Audio Download

Ezekiel 13:1-23  Thy Prophets are like Foxes in the Desert

[Study Aired April 15, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is about false prophets who lead the Lord’s people astray. Right from the formative years of the people of Israel, there were people who claimed to have heard from the Lord and ended up deceiving the Lord’s people.  This has continued throughout the history of the Lord’s people to date. All of the Lord’s chosen people have to contend with false prophets. This is what Peter and the rest of the apostles had to contend with during their time. 

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Today’s study will help us to know more about our time in the physical churches of this world or Babylon where we were under the influence of false prophets, the characteristics of these false prophets, the way they operate, and the extent of the negative influence they wield over the Lord’s people. 

False Prophets Among the Lord’s People

Eze 13:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 13:2  Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
Eze 13:3  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

These verses show us who a false prophet is. False prophets are people who claim to speak on behalf of God, but actually what they are saying comes from their own heart. This definition of a false prophet means that we all at some point in our walk with Christ were false prophets as we spoke from our own hearts and were deceived to think that they were the words of the Lord. This is what Apostle Paul has to say about false prophets coming from among us:

Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

As we are aware, the beast, or the flesh within us, receives its power from the devil. This means that man’s wisdom and tradition, which comes from within us, are all influenced by the devil. However, we were deceived to think that what comes from within us is in accordance with the word of the Lord when we started our walk with Christ. This is because even though we have come to know Christ, we were still under the influence of the flesh. 

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

It is when Christ comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and with His brightness that the influence of the flesh starts to dwindle. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

In verse 3, following our own spirit to prophesy is the same as speaking from the flesh, which is influenced by the devil. These are the perverse things which are attractive to those who walk in the flesh and therefore are drawn away by these false prophets. It is the spirit the Lord has put in us which causes us to speak according to the word of the Lord since the spirit comes to us to guide us to the truth of the word of the Lord.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Eze 13:4  O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

Here in verse 4, the prophets of Israel are compared to foxes in the deserts. In the scriptures, foxes are used in a negative sense of them being spoilers of vines. 

Son 2:15  Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

As we are aware, our Lord Jesus Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. The prophets being referred to as foxes therefore signify that the leaders in the churches of this world or Babylon, rather destroy the relationship between the Lord (vine) and His children (the branches).

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The prophets being described as foxes in the desert also suggest that Israel has become a desolate place where foxes roam about. In other words, Babylon or the physical churches of this world has become a place where there is no truth of the word of the Lord which is signified by lack of water (desert).  That is where these false prophets (foxes) do their business.  

Lam 5:18  Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.

Eze 13:5  Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
Eze 13:6  They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 
Eze 13:7  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?

Here we are given to know the works of the false prophets among us. In verse 5, we are told that they do not repair the gaps in the wall or rebuild the wall as a defense for the nation of Israel. As a result, the people of Israel were not protected in a battle on the day of the Lord. In summary, the hallmark of these false prophets is that they do not prepare us, His elect, for the judgment of our old man. Their preaching of smooth things and prophesying of deceit are contrary to the fact that we are to be judged for the sins we have committed against the Lord.

Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

One of their modes of operation is that they always talk about what they have seen in the spirit, when they have not seen anything but vanity or lying divination as shown in verse 6. I remember about a year ago, I went with my family to a hotel to have breakfast. I was sitting down waiting for them to come from serving themselves before I went for mine. A man sitting close by approached my table and told me that he saw in the spirit that a demon had entered my daughter, and so if I don’t mind, he wants to pray for her. I gently told him that he shouldn’t worry, and that nothing will happen to her. These men always want to have control or dominion over the Lord’s people. This is what Peter said about these men:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 
2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Eze 13:8  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. 
Eze 13:9  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, 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. 

These verses show us how the Lord is judging us because we have seduced the Lord’s people by our false visions and lies. We all, at a certain period of our walk with Christ, were peddling false doctrines and were therefore making another Jesus attractive to the Lord’s people.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

In verse 9, our situation in Babylon was such that we were not considered a part of the assembly of the Lord’s elect as our names were not written in the Book of Life. As a result, we were not given to become overcomers as we possessed our bodies. At that time, we did not know that the Lord was against us. Although we were ignorant of our circumstance, we were not exonerated from the deeds of the flesh and therefore must face the Lord’s judgment of our old man.

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 
1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 
1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 
1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 
1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Eze 13:10  Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:
Eze 13:11  Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 
Eze 13:12  Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Eze 13:13  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; 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.

A simpler rendition of these verses is as follows:

Eze 13:10  Those prophets refuse to be honest. They tell my people there will be peace, even though there’s no peace to be found. They are like workers who think they can fix a shaky wall by covering it with paint.
Eze 13:11  But when I send rainstorms, hailstones, and strong winds, the wall will surely collapse.
Eze 13:12  People will then ask the workers why the paint didn’t hold it up. 
Eze 13:13  That wall is the city of Jerusalem. And I, the LORD God, am so angry that I will send strong winds, rainstorms, and hailstones to destroy it. (CEV)

What these verses mean is that when we come to Babylon, the basic foundation of the word of the Lord which we have received, and which serves as the wall that separates us from the world, is destroyed by the paint of false doctrine which is smeared over the walls. 

Psa 11:3  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? 
Psa 11:4  The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. 

If we are called and chosen, then our walls or false doctrines shall surely come crashing down as the Lord comes to judge us by sending rainstorms, hailstones and strong winds. These walls of false doctrines within our heavens prevent us from seeing the truth of the word of the Lord. We have learned over the past weeks that coming to know the truth of the Lord’s words through our fiery trials is what it means to see the glory of the Lord. The rainstorm, or the overflowing shower, the hailstones and the strong winds are all the Lord’s Judgment, and they represent various types of the fire of the word of the Lord. The Lord’s judgment is also His fury or wrath which is meted out against our old man.

Psa 148:8  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: 

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

Eze 13:14  So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 13:15  Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 
Eze 13:16  To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

In verse 14, we are assured of the Lord’s intervention to destroy our painted wall, which when seen from the outside, is nice to behold, but from within this painted wall represents the false doctrines of Babylon which lead to extortion and excess.

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 
Mat 23:27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 
Mat 23:28  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Again in verse 15, the Lord has made it clear to us, His elect, that He will accomplish His wrath or judgment on our old man which shall result in the destruction of this wall of false doctrines. What this means is that what the Lord starts, He is able to complete it. 

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

The Lord is also warning us in verse 16 that there is no peace in Babylon. Although we prophesy of peace in Babylon, what we experience is the peace that the world gives. The peace that is of the Lord is through His words and it defies human understanding.

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Eze 13:17  Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, 
Eze 13:18  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? 

The daughters of the Lord’s people signify the various churches of this world who prophecy from the flesh. Verse 18 gives us a clear picture of what happens to the Lord’s people in these physical churches of this world. A simpler rendition of verse 18 is shown below:

Eze 13:18  “Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty LORD says: How horrible it will be for women who sew magic charms for people’s wrists and make magic veils of every size for people’s heads. You want to trap people. You want to control the lives of my people for your own profit. (GW)

The magic charms for people’s wrists signify the emphasis of the churches of this world on the works of our hands instead of obedience to the Lord. These works of the flesh have become like magic charms in the sense we are taught that it is through these works of the flesh the Lord blesses us.

The teachings that go on in the churches of this world are like veils of various sizes that cover our faces such that we cannot see the light of Christ. We end up being entrapped in the churches of this world as our lives are controlled by the churches for their own profit. This is what Jude has to say about our lives in the churches of this world:

Jud 1:10  But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 
Jud 1:11  Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 
Jud 1:12  These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 
Jud 1:13  wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

Eze 13:19  And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies? 

In verse 19, we are further told that the churches of this world dishonor or pollute the Lord in the eyes of the worshipers. How is the Lord dishonored in the churches of this world? It is when we say that the Lord will burn people forever for the sins they committed here on earth. Thus, we make the Lord seem like an unforgiving person who created the world, with all the people in it, only to destroy them because He has failed in achieving His aim of letting them become obedient sons and daughters. They forget that the Lord’s mercies endure forever!! As we can see from the last part of verse 19, the Lord’s people are lied to!!

Psa 136:1  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 136:2  O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth forever. 
Psa 136:3  O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 136:4  To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 136:5  To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth forever.
Psa 136:6  To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth forever.

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The handful of barley and pieces of bread that we receive in the churches of this world which represent the word of the Lord are all polluted or contaminated with false doctrines. We, the Lord’s elect, are the souls that should not have died. However, in Babylon, we end up becoming spiritually dead. The souls alive that should not live in verse 19 represent our old man that should have died but is rather empowered by our false doctrines in Babylon. 

Eze 13:20  Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. 
Eze 13:21  Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

The Lord is saying here in verse 20 that He is against the magic bands (pillows) of Babylon which make them hunt souls like birds, and He will surely deliver these souls out of Babylon. We, the Lord’s elect, are blessed by the Lord who has delivered us from the snare of the fowler as we escaped from Babylon like a bird. The snare of the fowler is the magic bands or the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition in Babylon which the Lord continues to destroy from our heavens. 

Psa 124:6  Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! 
Psa 124:7  We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 

The kerchiefs in verse 21 are the veils that covered our faces in Babylon, making it impossible for us to see the light of the truth of the word of the Lord in Babylon. The Lord is assuring us that He will tear apart the veil that covers our faces to make us see and hear the truth of the word of the Lord. 

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 
2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 
2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

Seeing and hearing the truth of the Lord’s words is what delivers us from our captivity in Babylon. As shown in verse 21, what it means to be delivered from Babylonian captivity is that we are no longer under the influence of the false doctrines perpetuated by the false prophets in Babylon and that we have come to know who the Lord is!!

Psa 126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
Psa 126:2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 
Psa 126:3  The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 
Psa 126:4  Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 
Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Eze 13:22  Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: 
Eze 13:23  Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Verse 22 is showing us that the lies of the enemy are what strengthens our hands to be entrenched in our wickedness. From verse 22, we can also say that it is the truth of the Lord’s words which makes us joyful. The lies of the enemy bring sadness to our hearts. Through the Lord’s deliverance, we are no longer seeing vanity or divine divination, but the truth of the word of the Lord. Knowing the truth means coming to know that Jesus is indeed Lord of everything!!

Psa 45:7  Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 
Psa 45:8  All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

May His name be praised for evermore!! Amen!!