Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord hath not sent thee, but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Jeremiah 28:15
Hananiah was a prophet, but he was a false one who gave the people what they wanted to hear. He had prophesied that the yoke of Nebuchadnessar would be broken, and the people would be freed from the punishment that God had allowed the king of Babylon to bring upon them. Jeremiah challenged this false prophet, and within the year, Hananiah was in his grave.
The world abounds in false prophets, evil people who make their followers to believe lies. There are many well-known ones, such as the leaders of cults and other world religions. Such false and evil prophets as Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Charles Russell, and many others, have used their lies to deceive many millions of people. However, there are many others whose names are not well known, at least not recognized as false, who are just as dangerous and just as deceiving.
Information was circulated not that many years ago about a course on miracles being very heavily promoted by the popular television program host Oprah Winfrey. The woman who developed this course based it on so-called revelations she claimed to have received from a Christ who is very obviously not the Christ of the Bible. This so-called Christ is said to have told her in assorted visions that the crucifixion was unnecessary and a big mistake, and that there is no such thing as sin, among other New Age nonsense. This particular course is just one of many deceptions that flood the airwaves and the Internet these days.
We need to be on the lookout for such deceivers, and faithfully warn younger Christians to be careful about paying any attention to them. Sadly, many of them masquerade dangerously as so-called Christian content, such as the unscriptural prosperity gospel of such charlatans as Joel Olsteen and others, that tickle the ears and feed the emotions and pride of their followers.
Jeremiah was a faithful and true prophet. He knew that God’s people had sinned. He knew why they were being punished. And he knew they would be restored eventually. There are good and faithful teachers around us today; we can identify them by the way in which they like Jeremiah adhere carefully to what God says in His Word. And only to what God says in His Word.
The Bible is totally faithful. Trust its message today for all your needs. Ignore the liars. -Jim MacIntosh