Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.’” So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. Jeremiah 28:15-17

Not all “prophets” are prophets of God. Hananiah is a case in point. He not only spoke lies to God’s people, he claimed that he was speaking God’s words (v.2). Like many today who present themselves as messengers of God, Hananiah wanted to speak encouraging words to the people. That is a noble ambition. Who doesn’t want to be an encouragement? Who doesn’t desire to be loved for being the bearer of glad tidings?

But what if God’s message to His people in that place and in that time is not so rosy? The true prophet of God must faithfully declare the Word of God without regard to the content of the message and how the people might accept or reject it.

Sadly, in every age, including our own, there are many who claim to speak for God who speak only positive, uplifting messages to soothe their hearers and gather a following.

Look at what God’s true prophet had to say to Hananiah the false prophet: “The Lord has not sent you... you make the people trust in a lie… this year you shall die because you have taught rebellion against the Lord.”

May those who claim to speak for God do so with fear and trembling, and may God have mercy on those who play the role of Hananiah in our day.