“Woe (judgment is coming)
to the foolish prophets
who are following their own spirit
[claiming to have seen things]
but have [in fact] seen nothing.
– Ezekiel 13:3
This is the Lord God talking, from a passage in Ezekiel. He wanted us to know about the dangers of foolish false prophets today. This account shows what false prophets did back in the ancient days of Ezekiel, and it is what is being done in many churches, by leaders and worship leaders in many churches now, in this century of the 2000’s.
“Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!
3 Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. 4 O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. 5 You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord.
6 They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. 7 Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord God. 9 “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations….” – Ezekiel 13:1-9
Is this what you see at church – in yourself or in your preacher or worship leader? (per Ezekiel 13:1-9)
“The Lord has not sent them”
but, on the contrary, they: [Insert name] ________
- prophesy from their own inspiration
- are following their own spirit
- are claiming to have seen things
- have [in fact] seen nothing
- see falsehood and lying divination
- hope for the fulfillment of their word
- see a false vision
- speak a lying “divination” (hidden knowledge you purport to have been told by God)
- said, “‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken”
- spoken falsehood
- seen a lie
- worship leaders and church members who jump-start “speaking in tongues” with their “uuu uuu ohoh Lord…” and “lalalalala…” mismash of lead-in hum hum humming sounds.
- the worship bands and singers with their classic pause at the end of a song where they start their “uuu uuu ohoh Lord…hum hum” leading everyone to do likewise, supposedly speaking in tongues.
Today the Holy Spirit of God truly is powerfully at work. The Spirit does give believers special gifts:
- for actually speaking in tongues,
- for truly speaking prophecies,
- for pronouncing a word of knowledge from God, and
- for giving a word of encouragement from God.
But churches need to take care to be genuine. Or else, as in Ezekiel’s time (Ezekiel 13:8-9):
“Because you have spoken falsehood
and seen a lie,
therefore behold,
I am against you,”
declares the Lord God.
9 “So My hand will be against the prophets
who see false visions
and utter lying divinations….”
Fake profetic gifts are: (per Ezekiel 13:1-9)
self-inspired, false claims, lying about visions, hoping – not actually hearing from God, “their word” – not God’s, false visions, lying about hidden knowledge given, saying “God says” – when He did not, falsehood.
- If you claim a prophetic gift, and yet have to fake it, maybe it is not the Holy Spirit, after all. God does not need your help.
- It’s okay to not have a prophetic gift. (Maybe you do not.) Relax. Talk to God about it.
…
- It’s okay to not have a prophetic gift. (Maybe you do not.) Relax. Talk to God about it.
- If you have to “work at it”, or “drum-up” your prophesies, maybe they are not prophesies at all.
- Maybe that “prompting of the Spirit” was just your creative mind.
- Study prophetic gifts in action in Scripture: see how/why/what was done. Make your practice align with biblical practices.
…
- If you have to repeatedly repeat a word or a phrase – time after time (in order to “speak in tongues”) then maybe you actually do not speak from the Spirit in tongues, after all.
- Why would our all-powerful Spirit have to have you “prime the pump” to get His gift running?
- Did prophetic gifts in action in Scripture do what you do and see in your church practices?
…
- If you in fact have “seen nothing”, why do you think you have to lie about it, and proclaim something, some “revelation”, some “word of encouragement”?
- All believers are gifted by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:verse 7: “to each one is given”), but not everyone will be gifted in the same way.
- Discover your uniqueness in Christ. Seek Him. God will lead you.
…
- If we see Ezekiel happenings happening in our church – we should speak out against it.
- Speak out against any practice that is not actually in the Bible. Why practice what is not clearly supported in the Bible?
- Maybe the Lord would have you just walk away and find a straight and narrow church nearby.
- No need to cause strife. State your case and leave. Attend a healthy church.
…
Was the early church like your church? Did the early church practice what you practice in your church? Do you so so much want to prophesy or speak a word from the Lord — that you fake it?
Do you really want to be a participant there, where you fellowship – when the Lord might be saying…
“I am against you”?
FOR MORE:
False teachings of today …a series dealing with issues of False Teachers
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