that they're right.
But they're getting these messages
in their spirit from false spirits,
or from evil, or Satan himself.
Regardless, it's not true.
They are false prophets.
There were also women
who were prophetesses
who were false.
And we read about that in verses 17 to 18:
Now, son of man, turn toward[s]
the women of your people
who prophesy out of their
own imagination. ...
Now again that raises a question.
It's kind of related to the concept
of their own spirit.
But to what extent are they
conjuring this up?
Thinking it's a reality.
Or are they simply manipulating?
Coming up with ideas to try
to trick people.
Trap people.
And obviously, if they do convince people
that they have a message,
[it] probably involves money.
In other words, manipulating people.
Just like false prophets do today
who say: I'll read your palm
if you give me this much money.
And people believe that.
I don't know exactly what's
going on here totally.
But I do know what it says. We read on:
...Prophesy against them and say:
This is what the Lord God says: ...
In other words, their message is not true.
Here's what God says:
...Woe to the women who sew magic bands
on the wrists of every hand
and who make veils for the heads
of people of every height
in order to ensnare lives.
Will you ensnare the lives of My people
but preserve your own?
Now, I would suppose that when they
hand out these magic bands
and they hand out these veils,
they expect something in return.
In other words, this becomes
a money-making operation.
But the interesting thing here,
it says that they ensnare people.
Now when they ensnare people,
that gives a clue that they know
what they're doing is wrong.
They know it's false.
So we're not quite sure.
What is the source of all of this?
I would imagine it's both.
From within them, their evil hearts,
as well as evil spirits.
Like the witch of En-dor that we read about
in relationship to the life of Saul.
There were witches.
There were people that worshiped evil spirits.
And so consequently, these people,
both men and women probably,
as false prophets were caught up
in demonology.
And were even self-deceived themselves--
thinking they were getting messages
from the one true God.
Even Jeremiah faced this.
See Jeremiah is still back in Jerusalem.
Ezekiel has been taken [into] captivity
in that second deportation.
He was in Jerusalem with Jeremiah.
And so this is nothing new to Ezekiel.
Because Jeremiah faced the same thing
and is facing the same thing
back there in Jerusalem.
And will until they're taken
ultimately into captivity
and Jerusalem is destroyed.
And here's what Jeremiah said:
But the Lord said to me,
"These prophets are prophesying
a lie in My name.
I did not send them, nor did I command them
or speak to them.
They are prophesying to you a false vision,
worthless divination, the deceit
of their own minds.
And what that simply says
is that this kind of behavior
is happening in Jerusalem
as Ezekiel is prophesying. It's ongoing.
But it's happening right there
in the village in which he lives,
among the people that have already been
deported there into Babylon.
it was an ongoing problem
that Ezekiel was facing:
dealing with false prophets.
It's interesting that in Ezekiel chapter 13,
verse 10 it says:
They have led many people astray
saying: peace when there is no peace.
And you know, Paul may have been
thinking of that phrase:
Peace when there is no peace.
All is well.
Don't worry.
He may have been thinking
of what Jeremiah prophesied--
he may have been thinking
of what Ezekiel prophesied.
Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel
when he penned these words--
1st Thessalonians chapter 5--
here's his warning:
For you yourselves know very well
that the Day of the Lord will come
just like a thief in the night.
[And] when they say,
"Peace and security," ...
Where did that phrase come from?
Well obviously, from the Holy Spirit.
But many times, God used
Old Testament prophecies
as Paul would write,
as Peter would write.
To bring this truth right down to us today
within the church of Jesus Christ.
...When they say, "Peace and security,"
then sudden destruction comes on them,
like labor pains come on a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
An incredible warning
in relationship to false prophets.
What was Paul's answer?
This is the Reflection and Response question:
What was Paul's answer to this kind
of false prophecy and how does it apply to us?
Well, he uses some metaphors here
which are interesting
because Ezekiel used
a lot of metaphors--a lot of parables.
And we see Paul doing the same thing. He says:
So then, we must not sleep, like the rest,
but we must stay awake and be serious. ...
What he's saying is:
We shouldn't live in darkness.
And he's using being awake
and asleep as an illustration.
In the darkness we're asleep.
And when we're awake,
we're in the light.
And so he's illustrating:
...we must stay awake and be serious [alert].
For those who sleep, sleep at night...
Again, it's a metaphor.
But he's getting his point across.
They're in darkness:
...and those who get drunk
are drunk at night. ...
He continues the metaphor.
He's not talking about drunkenness per se.
He's talking about the fact that
they're out of touch with reality.
They're not serious.
They're not alert
because they're overcome
with substances.
And he uses that as an illustration:
...But since we belong to the day...
Whether the sun's up or the sun's down,
we belong to the day:
...we must be serious and put [on] the
armor of faith and love on our chests,
and put on a helmet of the
hope of salvation. ...
It's interesting that when you
read through the New Testament epistles,
the mark of being strong and mature
in Christ is faith, and hope, and love.
Our work of faith.
Our labor of love.
Our steadfastness of hope.
That's the way in which the church
was measured in terms of its
maturity in Jesus Christ:
...For God did not appoint us to wrath,
[that is to God's judgement]
but to obtain salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us,
so that whether we are awake or asleep,
we will live together with Him. ...
And then we have, I think, a real key
to making sure that we
are not led astray by false teaching:
...Therefore encourage one another
and build each other up
as you are already doing.
Just keep it up.
Don't neglect meeting together.
The book of Hebrews gives us another statement--
the author of Hebrews says:
Don't forsake the assembling
of yourselves together as the habit of some is.
But meet together regularly.
Why? To encourage one another.
And especially, all the more as you
see the day approaching.
Namely the day of the Lord.
So Paul gives us a very specific model, as it were,
for making sure that we're not led astray.
Here's the Principle to Live By:
We must be on guard against false prophets
who will proclaim that all is well
even though God's judgment may be near.