Ezekiel 13
God has chosen to speak through men. A true prophet receives His message from God. He then speaks the message to the people as the Lord has instructed him. To the ones who listen, there is a sense in which the prophet is simply a man speaking words or performing certain symbolic actions. The listener does not hear the voice of God in the same way that the prophet does. He does not go where the prophet goes in his prophetic vision. The listener may two men with contradictory messages speak, both claiming to be true prophets. Which one really brings the message of God? This method of communicating to people is subject to great abuse. A false prophet has not had the experiences of a true prophet, but he looks very similar to the true prophet when he speaks to the people.
This has always been a challenge and it will continue to be a challenge until the Lord returns. This problem is certainly something of which God is well aware. The false prophet will be judged by the Lord. Those who are eager for a false message will eagerly listen to lies. They will convince themselves that the message that they have heard is from God. Their false messages will be of no lasting benefit to anyone. The true prophet may face great suffering in this world, but the Lord will surely remember his faithful service. The people of God will ultimately hear and believe the truth, and will be kept in the way of faith by the invisible power of God. As Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
It is very unwise for people to take upon themselves the office of a prophet and to speak lies to people under the Name of the Lord God Almighty. Though even today they may still gather an audience among those who claim to be God’s people, the day will come when the sons of God are revealed forever. On that day there will be a separation of the wicked from the righteous. An aspect of that separation will be the clear distinction between true prophets and false prophets. Those who presume to speak lies and who call these things the word of the Lord, unless they repent, will not be found in the register of the true
The false prophets insisted that there was peace coming. While Jeremiah was denouncing these men in
It is not only men who are acting as false prophets. There have also been women in every age who are involved in false spiritual arts. In the days of Ezekiel they made little idolatrous objects for people, wrist bands and veils that were supposed to have special powers or serve as reminders of some false god or message. People who listened to these lies were trapped in this kind of foolishness to the damage of their own souls. Though they may have seemed attractive or innocent, these women were like brutal hunters, hunting down the souls of people. The prophet tells us that God would hunt them down and capture them. As always, if we set ourselves against the Lord, we will soon discover that we are no match for God.
Whether false prophets were men or women, they would not have their way. They have discouraged the righteous and encouraged wicked men and women who would never repent. No matter how attractive, interesting, talented, or spiritual they might seem to be, they will be exposed as enemies of God and His people.
In every era there are those who would presume to speak for God, though they were never called by God as prophets. Those who were against Jesus accused Him of being a false prophet. They saw Him as dangerous. He spoke a message of peace, but it was not a message that they wanted to hear. His works were signs that He was the true Messiah. There was also the testimony of a voice from heaven. But beyond that, we can examine His life and His words to see how well they fit with the Word of God.
When we do this we can see that everything that He did and everything that He said was in perfect accord with the Scriptures. His words were not the words of a madman or a fool. His acts of mercy were beautiful, and were performed without self-promotion. Another test of the truth of the messenger is in the willingness of the prophet to suffer for the message. The willing death of our Messiah on the cross together with the amazing sign of the resurrection was an astounding vindication of His status as the greatest of all prophets. He not only speaks the true Word of God; He is the Word of God who came from heaven to bring a true message of heavenly peace that will never be taken away.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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