Key: Blue=Bible, Red= Author notes

Good Day World!

Welcome back to Part 2 of the False Prophet Hananiah. If you haven’t checked out Part 1 please click HERE! If you haven’t read it in the bible, please click HERE! Otherwise feel free to continue!

So, did Prophet Hananiah’s prophecy sound familiar to you? Has your church ever invite a prophet to “prophesy” over the life of the church or a specific individual. I know I have witnessed this. And is it ever bad? I know from my experience, it is always good and positive things! But let’s see how Jeremiah responds to the prophecy of prophet Hananiah.

Jeremiah 28: 5-9

Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”

Now if you read Jeremiah 27 you would have a general idea of how prophet Jeremiah felt when heard prophet Hananiah’s prophecy (Jer 27:14-15), but his response was sort of hopeful, with a mix of sarcasm. “The prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction come true.” My interpretation is that we can safely assume that if one ONLY prophesies peace for people, then we cannot assume it to be true, unless it actually happens.

But to conclude, prophesying lies using our Lord’s name is sin, but prophet Hananiah goes a step further. He breaks the wooden yoke that God ordered Jeremiah to wear (Jer 28: 10-11/Jer 27: 1-2). What does this represent?

I believe one of the dangers of false prophesying is what we humans do all the time. We assume we know better than God. Here, Jeremiah didn’t get too confrontational when he heard prophet Hananiah’s preaching, but he seemed angry when his yoke was broken. I believe that Hananiah’s pride was on the line. He made a flamboyant maneuver in destroying the yoke to prove his message. And in that, God had him killed within the year.

Dear reader, please be aware that there are false prophets out there. The Bible warns us of false teachers and false prophets. And by following false prophets, it will only lead you to the demise that they are fated to receive.

And to the false prophets/teachers reading, repent of your sin! It is not worth the condemnation that you will receive by the Lord if you keep on progressing in this area. God will give you chances to stop, just like he did with Hananiah, but pride cometh before the fall.

Thanks for reading!

With love,

Ayodeji F Alaketu