Jeremiah's warnings against false prophets

[Ploutos]

Jeremiah 29:8-9 is just one of many passages in which Jeremiah pronounces judgment against false prophets who speak those words in the name of the Lord which the Lord hath not given to them.

It occurs to me that these warnings are just as relevant today as they were in Jeremiah's time. But the NT key to evaluating false prophets is found in 1 John 4. In Jeremiah's day, those who prophesied of the upcoming overthrow of Babylon stood, perhaps synecdotally, for the more general category of those who openly denied and defied God's revelation. In our day, it's those who deny the gospel of Jesus Christ come in the flesh who are the false prophets, and it is to them that Jeremiah's words of judgment apply today.

 

[Jack K]

If we want to, we can get even more specific when learning from those rebukes given to false prophets in Jeremiah. The false prophets mostly denied the coming judgment/exile or its severity once it started occurring. Those today who say that Christ is not returning as judge, or that God doesn't take sin so seriously, or that final punishment will not be so severe, are in the same camp. Peter condemns them in his second epistle.

 

[Ploutos]

That's a great insight, Jack. Thank you!