How to discern true prophecy from false? (Jer 23:23-40)

In my last post, I focused on the person who speaks for God (see How to tell false prophets from true ones?), today I will look at the messages spoken. Although this section on false prophets (Jer 23:9-40) contains a good deal of overlap, I divided it into two between these posts for convenience. So far, we have seen that true prophets genuinely care for the people even to the point of saying uncomfortable words from God that discipline and chastise and they must show moral integrity. False prophets, on the other hand, are interested in their personal glory and gain and unlikely to confront people with their sin. Neither do they demonstrate good fruit and a faithful walk with God. As Jesus warns, they are known by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20). His teaching also highlights the difference between gifting and fruit. Although many may prophesy in God’s name, do miracles, or cast out demons (gifting), the Lord will not acknowledge them if they do not do His will but ‘practise lawlessness’ (fruit; Matt 7:21-23).[1] Although a wilfully sinful life may be hidden for a while, there is no hiding from God who is everywhere and who sees (Jer 23:23-24).

The outcome of God’s message: a closer walk with God

The result of the false prophets’ ministry was that Judah forgot God and the prophecies led them away from the Lord rather than back to Him (Jer 23:27, 32). In contrast, God’s Word is like fire or a hammer smashing a rock (Jer 23:29). These images speak of tremendous power that comes from God’s message and they may also be specific to Jeremiah’s situation speaking of the judgment that was to destroy the city of Jerusalem and shatter the rock-hard, stubborn resistance of its inhabitants. The false prophets’ words not only affirmed people in their sin, but they also created a false sense of specialness. The constant reference to ‘the oracle of the LORD’ endowed the messages with authority, so that the people must have revelled in the glow of having special words spoken to them by God. No wonder they kept asking for more! This seems to be the dynamic behind the last section, which directs Judah to put aside pretention and genuinely seek an answer from God (Jer 23:33-40).[2] A prophet or preacher’s message then may also be judged by its outcome. If it exposes sin, does not feed our ego but brings about repentance and draws us closer to God then it is from God.

The hearers’ moral integrity

Of course, all these criteria are hard to use because hearers need a prior understanding of God’s ways and will, as well as personal moral integrity to discern the issues. Judah’s problem was that they have forgotten the terms of the covenant, the dynamic of what a relationship with God involved and they happily accepted the stroking of their egos and words that confirmed them in what they wanted to do anyway. It is no less true today that the more we forget what it means to be followers of Christ as Scripture defines it, the less likely it is that we shall discern when something is wrong with a message that supposedly comes from God. Without humility and a genuine willingness to be corrected by God, as well as without a desire to seek Him even when the journey is demanding, we are more likely to swallow self-serving lies. Why does God not make it easier for us to know the difference, we might ask. Imagine though, if God thundered from heaven so there was no doubt about the source, we might feel obliged to do His bidding without real conviction, out of fear or compulsion. On the other hand, the way He set things up, we react according to our genuine inclinations. Those who seek God and want to do His will shall discern the truth. God, I believe, wants obedience that is not forced out of us but one that is a true response of our hearts.[3]

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[1] Interestingly, Jesus also sees cases when the message is separated from the messenger’s life, the former to be accepted, the latter rejected: do what the Pharisees teach but not what they do (Matt 23:1-3). See my reflections on this in footnote 2 in my previous post.

[2] The section is also a word-play on ‘oracle’, which can mean a prophecy but also ‘a burden’. The people keep asking for an oracle (emphasising authority) but God’s answer is on the negative aspect of the message that they themselves are a burden and will be abandoned (Jer 23:33).

[3] I am indebted to Walter Moberly for his reflections on the question of prophecy and discernment and his central argument that the moral integrity of the hearer is the essential criterion in knowing true prophecy.  Prophecy and Discernment, Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine (Cambridge: CUP, 2006).

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