SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/11/2021 12:43 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
“Warning”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 7:15
Message of the
verse: “15 ‘Beware
of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are
ravenous wolves.’”
The truth of the matter is that
false prophets were not new to the people of Israel, for the OT has spoken of
many. As mentioned before there are only
two kinds of people in the world, those who are true believers and those who
are not and with that said there has to be at least two opinions, and only one
of them is the truth.
Let us look at what Moses had to say
about false prophets from Deuteronomy 13:1-5:
“1 ‘If a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the
sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ’Let
us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you
shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for
the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with
all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you
shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5
“But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion
against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed
you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD
your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.’”
Many
times people will listen to the false prophets of their day just because they
are not satisfied with God, perhaps because of a death to a loved one, or a
prayer request did not get answered, and so after things like this the false
prophet will be there to “seemingly” rescue the situation, for false prophets
have not trouble finding an audience. Let
us look at Isaiah 30:9-10 “9 For this is
a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction
of the LORD; 10 Who say to the seers,
"You must not see visions";And to the prophets, "You must
not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy
illusions.”
I
want to move to the time when Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives shortly
before the last Passover week as His disciples were asking Him some questions
that He answered. The questions were
about what was going to happen in the future.
We will look at Matthew 24:1-5 and then also verse 24. “1 Jesus came out from the temple and was
going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.
2 And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to
you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn
down." 3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will
be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’4 And Jesus answered
and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 5 “For many will
come in My name, saying, ’I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.’” “24 “For false Christs and false prophets
will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if
possible, even the elect.” Now we will
also look at 2 John 7 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge
Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
There
are many other places found in the NT where different people are warning others
about false prophets. I will give a list
after I look at one other section. Acts
20:29-31 is the section I want to look at:
“29 “I know that after
my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering
that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each
one with tears.”
Here now is the list I promised: Romans 16:17-18; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1; 2
Cor. 11:26; 2 Cor 11:13; Matt. 24:24; 1 John 4:1.
MacArthur
concludes this introductory to this first main section: “There has always been a large market for
false prophets, because most people do not want to hear the truth. They prefer to hear what is pleasant and
flattering, even if it is false and dangerous, over what is unpleasant and
unflattering, even if it is true and helpful.”
Sometimes the truth hurts but we are told that the truth will set us
free.
2/11/2021 1:11 PM
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