But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as the prophet whom the LORD has truly sent only when his word comes to pass. Jeremiah 28:9 NABRE
There is a dispute between the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet Hananiah. Hananiah prophesizes God will destroy King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who is threatening the people of Judah and city of Jerusalem. Jeremiah has said the upcoming destruction is allowed by God because the people are unfaithful. Hananiah predicts the Lord will destroy the king and his armies and the people will be saved. This dispute occurs in front of the leaders and priests who begin to take sides. The only way to know if a prophet speaks for the Lord is to see if what they say comes true. In this dispute however the Lord spoke to Jeremiah and tells him the Babylonian’s will not be destroyed but Hananiah will soon die because he has preached rebellion against the Lord. Within the year Hananiah dies and of course the Babylonians eventually take siege of Judah and destroy Jerusalem and the temple completely, taking many of the people into exile.
Being a prophet for the Lord is a challenging profession. Most of the time the words of the Lord are contrary to social norms or cultural habits so speaking out tends to be received with ridicule and protests. Today we say the Holy Spirit is the inspiration behind those who speak on behalf of the Lord, but it is still impossible to know who is the Lord’s prophet and who is speaking from their own desires. A good initial test to determine a true prophet is to see who they are pointing at, if their words point to someone or themselves, they may not be trustworthy, but the prophet who always points to God has the appropriate perspective.
Do you see prophets in the world today? Do you speak on behalf of God?
A good initial test to determine a true prophet is to see who they are pointing at, if their words point to someone or themselves, they may not be trustworthy, but the prophet who always points to God has the appropriate perspective. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #prophet #trust #Jeremiah #everybodyalways#god#jesuschrist#jesussaves#godisgood#dailydevotion#biblestudy#scripture#bibleverse#verseoftheday#cross#last#gospels#loveeachother#godisgreat#thisVineyard#youversion#everythingalways