Jeremiah 23
January 30, 2024 4:10 PM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com
20240130
(Please refer to the Preface and Introduction sections found in the Jeremiah Chapter 1 commentary for some general information about this chapter by chapter study of Jeremiah).
Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors (raw-aw – shepherds, rulers) that destroy (cause to wander away) and scatter (dash in pieces) the sheep (flock) of my pasture! saith the LORD.
This long chapter will now denounce the rulers and spiritual leaders of Judah. It can be viewed as a sort of epilogue that follows the words given to the three kings. In that previous chapter, the shepherds were mentioned in verse 22. This will expand upon that.
While we as the church will naturally view this passage as applicable to the pastors within, remember that Israel had no such office. We speak of separation of church and state, but no such idea existed in this culture. Indeed, you would be hard pressed to find any society that completely divorced religious life from the secular. That is a man made humanistic philosophy that emerged in the Enlightenment in Europe several centuries ago. It is a man centered philosophy. The original idea of separation that was a part of America’s foundational values had much merit. Pilgrims came to America to escape the state run churches that imposed obligations upon the individual that ran counter to their conscience. Man should be allowed to freely worship God according to his conscience, not have some state authority impose their flavour of religion on them. Yet this never meant that a man of religious conviction should ever be excluded from public life.
Under a theocratic form of government, such as God set up under Torah, religious and political life went hand in hand. The Torah contained many classes of law – ceremonial, civil and moral. Under an ideal Christian nation, we all recognize that the ceremonial (ie, the laws pertaining to blood sacrifice), were done away with at the cross. While the Christian nation was still faithfully submitted to God, we embraced the moral codes of the Torah, with the ten commandments as the foundation of a livable society. Where there was disagreement and a certain amount of leeway was found in the civil law. Do we practice the exact same punishments as prescribed in the law of Moses? Since Christ patterned a deeper level of forgiveness and remission of sin that what the Israelites ever knew, we have tended to lessen the severest form of punishments found in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible). Yet as we all know, our corrupt nature inevitably led us to become softer and softer on crime, until finally we reached the fallen state where we are today. Not only have we abandoned the civil law, but have implemented the opposite, punishing the righteous and letting the wicked go free. This occurred by not only softening penalties, but by gradually abandoning the moral laws as well, which God had intended all nations to copy and live by.
Therefore when we see the term pastors (raw-aw) in Jeremiah, they represent the rulers of their day. They were not the priests (cohen) or the prophets (naw-bee). All three had responsibility to lead, or to shepherd the people. Yet these pastors had more than just a secular duty to practise mishpat. Mishpat was based on God’s moral law. Therefore, they were to be shepherding the people by teaching them right from wrong, by the justice that they meted out.
While our pastors do not have this secular, civil duty associated with them, their purpose can be viewed as similar. What they teach, the decisions they make in regards to church life, should shepherd the people towards a full understanding of God’s holy moral commandments. Thus it is not a stretch to apply these prophetic rebukes to the pastors of our day. I am sure that is what the King James translators had in mind when they chose to translate raw-aw as pastors.
God pronounces woe on these pastors (leaders). Their words and actions have caused their flocks to wander away. They have broken them in pieces. Perhaps that is through browbeating them when they are not blindly following all church tradition. They may have broken their hearts, when they are shunned or kicked out if they didn’t live up to the standards of the flock. Perhaps they were abused, or fleeced, and when they really needed help, they found out the pastors did not really care.
Nothing proved the wickedness of these hirelings’ hearts more than the covid nonsense. Almost all showed no hesitancy in instantly obeying the government, regardless of what was asked of them. Many eagerly took cash payouts to do whatever the government said. As if that wasn’t enough of a red flag. Their actions showed they had no conscience, no real calling from God, and were simply employees, choosing the easiest path at every turn. Those true sheep saw and were disgusted, devastated, and disillusioned. How many immature, vulnerable sheep were forever lost by the hypocrisy of these wicked men? When people were suffering the most, they were locked out of churches. When they were sick, they would not visit. When they needed help, they would not meet face to face. When people needed a strong voice against the madness and tyranny, they got quislings and traitors in the pulpits, telling everyone to blindly obey everything the genocidal lunatics were demanding.
Jesus wept.
Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed (pasture) my people; Ye have scattered (dashed in pieces) my flock, and driven them away (expelled them, forced them to leave), and have not visited (cared for( them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
What goes around comes around. Covid proved that 98% or so of the pastors in the land have no calling, and very little conscience. How come they were so eager to immediately, without question, shama the government, but will make every excuse why they don’t have to shama the Lord?
I have heard that up to 30% of churchgoers have not returned to church after the mandates were lifted. Hundreds of pastors in North America are resigning every month. Almost 100 churches have been vandalized or burned in Canada by the fake residential school grave site nonsense, which was a total fabrication, like everything else. For those pastors that are still left, they are being pressured more and more by the government and the sodomites to fly the rainbow flag of abomination. Many are doing so. God is marking these apostates with the sign of the enemy. True believers should have no problem discerning the synagogues of satan in our time today.
Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries (lands, wilderness) whither I have driven them, and will bring them again (shoob – turn them back) to their folds (sheepfolds, pleasant places); and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Verse two stated evil pastors drove the true sheep out of the sheepfolds. God then says he took those sheep into the wilderness. How many of us have had to leave compromised churches and found that there was really no place of fellowship to be found? Yet here it says God drove us out of those apostate places. We may be struggling to find where we fit, but during this time Jesus is personally teaching and preparing us for what is about to come.
God then promises that he won’t leave us in the wilderness, but will bring us back to the place that he has prepared, and it will be a place where we will be fruitful in his service. A wonderful promise to hold on to for all of us that seemingly cannot find a place to go!
Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds (raw-aw) over them which shall feed (raw-aw) them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed (confused and fearful), neither shall they be lacking (hurt), saith the LORD.
God promises not to leave us orphaned. Here we see how we must interpret a Hebrew word based on its context. The first raw-aw would mean shepherd or leader. The second one has to do with the function of a shepherd, that is, to shepherd or feed the flock. Both meanings are encapsulated in the same word.
Can you feel the hurt and trauma of all those orphaned sheep that their churches cast aside in the last few years, because they wouldn’t poison themselves? The betrayals and the treachery, when lifelong church friends turned on them and cut off all contact? How the reality of the revelation of the utter wickedness of those so called friends just smacked them in the face? How many left the faith? How many even committed suicide? There are many, many sins to account for since 2020.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment (mishpat) and justice (tsed-aw-kaw) in the earth.
Wherever you go in the word, you find Jesus. In the midst of terrifying judgments, God gives us verses like these so that we do not lose all hope. In the future, God shall raise up a sprout that will spring up from the roots of a tree that had been hewn down. Even as God destroys the evil, he already has plans for future restoration. This future king from the line of David will execute mishpat and tsed-aw-kaw exactly the way God always intended it to be executed.
Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (yehovah our tseh-dek).
Note that both the 10 tribes and Judah are included. Symbolically, if the 10 tribes also represent the church, we will be safe in him, and only in him. During the day of the Lord, our safety is guaranteed spiritually, even if not physically, if we abide in him. Our physical safety may only be found once we reach the Millenium. As far as Judah goes, this verse does not say how many will be left at the end to save, only that whoever of the Jews that are left will all acknowledge their Messiah.
Jer 23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
God loves patterns and repetition. He had spectacularly delivered them once. In this verse we have already seen a double fulfillment. First was the return after 70 years in Babylon, the second was when Israel returned to the land in the 20th century after a 1900 year absence.
Jer 23:9 Mine heart within me is broken (ready to burst) because of the prophets (naw-bee – inspired man); all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness (kodesh).
Jeremiah shares his heart, inspired by the spirit of God. Do not our hearts break over all the false prophets in the land today? We tremble in anguish and sorrow. Those of us who know something of his true word, cannot stand it when we hear the pillow prophets preach prosperity and peace, placating people with pleasing platitudes. A rather flowery phrase, but you get the picture. God’s holiness demands an appropriate response. I find that the older I get, and the deeper I dive into my secret place, the more the casual, frivolous preaching and worship of the average congregation disturbs me. Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy, but something inside me thinks that this is not the way to please the Lord. God is a serious being. This happy, happy, flag waving, choreographed dancing, ear splitting electronic music, tedious and childish slogan rehearsing nonsense coming from the stage is just something that bothers me more and more.
An interesting word is used to describe God’s word. Jeremiah said that he is staggered and broken when he hears all the false prophecies and teachings in his land. He might of said that the reason he is so shaken is because of the Lord (his presence), and because of his word. Instead he speaks of God and the word of his holiness. Not the words of his comfort, or promise, or victory, or revival, or even of judgment.
When we truly understand just how holy (consecrated, set apart, sanctified) God is, as revealed in his holy word, the antics of the Laodicean generation would grieve us all the more. Why have we tolerated such flippancy in our congregations? This idea that we must cater to the youth, no matter how bizarre the behavior, is idiotic. God sets the standard of behavior, not our culture. Who cares if the kids won’t show up? If they are only showing up for the modern band, then Jesus would of said something to get rid of them in the first service! Harsh? Perhaps, but my heart aches for the millions of foolish sheep who think that their idea of Christianity is truly acceptable with God. If I can get some people mad enough to actually get them to reexamine everything about their spiritual lives unto true godly sorrow for their sin, then it is worth it. Jeremiah certainly thought so.
Jer 23:10 For the land is full of adulterers (apostasizers); for because of swearing (imprecations, false oaths, cursing) the land mourneth (bewails); the pleasant places (pastures) of the wilderness (desert) are dried up (withered), and their course (the race that they’re running) is evil (rah), and their force (might, power, strength) is not right (true).
Is this not the western church today? Full of apostasizers. Swearing could be translated as the curse, ie, because of the curse on the land, the land mourns. You can also take it to mean evil speech by the apostate, but the former explanation seems to be the consensus amongst scholars.
Our land has been cursed. Our pleasant places are gone. You can’t enjoy yourself in anything in this world, as you will be fed a steady blasphemous diet of wokeness and deceit. The road that most are on is evil. What most people are trusting in is a lie. They have put their trust in the wrong things. Who amongst us still trust the doctors, the teachers, the media, the politicians, or anyone in authority?
Jer 23:11 For both prophet (naw-bee) and priest (ko-hane, or co-hen) are profane (polluted, corrupt); yea, in my house have I found their wickedness (rah), saith the LORD.
Here are all the religious authorities wrapped up in one. All of them are corrupt. God calls them evil. They have brought evil into the house of the Lord. How can the sheep learn anything about what pleases God when their teachers are wicked in God’s eyes? What possible reason do you have for staying there?
I have heard so many state that if they leave, then who is left to help them reform? Find me a place in the word where God says to stay in Babylon. Paul says evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Cor 15:33). He did not say good people will always rub off and make evil people suddenly good. Be ye separate. Inevitably, in most cases, those who choose to stay in a corrupt church eventually lose their zeal and anointing.
I will never forget an experience I had fairly early in my faith walk. I was born again right at the tail end of the Catholic charismatic movement. Some of those meetings are still very memorable, with a tangible anointing and gifts of the spirit in evidence. However, the church at that time decided to sabotage this movement when they thought they couldn’t control it by not condemning it outright, but insisting that non-biblical catholic doctrine was taught along with the life in the spirit seminars. You can guess what happened. Very rapidly the anointing left the meetings and the movement. Many, many now born again catholics left the church and filled the now burgeoning word of faith churches and others where we thought God was really in evidence (how wrong we were, but that is a topic for another time). Those catholic prayer meetings began to dwindle, but some still held on for many years. When I decided to visit one several years later, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I recognized some of the same people (almost all the very oldest ones who probably were terrified of ever leaving mother church). However the atmosphere was the deadest I have ever experienced. And yet here they were, still faithfully attending again and again, trying to animate a corpse. When God leaves a place, you should too. Otherwise you will become what you eat.
Jer 23:12 Wherefore their way (deh-rek – their course of life, their path) shall be unto them as slippery (smooth, treacherous, filled with flattery) ways in the darkness (done in concealment): they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation (reckoning), saith the LORD.
There is no doubt that God has specific time periods set up for judgment. Never think that the evil people of our day will remain unpunished forever. Especially those who claim to be of us. I marvel sometimes at how long certain heretics have been allowed by God to continue their demonic ministries. Yet why should we be surprised? Look at the staying power of the mormon’s or the Jehovah witnesses. Indeed, from recent research that I have done, I am convinced that Islam was started by a heretical Christian! It has become by far the largest and most successful Christian cult of all time! If only the muslims knew that their faith was actually founded by a Christian heretic!
Wicked men use smooth words of flattery to deceive. Their true motives are always hidden. They seem compelled to continue their path unto total destruction. Looking at our prime minister, it is plainly obvious that the demons controlling him will make him continue to spew bile and vomit until his very last breath. Regardless of the scandal, opposition, judgments against him, he simply cannot conceive that anyone or any thing has any right or power to oppose him in any area, big or small, he is truly insane, just like Nero or Caligula. Yet we can see the writing on the wall for such creatures. Beyond redemption, they dig their own graves and it is only when they enter the time and season appointed by God will they utterly perish from off the face of the earth. God guarantees it.
Jer 23:13 And I have seen folly (frivolity, foolishness) in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err (go astray, wander out of the way).
Jer 23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible (fearful) thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return (shoob) from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
As if the Samaritan prophets weren’t a bad enough example, the prophets of Jerusalem were immoral. They had no integrity (they were liars), and they confirmed and approved of the deeds of the wicked. God considered these evil men of the same moral character as Sodom and Gomorrah.
God never denies that these wicked men are prophets. Whether or not they all had a gift from God that they abused and used for the devil, or whether the so called gift came directly from the devil, you can decide. I think they are both. Some, like Balaam, seemed to of been blessed with a genuine prophetic gift that he decided to use to make money off of. Others would of knowingly dabbled in the occult and received supernatural abilities from the dark side. Either way, the issue isn’t what they are called, but what they do.
At least the Samaritan prophets were honest enough to admit that Baal inspired them. The ones in Jerusalem claimed to speak in the name of Yehovah, but by their fruits you would know them. They loved sexual sin. They lived in lies. They strengthened the wicked by telling them that God was on their side, approving of their lifestyles and actions (probably for a nice offering in return). They spoke things that never hinted at repentance. That is the key to all false prophets and false movements. If there is no emphasis on shoobing (turning back) to God and his commandments, then it is not of God. Period. End of story. I don’t care if you felt a thousand volts of holy electricity course through your veins. I don’t care if you spent all night vibrating on the floor like some biological massage chair. If it did not produce a genuine change of attitude and behavior that was lasting, then it was not of God. The devil, or simply your own desires, can produce a wonderful feeling inside you, given the right conditions. Only the true Holy Spirit of God can give you a permanent heart change that leads to a deeper, more holy, more consecrated life in the service of Him who washed you in His precious blood and took all your sins away.
Jer 23:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood (hemlock, accursed, poisonous), and make them drink the water of gall (venom): for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness (impiety, pollution, corruption) gone forth into all the land.
Because the prophets spewed filth and uncleanness out of their lying, corrupt mouths, God would feed them with poison. This was literally fulfilled when they took the jab of snake venom. Not only does God turn the wicked over to their sin, in order that they produce even more wickedness and thus seal their fate and speed judgment onto themselves, but he would of blinded them to the true nature of the jab and literally filled their veins with 35 kinds of venom. A fitting end for such a person.
Always remember that God considers the words of false prophets pure poison. If you are smart enough to stay away from the poisonous jab, then please be wise enough to flee from the poison of the non-repentance preaching mouths out there that want to lull you to sleep until you one day wake up in hell!
Jer 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain (that lead you astray): they speak a vision (dream, revelation, oracle) of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
I have become convinced that those voices out there who have endless stories of visions of angels and Jesus, numerous trips to heaven, saints coming to earth that they can see, an almost daily visitation of some being or other, are people we should generally avoid. Listening to them once or twice, depending on which message, may seem like they are the real deal. Keep listening. Listen long enough, and you will start to run across questionable so called revelations. Keep listening some more, and inevitably you will hear of expressly non biblical teachings.
That is how the devil operates. If he came out and spouted pure error at the outset, no one would listen to them. He has to suck you in, but by bit. If you look at all the notable cult leaders throughout the ages, they probably began as fairly orthodox believers. Then something got a hold of them. They started to seem a little off. Then more and more. Eventually, full blown heresy and apostasy.
Why take a chance on these questionable ones? Do you really need to hear an upteenth version of what heaven is like? Is not the word of God enough for you? Why do you need more to confirm your faith? Can you not take Jesus at this word?
Now I am not saying that all supernatural experiences are not of God, like the cessationists do. I am speaking about those who have a vision a day. I don’t see a single biblical precedent where angels just appear on a daily basis to anyone. That would trivialize their holy missions. Do you think angels have nothing better to do than to manifest to one person, and basically say or do nothing of significance? God does not waste his servants in that way. There are way too many goofballs out there who entice the naive, gullible Christians with story after story of supernatural encounters, all the while undermining the supremacy of the scripture, as if their stories and their weird ideas heard from angels trump the written oracles of the living God.
God commands us to hearken not to these fools. If they aren’t being inspired by the devil, they are making stuff up out of their own heart. If you don’t properly crucify your own flesh, it will be very easy to be deceived into thinking what you are hearing on the inside is God, and not you. All of us can recall times when someone shares something in a meeting and claiming it’s of the Lord, but it’s so nonsensical, you have a hard time not speaking up and correcting them. Poor souls, they so want to hear the voice of the Lord for themselves that they will turn a fantasy into their own reality. It’s sad, yet so understandable. Everyone wants to hear God speak. Yet there are no shortcuts. You must count the cost, pay the price, then leave the timing up to him. This may be one of the hardest areas in your life to overcome. Know that even if you never hear his voice clearly, if you are doing everything that you know the word is telling you to do, you must find a way to be content in that. Maybe those who served him faithfully and never heard his voice are in line for the greatest rewards in heaven, having manifested such great faith!
Jer 23:17 They say still unto them that despise (scorn, blaspheme) me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace (shalom); and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination (twisted lustful obstinacy) of his own heart, No evil (rah) shall come upon you.
Here is the true litmus test of the prophet. Anyone can prophesy good things. There is no persecution, no condemnation. People will like you, and give you gifts. You will be invited to all the big meetings. Youtube will monetize you and promote you. Your like and subscribes will go through the roof! You will be the religious rock star of the internet!
People whose hearts are twisted (and we’re speaking of Christians here) will keep listening to these frauds. Isn’t it time we called out those tv prophets who go into the studio crowd and have a personal word for everyone there? Ever notice it’s never an exposure of some embarrassing sin? Never a word about God is about to kill you or give you cancer? Never that God is displeased with your lustful, lying, pornography filled heart, and he is about to strike you down? No, the most you’ll get is that they see your childhood hurt, and you start crying, which plays good on tv. Then a positive word to get them to stop crying and start shouting.
Disgusting.
God says that those who listen to such charlatans despise me. Those who listen have evil, lustful, twisted, obstinate hearts. It is amazing that those Christians who refuse to obey the bible eagerly embrace the words of these ungodly ones.
Real prophets will speak judgment. Do you think God is going to waste his prophets in a ministry of hugs, kisses, and cuddles? That Jesus has nothing better to do than to send heaven’s messengers to enable a bunch of co-dependant women in their childish, emotionally dysfunctional behaviors?
As we are diving deeply into Jeremiah and his writings, I think we can safely assume that God’s ways are judgment (Dan 4:37), at least when we speak of the truly prophetic. If he visits us with a word, the priority is to save us from hell, not tickle our ears and cater to our feelings.
Jer 23:18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked (attended to) his word, and heard (shama) it?
Here is a verse that some use to signify the mark of a true prophet. The true word always comes straight from God’s throne. It will always be used to turn people away from sin. To shoob away from the world, and shoob back toward him. Ensure that the prophet knows which direction he’s shoobing, otherwise you’ll find yourself shoobed right out of heaven!
I have heard some so called modern day prophet claim that only if you were physically taken to God’s divine council in heaven, and receive direct instructions there, can you be assured that this is a genuine prophet of God. While Isaiah had that experience, and Ezekiel experienced a vision of cherubim on the earth, Jeremiah had no such claim, neither did nay other prophet in the bible, I believe (except Micaiah, when speaking to Ahab). So that is definitely not a sound biblical idea. However, that does not negate the idea that a true prophet’s words must come from God himself. How God chooses to deliver the message is up to him. The bible demonstrates many ways.
The most infallible proof of whether or not a word is truly from God (assuming, of course, that it does not directly contradict the bible), will be found in verse 29.
Jer 23:19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously (painfully) upon the head of the wicked.
Jer 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return (shoob), until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts (plans) of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider (understand) it perfectly.
God is still speaking of true words vs false. His mood is not one of gentleness, love and peace. When God talks of those who twist his word, that is a guaranteed way to stir up his anger. False prophets bring judgment. God also says that in the end time believers will be given greater understanding of these fundamental truths. In the end time judgments will be understood like never before.
Jer 23:21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Are you sure that what you are feeling and hearing inside is of God? Is is conviction, or guilt? Should you witness to that stubborn relative today because God has placed the burden on your heart, or because of some vague, undefined feeling of guilt after watching some evangelist shame you because you aren’t handing out tracks twelve hours a day? So many preachers try to push their calling onto others. The truly mature are not ruffled with manipulative preaching. They know their God, and have learned to follow his voice. In this verse, of course, God is speaking about false prophets, but it can also refer to the genuinely sincere, but misguided believer who thinks they are speaking on God’s behalf, but cannot perceive that it is their own imagination.
Jer 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear (shama) my words, then they should have turned (shoob) them from their evil (rah) way, and from the evil (ro-ah – badness, wickedness) of their doings (works).
If you really had spent time in the actual presence of God, whether in your secret place, or actually (but very rarely) taken up in a vision to meet him, then the visitation could be proven by what you think you are supposed to say. God doesn’t send his people out to keep people in the same spiritual place. This is where we get tripped up, if we rely too much on 1 Cor 14:3. That simple gift of prophesy is almost like a ministry of encouragement and mercy. It’s potentially for all believers. It does not have to start with ‘Thus saith the Lord’. In the simple gift of prophecy, you are being inspired by God to minister life to someone who needs help. Although some of the words the prophets spoke in the old testament were greatly positive and filled with hope, yet the true prophetic ministry that speaks to the body does not generally engage in such things. Those tv prophets may be ministering in the simple gift of prophecy. If so, then they should stop calling themselves prophets, as they are no such thing. More likely than not, the prophet label has been self applied in order to further their career and finances.
True prophets always are speaking to turn people away from sin and back to God. Anyone who calls themself a prophet and does not do so, you can safely ignore. You can go ahead and spend time in Bethel, laying hands on one another and speaking sweet nothings in each other’s ears. Just don’t think that will create any permanent, lasting, positive change in your life. Dare to receive the real word of the Lord. One that changes you from the inside out forever.
I have included a lot of instances of certain Hebrew words to show that the word of God is really not impossibly complicated to study for yourself. Notice how often certain words are used again and again? This shows that God does not speak in impossibly intricate vocabularies. He wants to make himself known to his people. With just a little effort, you can extract much treasure, if you really want to. Is he not worth it?
Jer 23:23 Am I a God at hand (that is near), saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
Does God only see what goes on in heaven, and not in your life? Or taken another way, is not Yehovah a personal God, one who you can become intimate with, unlike the false gods of the heathen?
Jer 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Self explanatory. God sees all and hears all. Who can hide from him? Do all these evil rulers of today think they shall escape?
Jer 23:25 I have heard (shama) what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
Jer 23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit (fraud) of their own heart;
God hears all. No one is getting away with anything. Do you see how false prophets always prioritize experience over the bible? They don’t say: ‘the word of the Lord, the word of the Lord’. They rely on personal experience, as who can successfully argue against what a man claims to have seen? One of the surest signs of a false prophet is if he is primarily trying to prove his interpretation of the word not by other scripture, but because of some vision or supernatural event, where God personally revealed the correct meaning to them. I was seduced by the most prominent word of faith preacher in the 80’s by this tactic. He took one verse, out of context, void of almost any other supporting verses, and said that Jesus personally appeared to him (no less than 5 times), and told him to make a career out of teaching this one verse, with the interpretation that was given him. Hundreds of millions were influenced by this man. Whether or not he was a true heretic, I will not say. All I know is that the emphasis he put on that verse and the spin he put on that interpretation had as much to do with the formation of the Laodicean generation as anything else that I can think of. Out of it came the gospel of greed, the self centered, narcissistic, American dream gospel that has killed us all.
God cries out and asks how long? How long shall they continue to preach lies? How long shall there be fools that listen? The worst part is they do it in Jesus name. That same Jesus who hung on a cross for us, gave us his life so that we may live. And we repay him by giving ear (shama) to these selfish deceivers.
Jer 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
What is the purpose of these lies? Why do they share these visions? To cause the true believer to depart from the faith. In the old days of apostasy, they ended up turning to the fallen ones. Someone said that Canada is not a secular nation anymore, that we are beyond that and have become a pagan nation. Look at the WEF this year. They had some sort of demon possessed South American shaman paint herself up and blow spirits in the faces of the speakers. And they all sat there as is this was perfectly normal! These titans of the world, the billionaires, the trillionaires, these atheistic God hating transhumanists, calmly sat and respectfully submitted to a demonic priestess’ rituals. I guess this is the part that satan never told them about. In exchange for all their wealth, they will have to publicly worship him. We are now in the end game. All the lies up to now to destroy Christianity will be replaced with the worship of lucifer as he ushers in his final representative on the world stage.
We are fast headed to a completely pagan planet. Not a godless, not a secular, not an atheistic world. We are going back to Canaan and Babel.
Jer 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully (with all certainty). What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
God says to leave the false prophet alone. Let him speak. But then hear the true prophet. If you have a sure word from God, speak in faith. Don’t doubt. Don’t let the devil make you continually wonder. If it is a true word, it will be as different as the useless chaff is to the life sustaining wheat. God’s word brings life, while the deceitful word is of no practical use at all.
Jer 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
I love this verse. It is my favorite verse in all of Jeremiah. God’s word is unique. It converts the soul. It transforms sinners into saints. It changes the timid into lions. It takes the backslidden and fills him with holiness. It brings conviction and total transformation. There is nothing like it.
A preacher may have all the charisma. He may have all the speaking gifts. He may even be called and anointed of God. Yet if he is not speaking the true word of the Lord out of his mouth, nothing of any eternal value will be accomplished. He may rally people to a cause or a goal, but nothing will be produced that will stand the fire of judgment day.
If you want to know if a prophet is among you, does his words convict you of sin? Do they cause you to want to repent, even if you’re not immediately aware of any great sin? Do you start to feel more humble and contrite in God’s sight? Does your desire for holiness increase? Do you want to please your master and saviour more and more? Is your zeal for bible study and prayer increased? Do you find yourself thinking more of heaven and less of the things of this earth? Do you find that your love for your secret place with him becomes more and more important? Do you love Jesus more and more? Is the hardness of your heart being broken up? Do you begin to feel sorrow for the lost, like Jesus does?
If you answer is yes, then a true prophet is amongst you.
Jer 23:30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
False prophets build upon the lies of other false prophets, confirming their words.
Never in my life did I see more evidence of that than with Trump in 2020. I don’t know how many fools were prophesying a Trump win. When God took the victory from him in the most unlikely way imaginable (which none of those heretics saw coming), it was amazing how they either all went dead silent, or twisted themselves into human pretzels trying to rationalize how they didn’t really miss it.
Remember that if you are in the majority, you are on the wrong side. How many prophets opposed Elijah at Carmel? How many opposed Micaiah in front of Ahab? There were prophetic schools in Samuel’s and Elijah and Elisha’s time, but somehow I think those were more like discipleship training centers. Yes, sometimes a very few were given prophetic tasks, but it usually was just to deliver a message from the true prophet to someone, or to perform a menial task. The only time I can think of where they seemed to of gotten a true word from God was when they were so zealous to tell Elisha that Elijah was going to be taken away. Yet something was not quite right with that, as Elisha basically told them to shut up. Later they badgered him to be allowed to go and search for Elijah after he was gone into heaven, proving that they didn’t even know the meaning of the word that they had blurted out to Elisha! You can read all about in 2 Kings chapter 2.
Jer 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
Jer 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err (vacillate, go astray, to reel about) by their lies, and by their lightness (frivolity); yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
When God is against you, that is a bad place to be. Watch how you use your tongue. Do not speak in the name of the Lord if he has not commanded you to do so. I have heard several dreams being shared in prayer groups and online that have absolutely no meaning at all. Yet the person (always a woman it seems, I’m sorry but that has been my experience) will torture some ridiculous supposed spiritual meaning out of it. If you must torture, choose rather to be merciful and let it die a natural death.
In my 42 years of walking with the Lord, I had never had a dream that I perceived to be of God until early last year. Previous to that, I was given the immediate interpretation of just one dream by someone else. Then last year, I was given 6 separate dreams that I just knew were of the Lord. How? The interpretation was immediate. I couldn’t write it down fast enough. I did not have to submit it to a dream expert, where she would consult some ungainly textbook that told her what each symbol had to mean. I’ve heard interpretations like that, and they usually come out as ludicrous nonsense. No, a real dream from the Lord will have a uniqueness about it. You won’t have to pray 30 hours about it, and arrive at an interpretation by committee. Since that short window of time, I have had no further divine dreams. I dream regularly, but those from heaven are immediately clear and distinct from those we all have.
An infallible sign that something is not of God is its triviality. Its about something that has no benefit spiritually to anyone, and mostly just draws attention to the one talking about it. It will be something nonsensical, unimportant, but contain something therein that the devil can use to draw people away from the true faith. There is no profit in listening to this stuff. Youtube is filled with this kind of garbage.
One person is now stating that God is showing him people like Smith Wigglesworth and Maria Woodworth Etter walking among his students at his bible school, laying hands on the students invisibly. Of course it has to be invisibly because these people are dead! Dead saints walking on the earth, like we’re in some episode of ghostbusters. He uses the verse in Hebrews as his only proof text, that ‘cloud of witnesses’. And he implies that if you don’t believe him, it’s just because you’re not spiritual enough for God to reveal this to you.
Catholics love their dead saints. I guess old school Catholicism is now contagious, isn’t it?
Jer 23:33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden (prophetic utterance) of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.
All these heretic losers may try to toady up to the real man of God. Don’t waste your time speaking the true word with them. They are not really interested. God says treat them with the contempt they deserve. Do not go Canadian on them and be all polite. These vile souls are sending people straight to heel with their false doctrines. Treat them like the devils they are. Cast them out in Jesus name!
Jer 23:34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.
If these prophets persist in speaking in God’s name fraudulently, the judgment will extend to their families.
Jer 23:35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
Jer 23:36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted (overturned, changed) the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
Basically God is instructing Jeremiah to tell all these seekers of the false that they will not receive a true word of God. When God spoke a true word, you perverted it, you changed it to mean something else. How many times have you heard sermons where the pastor reads a passage and quickly says well it doesn’t really mean that and goes on as if he has not just truly blasphemed the living God. It is my personal opinion that blasphemy has much more to do with calling God a liar by rejecting the clear meaning of scripture, rather than using an occasional curse word when you hit your thumb with a hammer (though I am not justifying that behavior!).
If you have rejected some word that God has spoke into your heart, do not expect to hear anything more until you fix that first. Your own words of rejection of God’s true word will now be your personal burden that you will carry until you truly repent.
Jer 23:37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
God is giving very clear instructions on how to answer the heretic and the rejector of God’s word. How many of us have rejected God’s word of judgment in this end time, just because we’ve never been taught it before, or simply because we don’t like it?
Jer 23:38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
Jer 23:39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget (naw-shaw naw-shaw) you, and I will forsake (pound, smite, cast off) you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence (you shall not appear anymore before my face):
Jer 23:40 And I will bring an everlasting (eternal) reproach (disgrace, shame) upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
If you wilfully engage in giving and/or receiving false prophetic utterances in God’s name, and God has spoken to you to stop doing that, yet you persist in trying to hang around legitimate prophets as if you’re one of them, then here is what God says. I will eternally damn you. Your reputation will be forever a disgrace and a perpetual shame. You will never be forgotten as a bad example. Perhaps like Cain, or Esau, or Pharaoh, or Jezebel. You will live on in hell, in infamy.
Brothers and sisters, this has been the longest chapter by far so far. Yet it only dealt with one topic. Let us assume that God wants us to take the lesson therein extremely seriously, especially as the final day draws near. Flee the false prophets. Embrace the true word of the Lord. Do not be found on the wrong side of history. If your heart has trouble embracing this truth, then stay in that prayer closet until it’s been fixed.
May God give us wisdom to navigate in these perilous times.
Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/
Photos courtesy Depositphotos
