FALSE PROPHETS

“Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions” (Lam. 2:14 NKJV).

Jeremiah’s job was to expose the false prophets of the day for their evil performance. There were three ways in which these false prophets operated: favoring by the prophets, failure of the prophets, and the falseness of the prophets.

Favoring by the prophets - “For you.” The false prophets said what the people wanted to hear and not what God wanted them to hear. There are many preachers like that in every age. They preach the message the people want to hear, not the message that God wants them to preach. These preachers have their finger up in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, then preach accordingly. This is wrong.

Failure of the prophets - “They have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives.” The failure of these false prophets is twofold. First, they failed to discover: they did not tell the people the real cause of their captivity. It was the people’s sin that caused the captivity. So they ignored the real cause. Second, they failed to deliver: not denouncing the people’s sin resulted in the people remaining in captivity. The people needed to repent of their sin if they were going to get freedom. The false prophets did not deliver any sinner because they were not telling the people to repent of their sin.

Falseness of the prophets - “But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.” Since these false prophets could not tell the real cause of Israel’s captivity, they gave false reasons. Today, we also have a lot falsehood; immorality causes all kinds of diseases, but the experts say lack of education and poor contraceptives are to blame. Alcohol causes more than half of our highway fatalities, but the so called experts are focusing on other things. They just don’t get it.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher!”

George Whitefield (1714 – 1770)

Anglican Cleric and Evangelist

Word Study

Draw near

In Heb. 4:16 we read, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NASB).

Draw near is the Greek word proserchomai (προσέρχομαι =pros-er'-khom-ahee). It is made up of two words: “pros” which means facing, and “erchomai” which means come. Thus the word means to approach, come near, visit. Figuratively, proserchomai means to worship, draw near. In classical Greek proserchomai means come to, approach. In the Septuagint proserchomai also means to approach. In the New Testament, proserchomai also carries the idea of approach. The general pattern seems to be that the one approaching has a request, question, challenge, or statement. Drawing near to the throne of grace is a reflection of our faith or trust and that at the throne of grace we will obtain all that we need to live for God and to serve Him

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would make reconciliation for iniquity (Dan. 9:24)

New Testament Fulfillment – Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-21

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus came to preach the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43).

Bible Quiz

The Israelites were permitted to eat meat but which part of the animal were they not permitted to eat?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Mark 7, what was the Pharisees complaint about how some of Jesus’ disciples were eating? “Eat bread with unwashed hands” - they had not ceremonially washed (Mark 7:5).

Names of the Lord Jesus Found in the Bible

“Yahweh Elohim”

"This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) made the earth and the heavens!” (Gen. 2:4).

1. Meaning – The Lord God / Yahweh Elohim is God’s personal name that speaks of His being in action, especially in His relationship where He is with people. It is His covenant name. Elohim is from a root word that speaks of power.

2. Insights – The universe was created by a personal God, a God who created the world so that He might establish a personal relationship with His creation, in particular with man. Simply stated, the LORD God / Yahweh Elohim is the name that describes what God is about to do upon earth: establish a personal relationship with man and redeem man from his terrible plunge into sin and death.

Did You Know – Christian History

Pierre Viret was born in 1511 in Orbe, Switzerland. He was a Swiss Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer. He was also a close friend of John Calvin.

Viret attended the University of Paris, where he was converted to the Reformed faith. In 1531, Viret returned to Orbe to escape the persecutions in Paris. On his return to Orbe, Viret was convinced by William Farel, a Protestant preacher, to enter the ministry. On May 6, 1531 Viret preached his first sermon which was received with astonishment and acclamation by his hearers. Many were converted to the Reformed Faith, including both of Viret’s parents.

Viret was the most popular preacher in 16th Century France. Among the cities which invited him to preach were Paris, Orleans, Avignon, Montauban, and Montpellier. He accepted the Montpellier’s offer, believing Christ wanted him there. Under his preaching, almost the whole faculty of the city’s medical college was converted to Christianity. His warm and winning preaching style won him the name of “The Smile of the Reformation.”

Viret whole life was dedicated to spreading the gospel. His preaching was so effective that Catholic enemies stabbed and severely wounded him. Later, Catholics poisoned his spinach. He survived, but he suffered stomach problems ever afterward. The beautiful thing about Viret was that these attacks and the riots that accompanied his sermons, did not diminish his spirit. To the contrary, he preached just as lovingly to his enemies as ever. Although he was staunchly Protestant, he labored to bring about reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants.

Viret worked many years in Lausanne and Geneva before beginning his work in France. Thousands attended his sermons. Whole regions came to Christ under his teaching. When Viret was at Lyons in Southern France, Catholics regained control of that region. A few years later, Viret and eleven other ministers were captured by the Catholics. Seven were executed. Viret, however, was allowed to live because the commander had heard so much good about him from other Catholics.

Viret suffered many things in his life. His first wife and children died of the plague. His second wife and two children also died of the plague. These griefs made Viret a sympathetic figure to those with similar sufferings. Despite his ill health, Viret preached countless sermons and wrote about fifty books. He died at the age of sixty, worn out due to hard work and suffering. However, unlike Calvin, Knox and other reformers, Viret’s name gets almost no recognition today.

A Little Humor

A husband and wife are in church. The preacher notices that the husband has fallen asleep and says to the wife, “Wake your husband up!” The wife answers, “You’re the one who made him fall asleep, you wake him up!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“A person who is almost persuaded is still completely lost!”