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It seems like a lot of the new people have not read the OT, or at least very well! I was actually quoting the Old Testament, although I admit I didn't put quotes around it, or the address. So, I will remedy my failure to quote the important verses, as well as the lack of understanding of what the Old Testament says, below.
"You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. 5 As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge evil from among you." Deut. 13:4-5
"Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." Deut. 13:10-11
This covers idolatry. God considers it a very serious sin. So serious, that he told his people to STONE those who would lead his people astray! But what about false prophets? What does it say about them?
"The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed." Deut 18:7-21
So, put to death! But is this an exception, or are there more voices against false prophets?
"The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “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! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?" Ezekiel 13:1-7
"10 “‘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, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”
13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. "Ezekiel 13:10-13
"But I see the prophets of Jerusalem
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies.
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing." Jeremiah 23:14
"This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds." Jeremiah 23:16-22
“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord." Jeremiah 23:30-32
In fact, the prophets declare warnings over and over, yet the people listen to the false prophets, whom God will destroy. Have you never read these verses? I know many of the false prophets in modern society prophecy lie, over and over. We are not to predict the future, and certainly not when Jesus will return. And people who believe these people, are just as bad as the false prophets.
So, the big question. Did I really mean false prophets should be destroyed or killed? I'm just following the Bible, after all! No, I would never condemn someone to death! It is not my place! That is God's prerogative. But, on the other hand, God has spoken strongly and in many places in the Bible about false prophets. Esp. those predicting the time when Christ will return. Or crying peace, peace when there is none. Or proclaiming lying words. This is not just about bad theology! This is about deliberately defying the living God. Who can stand and declare they know more than Jesus! NO ONE! And Jesus said he does not know when his return will come. But some false prophet comes along with a bunch of false theories, or perhaps calculations, and suddenly the man has many followers he is leading astray.
Biblically, I am correct to call for stoning or death for false prophets. It is God's solution for them. But, from a human side, I have spent the last 42 years following Christ, and trying to be more like him. Jesus could have killed all the Pharisees and Sadducees who were saying he was not God, not a prophet. But, he lived his life with love and peace, but still hating sin. I hate sin, too! That is what the Bible tells us to do! We are to tell people to repent of their sins, because sin destroys people. People who predict the future, are sinning. They need to repent of this sin. That is the message Jesus brought to us. But it was not a new message - the entire Old Testament is filled with this message.
I read both Hebrew and Greek. I have studied hermeneutics or Bible interpretation. I have read the Bible from cover to cover 55 times, in several languages and many translations. I've read the NT in Koine Greek many times. No where, do I ever see instructions from God, to predict when he is returning. The opposite, in fact! I detest how many people have been led astray by false prophets for centuries. But, in the present, people have only themselves to blame, for not reading their Bible daily for years and decades. Remember 3 chapters of the OT and 1 of the NT gets you through the Bible in a year. It's a new year, start now. Then you will not be so susceptible to these false prophets. Believe the Bible, not soothsayers!
"You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. 5 As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge evil from among you." Deut. 13:4-5
"Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." Deut. 13:10-11
This covers idolatry. God considers it a very serious sin. So serious, that he told his people to STONE those who would lead his people astray! But what about false prophets? What does it say about them?
"The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed." Deut 18:7-21
So, put to death! But is this an exception, or are there more voices against false prophets?
"The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “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! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?" Ezekiel 13:1-7
"10 “‘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, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”
13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. "Ezekiel 13:10-13
"But I see the prophets of Jerusalem
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies.
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing." Jeremiah 23:14
"This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds." Jeremiah 23:16-22
“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord." Jeremiah 23:30-32
In fact, the prophets declare warnings over and over, yet the people listen to the false prophets, whom God will destroy. Have you never read these verses? I know many of the false prophets in modern society prophecy lie, over and over. We are not to predict the future, and certainly not when Jesus will return. And people who believe these people, are just as bad as the false prophets.
So, the big question. Did I really mean false prophets should be destroyed or killed? I'm just following the Bible, after all! No, I would never condemn someone to death! It is not my place! That is God's prerogative. But, on the other hand, God has spoken strongly and in many places in the Bible about false prophets. Esp. those predicting the time when Christ will return. Or crying peace, peace when there is none. Or proclaiming lying words. This is not just about bad theology! This is about deliberately defying the living God. Who can stand and declare they know more than Jesus! NO ONE! And Jesus said he does not know when his return will come. But some false prophet comes along with a bunch of false theories, or perhaps calculations, and suddenly the man has many followers he is leading astray.
Biblically, I am correct to call for stoning or death for false prophets. It is God's solution for them. But, from a human side, I have spent the last 42 years following Christ, and trying to be more like him. Jesus could have killed all the Pharisees and Sadducees who were saying he was not God, not a prophet. But, he lived his life with love and peace, but still hating sin. I hate sin, too! That is what the Bible tells us to do! We are to tell people to repent of their sins, because sin destroys people. People who predict the future, are sinning. They need to repent of this sin. That is the message Jesus brought to us. But it was not a new message - the entire Old Testament is filled with this message.
I read both Hebrew and Greek. I have studied hermeneutics or Bible interpretation. I have read the Bible from cover to cover 55 times, in several languages and many translations. I've read the NT in Koine Greek many times. No where, do I ever see instructions from God, to predict when he is returning. The opposite, in fact! I detest how many people have been led astray by false prophets for centuries. But, in the present, people have only themselves to blame, for not reading their Bible daily for years and decades. Remember 3 chapters of the OT and 1 of the NT gets you through the Bible in a year. It's a new year, start now. Then you will not be so susceptible to these false prophets. Believe the Bible, not soothsayers!
These false teachers and prophets are leading people straight into hell, but these people dont see it as all that bad, when its a worse sin than murder itself. Jesus said it would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and then be cast into the sea. But these would argue with Jesus.
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