Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. - Matthew 23: 26 (ESV)
The retelling of the moment when Judas hung himself is a descriptive text. God is not suggesting that we go hang ourselves. Jesus rebuking the Pharisees however is prescriptive. Even though it is telling a story about an actual event the story itself is meant as a teaching. It is confirmed in other parts of Scripture too because remember the Bible always confirms itself. So we return to Jeremiah 30:17 and ask ourselves what does the overburden reveal? To Prince it meant nothing. He simply wrests this one verse out of context and uses it to proclaim that it means that God will restore health to you in 2015. Not minor health either. Prince claims that major diseases and terminal conditions will be restored to full health in 2015! For who? Apparently for everyone listening to his voice, which is what makes it so patently absurd. First of all, Jeremiah 30 has nothing to do with you or I or 2015. It applies to the remnant in captivity. But preacher, what about the chapter before? What about 29:11!
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29: 11 (NIV)
Beloved, you may want to sit down for this. Jeremiah 29:11 is not about you. It was not written for you. It was a promise given to the remnant in captivity in Babylon. Wait a minute! Are you saying God doesn't have a plan for my life! Not at all beloved. I think God always has a plan and the rest of Scripture bears that out but that plan may not be what we have been led to believe it will be. If we were to be honest, Jeremiah 29:11 is probably the most abused verse in the Bible. It is used by hucksters to sell temporal prosperity but do you know that word "prosper" here is actually the word "peace?" The peace of God is how He defines prosperity beloved. God has a plan but our hope and our future are after this life. Can we see temporal prosperity? Sure, but it is not promised to us at all. What if the promise and plan of God for your life was to suffer and die for His namesake? Would you still love Him? Would you still pursue Him?
The same overburden for 29:11 applies for 30:17. In many ways, this is another foreshadowing of the coming Messiah. We too were outcasts and exiles in Babylon. Slaves, captive to sin. God promised us deliverance as well in the form of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus certainly will restore our spiritual health and heal all our diseases. When the world says that no one cares for us - God says that He does! Hallelujah! Jeremiah 30 is an awesome picture of the promises of God for our salvation but what does Joseph Prince do with it? He strip mines out verse 17, casting aside the overburden of the surrounding context, and misapplies it to everyone listening to him. Instead of speaking about our glorious salvation he promises everyone listening that in 2015 God will heal them of the most egregious diseases they may be suffering from. Can we wrap our spirit around why this is so dangerous and so wrong? Clearly, God may choose to heal some people in 2015 but to claim everyone is ridiculous. Now I know there is an heretical teaching out there that says God always heals and that He is not sovereign when it comes to healing but even if you ascribe to this heresy why then did God have to wait until; 2015? If everyone can get healed by blinking their eyes, why wasn't everyone healed in 2014? So what happens to the people who were just told by Pastor Prince that God Himself directly told the preacher to tell them that they would be miraculously healed and then they are not? What happens to their faith? Do they blame Prince or God? Do they ever come back to church? What happens to the witness for Christ? These are no small matters beloved.
Realize that this form of preaching is rapidly becoming the preferred method. The overburden however is not something that has to be removed. The target we seek from the Word of God should not be shallow. Strip mining the Bible props up false messages designed by false teachers while the true message from God lies lying on the side of the road. Discarded by men who do not approach the Gospel to hear what the Lord might have to say but instead only want to hear their own voice echoing in their minds eye that their theologically bankrupt worldview is really from God. It is not.
Reverend Anthony Wade - January 17, 2015
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