“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
33 “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’” Jeremiah 23: 23-40 ESV
Jeremiah 23: 23-40 Can a man hide himself
23-32. Am I a God at hand - The answer is yes. Regardless of how they wanted to picture God, as distant possibly, not concerned with the affairs of men, or non existent by default of not being able to see the invisible God. I use to say, "God, do this, and then I will believe in You,' or 'I am willing to believe in a God, but not the One Who has revealed Himself through Scripture." There is another response as well, when you know, but you plug your ears and run the other way. Some think they can hide from God, or that God is only the God of a certain space, and you can flee His jurisdiction.
…2“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” 3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1: 2-3
1From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God, 2saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice. 3For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.…
…4At this, I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight; yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’ 5The waters engulfed me to take my life; the watery depths closed around me; the seaweed wrapped around my head. 6To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God!… Jonah 2: 1-6
Do I not fill heaven and earth - He made it all, and it all responds to the sound of His voice. Jonah could not get far enough or go deep enough to escape the presence of God. I use to say, "but I don't believe in God", and I thought that was saying something, after all, no one had showed me God. I realized that my wanting something to be true wouldn't make it so, and the same for my wanting something to not be true. My feelings or gut instincts on the matter, well people ascribe many varying and differing things to such science as the heart and the feelings, and so finding them unreliable in others I must also consider as much for myself. Seasons, patterns, DNA, eternity, Who writes in such a way? Where did this language and life come from?
…15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”… Revelation 6: 15-17
Jonathan Edwards' fourth question regarding a movement of the Spirit, evaluating something being called a revival, was this:
Does it elevate the truth?
Who prophesy lies in My name - We learned from Psalms 138:2 that God has exalted His name and His word above all else. This has not stopped men in every age from using the name of God, saying they knew God, or that they were speaking on His behalf. Now, there are many movements that would like to lower the bar that was placed upon inerrancy, because they claim to be prophets, but are mostly wrong in what they say, and 100% wrong when they say they speak as the Holy Spirit's representative.
You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?” 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.… Deuteronomy 18: 21-22
I have dreamed, I have dreamed - Well, a lot of people have dreams, I have dreams, and apparently these gentlemen and ladies said they had dreams that gave insight into future happenings. Everyone wants to know the future and many people have experienced what they call Deja vu, and many from Christian cults today put a lot on what people who claim to be prophets and prophetesses say. Since we have already seen that the people despised God's actual word, well then the alternative is going to be the lie. You can say, "truth seeker" all you want, but if you rejected the truth while saying that, well then you opened yourself to the opposite of what you rejected. "I have dreamed, I have dreamed,' or 'pay attention to me, thus says the Lord", this guy must have something important to say.
1On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. 2But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.… Hebrews 1: 1-3
…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
Who prophecy the deceit of their own heart - Whether concocted in their sleep or awake, it was not from God, but from their own wicked hearts. The more proud a man becomes the more self deceived he is, and the more self deceived, the easier it is for him to trust his own thoughts and feelings. "If I thought it well then it must be deep, and if others think it's deep, then it is probably profound, almost god-like. I can see it now, like a vision, a dream, and I am so spiritually wise and mature where else could it come from than God?" Then there are those that are still self deceived, who know most certainly that they are charlatans, but they deceive others and think that they are not themselves deceived. The other lie they tell themselves is that their is no Holy and just Creator, no one to vindicate the cries of the poor. They are all working an angle, and the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.
…22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.… Matthew 7: 22-24
“Man is so constituted that he ever seeks in some form for direction from the spiritual world that lies behind all material manifestations and forms. This quest creates the opportunity of evil men, who having no true light from that world, yet speak as though they had, and so mislead those who hear them.” (Morgan)
Make My people forget My name by their dreams - They offered something contrary to what the people despised, and what they despised was God's word. Like those that came to see Jesus only for the fish and bread, people came to these men for the show, the spectacular, the lie. God says repent, and they don't want to let go of their sins, they still hold out hope in some other form of fulfillment. They want God's material favor, but not His discipline, not His ideals of right and wrong. They take away the true light and replace it with fancy, believing themselves to be autonomous, the masters of their destiny.
…18who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.” 20A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.… 2 Timothy 2: 18-20
But let him who has My word speak My word faithfully - Let the dreamers ramble on, but you who have the Word of God, you have the truth, handle it with care.
…16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.… John 17: 16-18
5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”… John 14: 5-7
13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ ”…
…16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.… John 1: 13-18
Like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces - It is not honest, not loving or kind to tamper with what God says, to remove truth or add caveats that are not there. It is a most hateful thing that I find in the so called "church" today, that they think it compassionate to not give the whole counsel of God.
…10For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it. 12You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.… Isaiah 55: 10-12
…25Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.… Acts 20: 25-27
Jonathan Edwards' fifth and final question:
Does it produce love for God and others?
So they do not profit this people at all - What good are your lies? How compassionate are you when you play along with my lies? I am walking toward eternity to face a God Who hates everything I live and stand for, but you tell me it's okay. Babylon came contrary to what the false prophets said, history shows us this, and God's word told those people that God was eternal, Holy, and that He was therefore infinitely opposed to the sin they took so lightly. What good was the charade? The emperor was naked, so what good was it to pretend against truth?
…34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.… Matthew 24: 34-36
…35One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: 36“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 37Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’…
…38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”… Matthew 22: 35-40
12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command you.… John 15: 12-14
33-40. What is the burden of the Lord - This is another way they mocked Jeremiah, and since he spoke on behalf of the Lord, the Lord responded to the attacks. They did the same to Isaiah, and the people murmured against Moses in his time, though he was a great intercessor on their behalf. They treated it like theatre, like the boys who came after Elisha, mocking and threatening, "what doom and gloom do you have for us today? Is Babylon still coming? Where are they?"
You are the burden and I will cast you off says the Lord - Frightening. It is like the times of Ahab, when he would refer to Elijah as the troubler of Israel, but Elijah rebuked him with the truth, "it is you, o king, who troubles Israel."
…18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”… Romans 12: 18-20
…13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.… 2 Timothy 4: 13-15
You pervert the words of the living God - Don't twist the Scripture, don't treat it like a book of spells, but study as He has commanded and don't be hearers only, deceiving yourselves. People who do those things don't love God or their hearer, it is self love, a gross form of wanting to be worshiped, just like their father the devil. If you told these people the truth they would treat you like they treat Jeremiah, they wouldn't like you anymore, they would take away your pedestal.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13 ESV
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