WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DECEMBER 08, 2025
TOPIC: LYING PROPHETS AND FALSE HOPES
BY T. O. BANSO
“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” (Jeremiah 8:20 New King James Version).
As we live in the present and face the future, everybody needs hope. When some people lose hope, taking extreme negative actions, such as suicide, unfortunately, becomes attractive to them.
God’s promises bring hope. The Word of God rekindles hope. Romans 4:18 says of Abraham that he, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many as God had spoken.
When we hear or study the Word of God, it gives us hope. The promises in the Word of God give hope of deliverance, healing, victory, and so on. The psalmist says he is counting on the LORD and has put his hope in His Word (Psalm 130:5).
Furthermore, the writer of Psalm 119 says that he cries out for help and puts his hope in the Word of the LORD (verse 147b). He calls on the LORD to remember His promise to him, for it is his only hope (verse 49).
Hope is vitally important. When people become hopeless, they are tired of living. Proverbs 13:12 says hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.
If one’s hope is based on the Word of God, one has the assurance of it being fulfilled. But when it is based on lies, it amounts to false hope. Such hope will never become a reality. Thus, waiting for its realisation is useless.
Such is the hope that false prophets give people, telling them sweet things they would like to hear. They could look at their negative situations and try to soothe their pain by telling them lies instead of the truth they need to hear, even if it is bitter.
The LORD told the people of Judah, “Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.” (Lamentations 2:14 New Living Translation). Note the last phrase, false hope.
In Jeremiah 8:20, the people of Judah said, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!” (New King James Version). Why? They rejected the LORD by going into idolatry and were then given the false hope that all would be well. Nevertheless, the LORD had determined to punish them. Their teachers, prophets and priests were fraudulent; they were covetous and dealt falsely (verse 10).
The LORD says, “They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace” (verse 11 New Living Translation). They gave the people assurances of peace when there was no peace; they gave them false hope (Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13-14; Lamentations 2:14; Ezekiel 13:10). The LORD promised to punish these frauds who claimed to be speaking for Him.
False hope is no hope! There are many people today who have been given false hopes by those who pretended to be prophets! All they’ve said, which their victims were excited to receive as the truth, has not come to pass. These prophets probably collected from them what they shouldn’t have.
The LORD says about the false prophets in the days of the prophet Micah: “You false prophets are leading my people astray! You promise peace for those who give you food, but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you” (Micah 3:5 New Living Translation).
The victims of lying prophets today are lamenting that the harvest is past and the summer is ended, but they are not saved! The time the prophets gave them for the fulfilment of the prophecies had passed, and the prophecies didn’t come to pass. The weeks have passed, the months have ended, and the period has elapsed, but the prophecies have not been fulfilled. Their hopes have been dashed.
Some years ago, a pastor had to speak to his members to calm them after the departure of a guest minister who had given them prophecies, upon which they gave money beyond what they normally would have. They met the conditions he gave them for financial breakthroughs, but they didn’t see the fulfilment of his prophecy within the time he had specified!
They were under serious pressure because some of them gave money that was not theirs. Some gave money meant for something else. In that circumstance, it wouldn’t be enough to tell the people that the prophecy didn’t come to pass because they lacked faith!
God supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food (2 Corinthians 9:10a). “Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily” (verse 7 New Century Version). He who plants a little seed will have a small harvest, and he who plants a lot will have a big harvest (verse 6).
Every genuine minister of God must be careful so that he doesn’t become a false prophet! He must hold himself accountable to God and the people, not to God alone.
The people must also be careful not to listen to or patronise lying prophets who give them false hopes. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16a New King James Version).
One of the signs of the end time is deception by people who will claim to be prophets of God. (Matthew 24:11). “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:24-25 New King James Version). These words of Jesus are also recorded in Mark 13:22-23.
Don’t become a victim of lying prophets. Ahab was. Four hundred propg400 prophets. They gave him false hope of victory in war, while a genuine prophet of God, Micaiah, came to warn him not to go, as he would be defeated.
Ahab died needlessly in that war because he acted on a false prophecy. King Jehoshaphat, who went with him, would have been killed. Apparently, God had mercy on him because he was, generally, a good king (1 Kings 22:1-38).
See John’s warning: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1 New King James Version). Similarly, 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 says, “Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good” (New King James Version). God wants your hope to be founded on His word, not on false prophecies, which will only give people false hopes.
The prophet Jeremiah’s heart was crushed because his people had been crushed. He mourned and was overcome with grief. He cried, “Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?” (Jeremiah 8:22 New King James Version).
Gilead was known for its precious, healing ointment. There was balm in Gilead, and there were doctors, but they wouldn’t be of help to the people, because they had forsaken the LORD. The doctors couldn’t help King Asa of Judah when he rejected the LORD. 2 Chronicles 16:12 says, “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians” (New King James Version). He died two years later.
The healing the people of Judah needed would come if they returned to the LORD instead of lamenting based on the false hope they had been given. They asked, “Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her?” (Jeremiah 8:19b New King James Version).
Of course, the LORD was in Zion or Jerusalem, but they had rejected Him. Hear the LORD: “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images— with foreign idols?” (verse 19c New King James Version). Everyone who has forsaken the Lord must return to Him instead of holding on to a lie that only gives false hope.
Beware of lying prophets who give people false hopes. Let your hope be in the Lord and in His Word. Don’t forsake Him.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you must give your heart to Jesus now. Please take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: O Lord my Father, I shall not put my hope in lying prophecies but in Your Word. Your Word shall come to pass in my life. I shall not be put to shame in Jesus’ name. Father, let the victims of lying prophets be delivered; let them know the truth and let it set them free. Cause all lying prophets to repent. Let them fear You.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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