Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Prophecy and prophets » How to spot a true prophet and a false prophet
And if thou say in thine heart, 'How shall I know that which the LORD hath not spoken?' When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken. But the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: be not afeared therefore of him.
The prophets that were before us in times past, which prophesied of war, or trouble, or pestilence - either of peace, upon many nations and great kingdoms - were proved by this, if God had sent them in very deed: when the thing came to pass, which that prophet told before."
Say thou these words unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: As truly as I live, all ye that dwell in this wilderness, shall be slain with the sword. Whatsoever is upon the field, will I give unto the beasts to be devoured: those that be in strongholds and dens, shall die of the pestilence. For I will make the land desolate and waste, and the pomp of her strength shall come to an end. The mountains in Israel shall be so waste that no man shall travel thereby. Then shall they learn to know, that I am the LORD, when I make the land waste and desolate, because of all their abominations, that they have wrought.' read more.
"And thou, son of man, the children of thy people that talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of their houses, saying one to another, 'Come, let us hear, what word is gone forth from the LORD' - These come unto thee, after the manner of a great people: yea, my people sit down before thee, and hear thy words, but they do not thereafter: for in their mouths they show themselves, as though they were fervent, but their heart goeth after their own covetous lucre. And as a ballad that hath a sweet tune, and is pleasant to sing, so shalt thou be unto them: thy words shall they hear, but they will not do thereafter. When this cometh to pass - for lo, it cometh indeed - then shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them."
"And thou, son of man, the children of thy people that talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of their houses, saying one to another, 'Come, let us hear, what word is gone forth from the LORD' - These come unto thee, after the manner of a great people: yea, my people sit down before thee, and hear thy words, but they do not thereafter: for in their mouths they show themselves, as though they were fervent, but their heart goeth after their own covetous lucre. And as a ballad that hath a sweet tune, and is pleasant to sing, so shalt thou be unto them: thy words shall they hear, but they will not do thereafter. When this cometh to pass - for lo, it cometh indeed - then shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them."
Sending and those sent » Who the lord did not send
"For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Let not those prophets and soothsayers that be among you deceive you: and believe not your own dreams. For why? They preach you lies in my name, and I have not sent them, sayeth the LORD.
Then answered I, "O LORD God, the prophets say unto them, 'Tush, ye shall see no sword, and no hunger shall come upon you, but the LORD shall give you continual rest in this place.'" And the LORD said unto me, "The prophets preach lies unto them in my name. I have not spoken with them, neither gave I them any charge, neither did I send them. Yet they preach unto you false visions, charming vanity, and deceitfulness of their own heart. Therefore, thus sayeth the LORD: As for those prophets that preach in my name, whom I nevertheless have not sent, and that say, 'Tush, there shall neither battle, nor hunger be in this land': With sword and with hunger shall those prophets perish,
My heart breaketh in my body because of the false prophets, all my bones shake: I am become like a drunken man that by the reason of wine can take no rest; for very fear of the LORD, and of his holy words. Because the land is full of adulterers, wherethrough it is destroyed and mourneth, and the pleasant pastures of the desert are dried up. Yea the way that men take is wicked, and their governance is nothing like the holy word of the LORD. "For the prophets and the priests themselves are polluted hypocrites, and their wickedness have I found in my house, sayeth the LORD. read more.
Wherefore, their way shall be slippery in the darkness, wherein they may stagger and fall. For I will bring a plague upon them, even the year of their visitation, sayeth the LORD. I have seen folly among the Prophets of Samaria, that they preached for Baal, and deceived my people of Israel. I have seen also among the Prophets of Jerusalem foul adultery, and presumptuous lies. They take the most shameful men by the hand, flattering them, so that they cannot return from their wickedness. All these with their citizens are, unto me, as Sodom and as the inhabiters of Gomorrah." Therefore thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts concerning the prophets, "Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is the sickness of hypocrisy come into all the land." And therefore the LORD of Hosts giveth you this warning, "Hear not the words of the prophets, that preach unto you, and deceive you: for they speak the meaning of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say unto them, that despise me: The LORD hath spoken it, 'Tush, ye shall prosper right well.' And unto all them that walk after the lusts of their own heart, they say, 'Tush, there shall no misfortune happen you.' For who hath sitten in the council of the LORD, that he hath heard and understood what he is about to do? Who hath marked his device, and heard it? Behold, the stormy weather of the LORD - that is, his indignation - shall go forth, and shall fall down upon the head of the ungodly. And the wrath of the LORD shall not turn away again, until he perform and fulfils the thought of his heart. And in the latter days ye shall know his meaning." "I have not sent these Prophets, sayeth the LORD, "and yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, and yet they preached. But if they had continued in my counsel and heard my words: they had turned my people from their evil ways and wicked imaginations. Am I then God that seeth but the thing, which is nigh at hand, and not that is afar off? sayeth the LORD. May any man hide himself so, that I shall not see him, sayeth the LORD? Do not I fulfill heaven and earth, sayeth the LORD? I have heard well enough what the prophets say, that preach lies in my name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed.' How long will this continue in the prophets' hearts: to tell lies, and to preach the crafty subtlety of their own heart? Whose purpose is, with the dreams that everyone tell, to make my people forget my name, as their forefathers did when Baal came up. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell it: and he that understandeth my word, let him show it faithfully. For what hath chaff and wheat to do together, sayeth the LORD? Is not my word like a fire, sayeth the LORD, and like a hammer that breaketh the hard stone? "Therefore, thus sayeth the LORD: behold, I will upon the prophets, that steal my word privily from every man. Behold, here am I, sayeth the LORD, against the prophets that take upon their tongues to speak: The LORD hath said it. Behold, here am I, sayeth the LORD, against those prophets that dare prophesy lies, and deceive my people with their vanities, and miracles, whom I never sent, nor commanded them. They shall do this people great harm, sayeth the LORD.
Wherefore, their way shall be slippery in the darkness, wherein they may stagger and fall. For I will bring a plague upon them, even the year of their visitation, sayeth the LORD. I have seen folly among the Prophets of Samaria, that they preached for Baal, and deceived my people of Israel. I have seen also among the Prophets of Jerusalem foul adultery, and presumptuous lies. They take the most shameful men by the hand, flattering them, so that they cannot return from their wickedness. All these with their citizens are, unto me, as Sodom and as the inhabiters of Gomorrah." Therefore thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts concerning the prophets, "Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is the sickness of hypocrisy come into all the land." And therefore the LORD of Hosts giveth you this warning, "Hear not the words of the prophets, that preach unto you, and deceive you: for they speak the meaning of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say unto them, that despise me: The LORD hath spoken it, 'Tush, ye shall prosper right well.' And unto all them that walk after the lusts of their own heart, they say, 'Tush, there shall no misfortune happen you.' For who hath sitten in the council of the LORD, that he hath heard and understood what he is about to do? Who hath marked his device, and heard it? Behold, the stormy weather of the LORD - that is, his indignation - shall go forth, and shall fall down upon the head of the ungodly. And the wrath of the LORD shall not turn away again, until he perform and fulfils the thought of his heart. And in the latter days ye shall know his meaning." "I have not sent these Prophets, sayeth the LORD, "and yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, and yet they preached. But if they had continued in my counsel and heard my words: they had turned my people from their evil ways and wicked imaginations. Am I then God that seeth but the thing, which is nigh at hand, and not that is afar off? sayeth the LORD. May any man hide himself so, that I shall not see him, sayeth the LORD? Do not I fulfill heaven and earth, sayeth the LORD? I have heard well enough what the prophets say, that preach lies in my name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed.' How long will this continue in the prophets' hearts: to tell lies, and to preach the crafty subtlety of their own heart? Whose purpose is, with the dreams that everyone tell, to make my people forget my name, as their forefathers did when Baal came up. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell it: and he that understandeth my word, let him show it faithfully. For what hath chaff and wheat to do together, sayeth the LORD? Is not my word like a fire, sayeth the LORD, and like a hammer that breaketh the hard stone? "Therefore, thus sayeth the LORD: behold, I will upon the prophets, that steal my word privily from every man. Behold, here am I, sayeth the LORD, against the prophets that take upon their tongues to speak: The LORD hath said it. Behold, here am I, sayeth the LORD, against those prophets that dare prophesy lies, and deceive my people with their vanities, and miracles, whom I never sent, nor commanded them. They shall do this people great harm, sayeth the LORD.
And this was done in the same year: even in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. But in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth Month, it happened, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet of Gibeon, spake to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, and said, "Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon, and after two years will I bring again into this place all the ornaments of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried away from this place unto Babylon. read more.
Yea, I will bring again Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah himself, with all the prisoners of Judah that are carried unto Babylon even into this place, sayeth the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah gave answer unto the prophet Hananiah, before the priests and before all the people that were present in the house of the LORD. And the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen, the LORD do that, and grant the thing which thou hast prophesied: that he may bring again all the ornaments of the LORD's house, and restore all the prisoners from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless, hearken thou also what I will say, that thou and all the people may hear. The prophets that were before us in times past, which prophesied of war, or trouble, or pestilence - either of peace, upon many nations and great kingdoms - were proved by this, if God had sent them in very deed: when the thing came to pass, which that prophet told before." And Hananiah the prophet took the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it; and with that said Hananiah, that all the people might hear, "Thus hath the LORD spoken: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations; yea, and that within this two years." And so the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Now after that Hananiah the prophet had taken the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broken it, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Jeremiah saying, "Go, and tell Hananiah these words, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Thou hast broken the chain of wood, but instead of wood thou shalt make chains of iron. For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: I will put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all this people, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, yea and so shall they do. And I will give him the beasts in the field.'" Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto the prophet Hananiah, "Hear me, I pray thee, Hananiah: The LORD hath not sent thee, but thou bringest this people into a false belief.
Yea, I will bring again Jechoniah the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah himself, with all the prisoners of Judah that are carried unto Babylon even into this place, sayeth the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah gave answer unto the prophet Hananiah, before the priests and before all the people that were present in the house of the LORD. And the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen, the LORD do that, and grant the thing which thou hast prophesied: that he may bring again all the ornaments of the LORD's house, and restore all the prisoners from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless, hearken thou also what I will say, that thou and all the people may hear. The prophets that were before us in times past, which prophesied of war, or trouble, or pestilence - either of peace, upon many nations and great kingdoms - were proved by this, if God had sent them in very deed: when the thing came to pass, which that prophet told before." And Hananiah the prophet took the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it; and with that said Hananiah, that all the people might hear, "Thus hath the LORD spoken: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, from the neck of all nations; yea, and that within this two years." And so the prophet Jeremiah went his way. Now after that Hananiah the prophet had taken the chain from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broken it, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Jeremiah saying, "Go, and tell Hananiah these words, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Thou hast broken the chain of wood, but instead of wood thou shalt make chains of iron. For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: I will put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all this people, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, yea and so shall they do. And I will give him the beasts in the field.'" Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto the prophet Hananiah, "Hear me, I pray thee, Hananiah: The LORD hath not sent thee, but thou bringest this people into a false belief.
Thus sayeth the LORD God: Woe be unto those foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and speak where they see nothing. O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes upon the dry field: For they stand not in the gaps, neither made they a hedge for the house of Israel, that men might abide the peril in the day of the LORD. read more.
Vain things they see, and tell lies to maintain their preachings withal. 'The LORD,' say they, 'hath spoken it' - when in very deed the LORD hath not sent them.
Vain things they see, and tell lies to maintain their preachings withal. 'The LORD,' say they, 'hath spoken it' - when in very deed the LORD hath not sent them.