PROPHETS, FALSE These spokesmen, heralds, or messengers falsely speak for, or on behalf of, someone else. The false prophet was often motivated not by loyalty to God but by a desire for popularity. This was the main difference between Jeremiah and his contemporaries. While Jeremiah was foretelling doom (Jeremiah 4:19), the false prophets were assuring the people of peace (6:14; 8:11). The people preferred it that way; they said, “Don’t tell us the truth. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies” (Isaiah 30:10). The false prophet’s message frequently appealed to national pride: Israel was God’s people; God’s temple was in their midst; therefore, all would be well (Jeremiah 7:10). Jeremiah, however, warned them not to be fooled into thinking that just because they had the temple they would never suffer (7:12-15). Such confrontation between the prophet of God and the national cult is exemplified in Amos’s encounter with Amaziah the priest of Bethel, who accused Amos of conspiring against Israel (Amos 7:10-13). Yet Amos was proved right when the northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. and the Jews were taken into exile. The message of the false prophet was usually spurred by self-interest and given to please the people. It was not necessarily his intention to speak falsely, yet when spoken with wrong motivation, his message was often in error. This sometimes means that even a true prophet could become false and occasionally a false prophet could be used of God for the right purpose. For example, Balaam, a non-Israelite with whom God entrusted a vision, found himself in the difficult position of having to please Balak, who had hired him, and the God of Israel, who spoke to him (Numbers 22-23). A fascinating story is told in 1 Kings 13 of two nameless prophets-one true and the other false-who abruptly change roles when the lying prophet speaks truth and the true prophet is proven false by disobedience. In the case of Jeremiah in confrontation with Hananiah the son of Azzur, the two prophets meet in the temple to pitch prophecy against prophecy. Hananiah was proved false, though he appeared as a legitimate prophet from Gibeon (Jeremiah 28:1). He prophesied the very thing the people in Jerusalem wanted to hear, namely, the imminent fall of Babylon. Subsequent events, however, proved this thinking wishful. We may therefore say that false prophecy is self-centered, wrongly motivated, and detached from reality. The concept of the false prophet is carried over into the New Testament. Our Lord warns against those who disguise themselves as harmless sheep but are in fact wolves ready for the kill. Jesus also warned his disciples that false christs would arise who would try to deceive God’s elect (Matthew 24:24). The early church must have been plagued by such pseudoprophets, for the apostolic letters further warn against such men (compare 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1). In the context of these letters “prophets” and “teachers” are interchangeable, though the original text speaks of them as “false prophets.” While pretending to be Christians, they are deceptive teachers because their instruction is perverse. These people even perform miracles, but with the help of evil spirits, not the Spirit of Christ (compare Revelation 13:11-15). The concept of the false prophet is carried over into the New Testament. Our Lord warns against those who disguise themselves as harmless sheep but are in fact wolves ready for the kill. Jesus also warned his disciples that false christs would arise who would try to deceive God’s elect (Matthew 24:24). The early church must have been plagued by such pseudoprophets, for the apostolic letters further warn against such men (compare 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1). In the context of these letters “prophets” and “teachers” are interchangeable, though the original text speaks of them as “false prophets.” While pretending to be Christians, they are deceptive teachers because their instruction is perverse. These people even perform miracles, but with the help of evil spirits, not the Spirit of Christ (compare Revelation 13:11-15). False prophets, fraudulent spirits, and wrong teachings are recurring problems in the church. Believers should constantly stand guard against those who cleverly lie about the truth (compare Ephesians 4:14-16); they should discern the spirits of prophets to determine whether they are from the evil one or from God (1 Corinthians 12:10-11). We are told not to believe everyone who claims that his or her message is from God, but to “test” the spirits to see whether their message is from the Holy Spirit and whether it agrees with the truth that Jesus is the Son of God in human form (compare 1 John 4:1-3). ephesians 4;14 that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of ever----Because believers will be mature in the faith (4:13), they will no longer be like children (or like helpless infants) who are easily led astray. People who are “children” in their faith and knowledge must grow up and mature (4:13). Otherwise, they are susceptible to false teaching. They will be unstable, rootless, without direction, and susceptible to manipulation, forever changing their minds about what they believe. Immature believers, like children, are unable to discern when they are being lied to because the lie sounds like the truth. Uncritical acceptance of new teachings will keep their minds in as much turmoil as a stormy sea. Indeed, false teaching was a major problem in the early church (see, for example, Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-14; Colossians 2:6-23). Believers must be growing toward maturity in true faith. Only then will they be able to discern false doctrines; only then will they stay the course and reach the goal of maturity (4:13). God Save the World, Inc. youtu.be/h8fLn7fLpmc
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 04:42:30 +0000
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