False Prophets Condemned

Ezekiel 13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

False Prophets Condemned

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord! ³ This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing! ⁴ Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. ⁵ You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶ They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! ⁷ Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”

⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, so that you may know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; ¹¹ so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out. ¹² Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” ¹³ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath. ¹⁴ So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and those who plastered it are gone, ¹⁶ along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are talking like prophets from their own imagination. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? ¹⁹ For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, those souls whom you capture as birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your veils and save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the Lord. ²² Because you disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from his wicked way to keep him alive, ²³ therefore you women will no longer see deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will save My people from your hands. So you will know that I am the Lord.”

In Matthew 24:9-14 Jesus says: “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” This is a warning to believers about what we can expect in the last days before Jesus returns.  We should be on guard regarding false prophets, Jesus says there will be many that will rise up and mislead many people. These can be both from within and outside of the church. We can discern those who are false by whether they speak in alignment with scripture. What God is saying will not contradict what He has said. It is vital then that we know what God has said so that we won’t be misled by those who say things that are contrary to His word.

In today’s text it says:  The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing! Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. They see deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”  This is also a warning both about and to the false prophets, those who say they speak for the Lord, but speak what their own spirit, a spirit of lying divination says. God declares, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing!”  It is no small matter to be opposed to God by lying about what He has said or is saying. It is foolishness. Many who say they speak for the Lord will be condemned by their foolish lying. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says: “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Those who say that God has changed His mind about sin, in order to embrace the immorality and unrighteousness of our society misleading and teaching others to do the same, will come to know the woe of opposing God.

James 3:1 says: Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment.  In Matthew 18:6 Jesus says: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.”  In Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus says: “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” In John 12:47-50 Jesus says: “If anyone hears My teachings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day. For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the precious Holy Spirit, may I know what You have said and hear what You are saying. May my words be in agreement with Your word. May I not be misled, nor may I mislead others. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, both in and through my life. Amen.