False Rule

“Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! … Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God… Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? … So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (From Ezek. 13). It’s just amazing how many folks are bound and determined to either BE a prophet, or to make doggone certain to confirm that the leader of their sect is a major prophet or prophetess. But the really strange thing is when their ‘prophecies’ do NOT come to pass as stated, they will either sweep it quietly and sheepishly under the rug, or try to make a way somehow for it to yet come to pass. The passage above from Ezekiel should unequivocally show how God feels about such things, and that should subsequently reform the ways of God’s people about playing games with supposed prophecy. But does it? Absolutely not. Either a whole lot of people aren’t reading the Bible, or they just don’t believe or care what the Bible says. Jeremiah gave the simplistic, unalterable definition of a true prophecy and a true prophet: “The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him” (Jer. 28:9).

This rule obviously applies to ALL things that can be prophesied of, not just the promise of peace. So why are so many people so eager to prophesy and to confirm other people as prophets even though their prophecies fall to the ground? It’s the same reason that it’s always been. Man wants man [or woman] to be in charge of things rather than to have God in charge. If God is in charge then things have to be done God’s way, and that means that we can’t hold onto anything in our lives that is not acceptable to God; namely sin. That has always been the reason that God’s people prefer being ruled by man rather than by God. When Israel demanded of Samuel to give them a king, the Lord let Samuel know exactly what was going on: “But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (I Sam. 8:6,7). As long as people can have leaders who rule by their own means rather than by God’s means, sin can always be accepted in the congregation. If it weren’t that way then those who are ruling by their own means would be found out. If God’s people would truly humble themselves, and purify themselves unto the Lord, many of those who bear rule would be put down; because in many cases the Lord did not put them in their office to begin with. You think that sounds hard, or maybe judgmental? Try this passage out if you think this is some new idea I came up with: “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off” (Hos. 8:4) Someone will no doubt say, “Well that was GOD that said that, but your just a man talking.” Yeah, it was God that said it - to the prophet, who in turn had to deliver it [as a man] to God’s people.

The truth is my friend that nothing has ever changed. What was going on among God’s people in the old testament is going on today (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:11). Note the “silver and gold” part of the above passage, and the idolatry mentioned. In almost all cases where these 'prophecies’ are so freely given, and people are so feverishly trying to confirm them even when they fail, a whole lot of money is involved in the affiliation. It’s all just part of the same faulty system of man that has always bedeviled God’s people, as a true prophet confirms to us: “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us” (Mic. 3:11). There’s the whole thing really. Though the prophecies fail, everyone just goes right on being reassured by their leaders that “the Lord [is] among us,” and that “none evil can come upon us.” It’s the same old lie that Jeremiah spoke against as quoted above, when the prophets of his day prophesied falsely, and promised the people peace; when in fact severe judgment from God was on its way as Jeremiah said. As the apostle Paul told the Corinthians, God’s people just love to be made merchandise of, and don’t mind paying handsomely to have it that way (II Cor. 11:20). Again, that’s nothing new: “Her rulers with shame do love, Give ye” (Hos. 4:18). I guess it seems easier to coast along with a system of man than to buckle down and get sin out of our lives entirely, so that we can possess “the love that passes knowledge,” and “the peace that passes all understanding,” and the “joy [that is] unspeakable, and full of glory” (Eph. 3:19; Philip. 4:7; I Pet. 1:8). I don’t know about you friend, but I prefer the “easy yoke” of Jesus to the hard yoke of lies and sin (Mat. 11:30). But as it has always been, the easy yoke APPEARS to be the hard yoke, and the hard yoke appears to be the easy yoke. It’s the results that tell the tale however. Sadly a lot of people are willing to walk straight into hell with both eyes shut tight, hoping they’re somehow on the right path. I would much rather walk into glory with both eyes open, knowing that I’m on the right and narrow path of God’s love and truth. Amen.