Discuss 1 Kings 22

False Prophets: Examples from the Old Testament

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, ( 2 Peter 2:15).

Balaam was mentioned as a warning in the book of Jude as well as in Revelation 2:14 to the church of Pergamum which apparently did some of these practices. We note that divination was one of the things done as Joshua 13:22 states Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.

Thus we see the sobering end of such characters. We see another example of how a false spirit affects multiple people as we see in 1 Kings 22:18-23.

18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

20 And the Lord 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.

21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.

22 And the Lord 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.

23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

The end times: Another thought

Well in the THIRD wipeout (maybe I should do something about that pinky finger touching the wrong key) I thought I would get to another concept. That is the idea that we would never be fooled that being for any reason OTHER than the Spirit indwelling us as to falling for deception in the Tribulation in particular if we were to be there or anything for that matter in these last days of the church on earth.

I am convinced that many denominations today would have majority concensus that if the Antichrist appeared tomorrow they would find enough convincing logic to follow him blindly on the broad road to destruction. This is why they will as I quoted scripture the other day find it fitting to kill true faithful believers thinking they are "doing God a favor" ( John 16:2). That verse is focused on the Jews but in churches today eventually becoming part of "Mystery Babylon" the one world religion rapidly coming to pass today no doubt the same sentiment will result in many martyrs the first half of the Tribulation as I see it.

With so many crying "wolf" for so long when the final deception comes many will brush it off thinking they have seen it all before and before they know it this leader will have total control of the world. We need to realize that God Himself brings the strong delusion for His own purposes as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. We see similar operations in the Old Testament in 1 Kings 22:22 where a lying spirit is given permission to speak through many for mass deception. Satan has his day also; his first time was at the time of the crucifixion; and the last will be with the other son of perdition as mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12. The first occurance with Judas Iscariot was to fulfill prophecy and to bring to pass the events that would lead to Christ's atoning sacrifice; and the second to gather the world together for Armageddon which occurs in Revelation 19; and then lead to judgment in Rev. 20.

Seeing with spiritual eyes (part 2).

The second thing after prayer for those walking in the Spirit is some sort of action whenever we are able. 1 John 3:17 echoes what is already written in Proverbs 14:31 about not neglecting a brother in need (a sin of omission). Sadly; we live in a fallen world and what is politically correct in immediately stepping out to help financially may end up getting us rended such as indicated in Matthew 7:6.

Often today no one wants to get into something messy. There are things such as domestic abuse where wisdom in contacting the authorities and those who are specialized in care of certain situations rather than stepping in ourselves.

I cannot overemphasize from the way I see it warning people of the seriousness of sin; as it affects not just them but others within their family and the entire congregation much of the time as well. We cannot assume if someone has been a believer for many years that they can't be headed for a fall; and these days more seem to go toward total apostasy. Exhortation needs to warn people that in our own strength we will be beaten down; in our own understanding we can and will be decieved without the Spirit guiding us as well as TRUSTING God even when it seems things around us contradict that as being a logical approach.

Just as we need to be careful who prays for us; we also need to be cautious who we take advice from. The enemy was granted permission to speak lies through the prophets ( 1 Kings 22:21-23) and many around us today will be used by the enemy if we are not careful. Such things as divorce and subsequent remarriage are high on that list in my assessment. There is always someone out there who will tell us to do what we want and tell us what we want to hear.

It is always a small remnant who live out what they believe by example; and there are no short cuts to obedience due to our love for Christ. ( John 14:15). Obedience is better than sacrifice as well ( 1 Sam. 15:22).

Hi Catherine. I'm unsure where you got that detail from, as my study of the chronology of events during this period show differently. If I might share my gleanings.

In the Kingdom of Judah: King Jehoshapat reigned from 873-848 ( 1 Kings 22:41) and then his son Jehoram was co-regent with him from 853 ( 2 Kings 8:16). After his father died, he continued in his reign (i.e. from 853 & then continued on from 848-841).

In the Kingdom of Israel: King Ahab reigned from 874-853 ( 1 Kings 16:29) & the Prophet Elijah was alive at that time ( 1 Kings 17:1). Elijah also lived & ministered under the next king, King Ahaziah's reign (853-852; 1 Kings 22:51) and then into the reign of King Jehoram (852-841; 2 Kings 1:17). This king was also known as Joram. By the way, it is a coincidence that we see the two Jehorams reigning side-by-side in the two kingdoms; unfortunately, both were bad kings.

When that "writing" (mentioned in 2 Chronicles 21:12) came to Jehoram, the King of JUDAH, (NOT Israel); though Elijah was actually a prophet to the Kingdom of Israel), Elijah would still have been alive. We're not told which year the 'letter' was sent, or received by Jehoram. The 'letter' might even have been delivered to Jehoram some time after Elijah's translation into Heaven, if Elijah wrote it just prior to his departure. So the way I understand it, is that Elijah was well & truly on Earth at this time, though possibly his age & distance may have prevented him from actually making that journey to Jerusalem in the southern kingdom.

As a footnote, I should say that the reigning years of the various kings are taken from reliable sources that have done the calculations going back into biblical history & from other historical documents; i.e. I've not guesstimated those dates.

The rebellion led to the "anointed cherub" ( Ezekiel 28:14) and his musical gifting in heaven to be removed from his place of authority as we also see in Isaiah 14. He would have been out of the heavenly worship crew at that point pisitionally. Ezekiel 28:16 then talks about rade and violence resulting from what could be a period of time when spiritual beings roamed the earth beteeen the time of Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. This is a controversial topic; what we can say is that there were further punishments when the Nephilim before and after the flood had relations and offspring with women they chose ( Gen. 6:4). They certainly also caused "men of renown" to cause violence and God had to wipe all out except for Noah and his family.

Satan's world although confined to controling the earth apparently also still involved and perhaps still does heavenly meetings with other demons (see Job 1 and 2). These were also involved with David's sin ( 1 Chron. 21:1) as well as lying words in the false prophets (in that case an unknown demonic entity caused this) ( 1 Kings 22:21-23). The last giant recorded was Goliath; and the Nephilim are said to be under the earth in Tartarus or the bottomless pit ( 2 Peter 2:4). The next thing taken froom Satan was the power of death in that all men were in a part of Sheol; but the "good" or pleasant part (Abraham's bosom) Luke 16:22 was removed when Christ went down into the earth after the Crucifixion and captivity was made captive ( Eph. 4:8). Now those absent from the body are present with the Lord; i.e. they go straight to the heavenly throne room. ( 2 Cor. 5:6). Finally; at the midpoint of the Trib. Satan is permanently taken from any access to heaven and cast to earth. It seems all those "powers of the air" or other demons are cast down from space ( Eph 2:2) also see Rev. 12:4. After the Trib he is confined himself to the bottomless pit (see Rev. 20); then in the end of Revelation to the lake of fire joining Antichrist/False Prophet.

Thanks again Henry for those comments. I realize you're done with this topic, but I'll still respond as a matter of courtesy, reading through each of your pages that you've taken the trouble to share.

You stated (of the 1 Samuel passage), "It is an error in translation evil spirit from The lord." The Hebrew of this verse shows it as given, specifically, 'a distressing spirit (or, one of adversity/evil) from Yahweh'. The question then is, did God direct this type of spirit towards Saul, or did God allow this evil to overtake Saul when God's Own Spirit was removed?' We know that Saul was already in a bad mental & spiritual state, so was open to evil influences, but we still have to get over the hurdle of God doing (or, allowing) what He did.

And this isn't a single isolated incident. See Judges 9:23 (God judges Abimelech & the men of Shechem); Job 1:9-12 (God permits Satan to test Job's resolve rather than God doing it); 1 Kings 22:20-23 (God's punishment of Ahab leading to his death); 2 Thessalonians 2:11,12 (delusion leading to damnation to the followers of the Anti-christ).

There's more to be shared, but will keep this short. I understand what you've stated, that Satan is the instigator of everything evil, but we do have Scriptures that show us the Works of God according to His Wisdom & Plan, and they include the participation of the evil forces present in the world. Even the wicked Assyrian & Babylonian kings signify this truth, as also those who crucified our Lord. We simply cannot separate the operation of evil from God using it or allowing it. God can allow it or forbid it as He chooses (i.e. Job could have been spared such suffering), but Satan was permitted to have his way. I see sufficient evidence of this in the Bible. Blessings.

Pat:

It's the prophets of the people that are cause to prophecy lies.

Ezekiel 14:4-10

1 Kings 22:19-23

God Bless You!

Hello Deborah. Are you enquiring about the meaning of this passage (btw, Amos chapter 3 only goes to verse 15)?

If so, the Prophet Amos, who was actually a sheep-herder ( Amos 7:15), was called by God to give Israel another stern warning (chapters 3 to 6). If they didn't change their ways & begin to honour God rather than play with idolatry, the Judgement of God still stood against them.

Bethel was no longer a holy special place (as it was for Abraham & Jacob) but a city given to idolatry. So in the passage you've asked explanation for, God tells Amos to proclaim to wicked Israel, that their judgement & captivity is certain. God will destroy the altars that they created in Bethel, not for godly worship, but to idols. They probably still had the true altar there, but others were raised as well. The "horns of the altar", where once the blood of the sacrifice was poured upon, would now be cut off & cast upon the ground. And if that wasn't enough to alert them & bring repentance & change of worship, even the grand houses of those of wealth (wealth no doubt accrued from idolatrous practises & corruption) would be destroyed. These were houses that some had for the Winter & Summer seasons & houses laced with ivory & precious metals (King Ahab of Judah built such a house: 1 Kings 22:39). All these will come to an end, when they would be destroyed & the people be taken into captivity.

Well, all glory to God!

What I should have added is that I have 'done my own will', and I confess that to my shame, horror, and sorrow. That the Lord should save a wretch like me, and then, subsequent to that - be patient with my faults and stumbles is simply just Amazing Grace, for which I praise and thank Him! Glory to Jesus, our Mighty-to-Save-to-the-Uttermost Savior!

Doing my own will NEVER turns out pretty. It's the most human thing in the world to have 'pre-conceived ideas' about how 'our will' will turn out; we deceive ourselves by fancying how much we know, and how great our 'best laid plans are"; but more often than not, things surely to not turn out as we want; the Sovereign Lord will "break our ships at Eziongeber" as He broke up Jehoshaphat's best-laid plans ( 1 Kings 22:48).

I have started to read a book written by Thomas Boston, a minister who lived in the late 1600 to early 1700s. The name of the book is called, "A Crook in the Lot'. By 'crook' the author does not mean 'a thief', but those 'crooked turns' the Lord puts in our way, i.e., in our "lot' that He appoints for us. So far what I've read is very good, and perhaps you would enjoy it too, since it seems to deal with this subject.

In any case, I've been very blessed by your observations that the Lord has given you to share with the rest of us!

Blessings!

2 Timothy 2:15

Please also read 2 Kings 3, 2 Kings 12, 2 Kings 13, 2 Kings 14:1-3, pay very close attention to the differences because in these accounts it clarifies who the scripture refers to by details not necessarily the "name of the individual" there are very similar names buth differences in Jerusalem, Israel, Syria, differences in parents & even who they fought against. Significant details that should help you break down for truth. Please note also in 2 Kings the reigning of the son clearly seems to overlap as you described. Just like King David when he was still alive & sick, yet they both would retain "title". 2 Kings 13:1,9,

2 Kings 9:1-9, 2 Kings 9:11-12 King of Israel, Jehu. 2 Kings 9:14-16, Jehu "conspired against Joram. (Hazel king of Syria)

vrs 16. * Ahaziah king of Judah * 2 Kings 9:21, 2 Kings 9:22-24, 2 Kings 9:27,28 details buried in City of David. 2 Kings 9:29,

2 Kings 8:7-15 "Hazael king of Syria" same guy? 2 Kings 10:31-32, 2 Kings 34-36,

2 Kings 8:16-24,

2 Kings 8:25-29, 22 yrs old Ahaziah over Jerusalem 1 yr,

* 2 Kings 11:1-4 son of Ahaziah, keep reading 2 Kings 11:5-21, * (Son in biblical terms goes many generations) example: John 8:39

This may be the account that clarifies the distinction you're looking for.

1 Kings 22:51-53 details, 2 yrs over Israel Ahaziah,

Hopefully this is helpful

Thank you brother Earl - that was a very good example that I had failed to recall. But would you not agree that the lying spirit that was controlling the mouth of those prophets was sent from the number that were gathered around God's Throne ( 1 Kings 22:19-23)? It appears so rather than an evil spirit appearing before God & putting up his hand to do the job. Then the question about the use of inducing a lie from one that is holy, or in another way, wilfully misleading the prophets to incorrectly proclaim God's Word. If this can happen, then it could well have been a being from Heaven that appeared to the witch in the form of Samuel, rather than an evil spirit. How do you understand what I've proposed?

Brother Chris, could the way God convinced Ahab also apply to the witch.

1 Kings 22:19-23

God always uses man to do his work or will.

Brother Glenn:

The wage of sin is death, the death of this body of flesh. Spiritual death is impossible because Spirit is IMMORTAL.

God is SPIRIT.

Ephesians 4:4 There is ONE BODY (CHRIST) and ONE SPIRIT (the FATHER) .....

The angels are MINISTERING SPIRITS; if LUCIFER was an angel, then he CAN NOT be destroyed, you can't DESTROY SPIRIT. Physical FIRE does nothing to Spirit.

Lazarus and the rich man is a PARABLE, not LITERAL.

If we have to answer for our sins then CHRIST death was in vain.

You are chastised for not believing (obeying) his words.

Philippians 2:13 For it is GOD (SPIRIT) that WORKETH IN YOU both TO WILL and TO DO HIS good PLEASURE.

When you ADD yourself into the equation it becomes the works of you hands, which is an IDOL.

In that day they will say unto me, DID WE NOT, etc., etc. and he will say unto them, depart from me ye workers of iniquity.

God uses his ministering spirits to be a LYING SPIRIT in MEN'S PROPHETS, ( 1 Kings 22:19-22) causing man TO DO HIS WILL.

God is SOVEREIGN, his plan for creation to be ONE IN HIM; will not fail.

1 Corinthians 15:28 And when ALL THINGS shall be subdued unto him (Christ), then shall the SON also himself be subject unto him (the Father) that put ALL THINGS UNDER HIM, that GOD (Spirit, Truth, Life) may be ALL IN ALL.

There are two Azubahs (which means, 'deserted') mentioned in the Bible: 1 Kings 22:42, here she is the wife of King Asa & they had a son, Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became king after his father.

In 1 Chronicles 2:18, we see another Azubah, & she was the wife of Caleb. This is not the same Caleb of Numbers 13, as he was one of the twelve selected by Moses to search out the Land of Promise before entering & conquering it.

Otherwise, there isn't any further history on these Azubahs.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all LIARS shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Why all the questions about demons?

If you are wanting to be set free from demonic capture, let someone know.

Ok

Lying spirits are Demons. They work for satan.

Did God send a lying spirit from heaven

Would the Lord deceive anyone?

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (Those who seek the Lord totally then NO)

Matthew Chapter 22:36 Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

What about those who want the IDOL of their sin more than the Lord

Ezekiel Chapter 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

...I the LORD have deceived that prophet...not Satan.

Why? cause they loved sin more than the Lord.

I can show you churches in San Fran who teach the Lord created them "gay" and they totally believe they are saved.

they even use a Bible where what they do is not a sin since they are in a "committed relationship"

1 Kings 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD (not satan) hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Humbling to say the least. When you seek the Lord totally he would never deceive you. But when you want sin...

Chris,

Thank you for your comment. This is something i will think about.

Jonathan, I doubt if there is any specific literature that would give you a definitive answer to your question, as there would be many commentators giving their own understanding on these verses. So, it's anybody's guess as to what this supposd contradiction means.

In my understanding about these 'high places', not all of them were wholly devoted to idolatry. Sometimes, a high place could have been formerly used for idolatry & subsequently used as a place to worship the true GOD. Or, Israel could have assigned particular elevated areas to conduct their worship. Therefore, those high places that Jehoshaphat took down were idolatrous places but those he left were used for worship to God. But this is a pure guess as to how the writers of these books (1 Kings: Jeremiah & 1 & 2 Chronicles: Ezra) perceived these high places & the way they were used.

1 Kings 22:43 and 2 Chronicles 17:6 seem to contradict each other, the only way they cannot is if the latter was talking of Judah only. Is there other literature in the bible that can clear this up?

V. 16 Father, help me to proclaim boldly the gospel of Your Son that You have entrusted to us.

Verse 14~Micaiah was going to speak the truth no matter what. He had God's approval for this.

@LeeAnne-What about Romans 12:19-Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Emanuel; To your question about God putting people to the test; in James it is talking about alluring to sin; which cannot be done to God, and He doesn't do to anyone! But as to the action itself of enticing it is something that God does use in many ways for His righteous purposes and bringing out the best (or worst) in people. For example - Genesis 22:1; John 6:6; 2 Thess. 2:11; 1 Kings 22:22.

Ahab should have known that to obey is better than sacrifice. He had all the evidence for years to obey the Living God. He paid dearly for despising the Word of God.

Hi LeeAnne; The Bible has many, many Scriptures which say that God does all these things. Jesus Himself said, that we should not be afraid of them that kill the body, but afterwards have no more power to hurt us; but that WE SHOULD FEAR HIM who after He has killed, has power to cast into hell. It also says that God looks for an occasion to take it up with His enemies, and sends their delusions.

The Old Testament can be confusing since those writing it didn't fully understand the adversary and his ways the way we can understand today. All references to GOD bringing evil is a figure of speech since GOD is love and GOD is light and in HIM is no darkness at all. The figure of speech is a Hebrew idiom of GOD giving permission for evil to do as it pleases because of mans freewill to do evil.

Brethren in the Lord; compare 1 Kings 22:19-23: there was a scene and words spoken, which some of us may soon be able to identify with. I've never understood Jehoshaphat's readiness or ease in sitting with Ahab. We might also wonder at who will be misled to sit with the wicked; while the real servants of God are brought in to speak the truth, but shall only be rebuked, and after cast into prison.

Milan, I believe the scriptures are implying that a demon or the devil who's nature and job it's to lie for Satan is the father of all lies John 8:44. Just as Satan appeared before God for permission to try Job it appears the same happened here an evil spirit volunteered for what they love to do be a lying spirit to Ahab the King. Glory be to God in the highest Amen!