From Jeremiah 28
1In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachina son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
5Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. 6He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 7Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”
10Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
12After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.’ ”
15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.16Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
17In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
Thoughts: There will always be people who put out a false message to obscure the true message of God. Jesus said there would be. Peter and the rest of scripture (even Moses Dt. 13:1-4) agree. Jeremiah was a great prophet who lived to see his prophecy of Babylonian exile fulfilled and after his death his exact 70 year exile prophecy fulfilled (from the time the Temple was destroyed until the new foundation was laid). Yet as good a prophet as Jeremiah was, he was not believed. People would rather believe those who affirm their own comfort in the midst of their sin and who give them hope without any repentance. That is what Hannaniah was doing. He was basically saying, "We are God's chosen people- nothing bad will happen to us, and God will even restore to us our king without any sorrow." There are false prophets in the church today who speak against God's written Word and affirm our own ideology and hopes. History is littered with false prophets.
John Matthys (1534) and John Beukels both believed they received special words from God that allowed for polygamy, a refutation of scripture, and harshness toward their critics in Munster. Beukels also prophesied that they would defeat their enemies- which did not happen. Vernon Howell changed his name to David Koresh who took over the Branch Davidians who believed in special prophetic revelations. He claimed a harm of women and prophesied the end of the world in 1993. In a shootout with American federal authorities he was killed. Sun Myung Moon in Korea, TB Joshua in Nigeria, and many others. We should not be surprised at false prophets- which is why Jesus said, "I tell you this ahead of time" [so it should not surprise us] Mt. 24:24,25. Whenever there is good there are always poor imitations. Think of money and counterfeit money. Think of brand name watches like Rolex or Coach/Kate Spade hand bags. This doesn't mean money in itself, or rolexes or certain goods are in themselves evil. So there will be false prophets trying (for whatever reason- self aggrandizement or greed or ego) to say they have a word from God that everyone needs to hear to help them. No Word from God should be false, go against what God has already said, or steer people away from God Himself to false gods (cf. Dt. 13:1-4; 20:18-22; 1 Kings 18). I believe God can speak today through scripture and perhaps rarely through a person called to speak up for God. Yet, all words of people should be tested by scripture. The main thing we should hear is what God has already said, and the principles laid out in scripture. We must know such things in order to test those who would say new things to see if they are true. As John said, "Test the spirits to see if they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). The other side is to realize that just because there are abuses of love, does not mean we should not stop loving. Just because some ruin their lives does not mean life is not worth living. Just because some have false or even harmful beliefs does not mean there is no reason to believe. Just because some live meaningless lives does not mean there is no meaning.
John Matthys (1534) and John Beukels both believed they received special words from God that allowed for polygamy, a refutation of scripture, and harshness toward their critics in Munster. Beukels also prophesied that they would defeat their enemies- which did not happen. Vernon Howell changed his name to David Koresh who took over the Branch Davidians who believed in special prophetic revelations. He claimed a harm of women and prophesied the end of the world in 1993. In a shootout with American federal authorities he was killed. Sun Myung Moon in Korea, TB Joshua in Nigeria, and many others. We should not be surprised at false prophets- which is why Jesus said, "I tell you this ahead of time" [so it should not surprise us] Mt. 24:24,25. Whenever there is good there are always poor imitations. Think of money and counterfeit money. Think of brand name watches like Rolex or Coach/Kate Spade hand bags. This doesn't mean money in itself, or rolexes or certain goods are in themselves evil. So there will be false prophets trying (for whatever reason- self aggrandizement or greed or ego) to say they have a word from God that everyone needs to hear to help them. No Word from God should be false, go against what God has already said, or steer people away from God Himself to false gods (cf. Dt. 13:1-4; 20:18-22; 1 Kings 18). I believe God can speak today through scripture and perhaps rarely through a person called to speak up for God. Yet, all words of people should be tested by scripture. The main thing we should hear is what God has already said, and the principles laid out in scripture. We must know such things in order to test those who would say new things to see if they are true. As John said, "Test the spirits to see if they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). The other side is to realize that just because there are abuses of love, does not mean we should not stop loving. Just because some ruin their lives does not mean life is not worth living. Just because some have false or even harmful beliefs does not mean there is no reason to believe. Just because some live meaningless lives does not mean there is no meaning.
Prayer: Lord, through the noise, the distractions, the falseness in life, help me to hear and heed your voice speaking to my soul and life.
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