TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS

There have always been prophets who spent time in God’s council and then spoke His words to his people. These prophets spoke and acted to create in the physical world, that what God is doing the spiritual realm. At the same time there always been false prophets who speak only for themselves, out of their own imagination. The people of God have always had many prophets, speaking opposing messages, from which to choose. Usually the true prophet was out of step and out of favor with the nation, because he followed God and the people did not listen to God. While there was sin but the nation was in prosperity, the prophet spoke of the coming doom and disaster. But when the people had been exiled from the land because of their sin, the prophet spoke words of comfort and restoration. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In any case, the prophet stood alone, speaking the Lord’s message to his people, entreating them to listen and obey.

Let us consider what Jeremiah and Ezekiel have to say about true and false prophets. As we study the indictment against the false prophets we see what a true prophet should do.

Jer. 1:18 “Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you.”
5:31 “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
8:11 “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, Peace,” they say, when there is no peace.
23:10-11 “The prophets follow an evil course, and use their power unjustly. Both prophet and priest are godless, even in my temple I find their wickedness.
:13-18 “The prophets prophesied by Baal, and led my people Israel astray, And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible; They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread through the Land. This is what the Lord Almighty says; “do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you: they fill you with false hopes, They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, The Lord says you will have peace, and to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, “No harm will come to you. 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?
:21 – 22 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message, I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.
:27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name.
:30 I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me, 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 send of appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least, “declares the Lord.

Chapter 28 is a confrontation between Jeremiah and a false prophet. Jeremiah says in v. 15, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you yet you persuaded the nation to trust in lies.”

Lamentations 2:14 “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.”
Ezekiel 13:5 You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that is will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.
:10 They lead my people astray, saying, “Peace, when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash.”
:19 You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.
:22 You disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and you encouraged the wicked not to turn for their evil ways and so save their lives.”

At beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry (1:10) God commissioned him, saying “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot, tear down, to destroy, to overthrow, to build and to plant.” In 1995, 10 years after the terrible earthquake in Mexico City, I was 13 stories up overlooking the heart of the city. There were hundreds of buildings that had been damaged and were worthless, but had not been removed. Before you can build physically and spiritually, you have to tear down, destroy and uproot that which has become useless yet takes up valuable land.
In 31:28 God confirms that Jeremiah was doing His work by saying, “Just as I watched over then to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. It wasn’t until God himself cleaned the land of evildoers that He was able to replant the remnant and rebuild the nation.

As we look at this list of things that the false prophets didn’t do, may the Lord renew our vision of His purpose for us in this generation. May it not be said of us, “they did not benefit these people in the least.”

Gerry Gutierrez
Oaxaca, Mexico
April 2001