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400 false prophets still don't add up to truth (a continuum)
I can't even begin to tell you how pleased and excited I am that you asked this particular question!!! In studying this out I saw you (as an ex-Baptist, anyway) all through the interpretation of this question. "And it came to pass... that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?" -1 Kings 22:1-7. I can see you, Betelgeuse, very easily, as being this Jehoshaphat, having a desire to overcome the enemies in your land (your enemies of sin and evil). The church, or what you assume to be the church has promised you salvation (victory over your enemies), and has apparently testified to you by the witnesses of many "prophets". But you are not satisfied with an untruth. (As you said yourself, you asked- Does God talk to you- "Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?" Did you know that a prophet is and represents the mouthpiece of God?) For you were not satisfied with the answer, which I am here to tell you, was false. Yes God does talk to you, but will you listen? You have already shown your displeasure with untruth, but does the truth mean enough to you that you are willing to obey it when you hear it? "And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so" -1 Kings 22:8. What's the chance that you heard in your ex-Baptist church that certain Pentecostals don't prophecy good for Baptists? Pretty good, I'll bet. "Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah... And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and SPEAK THAT WHICH IS GOOD. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king" -1 Kings 22:9-15. Should the Lord FORCE people to obey Him? Have you heard of the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, where it was written that- "The younger (son) said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living" -Luke 15:12. Should the Father rather have chastised and rebuked and withheld from the son, since he knew what evil would befall the son? Would the son then have obeyed in love? Or merely rebelled? Or have you read of Balaam, who kept asking the Lord to change His mind and curse Israel, until the Lord finally told Balaam to go with the men, "but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak" -Numbers 22:35. God didn't change His mind. But He wasn't able to change Balaam's mind either, so God told Balaam, OK, go and do what you want, you're going to do it anyway. So it was with this Ahab and Jehoshaphat. The question still begs to be asked- why did Jehoshaphat ask for another prophet, after 400 "prophets" had told them to go? Possibly this Micaiah was a "proven" prophet known to Jehoshaphat, and the 400 were not? (By proven I mean, had prophesied before, and had his words come to pass, but theirs did not). Or possibly, like you yourself have discovered, Betelgeuse, false prophets just don't satisfy your hunger when the truth is your desire. But, if they really wanted to know the truth, God was willing to tell them- "And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?" -1 Kings 22:16. What we don't know is the tone of voice Micaiah used in speaking to the king. But, we do see that the king was made to realize that Micaiah was just tickling his ears, mocking him, and only speaking what the king wanted to hear, and not telling him the truth. But now the king sought diligently for truth, and that's what God gave him- 1 Kings 22:17-37- "And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore 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 hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself... See how boldly the false prophets do rant and rave, and claim to have the truth, but their works bare them out!! "...And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. AND MICAIAH SAID, IF THOU RETURN AT ALL IN PEACE, THE LORD HATH NOT SPOKEN BY ME. AND HE SAID, HEARKEN, O PEOPLE, EVERY ONE OF YOU. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. AND A CERTAIN MAN DREW A BOW AT A VENTURE, AND SMOTE THE KING OF ISRAEL... So the king died" -1 Kings 22:17-37. Yes, there are false prophets in the world, and God has allowed it- "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him" -Deuteronomy 18:18-22. "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD PROVETH YOU, TO KNOW WHETHER YE LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him" -Deuteronomy 13:1-4 But even though God did tell them the truth, they still didn't believe and obey- "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" -2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" -2 Timothy 4:3-4. I'm still seeing you in here somewhere, Betelgeuse. I don't know whether you have received a love for the truth and will obey it once you hear it, or like Jehoshaphat, you're not satisfied with a lie, but not quite willing to completely obey the truth. But I think these questions you are asking are very fitting considering what I perceive your perspective as ex-Baptist could possibly be. Because the scriptures do contradict the Baptist message, it not taking into consideration the total testimony of scripture. For there is much more to salvation, and serving God, than what I have heard "Baptists" claim. by TomR. |