But I said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
Jeremiah 14:13-14 NIV
Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.
A prophet is a messenger. God gives them a message that they, in turn, deliver to the people. That message may include an unveiling of some future event. But more commonly, it concerns the present. The Old Testament prophets spent much more time dealing with the people’s rebellion, calling them to repentance, and the consequences for failure to repent than they did predicting the distant future.
But not all who call themselves prophets are delivering a message from God. While Jeremiah delivered God’s message of impending destruction, other prophets told the people everything would be OK. But their message, rather than coming from God, was false, a delusion of their own minds.
As this passage goes on, we see these false prophets would experience the disaster they had been denying. And sadly, those they had deceived would experience it as well. Rather than listen to Jeremiah and repent, they listened to the false prophets and suffered for it.
False prophets (preachers) abound today—those who claim to speak a message from God. But one that is actually of their own invention. And the danger of false prophets is that they deceive many who will suffer loss because of that deception. Don’t be taken in by false prophets, regardless of how appealing their message is (2 Cor. 11:13-15). Take the time to compare their message with the Scripture (Acts 17:11). And if their message contradicts what the whole of Scripture teaches, reject it (Deut. 13:1-5). Instead, hold tightly to the truths of God’s word (1 Cor. 16:13) and follow him.
