The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 13:6

EZEKIEL 13:14

1264

of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. 6 They have seen vanity and lying divi- nation, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would con- firm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. The promise of Judah/Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon (Fulfulled - II Ki 25 - 586 BC) 9 1 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, 2 neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither

shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. P 10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, 3 Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with 4 un- tempered morter: 11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, 1 that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. P 12 Lo, 1 when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? P 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; 1 I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. P 14 1 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter,

1. Fulfilled - II Ki 25

(Fall of Judah) 2. Ezra 2:59,62 3. Jere 6:14 & 8:11 4. Ezk 22:28

13:10a Some would call them “happiness preachers”–preachers who deceive listeners with their sunny theology and chirpy optimism, all the while telling people how to use religion to be happy ( they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace ). Their mantra: “You can do it! Believe in yourself! Think positively, and the world is yours!” Sadly, there is one enormous problem with their “happiness theology” –it is willfully ignorant of the total depravity of man. Thus, these kinds of preachers are guilty of “polishing the brass on a sinking ship.” A fallen son of Adam, thoroughly polished, cannot produce Christian character without the new birth ( Mt 15 :29- 31 ). Happiness preachers are usually nice guys whose sweet message is most acceptable to the naïve and uninformed; who would rather “play to the gallery” than be true to the holy calling of preaching, which is to tell it like it is, not itch ears. Unfortunately, their message gushes forth with a syrupy winsomeness that offers little to people who are headed to Hell ( II Tim 4:3 ). John Hagee in Four Blood Moons notes:

This same religious pride continues today as the sermons of many twenty-first-century clergy have become more a mixture of pop psychology and psychobabble than the pure preaching of the gospel. Their purpose is to make the hearers feel good instead of challenging them to do good . These modern day messengers are more concerned abut their reputation than winning souls; 1

Happiness preachers are like the pilot whose answer to the passenger who asks, “How are we doing?” is, “We’re lost, but we’re making awfully good time.” Disregarding the basic principle of the total depravity of unregenerate man, the happiness preachers have lost their way; still they boast, “We’re making awfully good time!” Sad but true, smiling, sunny-faced religion will always attract more people to church than the gospel will. Yet Jeremiah warned in Jeremiah 23:32:

Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah wouldn’t be accepted into most churches today… and certainly not on television. Who wants to listen to preachers who tell it like it is? John the Baptist and the apostle Paul would also have a hard time getting into most of the churches in America today. Sadly, the world is passing on like a freight train towards Armageddon, and all the positive prating in the world cannot change that. What we are in need of today are more preachers (like Franklin Graham, Adrian Rodgers and David Wilkerson) who, like the apostle Paul before them, warn their hearers with tears, not the tickling of their ears (Acts 20:31). (http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=27DIST8qO4I). 13:10b The Jews had cracks in their walls and the false prophets were “whitewashing” it with untempered mortar instead of reinforcing it with solid mortar (moral and spiritual values). NOTE – The books that become best-sellers are the do-it-yourself books. The essence of their message: Believe in yourself; stop degrading yourself; you can do it –all without repentance or the new birth through a personal relationship with Christ.

1 Hagee, John. Four Blood Moons, Brentwood, TN, Worthy Pub., 2013. Print.