The Prophetic Counsel of the Ages

If God suddenly asked you to deliver a message to this generation, would you want to know what type of messages God typically delivered through His prophets for comparison? I did. So I put together two magazines that point to the messages that God chose to reveal through His prophets.

My first magazine to focus on the history of God’s messages was entitled “In God We Trust” and the second was “The Prophets”. For the next few days, we will examine those texts to pull the common thread for wisdom today.

The attached page, “Warnings from the Prophets” can give us insight into God’s anger directed at His own people for their adultery against Him by bowing down to false gods. Why might they have been repeatedly foolish enough to provoke God to wrath in that way? Could it have been that they didn’t understand who God was or the power that He had to punish them in their rebellion or waywardness?

Listen to this warning about false religion from Jeremiah “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Stand at the gate of the LORD’s house and there proclaim this message: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!’ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.  But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.’” (Jeremiah 7:1-12 NIV)

That last part was echoed by Jesus when He formed a whip and chased out the money changers in the temple courts. “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’ His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (John 2:15-17 NIV)

The attached page “Tear down the altars to false gods” provides a sampling of Bible passages that demonstrate how easily their religion turned bogus when their audience was not the one and only God. It should stand as a reminder that God is watching and will send messengers to deal with false doctrines in the churches. What does God have to do to get their attention? Is His wrath all that they will understand?

In summary, does it sound like God routinely sent prophets with hard words about their false religious practices or are the prophets known for bringing a word of encouragement? Right, they were beaten, imprisoned and killed because they brought words that itching ears wanted to hear (sarcasm). As I have said before, God doesn’t need anyone’s permission to deliver whatever words He wants through whichever messenger He chooses.

Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “In God We Trust” (dated June 2022, pages 10 and 15)