13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
17 “You shall say to them this word:
‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things. Jeremiah 14: 13-22
Jeremiah 14: 13-22 Lying Prophets
13-16. They are prophesying to you a lying vision - Wow! There must be something special about that guy, he had a vision. Jeremiah wasn't the only "prophet" in Judah, as we have seen there are many that refer to themselves as prophets. The vision, these others were talking about, prophesied good times to come, not the impending doom that Jeremiah continued to burden them with. Did they even have a vision? We know that if they did it was a lying vision, and they were not sent by God, but in all likelihood they just had very active imaginations, and the end of vs. 14 tells us it was the "deceit of their own minds." So why would you make up something like this?
- Repentance is not an easy sell, getting people to admit their own depravity and utter lack of righteousness, not the most popular approach. Jeremiah was asking them to humble themselves.
- Even if you are unwilling to repent, you still want your comforts, have your cake and eat it too. Jeremiah was telling them of coming disaster, loss of food, family and freedom, and no one wants to hear that.
- Enter the wolves, give the people what they want, a system of works with guaranteed fiscal reward. Like those tv evangelists, "give here and God will multiply, give 10 dollars tonight and God will give you a hundred back, or go for the big one, the thousand fold blessing." People like the prosperity message because they are there for the fish and the bread, and the false prophets get power, prestige and then lots of cash. So now they have dreams and visions.
We had an issue of this when my dad and step mom came to live with us. They liked to say they had a dream the night before, "I don't know why I am seeing this now, why this person's face is coming before my eyes, I feel like we need to look into this for some reason, the spirit is telling me." It was fun theatre, but they weren't too happy later when we wouldn't offer up the intended interpretation of their dream. The play made it obvious what they wanted to get from it, but they wanted us to take it seriously and say it, so it was like we were getting it too. They also had a friend who was more than happy to confirm such nonsense for them, especially if she could benefit from it. I finally had to tell them that I didn't care about their dreams, that what they were doing was a form of manipulation which is witchcraft. That didn't go over well, but I showed them that we have a much more sure word of prophecy so they didn't have to be blown around by every wind of doctrine. If they wanted something, just say it, don't try to gain power over the other person by acting like what your saying is coming from God, and if you love God then you will also love His word, which will be the true measure. The superstitious, fast food, no study, declare myself spiritually mature Christianity appealed to them, and the pastors and small group leaders at their local church did not have the discernment to speak to this problem. Everyone can say I had a dream, a vision, a tingling sensation, the difference between those people and Jeremiah was that God was actually talking to Jeremiah.
…18And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.…
21For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1: 18-21
…17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind. 19He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.… Colossians 2: 17-19
Worthless divination - Most of their visions would include things about the future, because everyone wants to know that; it helps with decision making. Diviners use all sorts of props for this, chicken bones, the entrails of an animal they are dressing, a crystal ball, tarot cards, the stars, and once again, the person that knows this art is special. It is still crazy popular today to take things from pagan religions, copy and paste a self help book and market it under a famous pastor's name, babble in an undiscernible language, like the vain repetitions of pagan monks, and call it speaking in tongues. People like to give prophecies about the future, like the end of the world in 2012 because of the Mayan calendar, Jehovah's witnesses claimed that it would all end as soon as their were 144,000 members in their cult, but when they exceeded that the prophecy went away. Like the verse I posted last time, God has put His word up with His name, and if they ever wanted to hear from God then they would be glued to their Bibles. He says, "heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall remain. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin. 15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,… 2 Timothy 2: 14-16
Deceit of their own minds - What they were claiming to be the Spirit of God speaking was not. It could be another spirit, something dark and ancient, but most of the time it is their own heart from whence these visions and divinations come. They didn't need anyone to trick them, they were already self deceived. People like fame, money, power, flattery, and if they want that more than they want God then they will be perfectly willing to seek all those things in His name.
9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.… Jeremiah 17: 9-10
…20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,… Romans 1: 20-22
…19“Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.… Acts 8: 19-21
By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed - They said peace, but here comes destruction. You screamed prosperity, but here comes famine. You make light of sin, and therefore you make light of the cross, and He Who bore the wrath of God upon it.
…28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”… Hebrews 10: 28-30
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.… James 3: 1-2
“The people should have known that the Lord punishes sin, and they should not have believed the false prophets. The judgment of the nation is spoken of here because the people were willing to be deceived.” (Feinberg)
And the people to whom they prophesy - These false prophets and teachers are gross, certainly theirs is a harsh judgement, we know that from the scriptures which we claim to believe, but they are by no means a scapegoat. The Nazi soldiers tried that line of defense at the Nuremberg Trials, that they were just following orders. You may have done what these false prophets asked you to do, but look in your heart and see what called them there. They have a stage, they have a platform, a microphone, because they are spouting out all the things your flesh wants to hear, all the while giving you a false assurance that this is still godly. You are not off the hook in this, you saw what God says, and you opted for the show. It is called the prosperity gospel because it is another gospel.
…7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!… Galatians 1: 7-9
16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings. 17Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.… Romans 16: 16-18
…13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.… 2 Corinthians 11: 13-15
22“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.… Luke 9: 22-24
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