The Rise and Fall of False Prophets
Text Ezekiel 13 Time 18 06 06 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
One day last week there were two newspaper stories that caught my eye and that in different ways connect with our subject this morning.
One day last week there were two newspaper stories that caught my eye and that in different ways connect with our subject this morning.
The first story was about a man in a pet shop who was bitten by a very dangerous cobra. If it hadn’t been possible to rush him very quickly to the local hospital he would have died. It is a reminder that just as there are all sorts of snakes in the grass about, many of which will not do you too much harm but some of which will do you a lot of harm indeed, so there are all sorts of false teachers slithering about this world. Some may not do you too much harm but some can ruin you.
Then there was a bizarre story about a man who had been speeding in a 30 mph area who tried to get himself off the hook by actually digging up a 40 mph signpost from elsewhere, replanting it, and hoping the photograph he then took would fool the police. Again, it made me think of false teachers who often change the signposts, as it were, trying to mislead people as to the truth.
Our subject today is false teachers, because that is the subject in Ezekiel 13. Now always when we come to these Old Testament passages that in some ways seem remote from our times and situations we must remember that although many things change, the principles remain the same. Just as there were false prophets then, so there will be false teachers today. Then they were in the Temple and in the synagogues and other gatherings of God’s people. Today you will find them in churches and on the radio and TV. You can buy their books and their magazines in the shops. You can look up their websites on the Internet.
We need to know what false teachers are like, therefore, so that we can spot them. Whether it is someone who stands here or someone you hear on the "GOD Channel", if anyone is a false teacher you should be able to spot him (or her).
We also need to know what happens to false teachers. This acts as a warning to them and to us. It will also encourages us to know that they cannot get very far. So Ezekiel begins once again The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying.
1. Understand what are some leading characteristics of false prophets
1. They follow their own imaginations not God’s Word
Then there was a bizarre story about a man who had been speeding in a 30 mph area who tried to get himself off the hook by actually digging up a 40 mph signpost from elsewhere, replanting it, and hoping the photograph he then took would fool the police. Again, it made me think of false teachers who often change the signposts, as it were, trying to mislead people as to the truth.
Our subject today is false teachers, because that is the subject in Ezekiel 13. Now always when we come to these Old Testament passages that in some ways seem remote from our times and situations we must remember that although many things change, the principles remain the same. Just as there were false prophets then, so there will be false teachers today. Then they were in the Temple and in the synagogues and other gatherings of God’s people. Today you will find them in churches and on the radio and TV. You can buy their books and their magazines in the shops. You can look up their websites on the Internet.
We need to know what false teachers are like, therefore, so that we can spot them. Whether it is someone who stands here or someone you hear on the "GOD Channel", if anyone is a false teacher you should be able to spot him (or her).
We also need to know what happens to false teachers. This acts as a warning to them and to us. It will also encourages us to know that they cannot get very far. So Ezekiel begins once again The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying.
1. Understand what are some leading characteristics of false prophets
1. They follow their own imaginations not God’s Word
2b, 3 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! False prophets will usually claim to be speaking God’s Word but in fact they do not. JWs always carry Bibles and seem to follow what the Bible says. In fact their religion comes from a man’s imagination. Think some extreme Charismatics - they are the same. This week a ‘prophetess’ claimed to be speaking the very Word of God to a relative of ours in Wales. There are such people about.
2. They fail to strengthen God’s people and prepare them for battle
2. They fail to strengthen God’s people and prepare them for battle
4, 5 Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the LORD. The job of a prophet or preacher is to build God’s people up. He should be like a builder building the city walls. False teachers are just like jackals in the ruins – they do nothing to build God’s people up. Those whose services simply concentrate on singing and on making people feel happy instead of teaching from the Word are typical of what is false.
3. They speak what is false not what God says and so are untrustworthy
3. They speak what is false not what God says and so are untrustworthy
6, 7 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? Again we need to emphasise that though these people claim to be sent by God and speaking in God’s name they are playing false. ILL The JWs are again an easy target. In the past they have said this is going to happen or that is going to happen and it has not. Why not? Because Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. The same can be said of extreme charismatics. Or take some of the nonsense believed by Roman Catholics about appearances of the Virgin Mary in Fatima or Maidiguri, etc. Such visions are false.
4. They give false comfort and support
4. They give false comfort and support
10 Because they lead my people astray, saying, Peace, when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, … . This is again typical of false teachers. Oh they speak such smooth and winning words sometimes but they are giving false comfort. They say we are not so bad, if we just give some money, repeat a little prayer all will be well. That is one of the clear differences. The false teacher says "a lick of paint and all will be well". The faithful man says no, the wall will have to come down and be rebuilt. And that is the truth. Do you realise it?
5. They are often given over to superstition and ostentation
5. They are often given over to superstition and ostentation
17 Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say, This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads. We don’t know exactly what Ezekiel is describing here but it shows that another aspect of false teaching is the superstition and ritualistic ostentation that often goes with it. When you see men elaborately dressed in strange clothes or in £500 suits and £500 shoes then the alarm bells ought to be ringing. What sort of people are these? Where people have elaborate religious rituals, crossing themselves and genuflecting and using crucifixes and other religious symbols you know something is wrong. The essential simplicity of true religion has been lost. Take care. We must watch out for any sort of superstition or ostentation.
6. They selfishly ensnare people and profane God for gain
6. They selfishly ensnare people and profane God for gain
Ezekiel goes on to say why such things are done. In order to ensnare people. He asks Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? God says (19) You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. The focus of false teacher is on people. They are very interested in numbers. That’s one of the reasons they often flourish. But they trap people – not just so-called brainwashing cults but all sorts of groups. Having trapped people they take what they can from them. Take an obvious example – monks and nuns. When you become a monk or a nun it is almost always the case that you give up all your personal property. It goes, as they say, "to the church". They own you. Similar systems are found among other groups, communal or not. Often it is not as extreme as this but this is the pattern. Meanwhile God’s name is profaned by such people – but they do not care about God’s name. Only about their earthly organisation. How far from the spirit of a Whitefield or a Spurgeon who would rather see their names perish than that any glory be taken from God. Is our attitude? It ought to be.
7. They turn true religion on its head
7. They turn true religion on its head
Perhaps two verses sum it up best – 19b, 22 By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live. ... Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, …. Those who speak in God’s name is to give life to the dying, to speak doom to those who are wicked, to encourage the righteous and encourage the wicked to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives. False teachers do the very opposite. With their lies they deny eternal life to those perishing. They don’t point to Christ. They don’t say that there is life for a look at the crucified one. They tell people they are okay and all will be well. They lull sinners into a false sense of security. Your not in danger of hell they say. There’s not even such a place say some. How they dishearten and discourage godly people who are trying to please God. They tell the wicked to go on living just as they have. What evil people they are. Pray that we will be delivered from such people. And yet they are everywhere.
You should be able to discern false teachers. I hope that helps.
2. Understand what will happen to all false prophets one day
1. They are opposed by the LORD and will be excluded from his people
1 God opposes all such people
You should be able to discern false teachers. I hope that helps.
2. Understand what will happen to all false prophets one day
1. They are opposed by the LORD and will be excluded from his people
1 God opposes all such people
8 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be in no doubt about this. There is no neutrality over this. God is against them and we should be against them too. Let’s be clear, Islam is wrong. It is false. There are no doubt some Christians among the Orthodox and Roman Catholics but as a system Romanism like Orthodoxy is false. It leads people astray. The same can be said for the Cults – JWs, Mormons, Christadelphians, Christian Science, etc. Simply calling yourself an Evangelical won’t save you either. Only Christ can save and if we don’t look to him then God is against us.
2. He excludes them from the assembly of his people
2. He excludes them from the assembly of his people
9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. False teachers will be cut off. They should be given no place in our churches. They should not be countenanced. More than that when Christ comes again they will be cast into hell. Jesus makes clear that many will come to him at the end claiming to have done all sorts of things in his name but he will declare that he never knew them. They will be told to depart.
2. All their work will come to ruin at the judgement
2. All their work will come to ruin at the judgement
11-14 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, Where is the whitewash you covered it with? Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD.
Ah yes, it all seems so easy now – a lick of paint here, a lick of paint there. But such work will not last. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes in judgement the walls of our lives will be laid bare and if they are not built on firm foundations down they will crash. They will not last. 15, 16 So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD. Believer, be encouraged. Everyone else, take warning. Everything must be viewed in light of the judgement.
3. They will eventually lose their power and God’s people will be free
Ah yes, it all seems so easy now – a lick of paint here, a lick of paint there. But such work will not last. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes in judgement the walls of our lives will be laid bare and if they are not built on firm foundations down they will crash. They will not last. 15, 16 So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD. Believer, be encouraged. Everyone else, take warning. Everything must be viewed in light of the judgement.
3. They will eventually lose their power and God’s people will be free
20 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. False teachers are like those who trap birds in cages. However, God sets them free. To be a Christian is to be free. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. There are countless cases of those trapped in false teaching who have escaped to freedom. One day false teaching will disappear completely and all God’s people will be free forever.
4. Their false teachings will be exposed and God’s people will be saved
4. Their false teachings will be exposed and God’s people will be saved
21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the LORD. … 23 therefore you will no longer see false visions or practise divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the LORD. False teachers hide behind various things – their academic learning, their ceremonies and rituals, their supposed good deeds, etc. In the end they will be exposed and God will deal with them. People will no longer fall prey to their power. However, his own true people will be saved without a doubt. They will be safe in heaven forever.
Run to Christ and give thanks and you will be safe there forever.
