False Prophets

This is a follow up of sorts on the previous blog about ignoring the Bible. Only, this time, I’m going to discuss false prophets who twist the Bible. I’ve heard preachers say that today’s modern day prophets are preachers who expound upon the Bible. In a way, this makes sense, as they are delivering God’s Word to the people, much like the prophets of old did. I do wonder, though, why there are not still prophets receiving God’s revelation and telling us what is on God’s mind.

We could interpret Revelation 22:18-19 to be God’s last words to us: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

However, we could also interpret these verses as applying strictly to the prophesies in Revelation.

We can also look to Proverbs 30:5 – 6 for a possible answer: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

But, the point of this blog is not to discuss why there aren’t modern day prophets. There are many websites out there claiming there are. You can read those at your own leisure.

And over the years, there have been those who have proclaimed themselves to be prophets of God. Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, and others have tried to rewrite the Bible to their own ends. More recently, people like Jim Jones (Guyana and spiked Koolaid) and Marshall Applewhite (Heaven’s Gate – mass suicide and the comet Hale-Bopp) have proclaimed themselves prophets of God. These are the obvious examples.

But what about the not so obvious?

I’m reading through the book of Ezekiel and in Ezekiel 13, God addresses false prophets.

God says to Ezekiel, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” (Ezekiel 13:2-3)

He goes on to say, “Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, ‘The LORD declares,’ though I have not spoken?” (Ezekiel 13:6-7)

Let’s assume that the only revelation of God we now receive is the Bible. Therefore, if anyone proclaims something is from God, but it does not agree with the Bible, they are a false prophet. Incorrect interpretation of the Bible, intentional or not, is false prophecy. And there are many, many so-called evangelists today that twist and misinterpret the Bible. There may be, for that matter, many many preachers in obscure or not so obscure churches doing the same thing.

So, what’s my point? Two key concepts.

First, we have a responsibility to read and know the Bible ourselves so that we can discern when someone else is preaching something that is not truly from God.

Back in the days shortly following Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the book of Acts records something we should all take to heart:

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11).

Consider what this is saying. The Bereans are listening to the Apostle Paul, the greatest evangelist ever. We know via the modern day Bible that Paul’s words were inspired by God, but God shows us that even when Paul preached, the Bereans checked the Old Testament to make sure what he said lined up with what God had said. Therefore, we cannot accept at face value every word that comes from the mouths of preachers. It doesn’t matter if it’s your local congregation preacher, Billy Graham or the Pope. They are human, and thus fallible. We need to know the Bible so that we can discern when the Word of God is being misapplied or misinterpreted.

Second point. For those of us who teach the Bible, we have a great responsibility to understand what the Bible says before we try to teach others. If we’re not sure, we’re better off saying we’re not sure. And when we put our own interpretation into something, we need to make sure our audience understands that it is our interpretation and that it could be wrong. We need to encourage our audience to read the Bible for themselves and to allow the Holy Spirit to lead them to understanding. We should never become so arrogant as to think we know all the answers and that our interpretation of the Bible is THE interpretation.

James 3:1 warns us “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Teachers of God’s Word will be held to a higher standard.

And for those that willingly falsify God’s Word, attempting to lead others astray, there is a fate for them that I cringe every time I read about it.

2 Peter talks about such people and I believe that today there are many of these people masquerading as preachers of the truth (especially on television).

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2Peter 2:1-3).

For these people, a fate worse than hell awaits. 2Peter 2:17 says, “These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.”

Peter goes on to say that, “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” (2Peter 2:21).

Christians have two responsibilities. Know the Word of God so that we may discern the truth when other people are supposedly speaking God’s Word. And be sure when we speak God’s Word, that we speak it truthfully.

Bottom line. Read the Bible, know the Bible, and tell others about the Bible.

The Whole Bible and Nothing but the Bible

I recently finished reading the book of Jeremiah. And chapter 36 struck a chord with me. It’s interesting that each time I read through a book in the Bible, something new catches my eye. This is why we need to read the Bible and keep re-reading it. God will lay different things on our heart when we do, and through this process we’ll continue to grow in God’s wisdom that comes from His word.

Anyway, here’s the situation in chapter 36. Jeremiah is told by God to dictate to Baruch His words and Baruch is to write them down on a scroll. Jeremiah does this and Baruch reads the scroll in the temple. Some officials of the king of Judah hear the words that God has said to Jeremiah and insist that Baruch read the scroll to King Jehoiakim.

The scroll has some pretty harsh words from God. Basically it says that if Judah doesn’t repent of its ways and return to God, then he will send Babylon to destroy them. (Which God eventually does because both Judah and Israel do not repent and turn back to God).

Here is the passage when Jehoiakim hears the scroll.

Jeremiah 36:20-26 - After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

Basically, the king ignored God’s word. His burning of the scroll made no difference. God had Jeremiah dictate a new one and then did what He said He’d do anyway, plus made things even worse for Jehoiakim.

It’s easy for us to read this and think, “what an idiot, you can’t just ignore the words of God and think what He says will not be.” But don’t we do the same? Aren’t we often selective about which parts of the Bible we believe? Don’t we often ignore other parts of the Bible that we don’t want to accept as truth?

Though we probably don’t tear out the pages we dislike and burn them, like Jehoiakim we often brush aside or read certain passages and show no fear. It’s easy for us to embrace things like, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8). But when we read, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3) we ignore that and when trials come, we complain and cry, “oh woe is me” and wonder how God can be so cruel to make us go through this stuff.

Guess what! We don’t get to choose which parts of the Bible apply to our lives. All of it does and all of it is The Truth. Therefore, we need to read the entire Bible, we need to ask God for understanding and wisdom, and we need to realize that all of it is relevant to us and all of it is God’s word, and all of it must be followed. We can choose to ignore bad news, but that does not make that news go away. And we can choose to ignore those scriptures we don’t like, but our ignoring them will not make them go away.

Read the Bible. Embrace God’s word. Live the Truth.