Jeremiah 23:13-16 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria;they prophesied in Baal,and caused my people Israel to err. (14) I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing:they commit adultery,and walk in lies:they strengthen also the hands of evildoers,that none doth return from his wickedness:they are all of them unto me as Sodom,and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. (15) Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets;Behold,I will feed them with wormwood,and make them drink the water of gall:for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. (16) Thus saith the LORD of hosts,Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you:they make you vain:they speak a vision of their own heart,and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me,The LORD hath said,Ye shall have peace;and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart,No evil shall come upon you.
Today America is full of adulterers – spiritual adulterers – people that have turned away from God and worship at the altar of self. They claim to know God and follow Him but they show no evidence of it in their lives. V11 For both prophet and priest are profane;yea,in my house have I found their wickedness,saith the LORD. How horrible that statement is:the people of all people that should know better are acting profane. It is a trend today in pulpits for the preacher to use filthy language and curse during their message to the congregation. The Apostle Paul said:1Co 15:33 Be not deceived:evil communications corrupt good manners. Profane can also mean how they are living their lives. A profane life is one that is contrary to God’s Will and contrary to what God has said in His Word. Note that God sees what the false prophets are doing in verses 13 and 14. The prophets of Samaria have been speaking for Baal and in Jerusalem the prophets have behaved even worse – they have lied,committed adultery,and helped the evil doers. They have been so wicked that God is comparing them to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God promises that those false prophets will be poisoned just as they have poisoned the people of Jerusalem and all the land with their false proclamations of God. In verses 16 and 17,we see that the prophets have only been telling the general population what they want to hear. Thus saith the LORD of hosts,Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you:they make you vain:they speak a vision of their own heart,and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me,The LORD hath said,Ye shall have peace;and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart,No evil shall come upon you. The false prophets were stroking the egos of the congregation and making them feel good about themselves. They may have been telling the congregation how to have their best life now,even as the Babylonians were knocking on the door. They were promising peace and freedom from evil,however,the prophets were not giving out God’s word but were speaking from their own wicked hearts. Why? Because they wanted the people to like them and they wanted to give the people what they wanted to hear. Go to Jeremiah 26
Jer 26:2-8 Thus saith the LORD;Stand in the court of the LORD’S house,and speak unto all the cities of Judah,which come to worship in the LORD’S house,all the words that I command thee to speak unto them;diminish not a word: (3) If so be they will hearken,and turn every man from his evil way,that I may repent me of the evil,which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. (4) And thou shalt say unto them,Thus saith the LORD;If ye will not hearken to me,to walk in my law,which I have set before you,(5) To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets,whom I sent unto you,both rising up early,and sending them,but ye have not hearkened; (6) Then will I make this house like Shiloh,and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. (7) So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. (8) Now it came to pass,when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people,that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him,saying,Thou shalt surely die.
The religious leaders were ready to put Jeremiah to death for preaching God’s Word. The things he said were not popular as Jeremiah also told them to surrender to the Babylonians. The false prophets at that time were preaching peace and that Babylon would return the items taken from the temple in two years,while Jeremiah was telling the people that they would be in captivity for seventy years. They were ready to kill Jeremiah even though he was preaching the truth to them. People today want peace. The false prophets of today talk about peace and removing the walls of doctrine that separate. What they do not want to admit is that there will be no lasting peace because man’s heart is wicked and that wicked heart will not allow peace to happen. False prophets are preaching what people want to hear and what was said in Isaiah is still true today.
Isa 30:9-11 That this is a rebellious people,lying children,children that will not hear the law of the LORD: (10) Which say to the seers,See not;and to the prophets,Prophesy not unto us right things,speak unto us smooth things,prophesy deceits: (11) Get you out of the way,turn aside out of the path,cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.