Extra Verses, Comments
Jesus specifically tells us that their will be false prophets and teachings in the church. We are commanded to "judge" or discern these men (1 Jn 4:1, 2 Jn 7-12) and their teachings (1 Thes 5:21, 1 Cor 14:29). Do you believe we are nearing the end of the age? Then can you identify at least three specific false prophets? How about some popular teachings that are not true? Was Jesus wrong, or are we just not taking His word seriously?
A.W. Tozer: "Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with a lot of caution. Over the last half-century quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among the truths that were to be revealed in the last days. The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact opposite. Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church." A Classic Confrontation
Jer 28:15-17 (NIV) Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.'" In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
The Delusion Of Peace, Peace
Deut 29:19 (NKJ) "...so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart'".
Jer 6:14 (NAS) "And they have healed the brokeness of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace."
1 Tim 4:1 (NIV) The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
2 Thes 2:11-12 (Phi) God sends upon them, therefore, the full force of evil's delusion, so that they put their faith in an utter fraud and meet the inevitable judgment of all who have refused to believe the truth and who have made evil their pleasure.
Fruit Inspectors
Mat 7:20 (Jer) "I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits."
Luke 21:8 (KJV) ... "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name..."
More On "The Dogs"
1 Kings 14:11 (NIV) Dogs will eat those belonging to Jerboa who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!
Ps 22:16 (NIV) Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
Ps 22:20 (NIV) Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Jer 15:3 (NIV) "I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the Lord, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy."
Mat 7:6 (NIV) "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
Phil 3:2 (NIV) Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.
Eze 22:27-30 (NIV) Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says'--when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."
Jer 9:11-12 (NIV) "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there." What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
Rev 22:15-16 (NIV) "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches..."
Eze 13: The Big Whitewash--For Tickling Ears Only
Eze 13:1-6 (NIV) The word of the Lord came to me: "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! 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. 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.'"
Eze 13:7,10-11 (NIV) "Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, 'The Lord declares,' though I have not spoken?... 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, therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall..."
Eze 13:15-16 (NIV) 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."
Woe To The Self-Serving Shepherds
Eze 34:1-6 (NRS) The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?.. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them.'"
Eze 34:7-16 (NRS) "'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them... I myself will tend my sheep and make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.'"
Eze 34:18-23 (NRS) "'Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.'"
The Spiritual Adultery Bible Study Series Intro
