Pastor Leslie Chua

Many believers are intrigued by the prophetic. I would say that it is for a good reason. Our God still speaks today, and we love to hear Him speak to us.

While we have the Bible, God continues to speak to us through His Holy Spirit. He communicates to us His thoughts about our lives, our circumstances, and also the events happening around us. Sometimes, He points us to certain passages in the Bible while at other times, He speaks using other means.

Hearing God is an art. It cannot be distilled into a mere set of rules of dos and don’ts. While some basic guidelines can be helpful, hearing God clearly is very much dependent on our relationship with Him. A host of other factors such as the state of our minds and the desire of our hearts can also affect how we hear Him.

We must be aware of some of these key factors so that we can discern God’s voice accurately.

In this reflection, we shall look at Jeremiah chapter 14 to learn how to detect some of the common pitfalls of hearing God clearly and accurately.

Here is the context of the chapter.

The land of Judah was suffering from a terrible drought. No rain means no crops. Both people and animals struggled. The situation was dire.

Jeremiah understood the cause to be the nation’s iniquities and her backsliding. Nevertheless, he prayed and sought God’s mercy. However, God told him not to intercede for the land – “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence” (Jeremiah 14:11-12).

Why did God withhold His mercy and insist on judgement?

Because the cumulative sins of the Jews had reached their full measure and there was no sign of repentance. So, God had to judge.

This is where it gets interesting. Jeremiah protested. Not because he thought that God was not merciful, but the other prophets were singing a different tune - “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place’” (Jeremiah 14:13).

I wonder if Jeremiah doubted that he had heard God correctly initially. If he did, his concern was quickly allayed by God’s response - “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds” (Jeremiah 14:14).

The LORD’s response is instructive. God highlighted three pitfalls of the prophetic that Christians ought to be aware of – lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.


Lying Visions

First, lying vision. God told Jeremiah that the prophets were ‘prophesying lies in my name.’

This is a serious charge of misrepresenting the LORD God. They were putting words in God’s mouth, saying things that He did not say. Worse, they were contradicting Him.

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These prophets lied because they wanted to please the people.
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Why would they lie?

These prophets lied because they wanted to please the people. No one wanted to hear bad news. From the king to the ordinary people in the streets, everyone was desperate for hope and some words of encouragement from the LORD. They were looking for a turnaround of their situation.

Jeremiah’s prophecy had no appeal. Life was already incredibly tough.  Why would anyone want to hear more bad news of divine judgement by sword, famine, and pestilence?

It is the same today. Everyone wants to hear optimistic reports and encouraging words. Nobody likes to hear bad news. That is why prophecies that bring encouragement and promise blessings are received enthusiastically while prophetic warnings of God’s displeasure and judgement are mostly ignored.

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Another reason the prophets prophesied lies is because they were deluded.
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Nobody who preaches and prophesies judgement will be popular. Worse, he will often be accused of being unloving and discouraging.

Another reason the prophets prophesied lies is because they were deluded. According to the Scripture, delusion happens when a person has no love for the truth.

The apostle, Paul, said that many would fall prey to deception and perish ‘because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false…’ (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).

The prophets in Jeremiah’s time obviously had no love for the truth in the first place, and their preoccupation with seeking political approval and popularity further distanced them from the LORD.  

So, God sent them a strong delusion in the form of a contrary word. They did not get it wrong. Instead, they got a false word. Is that possible? Consider what the LORD said to Ezekiel – ‘And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet…’ (Ezekiel 14:9). Either that or they were so deluded that they prophesied from their vain imagination.

How do we avoid the pitfall of lying or false visions? Bear in mind two things.

Cultivate and maintain a strong personal relationship with Jesus. When you walk closely with the Lord, He will lead and guide you into all truth. He will warn you of deception and keep you out of it.

Love the truth. Love God’s Word. Be prepared to speak God’s truth without compromise at all times. 


Worthless Divination

The second pitfall of the prophetic is worthless divination.

The word, worthless, in the original Hebrew can mean idolatry, and it is usually translated as such. The prophets were not loyal to the LORD God. They prophesied in the name of Yahweh, but they also had dealings with other gods. Their prophecies were divination. In other words, their prophetic words did not originate from God, but they were derived from other spiritual sources.

The prophetic is susceptible to mixtures. Over the years, I have seen believers deceived by so-called prophets who prophesy in the name of Jesus, but their teachings and behaviour are highly questionable.

Christians are hoodwinked because these prophets are charismatic and they say things that tickle the ears of the listeners. Usually, there is a supernatural element to their ministry, which convinces people that they speak for God.

So, be careful. Do not despise prophecies because God still speaks actively today. However, discern what you hear and judge every prophecy wisely.


Deceit of the Mind

The third pitfall is prophesying from the flesh.

God told Jeremiah that the prophets were prophesying from ‘the deceit of their own minds.’

The prophets saw what they wanted to see. They heard what they wanted to hear. They wrongly assumed the desires of their hearts to be God’s promptings. They mistook their own thoughts as the word of God. So, they prophesied believing that God had spoken to them. Unfortunately, they got it wrong. They were prophesying from ‘the deceit of their own minds.’

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God told Jeremiah that the prophets were prophesying from ‘the deceit of their own minds.’
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This is perhaps the most common error that believers make when hearing the voice of God. They mistake their desires, hopes, anxieties, and fears as the word of God.

When our minds are preoccupied with a certain thought and there is a strong emotional element attached to it, it could be easily translated into dreams, visions, and the sense that God is speaking.

The heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9) and the prophetic can be subjective. Therefore, we must be very careful to discern whether our dreams and visions are from God, or they are merely a projection of our hopes or concerns.

This is what I do when I sense that I have received a prophetic word from God. If it is something that has been preoccupying my mind, I would be very careful not to immediately jump on it and take it as a word from God. I would normally ask God for more confirmation.

It is important to handle prophetic words carefully and wisely, whether we are hearing them for ourselves or receiving them from others. Otherwise, we might sincerely believe that God has spoken, but it is not the word of God.


Consensus Is Not an Indication of the Validity of a Prophecy

I will close this reflection with one more observation of false prophetic words.

If most people agree on a prophecy, it does not necessarily mean that it is the word of God. Consensus is not an indication of the validity of the prophetic word.

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The validity of a prophecy does not depend on whether it is accepted by the majority. The test is whether it will come to pass.
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Jeremiah’s prophetic word stood in stark contrast to the prophecies of the rest of the prophets and he was a lone voice. All the other prophets proclaimed a contrary word. He was a miniscule minority, one against a majority of at least several hundred established prophets. Talk about swimming against the tide. 

Jeremiah’s prophecies were mostly rejected by the mainstream establishment. The priests and prophets wanted him to be put to death for prophesying against the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 26:11). The court officials considered his prophetic words to surrender to the Babylonians as disinformation and treasonous. They urged the king to kill him (Jeremiah 38:1-6).

The validity of a prophecy does not depend on whether it is accepted by the majority. The test is whether it will come to pass.