PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)
NCE (English); Dip (Computer Studies);
ND/HD (Journalism); Dip, BA (Theology) MA, PhD.
FANTASIES OF FALSE PROPHETS
MAIN
TEXT:
“This is what the Lord Almighty says; Do not
listen to what the (false) prophets are prophesying to you. They fill you with
false hopes. They speak vision from their own minds, not from the mouth of the
Lord. 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”. But… see, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath…
on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he
fully accomplishes the purpose of His heart. In days to come you will
understand it clearly (that) I did not send these prophets…”, (Jeremiah
23:16-22NIV).
INTRODUCTION:
The
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia portrays “false prophets” as those
prophesying out of the deceit of their own hearts or those who without real
prophetic gift borrow messages and assume the speech of prophecy, (Jeremiah
14:13-14; 23:28-32). It further renders that “false prophets” seek the
prophet’s role in order to gain the material gifts which come from the people
to the true prophets, (Micah 3:5).
The
message of the “false prophets” are usually informed by self interest, and
given to please the people. Sometimes, it may not be the intention of such
prophets to speak falsely, yet when they speak with wrong motivation, their
messages come often false. So, discern that;
FALSE PROPHETS FILL PEOPLE WITH FALSE HOPES
False
prophets are fantasists whose predictions paint pleasant situations that people
enjoy thinking about, but which are unlikely to happen. They are dangerous
schemas who masterly use the principle of permutation in appealing to the
desires or interests of the people, especially their upper-principle of
permutation in appealing to the desires or interests of the people, especially
their upper-class clientele. This means that false prophets possess the skills
that enable them arrange their tantalizing predictions in such a way that makes
it impossible for their prey to escape.
In
fact, with speculative flattery, under the guise of prophetic utterance(s),
they deceive and instill false hopes in the minds of those who patronize them,
(Romans 16:17-18). In their bid to remain relevant, they advance such intrigues
through pretended “aforetelling”, “forthtelling” and “foretelling” forms of
prophecy. A Prophecy is “aforetelling” when it tells the past. It is
“forthtelling” when it interprets God’s word and “foretelling” when it predicts
the future.
False
prophets often attempt to tell the past, give wrong interpretations to the
Bible, as well as false prediction of the future. This is why they frequently
come up with expressions like, “someone is after you” (aforetelling), “you will
not die” (foretelling), “You will succeed (foretelling), etc. With such antics,
they try to lure people into false hopes, since things like these appeals to
human safety and sense of pride, bearing also in mind that human beings find it
difficult to ignore any thing that threatens their security and peace. So, for
one to escape the trap(s) of such heartless and sacrilegious bandits who
operate in the church of Jesus Christ as men of God, one must be courageous
enough to discard any call(s) for prayer(s) or call(s) that tend(s) to promote;
(i)
Financial breakthrough at the expense of
repentance (Matt. 6:33)
(ii)
Earthly values in neglect of eternal ones (Mark
8”36-37).
(iii)
Total solution to human problems without total
submission to the will of God, (1 John 5:14) etc.
FALSE PROPHETS PROCALIM IMAGINARY VISISIONS
“Vision” is a
supernatural perception of something, and where there is no vision the people
perish, (Prov. 29:18). Every sector of the human enterprise needs vision for
development and growth. Politicians need to see from God in order to understand
better ways of handling the affairs of mankind in society. And of course, it is
not possible for anyone in human industry to have the real focus without
supernatural perceptions. In the ecclesiastical parlance also, men of God need
to be aware of His doings in order to guide the adherents of the Christian
faith aright. However, the rates at which people come up with questionable
ministerial visions prove the biblical point that many prophecies are borne out
of deceit and figments of imagination. Such visions that cause divisions in
homes in churches are better described as “secret arts” of the devil and not
revelation from God. Thus, the Apostle Paul cautions that people of like manner
be avoided, since they do not serve the Lord, but their own appetites…, (Romans
16:17-18).
Nowadays,
our churches (Pentecostal or orthodox) harbor people of false and imaginative
visions that have no link to the throne of grace. These fortunes seeking
visioners destroy families and relationship in the name of visions and
prophecy. It is therefore, on the basis of the narration above that the writer
alerts that:
(i)
Governments should be wary of the self-seeking
prophets (evangelists, pastors, bishops, etc) who troop into government houses
to proclaim misleading visions, like that of the four hundred false prophets of
King Ahab in Israel, (I Kings 22);
(ii)
Families should begin to discern the
money-motive of the family liberation crusaders who proclaim inciteful visions
that tear family members apart, (Roman 16:17-18).
(iii)
Churches should as from now test to ascertain
the credibility or otherwise of every spirit by which members are moved to
proclaim visions in the church, (I John 4:1), etc.
FALSE PROPHETS PREACH PEACE WHEN GOD SAYS OTHERWISE TO THE WICKED
False
prophets do not tell the truth because of what they intend to benefit from
ministerial exercise. They are aware that a sincere rebuke may offend their
clients, and in turn stop them from offering gifts. This is the basic reason
why they preach peace where war is in the offing, and hope where there is
hopelessness. A meticulous observer would notice this in the attitude of the
present day “government house prophets” who lack the moral courage of telling
governments the wrong steps they take against God and humanity. It is obvious
that in almost all the government seats of power (local, state and federal) in
Nigeria and elsewhere, there exist organized spiritualists, pastors or prayer warriors
who are supposedly there to guide governments on spiritual matters. But, on the
contrary, one finds out that such money-minded preachers are there for what to
get from governments and not what concerns God and the people. Furthermore,
experience shows that the same caliber of prophets takes undue advantage of the
church enterprise to offer themselves the opportunity of defrauding the
un-informed and gullible individuals in the name of personal ministries. This
is why it has become important to remind the reader that:
(i)
True prophets preach that, “there is no peace
for the wicked”, whereas, false prophet say so, when destruction is imminent,
(Isaiah 48:22; Jeremiah 23:16-17);
(ii)
False prophets proclaim peace to motivate people
to offer money and materials, whereas, true prophet say the truth to save them
from the wrath of God, (Romans 16:18; Jeremiah 6:13-15);
(iii)
True prophets alert people of the dangers of
evil behaviour, whereas, false prophets lead them astray by proclaiming false
peace, (Ezekiel 13:10-14), etc.
In conclusion, this gospel project is another effort of the writer
to show another way people in their bid try to defraud the unsuspecting
individuals in society. The reader may have come across the writer’s works on
“false justice”, “false prosperity”, “false prophecy” and yet to come, “false
political mandate”, all revealing man’s inhumanity to man. The essence is to
create awareness that from the “Judiciary”, “business”, “politics” and even
from the “sanctuary” of God may come despicable things. So, be sober, be vigilant,
as you live in this wicked world.
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