SS #05 A Challenge from God
Our God is a Almighty God; that is, He is Almighty in every way. He formulates His Plan and it was done. He declared the end from the beginning, and again it was done.
Background: both the house of Israel and the house of Judah were much embroiled in idolatry throughout much of the times of the Judges and Kings. Briefly Israel returned to God under king David and the early days of king Solomon; then under king Jeroboam and king Rehoboam, they drifted into idolatry and pagan worships.
Then house of Israel went into exile, whereas the house of Judah had good kings from time to time. Even where Josiah tried to abolished idolatry, many Jews adhered to idol worship. When inspectors from Josiah came in search of idols, the inhabitants hid them behind doors or false walls.
Thus, God issues a Challenge to their idols as to who qualify to be God through prophet Isaiah:
21 “Produce your cause,” saith the Lord; “bring forth your strong reasons,” saith the King of Jacob.
22 “Let them bring them forth and show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them and know the latter end of them; or declare us things to come.
23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good or do evil, that we may be dismayed and behold it together.
24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. Isaiah 41:21-24
— bring forth your strong reasons, challenged the King of Jacob; who acknowledge the Lord as their King and their God and whom he rules over, protects and defends;
— and this title is to assure their comfort, that though he is King over all the nations of the world, yet in an eminent and peculiar sense he does not style himself the God of Jacob, but as their King.
— the God of Jacob claims that the power of predicting the future is his own inalienable prerogative; let them, that is, their idols, or the worshippers of idols, the heathens, their gods,
— thus God is offering a challenge of whoever that claim to be God, if he predict an event in the future and could bring that event to fulfilment; let them show us what they could predict and bring them into fulfilment; that would bring forth the evidences of their divine nature and power; and thus worthy of being God;
— the God of Jacob defies the idol-gods and their votaries to give any clear prediction of future events; no doubt the claim to possess the power was made very generally among the idolatrous nations who almost universally practiced based upon frauds and cunning deceits.
The Message Bible says
“Set out your case for your gods,” says God.
“Bring your evidence,” says the King of Jacob.
“Take the stand on behalf of your idols, offer arguments,
assemble reasons.
Spread out the facts before us
so that we can assess them ourselves.
Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means—
or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future.
Can’t do that?
How about doing something—anything!
Good or bad—whatever.
Can you hurt us or help us? Do we need to be afraid?’
They say nothing, because they are nothing—
sham gods, no-gods, fool-making gods. Isaiah 41:21-24 MSG
— Or put it another way: Can any of your gods do as I did, throw an event in the future and bring it to fulfilment?
(A) Seventy Years of captivity in Babylon
Isaiah 46
1 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoary hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Or, from the Message Bible
1-2 The god Bel falls down, god Nebo slumps.
The no-god hunks of wood are loaded on mules
And have to be hauled off,
wearing out the poor mules—
Dead weight, burdens who can’t bear burdens,
hauled off to captivity.3-4 “Listen to me, family of Jacob,
everyone that’s left of the family of Israel.
I’ve been carrying you on my back
from the day you were born,
And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old.
I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray.
I’ve done it and will keep on doing it,
carrying you on my back, saving you.5-7 “So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?
Can you picture me without reducing me?
People with a lot of money
hire craftsmen to make them gods.
The artisan delivers the god,
and they kneel and worship it!
They carry it around in holy parades,
then take it home and put it on a shelf.
And there it sits, day in and day out,
a dependable god, always right where you put it.
Say anything you want to it, it never talks back.
Of course, it never does anything either!8-10 “Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.
Remember your history,
your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—
incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul,
I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,’ Isaiah 46:1-10 MSG
“I’ll do exactly what I set out to do.” God prophesied that the house of Judah would go into captivity and would return after “threescore and ten years;” to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth by Jeremiah (650 – 570 BC, Egypt); this is a reference to the seventy years of captivity as spelt out by God in Jeremiah 25:11 (around 600 BC).
Again, God issued a prophecy through Isaiah (earlier between 740 and 686 BC) and being able to bring that prophecy to fulfilment as proof of achieving the Credential of being God.
Isaiah 55
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:9-11
Last verse from the Message Bible
So will the words that come out of my mouth
[will] not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. Isaiah 55:11 MSG
Thus God prophesied through Jeremiah that the house of Judah would go into captivity about a hundred and fifty years into the future and prophesied they would return after “threescore and ten years;” that is, after 70 years.
God offers a Challenge: if His Word is void, then He had failed to establish that His thought is higher than our thoughts. He would have failed himself to be God.
Record shows that the house went into captivity from around 605 BC and they they were offered to return to Judea by the Persians from around 539 BC and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
(But this length of Judah’s captivity in Babylon would be directly related from the length of time they neglected to observe the land Sabbath according to II Chronicles 36:19-21
19 And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all the palaces thereof with fire and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. 20 And those who had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,
21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years, II Chronicles 36:19-21).
The Books of Chronicles were written by Ezra after the Jews had returned from exile, recording what had been prophesied and how it was fulfilled. And thus the God of Israel had established himself to be God.
(B) Prophecy of an ‘anointed’ to deliver from Captivity
9 Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’
11 calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth My counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. Isaiah 46:9-11
Or, from the Message Bible
“Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.
Remember your history,
your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—
incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul,
I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,’
Calling that eagle, Cyrus, out of the east,
from a far country the man I chose to help me.
I’ve said it, and I’ll most certainly do it.
I’ve planned it, so it’s as good as done. Isaiah 46:8-11 MSG
— Remember the former things of old; the things that were created from the beginning, or the ancient things manifested by the Lord, whether as the effects of His power, wisdom, and goodness, or in wrath, or in mercy; such as the creation of the heavens, and the earth, and all things in between;
— Declaring the end from the beginning; foretelling accurately the course of future events. This is an argument to which God offers a challenge as proof that He is God, and the only true God;
— My counsel shall stand; My purpose, my design, my will. The phrase ‘shall stand’ means that it shall be stable, settled, fixed, established; there is no Plan B; that God’s plan will not be frustrated by a “Great Satan.” No, Satan is nothing but an instrument to Him, witness the first chapter of Job:
— God has power enough to secure the execution of his designs, and He will exert that power in order that all His plans may be accomplished;
— and I will do all My pleasure; I will accomplish all My wish, or effect all My desire; it means that God would accomplish everything which was to Him an object of desire; everything which He wished, or willed; and why should He not?
— Can any of your gods do as I did, throw an event in the future and bring it to fulfilment?
Isaiah 46
11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
— calling a ravenous bird, or eagle, from the east; that is, from Persia, as Isaiah 41:2
“Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to His foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.” Isaiah 41:2
Who brought up this eastern hero? Who called up his justice service? He lays nations at his feet and makes an end of their kings. With a thrust of his sword and the bend of his bow, this hero turns kings and their armies into dust. Isaiah 41:2 Voice (MSG: this champion)
— a prophecy issued by Isaiah about 150 years earlier. There can be no doubt that Cyrus is meant here; and from around 539 BC, Cyrus offered the Jews to return and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
And God had tested Himself and affirms that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would be rebuilt!
Can any of your gods do as I did, throw an event in the future and bring it to fulfilment?
(C) Abraham and Exodus
During the days of Abraham there were many idol worshipers. It was thus a challenge to Abraham: could any of their gods prophesy an event or an occurrence in the future and then bring it to fulfillment?
Abraham’s father, Terah, who was an idolater; and according to Jewish tradition, Terah owned an idol shop where he sold various idols. One day while Terah was away and Abraham was in charge, he took a stick, smashed the idols and placed the stick in the hand of the largest idol.
When Terah returned, he asked Abraham what happened to all the idols. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols.
Terah responded by saying that they are only statues and have no knowledge; whereupon Abraham responded by saying that you deny their knowledge, yet you worship them!
Thus the God of Abraham issues His own Proof having the Credential of God.
12 I have declared and have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you; therefore ye are My witnesses,” saith the Lord, “that I am God.” Isaiah 43:12
— God have declared “ye are My witnesses;” He has announced or predicted future events; He has warned of danger; He has marked out the path of safety. The Targum shows one example:
“I, I have declared unto Abraham your father what would come to pass; I, I redeemed you out of Egypt, as I swore to him between the pieces; and I, I have made you to hear the doctrine of my law from Sinai, and ye are still alive, when there was no strange god among you; yea, ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” Isaiah 43:12 Jonathan
— God had declared to Abraham that his posterity would be in Canaan and Egypt for 430 years, Exodus 12:40-41; then “even the selfsame day it came to pass” or “to the very day,” all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt; thus with such a precised prophecy and fulfilment, they (Abraham’s posterity) should be God’s witnesses that He is God!
[note: “the phrase “I swore to him between the pieces” refers to Genesis 15:17, where God instructs Abraham to divide sacrificial animals and lay the pieces opposite each other. God then passes between them in vision, symbolizing a solemn, binding covenant]
Or, from the Message Bible
Get the blind and deaf out here and ready—
the blind (though there’s nothing wrong with their eyes)
and the deaf (though there’s nothing wrong with their ears).
Then get the other nations out here and ready.
Let’s see what they have to say about this,
how they account for what’s happened.
Let them present their expert witnesses
and make their case;
let them try to convince us what they say is true.
“But you are my witnesses.” God’s Decree.
“You’re my handpicked servant
So that you’ll come to know and trust me,
understand both what I am and who I am.
Previous to me there was no such thing as a god,
nor will there be after me.
I, yes I, am God.
I’m the only Savior there is.
I spoke, I saved, I told you what existed
long before these upstart gods appeared on the scene.
And you know it, you’re my witnesses,
you’re the evidence.” God’s Decree.
“Yes, I am God.
I’ve always been God
and I always will be God.
No one can take anything from me.
I make; who can unmake it?” Isaiah 43:8-13 MSG
(D) Jerusalem to be rebuilt
Our Lord God had thus shown that he was the only true God; and He tested Himself the question whether Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would be rebuilt:
26 That confirmeth the word of His servant, and performeth the counsel of His messengers, that saith to Jerusalem, ‘Thou shalt be inhabited,’ and to the cities of Judah, ‘Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof’
27 that saith to the deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers’;
28 that saith of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd and shall perform all My pleasure,’ even saying to Jerusalem, ‘Thou shalt be built,’ and to the temple, ‘Thy foundation shall be laid.’ Isaiah 44:26-28
Or, from the Message Bible
He makes the magicians look ridiculous
and turns fortunetellers into jokes.
He makes the experts look trivial
and their latest knowledge look silly.
But he backs the word of his servant
and confirms the counsel of his messengers.
He says to Jerusalem, “Be inhabited,”
and to the cities of Judah, “Be rebuilt,”
and to the ruins, “I raise you up.”
He says to Ocean, “Dry up.
I’m drying up your rivers.”
He says to Cyrus, “My shepherd—
everything I want, you’ll do it.”
He says to Jerusalem, “Be built,”
and to the Temple, “Be established.” Isaiah 44:25-28
“At that time they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.” Jeremiah 3:17
— this during the Millennium, Jerusalem shall no longer be just a city; but it shall become the center of divine presence, “the place of the Shekhinah,” when they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord; that is, even the Father would move down from heaven and dwell among men.
— the Targum says:
“At that time, they will call Jerusalem the place of the dwelling of the Divine Presence (Shekhinah) of the Lord, and all nations will come to worship there in the name of the Lord in Jerusalem. They will no longer follow the evil thoughts of their hearts.” Jeremiah 3:17 Jonathan
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so. And what will ye do in the end thereof? Jeremiah 5:31
— their prophets prophesied falsely; not only proclaiming lies, but enhancing them; that the people would have peace and prosperity under the false pretence of Grace, and nothing about the truth nor God’s determination for Him to dwell among men, as Jeremiah and other prophets had prophesied.
Zechariah 14
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. — could be a severe drought; and bush fires add to unbearable summer heat.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The Lord; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.
God tested Himself and affirms that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would be rebuilt!
Or, from the Message Bible
The Day Is Coming
1-2 Note well: God’s Judgment Day is on the way:
“Plunder will be piled high and handed out.
I’m bringing all the godless nations
to war against Jerusalem—
Houses plundered,
women raped,
Half the city taken into exile,
the other half left behind.”3-5 But then God will march out against the godless nations and fight—a great war! That’s the Day he’ll take his stand on the Mount of Olives, facing Jerusalem from the east. The Mount of Olives will be split right down the middle, from east to west, leaving a wide valley. Half the mountain will shift north, the other half south. Then you will run for your lives down the valley, your escape route that will take you all the way to Azal. You’ll run for your lives, just as you ran on the day of the great earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Then my God will arrive and all the holy angels with him.
6-7 What a Day that will be! No more cold nights—in fact, no more nights! The Day is coming—the timing is God’s—when it will be continuous day. Every evening will be a fresh morning.
8 What a Day that will be! Fresh flowing rivers out of Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, half to the western sea, flowing year-round, summer and winter!
9 God will be king over all the earth, one God and only one. What a Day that will be!
10-11 The land will stretch out spaciously around Jerusalem—to Geba in the north and Rimmon in the south, with Jerusalem towering at the center, and the commanding city gates—Gate of Benjamin to First Gate to Corner Gate to Hananel Tower to the Royal Winery—ringing the city full of people. Never again will Jerusalem be totally destroyed. From now on it will be a safe city.
12-14 But this is what will happen to all who fought against Jerusalem: God will visit them with a terrible plague. People’s flesh will rot off their bones while they are walking around; their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues in their mouths; people will be dying on their feet! Mass hysteria when that happens—total panic! Fellow soldiers fighting and killing each other—holy terror! And then Judah will jump into the fray!
14-15 Treasures from all the nations will be piled high—gold, silver, the latest fashions. The plague will also hit the animals—horses, mules, camels, donkeys. Everything alive in the military camps will be hit by the plague.
16-19 All the survivors from the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem will travel to Jerusalem every year to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. If any of these survivors fail to make the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the King, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, there will be no rain. If the Egyptians don’t make the pilgrimage and worship, there will be no rain for them. Every nation that does not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths will be hit with the plague. Egypt and any other nation that does not make pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast of Booths gets punished.
20-21 On that Day, the Big Day, all the horses’ harness bells will be inscribed “Holy to God.” The cooking pots in the Temple of God will be as sacred as chalices and plates on the altar. In fact, all the pots and pans in all the kitchens of Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to God-of-the-Angel-Armies. People who come to worship, preparing meals and sacrifices, will use them. On that Big Day there will be no buying or selling in the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Zechariah 14 MSG
And God had tested Himself and affirms that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah would be rebuilt!
Can any of your gods do as I did, throw an event in the future and bring it to fulfilment?
“Beware of False Prophets!”
Many false prophets have claimed that the prophecies written by the prophets are irrelevant because Israel sinned, and thus His plan was thwarted by a Great Satan.
They argue that God now has a Plan B; implying God’s original Plan couldn’t work; implying He had failed in His declaration of the end from the beginning.
Hence God issues His many rebukes:
And He said, “Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Numbers 12:6
An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so. And what will ye do in the end thereof? Jeremiah 5:30-31
Then the Lord said unto me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them. They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought and the deceit of their heart. Jeremiah 14:14
“For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in My house have I found their wickedness,” saith the Lord.
“Therefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation,” saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23:11-12
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. Jeremiah 23:16
The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He has executed and till He has performed the thoughts of His heart; in the latter days ye shall understand it perfectly.
“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in My counsel and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. Jeremiah 23:20-22
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. Jeremiah 23:26
Behold, I am against the prophets,” saith the Lord, “that use their tongues and say, ‘He saith.’
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams,” saith the Lord, “and do tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” saith the Lord. Jeremiah 23:31-32
Thus saith the Lord God: Woe unto the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ezekiel 13:3-4
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, “The Lord saith,” but the Lord hath not sent them; and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Ezekiel 13:6
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets and your diviners who are in the midst of you deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
For they prophesy falsely unto you in My name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 29:8-9
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 