Thursday, June 12, 2008

When Men Will Not Receive The Truth...God Will Send A Deluding Influence!


True prophets are not “yes-menspeaking what people want to hear and tickling the ears of unrepentant truth rejecters. True prophets speak truth that hurts and then heals rather than lies that comfort and then kills. However, false prophets are more than happy to be “yes-menspeaking what people want to hear and tickling the ears of unrepentant truth rejecters.

But what the false prophet doesn’t understand is that he is under the judgment of God and is being used by God for the judgment of those who reject His truth. This truth is made plain in the Bible: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

This truth is also illustrated in the Bible. We read in 1 Kings 22 about Ahab the king of Israel (the ten northern tribes) wanting to go to war with Aram while he was being visited by Jehoshaphat the king of Judah (the two southern tribes). It is important to remember that before this point Ahab had already been confronted by Elijah on several occasions and had not listened to God’s true prophet. So Ahab who refused to receive and believe the truth surrounded himself with “yes-men” – teachers in accordance to his own desires! Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go to war with him – “And he said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?’ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses’” (1 Kings 22:4).

However, Jehoshaphat wanted to enquire for the word of the LORD first – “Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘Please inquire first for the word of the LORD’” (1 Kings 22:5). Then Ahab brought out his “yes-men” – “Then the King of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, ‘Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain?’ And they said, ‘Go up, for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king’” (1 Kings 22:6).

But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there not yet a prophet of the LORD here that we may inquire of him?’ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.’ But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say so’ (1 Kings 22:7-8). Ahab hated God’s true prophet because he was not a “yes-manwith a positive only word from the Lord. Ahab considered truth as evil because it was not what he wanted to hear!

So while Ahab and Jehoshaphat sat on their thrones listening to all the prophets who were prophesying before them, Ahab sent an officer to bring Micaiah so that they could hear from him. And all of Ahab’s prophets were prophesying “good” saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will give it into the hand of the king” (see 1 Kings 22:9-12).

Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, ‘Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.’ But Micaiah said, ‘As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I shall speak’” (1 Kings 22:13-14). The pressure was on for Micaiah to be a “yes-manspeaking lies that comfort but kill and he refused.

When he came to the king, the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall we refrain?’ And he answered him, ‘Go up and succeed, and the LORD will give it into the hand of the king’” (1 Kings 22:15). Micaiah was speaking with sarcasm knowing that the king wasn’t interested in truth to which the king replied, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” (1 Kings 22:16).

So he said, ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said, “These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace’” (1 Kings 22:17). “Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?’” (1 Kings 22:18)

But wait! Micaiah wasn’t through – he went on to tell Ahab the whole purpose of God – “Micaiah said, ‘Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, “I will entice him.” The Lord said to him, “How?” And he said, “I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” Then He said, “You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.” Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you’” (1 Kings 22:19-23).

Beware of heaping “yes-men” to yourselves who only speak “good” and tell you what you want to hear - for they come with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This responds to what I have come to find is the chief problem that I encounter when talking with people about spiritual things and even worldview issues. I have found that there is no regard for truth. When confronted with scripture, truth, and reason, people choose to believe what they know to be false because it is what they want to believe or, for some reason, feel that they need to believe. The new intolerant tolerance, moral relativism, and religious pluralism must all be forms of this deluding spirit since they are all so firmly entrenched while being so clearly inconsistent with what is obviously true and even practical!

olan strickland said...

jonny: I have found that there is no regard for truth.

That's because God's truth is considered too negative and evil by many.

The new intolerant tolerance, moral relativism, and religious pluralism must all be forms of this deluding spirit since they are all so firmly entrenched while being so clearly inconsistent with what is obviously true and even practical!

Indeed they are! Those are forms of "positive only" and "let's all just get along" universalist and ecumenical falsehoods.

Truth Unites... and Divides said...

Excellent Post! (Bumped into your blog because of the interactions with with Twolyp over at TeamPyro).

God bless your ministry.

Pax,

Truth Unites... and Divides

olan strickland said...

TUAD,

Thanks for the encouragement. Also thanks for your stand for truth that I have taken notice of over at TeamPyro.

Grace and peace
Olan