Jeremiah 23 (NLT) ²³ Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the LORD. “No, I am far away at the same time. ²⁴Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD. ²⁵“I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in My name. ²⁶How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. ²⁷By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal. ²⁸“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!
Yet, God also says...
"I sent My prophets to warn you with many visions and parables” Hosea 12:10 (NLT)
Amplified: I have also spoken to [you by] the prophets, and I have multiplied visions [for you] and [have appealed to you] through parables acted out by the prophets.
Did God contradict Himself? Absolutely not. This is where judgment is essential. The scriptures have to be understood within their context. As we see in Hosea and various other passages, God himself gives "His prophets" dreams, visions, narratives to covey and even storylines to act out in order to effectively warn people. However, when God speaks of the dreams of false prophets, He is referring to that which is void of contextual accuracy. Yet, those who only seek validation from others persist in preaching sermons and delivering messages that are out of context prophetically, aiming solely to people please.
Howbeit, it is written:
Jeremiah 14:15 (NIV) Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: "I did not send them, yet they are saying, ’No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine." ¹⁶As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them.
But, that's not what man wants to hear. Therefore, the carnal response continues to be retaliation against God's messenger. They tried to flip on Jerimiah to beat him to the punch by throwing him away first. But, that did not change the prophecy. Vengeance belongs to the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:21 (NIV) "I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied."
Jeremiah 23:32 (NIV) 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.
What benefits the people, from God's standpoint, is admonition and divine guidance, not catering to their greed. Therefore, from a prophetic perspective, anything that God has not proclaimed, within the context of warning, constitutes "FALSE DREAMS." Sometimes, it helps with understanding if translated in an urban vernacular. For example, when God uses the terms "dream," "dreamer," or "false dreams" in reference to false prophets, it's like saying, "I know they tripping."
If those who preach "No war are famine will come to you" are false prophets, and those who listen to them are the same ones who ignore, oppose, and attack God's true prophets; how then does one discern an authentic prophetic message? To what is it likened? The answer is as simple as continuing in the Word: keep reading Jerimiah 23
Jeremiah 23 (NLT) ²⁸“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let My true messengers faithfully proclaim My every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! ²⁹Does not My Word burn like fire?” says the LORD. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
Yet, God also says...
"I sent My prophets to warn you with many visions and parables” Hosea 12:10 (NLT)
Amplified: I have also spoken to [you by] the prophets, and I have multiplied visions [for you] and [have appealed to you] through parables acted out by the prophets.
Did God contradict Himself? Absolutely not. This is where judgment is essential. The scriptures have to be understood within their context. As we see in Hosea and various other passages, God himself gives "His prophets" dreams, visions, narratives to covey and even storylines to act out in order to effectively warn people. However, when God speaks of the dreams of false prophets, He is referring to that which is void of contextual accuracy. Yet, those who only seek validation from others persist in preaching sermons and delivering messages that are out of context prophetically, aiming solely to people please.
Howbeit, it is written:
Jeremiah 14:15 (NIV) Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: "I did not send them, yet they are saying, ’No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine." ¹⁶As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them.
But, that's not what man wants to hear. Therefore, the carnal response continues to be retaliation against God's messenger. They tried to flip on Jerimiah to beat him to the punch by throwing him away first. But, that did not change the prophecy. Vengeance belongs to the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:21 (NIV) "I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied."
Jeremiah 23:32 (NIV) 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.
What benefits the people, from God's standpoint, is admonition and divine guidance, not catering to their greed. Therefore, from a prophetic perspective, anything that God has not proclaimed, within the context of warning, constitutes "FALSE DREAMS." Sometimes, it helps with understanding if translated in an urban vernacular. For example, when God uses the terms "dream," "dreamer," or "false dreams" in reference to false prophets, it's like saying, "I know they tripping."
If those who preach "No war are famine will come to you" are false prophets, and those who listen to them are the same ones who ignore, oppose, and attack God's true prophets; how then does one discern an authentic prophetic message? To what is it likened? The answer is as simple as continuing in the Word: keep reading Jerimiah 23
Jeremiah 23 (NLT) ²⁸“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let My true messengers faithfully proclaim My every word. There is a difference between straw and grain! ²⁹Does not My Word burn like fire?” says the LORD. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
WHIRLWIND!!!
Certainly, I continue to turn to the scriptures for reassurance. Still, brow-beating a homeless, elder woman of God for a reward while calling her a false prophetess is a lower than low type of bipolarism. But, even sadder are those who, after having received, allow the brow-beaters to bamboozle them into joining in with their practices. Did not the instructional Word of God which I spoke to you serve you well? — Don't go the way of Capernaum.
