The False Prophets
The Job of the Prophet
O people of Israel, these prophets
of yours are like jackals digging in
the ruins.
They have done nothing to repair
the breaks in the walls around the
nation the nation. They have not
helped it to stand firm in the battle
on the day of the Lord.
Ezekiel 13: 4-5 NLV
The term prophet refers to those who speak the word of the Lord. The prophet is not limited to the foretelling of future events but is also used by God to give us the current word of the Lord for instruction and direction.
In Jeremiah 42: 4-5 the prophet Jeremiah tells God’s people that he will speak everything God tells him to say to them. The people then agree to do everything that Jeremiah tells them that God says. Jeremiah here illustrates for us the primary function of the prophet in scripture. It is to tell God’s people what God is saying at any given time. This includes telling things that will happen in the future but it is much more than that.
The prophet is to communicate the Word of God, which is God’s direction and instruction, to His people. In the New Testament the word prophesy denotes inspired speech. That is speech that was given to God's representative as the Holy Spirit moved in that person. This includes what we traditionally recognize as preaching.
When in the above scripture in Ezekiel 13:4-5 God speaks of the prophets of Israel He is speaking of those who are charged with instructing and giving direction to His people. These prophets are the equivalent of today’s preachers. Preachers carry the responsibility of instructing and giving direction to God’s people as they are inspired by the Holy Spirit.
In the U.S.
There are so many Christian preachers in the United States that live a life of servanthood, Holiness and sacrifice, that to not mention them here would be a disservice. Their preaching is like a sweet smelling fragrance before the Lord every time they deliver God’s Word.
However, the U.S. is also full of preachers who do not express the mind of God through the spirit of God. These are the type of ministers that are illustrated in the above scripture. “The day of the Lord” mentioned above in Ezekiel 13: 4-5 is the day of God’s judgment among God's people and these spiritual leaders have not prepared the people to stand in this Judgment.
Even in times of severe judgment God delivers those who are righteous in His sight. Daniel, Noah and Lot are examples of God’s deliverance during the severest of judgments. In the above scripture God speaks of false preachers who fail to prepare God’s people to be delivered in the day of the Lord’s judgment. If a preacher not to teach God’s people the necessity of salvation through the grace of God and repentance from sin that preacher is delivering the people over to God’s coming judgment.
Jonah preached God’s instruction to Nineveh and the whole city repentant and turned away from sin. God was able to spare Nineveh because Jonah preached God’s word to it. As judgment begins to unfold on the United States God is holding preachers accountable for what they preach. To not instruct God’s people from the authentic Word of God, which will prepare them for this Day of Judgment, is a great sin in God’s Eyes. God will Judge every preacher who preaches falsehoods, empty platitudes and lies that make people feel at peace with God even as they live in rebellion to His Word. The ultimate betrayal of God's people is for a trusted representative of God to give them a false sense of safety when they are headed for hardship. It is like a doctor telling a cancer patient to take two aspirin and all will be well.
The Condition Our Condition Is In
“This will happen because these evil
Prophets deceive my people by saying,
‘All is peaceful’ when there is no peace
at all! It’s as if people have built a flimsy
wall, and these prophets are trying to
reinforce it with whitewash!
Tell these white washers that their
wall will soon fall down. A heavy
rainstorm will undermine it; great
hailstones and mighty winds will
knock it down.
Ezekiel 13: 10-11 NLV
These white washers who represent God to us as a cosigner of however we choose to live our lives are betraying our trust. The most offensive thing to a person whose heart is rebellious toward God is for a minister to tell them that they are not free to choose to live their own life any way they want. Any preacher that tells us that we are free to ignore God's Word is removing our only protection in the day of trouble.
In the U.S. anything that curbs our personal freedom to do whatever we feel like doing is rejected out of hand. Contrary to popular belief God is the boss of us. We do not get to express into creation rebellion against God’s Word and escape when judgment falls.
The Condition Our Condition Is In
Our own personal philosophy that we create based on our personal knowledge of what we believe is good and what we believe is evil is like the flimsy wall in the above scripture. The preachers who tell us that our own pursuit of our own desires, without using the Bible as the guild, are painting whitewash on our flimsy walls of philosophy. God is sending a storm and our personal philosophy’s will fail to help us to stand in it.
Only a life built on the foundation of God’s Word will be able to stand. Only preachers who preach the authentic Christian life built on an unadulterated understanding of the Bible will save themselves and others as we transition into an end time Church. All others are false prophets and will be judged by God and lead their followers into hardship.
God’ mercy and love is always available to us no matter how far we think we have fallen. Remember the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32. We can always access the grace of God through His Word. If we reject God’s Word and rely on our own understanding then in the day of trouble we will not be able to stand. Those preachers who tell us only what is easy to hear are white washing our flimsy wall that will not stand in the day of trouble.
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