Articles
False Prophets Among The People
False Prophets Among The People
God declares through Ezekiel that Judah has become like a useless vine. Because of their unfaithfulness and idolatry, they are unfit to be used for building. They are fit only to be destroyed. What brought about this deplorable situation? They have rejected the word of the LORD.
From the beginning, God had warned the people about their adherence to His word. They were to read it, obey it, teach it, meditate upon it. They were not to add their own thoughts and teachings (Deut. 4:2, 12:32; Prov. 30:5-6). They could know the true prophet from the false prophet in that the true prophet would teach the same things that God had revealed in His law. There were things that God said were evil and established that those who do such things should be punished.
Reading Ezekiel 13-16 we see the people being led astray. The ‘prophets’ are speaking even though God has not given them His word. They are calling good evil, and evil good. People that should be punished are being praised and those who are innocent are being punished. God had declared a coming judgment upon the nation for their unfaithfulness. The prophets are falsely declaring ‘peace’. Instead of confronting the people over their sin and demanding repentance, they are comforting them in their sin. And the people love to have it so!
They could have known the difference. They SHOULD have known the difference. They had no love for truth and so God allowed them to believe the lie. They had come to God with their idols in their hearts and God has answered them according to their idols. People can know the will of God, but they have to want to. In Ezekiel’s day, they didn’t want to.
Peter warned: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned…” (2 Peter 2:1-2) Paul warned, that those who have no real love for truth will be allowed to believe a lie, just as these in Ezekiel’s time (cp. 2 Thess. 2:8-12).
Those who faithfully proclaim what God has said will confront people about sin and will demand repentance. False prophets will instead call evil good and will declare that sinners are at peace with God even though they are in rebellion.
Jesus said to those “who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Do you know the difference between truth and error?
Hugh DeLong
