Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #16 of Revelation, chapter 11, and we are continuing to look at Revelation 11:10:

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

We have been looking at true prophets as compared to false prophets in the Bible.  We started looking at 1Kings, chapter 22, with the case of 400 prophets that prophesied before King Ahab and King Jehoshaphat and the one prophet of JEHOVAH whose name was Micaiah.  After looking at several verses, we have learned that the majority of prophets are false prophets and the ratio in this passage was 400 to 1.  This is not an isolated incident.  If you remember, Elijah was also a “lone” prophet of the LORD and we read in 1Kings 18:21-22:

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if JEHOVAH be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of JEHOVAH; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

We know that in that contest, God confirmed Elijah as His true prophet by bringing down fire that consumed the altar and even lapped the water that had been placed in a trench around the altar.

God also confirms, in 1Kings, chapter 22, that He is not interested, for instance, in how many people hold a particular doctrine.  We could look at many false doctrines and we can find that there are a great many people who hold to them.  For instance, there are an enormous numbers of people inside of churches that hold to the “free will gospel” and they believe we are saved through “accepting Christ.”  The true Gospel of the Bible says we are saved by the faith of Christ and not our own faith and that salvation rests wholly in God’s hands; God says He will bestow mercy on whom He will bestow it upon, and we can do nothing about it.  That is not a position that is held to by very many people and, yet, that is the truth.  This is what the Bible proclaims and teaches and “numbers” do not matter; you can take polls about political matters and earthly things and there may be some significance to that, but when it comes to Biblical doctrine, it does not matter “who” or “how many” hold to a particular position.  The only thing that matters is God’s position and He is the “majority.”  Whatever God determines is truth through His Word is truth.  All the world could be against it, yet it would not change the fact that it is true.  Today God’s people hold to the doctrine of the end of the church age, but there are about two billion people still going to churches that would contest and oppose our viewpoint.  The “numbers” are much in their favor, but that does not matter at all.  They may have large numbers of people, but they have no position in the Word of God.  They cannot prove from the Word of God that the church age is still ongoing.

Likewise, God has now ended His salvation program.  He has shut the door of heaven and, certainly, the majority of people do not agree with that teaching, but, again, that does not matter.  The only thing that matters is what the Bible says, so we can see that the majority of the prophets are false.  This is how the Bible portrays the “spiritual landscape” and that is also our experience when we look at the churches and congregations.  Even during the church age, the majority of the churches were false.  Of course, today, of the gospels that are out there in the world  – in churches, on the TV, or on the internet – the majority are of the “prophets of Baal,” we could say.  The majority are not true prophets.  They are false prophets that bring “other gospels” and, yet, that does not mean anything as far as what is truth.

We can also see that the false prophets proclaim or preach that which is pleasing to the majority of the people.  King Ahab likes to hear what they say and the people of Israel welcomed the news that if their king went up to battle to Ramothgilead, he would prosper.  All the prophets prophesied this way, we see in 1Kings 22:12-13:

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for JEHOVAH shall deliver it into the king's hand. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.

You see, here is the position of our kingdom, or it could just as easily be said, “Here is the position of our church.  Here is our doctrinal position that the Reformers have held to for centuries.”

So the messenger is saying, “Here you come along, Micaiah, and you listen to everybody else and you heard how they speak with one voice and they are all in agreement.  Now let your word be like their word.  Speak that which is good.”  Notice that what is considered “good” is that which goes along with what everybody else says, or that which is agreement with the majority.  Today it would be that which is in agreement with the teachings of a corporate church: “If you go contrary to what we hold to, that is not good.”

This is what King Ahab said to King Jehoshaphat when Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of JEHOVAH here?”  Then King Ahab admitted, in 1Kings 22:8:

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of JEHOVAH: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil…

In other words, Ahab is saying, “Micaiah will not tell me what I want to hear.  He does not go along with the program.  He will not join with my other prophets, no matter how many of them I get together.  There are 400 of them and you would think that would be enough to convince him, but he still will not prophecy good, but evil.” 

Therefore, Micaiah was not called to the assembly.  He was not among those 400 prophets.  He was not called because the king knew he would not say what they wanted him to say.  He would say something else – something they considered to be “evil.”  Now is that not amazing?  Of course, we have the vantage point of these things having been written in the Bible and we know how God is recording this historical event; we know that Micaiah is the true prophet and we know the 400 men are the false prophets.  So, as we read this, it is shocking.  It really is.  Ahab was a king of Israel, who would profess to be a follower of JEHOVAH, as well as all the Israelite people.  They were descendents of Abraham and descendents of those that came out of Egypt and they had a history of being followers of the God of the Bible, but they had now reached a point where they considered true prophecy as “evil” and false prophecy as “good.”  It was really tragic that things had deteriorated to that point in Israel. 

It is just like the churches of today.  During the Great Tribulation when it was still possible for true believers to have been in churches (until God drew them out), there was dialogue or discussion between the true believers with the elders or the pastor or others in their church concerning their doctrine.  The child of God, wanting to do it God’s way, would humbly approach the pastor after being in that church for a while and he would say, “Pastor, it disturbs me that there is a woman as a deacon and the Bible teaches that a woman should not teach or usurp authority over the man.  There are also a couple of elders that are not married and God is very straightforward in the Bible that the elder is to be the husband of one wife.  And I also understand that you do allow divorce in some instances.”  The pastor might be polite at first, but the child of God keeps coming back with more Scriptures and, perhaps, with even more problems that he has seen in the church.  It gets to the point where they start to not view him in a positive light at all; they see him in very much the same way that King Ahab saw Micaiah: “He does not speak good concerning us, but evil.  He does not fit in with our church.  He will not join us in agreement with our doctrine.  He insists on quoting Scripture and puts us in an uncomfortable position.

This is very much what we are reading in 1Kings, chapter 22.  It is very much an issue for our day, as the issue of “right doctrine” is an issue that covers all periods of history in this world.

Then we read in 1Kings 22:14:

And Micaiah said, As JEHOVAH liveth, what JEHOVAH saith unto me, that will I speak.

Basically Micaiah is saying what a true believer would say today: “All I can say is what the Bible says, after comparing Scripture with Scripture to see how God defines His own terms and directs me through that process and after making sure my conclusions harmonize, I can only say that this is what the Bible says.  I cannot deny that.  I cannot just ignore that you do not observe what the Bible says and I cannot join with you in this.  That would be rebellion against God.” 

True believers today are basically saying, with Micaiah: “What JEHOVAH saith unto me, that will I speak,” and we may suffer for it, as a result.   We learn from the Bible and sometimes what we learn is received in a very negative way and we become a target.  We become an object of ridicule.  We are the focus of man’s wrath because they do not like what they are hearing and, yet, it is coming forth from the Word of God and, therefore, from God Himself.  They are actually rejecting God and not us, but we are “the messengers,” so the child of God can only share what the Bible says.  As people reject the things that are coming forth from the Bible, they are doing a very dangerous thing and it is often what will lead to their own destruction.

Let us keep reading here in 1Kings 22:15-16:

So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for JEHOVAH shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of JEHOVAH?

Now Micaiah (apparently) is mocking the other prophet to the king.  Obviously, he must be saying this in a way that makes it very apparent that he does not mean it.  He is saying this as though he has given in to all the pressure and as if he is like these other 400 prophets.  But the king is aware of the way Micaiah is saying this and this is apparently something Micaiah had done oftentimes, because the king says: “How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of JEHOVAH?”  Maybe it was Micaiah’s personality coming through and maybe he was a bit of a jokester, to some degree, but then Micaiah went on to say in 1Kings 22:17-23:

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and JEHOVAH said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of JEHOVAH: I saw JEHOVAH sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And JEHOVAH said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before JEHOVAH, and said, I will persuade him. And JEHOVAH said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. therefore, behold, JEHOVAH hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and JEHOVAH hath spoken evil concerning thee.

We see that King Ahab turns to King Jehoshaphat and he is basically saying, “See, I told you so.  I told you he would prophecy no good.”  Then Ahab proceeds to dismiss what Micaiah has said and Micaiah has prophesied that the king of Israel will die in the battle and, yet, the king would not hearken to the Words of God.  This is all according to the will of God, as we are given this little glimpse into heaven, where the Lord is preparing for the king’s death by putting a lying spirit into the mouth of all his prophets.  This means that God works through the delusion He has sent to Israel of old and to the churches of today.  It is all the permissive will of God.  God is the one that loosed Satan.  God is the one that allowed Satan’s emissaries to prosper and multiply in the churches of the world.  God, therefore, is the one that put the lying spirit in all the mouths of all the pastors, elders, deacons and church leaders all over the world.  He has convinced them, through these preachers and priests and those that do the teaching: God is still with them and the church age is still continuing and “No man knows the day or the hour.”  He has put a lying spirit in them, which will lead to all of their deaths, just as it led to the death of the king of Israel.

So Micaiah, the true prophet, does his duty faithfully.  He is only required to speak the truth.  He is only required to be faithful to what JEHOVAH has said to him.  He cannot convince anyone (of himself) and he cannot control the reaction of those that hear him.  He can only be a faithful messenger of God and share the information God has given him. 

It is the same thing with us today.  We can only tell people what the Bible says and we cannot change anyone’s mind.  We cannot open anyone’s eyes.  We cannot convince anyone of the truth of the Word of God.  That is God’s business and God, of course, will do as He pleases, according to His perfect will.

So, we have the 400 false prophets that told lies and we have the one true prophet that spoke the truth.  Now the reaction comes to what Micaiah has said.  He is not welcomed with open arms.  He is not cheered by the people.  The people that are listening to him do not say, “Now there is a faithful man.”  Actually, he is spoken evil of and it says in 1Kings 22:24-28:

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of JEHVOAH from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, JEHOVAH hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

Then the story continues and it all unfolds exactly as Micaiah had prophesied.  God does not pick up the story of Micaiah, as far as I know, and there is no return to the prison to let Micaiah loose and all the people are not saying, “Oh, you spoke the truth.  You are the true prophet.  What you spoke came to pass.”  There is none of that.  God does not paint a pretty picture concerning those that proclaim His Word in this world.  It is very “unthankful,” as far as the people of the world go; no one is going to praise you for speaking the truths of the Bible.  It is a difficult task and Micaiah ended up in prison and was fed “with the bread of affliction and with the water of affliction.”  There are no thanks for declaring the truth to the people.  Even though he did what was right and what was, ultimately, the best thing for all the people.  If only the king had listened to him, he would not have gone to battle and he would not have died.  He would have lived, at least for another day. 

This is what God has plainly laid out for each of us.  We are not going to be accepted and now I am talking to the prophets of JEHOVAH in our modern day, as the true believers proclaim the prophecy of the Bible.  As we do so faithfully, we are not going to be held in high esteem.  We are not going to be honored.  We are not going to be lifted up.  People are not going to thank us.  They are not going to be pleased with the things we say, but we will be reviled.  We will be persecuted.  We will follow the path of Micaiah in certain ways and we will be looked down upon and others will have an extremely low opinion of us.  They will think that we are the “trouble makers.”  We are the ones that are speaking evil and we are the ones that are not speaking that which is good.  Maybe they will think we are unpatriotic.  Maybe they will think we are unloving, unkind and unmerciful and whatever else they can imagine.  This is the nature of true prophecy.  When we take the Word of God into our mouths and we speak it, this is the sort of thing we can expect.

Let me read from Luke 6:22-26:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.  But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.  Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

I think we can see a picture of Micaiah and the 400 false prophets in this passage.  Who is received?  Who is spoken well of?  Who is cheered by the people?  Who is a patriot?  Who is on the king’s side and the people side?  Who desires the best for all?  Of course, it is the one that are in the majority and the ones that are spoken well of and, yet, they are false prophets.