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THUS SAITH THE LORD: Difference between revisions
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:''“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. | :''“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. | ||
:''“They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord. | :''“They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord. | ||
==The Biblical terms of when "Thus Saith The Lord" can change== | |||
God has clearly outlined the conditions under which a "Thus Saith The Lord" prophecy will not come to pass and what God has declared clearly can change. There are three circumstances in which this can happen according to scripture. | |||
===Judgment is declared but there is repentance=== | |||
God told Jeremiah: | |||
:''Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.<ref>The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Je 18:5–8.</ref> | |||
'''The question: Did this condition apply to ANY of William Branham's failed prophesies?''' | |||
===Peace is declared but the nation does evil=== | |||
God further told Jeremiah: | |||
:''And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.<ref>The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Je 18:9–10.</ref> | |||
'''Again, ask the question: Did this condition apply to ANY of William Branham's failed prophesies?''' | |||
===The future is foretold but prayer prevails to change it=== | |||
The Bible says of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38: | |||
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” <ref>The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 38:1.</ref> | |||
The words "''you will not recover''" must have sounded to Hezekiah like the final hammer blows on the nails of his coffin. They seem final and without apparent reprieve. Yet, it is evident that Hezekiah knew something of God’s character that Moses also knew (Exod. 32:7–14): God is always ready to be entreated. He is unchanging in his intention to bless his creatures and is willing to change their outcomes if people turn to him in intensity of faith (Jon. 4:2). This does not mean that matters will always turn out as we wish. But it does mean that prayer can change the course of events, and that failure to pray is not necessarily a sign of submission to God’s intractable will. Rather, it may be a sign of apathy and unwillingness to wrestle with God (note Jacob’s refusal to let go of the man with whom he wrestled, Gen. 32:26).<ref>John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986), 675.</ref> | |||
Hezekiah’s response is instructive. He does not withdraw completely, for he does not withdraw from God. Neither does he rage against God nor does he demand that God heal him in payment for “services rendered.” Rather, he simply pours out the feelings of a wounded heart to a heavenly Father. No father’s heart can be unaffected by such a cry: | |||
:''Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.<ref>The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 38:2–3.</ref> | |||
As 2 Kings 20:4 indicates, Isaiah had not gotten out of the palace before the word of reprieve came to him. Another person might have been chagrined by the need to change a pronouncement so recently made with such certainty. But the prophet was a man under appointment. It was not his word but God’s, and if God wished to change it, who was the prophet to quibble?<ref>John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1–39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986), 676–677.</ref> | |||
:''Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. “ ‘This is the LORD’s sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.<ref>The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Is 38:4–8.</ref> | |||
'''Ask yourself the question a final time: Did any of these conditions apply to ANY of William Branham's failed prophesies?''' | |||
=Quotes= | =Quotes= | ||