When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, ( P)and you shall know that I am the Lord. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ( N)I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, ( O)and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 10 Precisely because they have misled my people, ( K)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, ( L)these prophets smear it with whitewash, 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! ( M)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ( J)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. They shall not be in the council of my people, ( H)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, ( I)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, ( F)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”Ĩ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, ( G)I am against you, declares the Lord God. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ ( E)when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 6 ( D)They have seen false visions and lying divinations. 5 ( C)You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. Verses 2 through 6 give details related to the difference between true and false teachers.13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ( A)“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those ( B)who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. Therefore, it is important to have a way to test which teachers and leaders are from God. If this was a problem when John wrote his letter many centuries ago, it's even more of an issue today. Believers will face false prophets, because there are quite a few in the world. The reason for John's warning is given next. There is no such thing as a "friendly ghost," as pop culture often suggests. In reality, truth only comes from the Holy Spirit, everything else comes from evil. Rather, this is a reference to the attitude and approach of a particular teacher. The use of the term "spirit," in this case, is not a reference to ghosts, demons, or other creatures. Verses 2 through 6 address how we are to test, in order to determine whether the spirits are from God. It also explains why: the presence of false teachers. Verse 1 explains what we are to do: test. The first briefly instructs believers to examine spiritual claims, since not every teacher is loyal to the truth.
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