And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom: 2 go out and preach[1] the word! Go in season and out of season - whether it’s an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling 3 because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching.
Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from the real truth you have to offer because they prefer the sound of fables and myths. 5 But you must stay focused and be alert at all times.
Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
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WHAT DO PEOPLE WITH ITCHING EARS WANT TO HEAR?
They want to hear what they want hear. They want messages from God that will affirm their own desires and approve their choice of lifestyles, not challenge what they love and how they live. Those with itching ears prefer lies that make them feel good to truths that make them uncomfortable. God, then, becomes a God that exists to further our self-interests, not His Kingdom.
I’m going to use a story from the Old Testament to illustrate how this works. It’s likely a story that Timothy would have known (remember Karl’s sermon last week about the Old Testament?), and would have connected to this idea of ‘itching ears.’
1 Kings 22:1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?” 4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.” 6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied. 9 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
10 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.11 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron hornsand he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’” 12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” 15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?” “Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 7 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’” 18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ 23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked. 25 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
26 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’” 28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.”
“Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad? Put him in prison.” People with itching ears will oppose truthful messages and truthful messengers because it doesn’t suit their own desires. This is not a new problem, even among the people of God.
Scripture warns over and over about false prophets and false teachers who draw crowds by proclaiming what their hearers wanted to hear (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; Ezekiel 13:10,16; Micah 3:5). The audiences begin to think that because it sounds good and makes them feel good it must be true. Sometimes things that sound good and feel good are indeed true, but they aren’t true because they made us feel that way. They will be true based on something that is not based on feelings. If someone said, “Anthony, you are a fashion icon in Northern Michigan whose beard is the envy of all men,” that might make me feel good, but it’s not true.
So what are we drawn to if we are not drawn to truth? What Paul calls ‘fables and myths’ – what other eras might call ‘stuff and nonsense.’
"Those who reject the truth are abandoned by the just judgment of God to credit the most degrading nonsense." (biblehub.com)
“In periods of unsettled faith, skepticism, and mere curious speculation in matters of religion, teachers of all kinds swarm like the flies in Egypt. The demand creates the supply. The hearers invite and shape their own preachers. If the people desire a calf to worship, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.” (Vincent’s Word Studies)
When the Bible talks about prophets, there is a lot of overlap with what it says about teachers and preachers. In the Bible, over 87% of the time the words of the prophets are more like teaching or peaching than they are prediction.[2] They are usually forthtelling, not foretelling.
That’s probably why the warning about false teachers and prophets overlap quite a bit. They involve two key things: a) false lifestyle (we talked about that in 2 Timothy 3) and b) false teaching (which just keeps coming up again and again).[3] It is a sobering thing when the people give weight to false prophets and teachers – those who say they speak for God but do not. It’s a terrible thing when it happens because “the people desire a calf to worship, and a ministerial calf-maker is readily found.”
Paul told the early church not to despise genuine prophecies any more then they should despise genuine teaching.[4] Both are gifts for our good and God’s glory.
But, he gave them standards to protect that gift: If a prophet claims to speak for God, and either what they forthtell (proclaim) does not align with revealed Scripture, or what they foretell (predict) does not come true, they are not speaking for God, and the words they have given will be corrosive to our spiritual health even if they feel good.
If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. (Deuteronomy 18:22)
The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn’t send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds. (Jeremiah 14:14)
Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?... “
9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations... 10 because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace,… so I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against… those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.”’
17 “Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them 18 and say… ‘You have profaned me among my people [and] by lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.
20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will set free the people that you ensnare…and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power... I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 13)
Before Christmas we spent some time talking about the importance of identifying true vs. false teachers because the health of our souls is on the line. I cannot stress enough how important it is to separate true vs. false prophets, whether they are claiming to foretell or forthtell.
It doesn’t matter how much what they have to say pleases us. If they are demonstrably false - that is, if what they claim to say on behalf of God does not align with Scripture or does not come true - they are saying things that are false. I am not saying they intend to. They may the most sincere people on the planet. But if what they is demonstrably wrong, they what they have said is demonstrably false.
2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
If they were carried along by the Holy Spirit in that moment, what they had to say would have aligned with Scripture and/or come to pass. If those criteria are not met, what they had to say came from their will, not God’s.
I know Christians have vigorous debate about whether or not our gifts as ‘works in progress’ just like we are. No matter where you land, I think everyone agrees on this:
If someone says that God has placed divinely inspired words in their mouth in such a way that they are quoting prophetically in that moment as a direct mouthpiece for something God has to say, the bar is really, really high, because God does not speak untruth.
At minimum, please, please do not give your spiritual formation over to someone who has a history of prophecying falsely. The health of your soul depends on it. [5]
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So how do we avoid the trap of growing our own pair of itching ears? By allowing the written Word of God's eternal, authoritative truth to reprove,[6] warn,[7] and encourage us.[8]
“The truth strips them of their vices, sacrifices their idols, darts its lightnings against their easily besetting sins, and absolutely requires a conformity to a crucified Christ; therefore they turn their ears away from it.” (Adam Clarke)
You know what’s better than itching ears? Humble and open ears. God’s Word is sufficient to do two very important things: undo us (that’s ‘reproving’ and ‘warning’) and rebuild us (that’s the ‘encouragement’). Please, let the word of God unsettle you. Let the truth of God expose the thoughts and intents of your heart. Let the revelation of God unmask hypocrisy and shatter idolatry.
And then let it rebuild you with truth, and grace, and holiness, and love.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This, I think, is the big question: How do we organize and focus our lives so that we don’t get caught in the trap of ‘hearing what we want to hear’ instead of hearing truth?
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[1] Preach—literally, "proclaim as a herald." The term for the discourses in the synagogue was daraschoth; the corresponding Greek term (implying dialectial style, dialogue, and discussion, Ac 17:2, 18; 18:4, 19) is applied in Acts to discourses in the Christian Church. Justin Martyr [Apology, 2], describes the order of public worship, "On Sunday all meet and the writings of the apostles and prophets are read; then the president delivers a discourse; after this all stand up and pray; then there is offered bread and wine and water; the president likewise prays and gives thanks, and the people solemnly assent, saying, Amen." The bishops and presbyters had the right and duty to preach, but they sometimes called on deacons, and even laymen, to preach. Eusebius [Ecclesiastical History, 6.19]; in this the Church imitated the synagogue (Lu 4:17-22; Ac 13:15, 16). (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
[2] Shane Wood, in his notes on Revelation
[3] 2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.”
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.”
[5] 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
[6] “Expose, reprove and convince.” (biblehub.com’s lexicon)
[7] “A warning to prevent something from going wrong.” (biblehub.com’s lexicon)
[8] “Comfort and encourage ‘up close and personal.’ (biblehub.com’s lexicon)