I know it’s not Write On! Wednesday, but I must write to you. I will not hold off this message for another week. Repeatedly, God keeps showing me how people are being led astray by false prophecies. With itching ears, people are believing success and prosperity is on the horizon because of what they have been told by way of social media posts, YouTube videos, and self-proclaimed men and women of God.
Yet, without true repentance and obedience to God, these are lies! Three times this week God has showed me that it is urgent to tell His people the truth. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, fake prophesies have gone out and landed on the ears of those who would rather hear a good word than the truth. Many of us have become modern day Ahabs. We only want to hear a prosperous word from heaven, even when we have refused to repent and turn from our wicked ways.
The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
(2 Chronicles 18:7,NIV)
Ahab hated Micaiah and rejected his prophecy. He even sent Micaiah to prison for his prophecy. But you know what? Micaiah was the only prophet who prophesized the truth. Ahab wanted to know if he should go to battle with Ramoth Gilead. Four hundred prophets told Ahab he should go and that he would be successful. But their prophesies were lies.
Yet, they were lies Ahab wanted to hear. Ahab himself said “there is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord” So obviously, Ahab knew that the other prophets were counterfeits. But he chose to believe the fake prophesy instead of the real one.
Ahab’s time was up, and God wanted him to go to Ramoth Gilead so that he might die in battle. This is exactly what Micaiah prophesized to him. Yet, Ahab wanted to believe in the successful prophesies so badly that it ended up resulting in his demise.
The interesting part of Micaiah’s prophecy is that God sent the deceiving prophesies to the false prophets.
Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’“One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
(2 Chronicles 18:18-22, NIV)
It's one thing for God to send a deceiving spirit and you don’t know you’re being deceived. But when God tells you you’re being deceived and you still choose to be deceived, then you are the one at fault.
This is all I see today. People believing in false prophecies of good fortune and success, while simultaneously rejecting the true Word of God. So often today whenever there are references to God, it’s only about what God will do for us. It’s always about open doors, overflow, and breakthroughs.
And please don’t misconstrue this message. Prosperity is on the way for some. In the same book of 2 Chronicles, King Jehoshaphat had great success because he followed God.
The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
(2 Chronicles 17: 3-6, NIV)
But you know what else Jehoshaphat did? He consulted the one and true prophet of that time, Micaiah. Yet, Ahab didn’t want to hear what the real man of God had to say. So, since Ahab was adamant about believing a lie, God sent him prophets to confirm the lie he chose to believe. We see the same thing in this next verse.
and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie
(2 Thessalonians 10:11)
Unfortunately, some of us have always had the tendency to believe in lies rather than the truth. But what is the truth? Here's one absolute truth: Christ’s final command to the disciples before He ascended into heaven was that they go make more disciples of the gospel, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them obedience.
But I can’t seem to find this message in today’s society as often as I find prophetic messages of prosperity. The most important message of all—the call for repentance and walking in obedience—appears to be dying a slow death, while the message sculpted for itching ears is growing at rapid speed.
Yet, if no one else will tell you, I will. If you are not walking in obedience, prosperity is not on the horizon for you. Even if it appears that you have found prosperity, when God sends His judgement, it will end in ruin.
“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
(Luke 17:18-29)
If you find yourself offended in reading this, then I have effectively done my job. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
If I cut you, I am glad. Because it is only when we are cut that we realize that we are out of line with God and His Word. Being cut means being convicted. And convictions brings about a change. And Lord knows, we need a change. We have become more concerned with God serving us than us serving God. We’d rather hear a word of good fortune from Satan, than a true word of repentance from God. Christians, how has this happened? Did Christ preach more so about prosperity or more so about repentance?
Let’s check ourselves to make sure we are standing firm in the will of God. Again, yes, prosperity is okay. In fact, it is beautiful. Those who have it should delight in it, and God bless you if it is on the way to you. But don’t believe every FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube prophesy of abundance over your life. You better check with God in prayer to ensure the saying is accurate.
Open your Bible and see what thus says the Lord! Pray to Him to reveal the truth unto you. And if it’s a good word, praise God. But if not, don’t be like Ahab. If God shows you a bad word over your life, Repent! Ask Him for forgiveness and He’ll surely turn your bad prophecy into a good one.
“I myself said, “‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. ’I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 3:19-20, NIV)
I will leave you all with this. Do not have itching ears that perk up to the sound of lies and turn deaf to the sound of truth. We all want to believe that success and abundance is on the horizon for us. But this is not the reality for everyone. For the prophets in Jeremiah 6:14 spoke peace over the people when there was no peace. May we seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from God. Let’s not be deceived into a fake prophecy, no matter how good it may be to hear.
I entitled this article “Lion Vibes” because I normally deliver messages to you in a lamb-like demeanor. But today, the lioness has emerged. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I am made in the image of my Father, and He is the lion and the lamb.
There’s a time to be docile and there’s a time to be bold. And boldness is the choice of character today. I come to figuratively flip over tables like my Savior because He is not pleased with lies being told and accepted by His people. Let’s get it together.
One last scripture you guys, and I’m gone. Perhaps the next time you hear from me, I will have reverted back to a lamb. But be on standby, because the lioness will always emerge upon God’s call. Be blessed you, and may God keep you.
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(1 John 4:1, KJV)
Quin Arrington's debut book "And Then You Shall Have Good Success: Attaining Good Success God's Way" is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook format. Link to book listed below.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093YK8SBJ?pf_rd_r=5YWRGY52QBQEF3N74385&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35