me in your Bibles this evening, again, to the book of Ezekiel in chapter 12. The book of Ezekiel in chapter 12, we have been trying to work our way through the book of Ezekiel, and after getting past the first chapter. We've gone a little faster at times, and then got slowed down at times, and so forth. But we try to leave that in the hands of the Lord. But we're in the twelfth chapter, and in recent weeks we've been looking at the fact that sin deprives of peace, sin deprived of physical comforts, in this life can, and in the life to come. Oftentimes, we said on that note, we said that oftentimes we that are saved, we look about and we look at the wicked and we see them prospering. But we're measuring their prosperity wrong. We're measuring it in terms of what our eyes can feast upon. what we can touch, things of this world. A child of God should know that those things aren't necessarily prosperity. Real prosperity is found in things which are spiritual, things which are eternal, found in the Lord Jesus Christ. They may prosper in those things of this life. But what about the life hereafter? They'd be deprived of those physical comforts. There'd be no physical comfort in hell, in the lake of fire. Only eternal torment. Sin deprives of peace. The wicked are not at peace. They know not the way of peace. They know not peace. And for a child of God, sin deprives you of peace. Not peace with God, but the peace of God. The peace of God won't ruin your heart if you're walking in sin. And then we consider the point that sin lays the land waste. He told Israel through the prophet Ezekiel that their land would be desolate. It would be waste, ruined, destroyed. And it's a result of their sin. And sin lays lands barren, lays them desolate, lays them waste. You think of the course of history and the evil and the wickedness of a nation and how God brought judgment upon that nation and they were overtaken by others. We look at lands that we would call third world countries today and look where they're at. Then last week we began looking at the fact that is presented to us here in verses 21 through 28. That is that the Word of the Lord, the Word of God, was disbelieved. They did not believe. the Word of God. And let me say this, while they may have thought the Word of God to be true, but they didn't believe it was for their day and time, that's disbelief. That's disbelief, that's unbelief. That's not believing the Word of God. Let's read verses 21 through 28 again this evening, just to get our minds into what He's telling the prophet Ezekiel here. And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that you have in the land of Israel saying, the days are prolonged and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, thus saith the Lord God, I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel, but say unto them, the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision." It's at hand. For there shall be no more any vain vision, nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord, I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass. It shall be no more prolonged, for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word and will perform it, saith the Lord God. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth in the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, there shall none of my words be prolonged any more. But the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God. The word of the Lord was disbelieved. And as we said last week, it was disbelieved to varying degrees, to varying extents. Some disbelieve the entire word of God. They just dismissed it. It's rubbish. It's not true. And by their Proverbs, they were scoffing at the word of the Lord. Peter addressed scoffers in the third chapter of the book of 2 Peter. address the scoffers, because the long-suffering of God, waiting till every one of his people were saved, they say, well, all things continue since the beginning of creation. All things haven't continued since the beginning. Some disbelieve the Word of God here in our text by discrediting it. Well, okay, it's the Word of God, but it's for many days to come. That's not going to happen in our day and time. We don't have to worry about it now. So we can just continue on in our wickedness and progress more and more into our wickedness. Those people reason that because the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah and by the mouth of Ezekiel had happened speedily, It was for a long time off. And now we want to consider along this lines that this disbelief was declared openly. Whether it was total disbelief or whether it was just discrediting the Word of the Lord, it was declared openly. Look at verse 27. He said, Behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come. I mean, they were declaring it openly in the streets. It was a proverb. A parable, a saying. throughout the land. And what was the saying? Discrediting the word of the Lord, if they even believed it at all. You see, those who totally disbelieved the word of the Lord by the prophet, their expression had become a proverb. A parable, a saying. It's what he said in verse 22. Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying the days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? In other words, the visions that the prophets are declaring to us, they ain't coming to pass. That's what the proverb was saying. Soothsayers. This notion was common among the people. I mean, the whole land of Israel, he's charging the house of Israel with it. Whether it was the 10 northern tribes of Israel or whether it was the tribe of Judah. They're all the house of Israel. And because it was popular, it was spoken on every occasion, every opportunity against The true prophets of the Lord. The true prophets of the Lord. The true man of God spoke the Word of the Lord. And this Proverbs and these sayings were against those men. Their disbelief of the Word of the Lord by His prophet and their mocking was done openly. before all. I mean, it was a popular thing. There was hardly anyone that believed the Word of the Lord. In their disbelief, they had become bold. They had become bold in their opposition. They had become bold in their sin. We look back a few chapters ago, chapter 8, and look at all the evil abominations that they were doing in the land. It was even in the priesthood. The leaders of the land, the religious leaders, were guilty. And furthermore, their disbelief of the word of God, the Lord, was encouraged. This disbelief was encouraged. Look at verse 24. He said, for there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. There shall be no more false visions. You see, they weren't taking the word of the Lord, but false prophets, and false prophetess, as we'll see when we get into the 13th chapter, which their sin is pronounced against them, and judgment is pronounced upon them. We're guilty of proclaiming false visions. nor flattering divination, he said. What is flattering divination? Smooth. Smooth divination. Smooth predicting future events with no inspiration from God. So what is it? It's false predicting, it's false foretelling. We would call these people, we would call them soothsayers, we would call them fortune tellers. We all know what fortune tellers are today. You see, they prophesy future events with no inspiration from God. It's not the Word of God. They have no idea what they're talking about. False prophets have given out false revelations, smooth prophecies to the house of Israel. Consider the people The people are unbelief. They're in unbelief. And the false prophets and prophetess, they're just that, they're false. And they're saying what the people want to hear. They're just ingraining them in their unbelief. Are you beginning to get the picture? They did this to promote more disbelief of the word of the Lord. They didn't want the people to listen to Jeremiah. People weren't listening to Jeremiah. But to make sure the people didn't listen to Jeremiah, they just said they had a word from the Lord. which was opposite to what was from the mouth of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Ahab. King Ahab. Remember King Ahab? King Ahab went after smooth speaking false prophets. He despised Micaiah, the prophet of the Lord, the true prophet of the Lord. He said, that man Micaiah, he doesn't speak anything good to me. Turn with me to the book of 1 Kings. 1 Kings chapter 22. If you remember this account at all, you remember this is towards the end of Ahab's reign over Israel from Samaria. Jehoshaphat had become king of Judah. Jehoshaphat was a good king. Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of Asa, his father, who was a good king. Jehoshaphat had, we might say, he had one weakness. He had a heart for his fellow Israelites, his fellow countrymen. I mean, as we said earlier, whether you were the 10 tribes of Israel or the tribe of Judah, you were all Israelites. And the Syrians are going to do battle against Ahab. And because Jehoshaphat had made a friendship with Ahab because After all, they'd be Israelites. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him. And Jehoshaphat says, is there any word from the Lord on the matter? Whether we should go or not. Ahab got his 400 prophets. And he asked them, what's the Lord say? Shall we go? And they said, go. They're going to be given into your hand. And Jehoshaphat didn't quite like that. He says, is there not a true man of God, a true prophet, a prophet of the Lord? King Ahab says, yeah, there's that Micaiah. But I don't like him. He prophesies evil concerning me. Look with me here. Let's read a few verses. Begin with verse 8. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Hasten, hither, Micaiah the son of Imlah. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. Look at verse 13. And the messengers that was gone to call Micaiah speak unto him, saying, Behold now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them. and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, as the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, go, and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king." He told the king what the king wanted to hear. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the Lord said, these have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace. You got it? You got the word of the Lord? I see Israel as sheep scattered with no master. Let them return to their house." Well, King Ahab wasn't as dumb as he seemed, even though he was wicked. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me but evil? He knew what Micaiah was prophesying. 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. And the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said on this manner and another said on that manner, do you got the picture yet? And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. 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. What did his prophets, Ahab's prophets prophesy to him? They prophesied lies to him. And he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also, go forth, and do so. 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." In other words, King Ahab was going to be slain in battle. And all of Israel would return to their houses defeated. Even though, okay, King Ahab said, okay, we've gotten the true word from the Lord. I'm supposed to be slain in battle, but we're going to fool that king of Syria. You know what they did? Well, King Ahab dressed as a common man, and Jehoshaphat put on his kingly garments. And they'll think that Jehoshaphat is King Ahab, and they'll pursue Jehoshaphat. Well, that worked. The king of Syria had admonished them to only take the king of Israel. And when they saw this man clothed in kingly garments, they pursued after him. Ah, this is the king of Israel. We're going to get him. And they got there and they discerned it wasn't Ahab. And they turned back And a man pointed his bow up to the sky with an arrow and let it fly. And it come down and struck King Ahab in between the shoulder blades. And he was able to continue on till evening. And then he died. The true word of the Lord. came to pass. He didn't like the prophet of God. He hated the prophet of God. Because he was a wicked man. And the prophet of God spoke the words of the Lord. But nonetheless, they were the true words of the Lord. And the false prophets of Jeremiah's day encouraged the people to a false, bold security until that security was shattered. Turn with me to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 39. Chapter 38, Jeremiah prophesied the word of the Lord. The false prophets weren't wanting to receive it, but he prophesied it to Zedekiah. Zedekiah didn't like what he heard. They ended up having him put in prison. He wouldn't believe it. Zedekiah wouldn't believe it. The rest of Judah wouldn't believe it. Look at chapter 39, verse 1. In the ninth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the tenth month came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the middle gate, even Negesh Cherezer, Shem Garniebo, Sarsikim, Rapsarus, Negar Sherezer, Reb Meg, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. And it came to pass that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them and all the men of war, then they fled and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls, and he went out the way of the plain. But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath. where he gave judgment upon him. Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Rimla before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover, he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with chains to carry him to Babylon." Zedekiah didn't believe the word of the Lord at the mouth of Jeremiah. Ezekiel is told in the 12th chapter of the book of Ezekiel, which we've covered before, Ezekiel is told to picture this taking of the city and the taking of Zedekiah and Zedekiah's escape from the city and the king of Babylon capturing him, slaying his sons, putting out his eyes. Putting out his eyes, he'd no longer see the land of Israel, and he wouldn't see the land into which he was being carried away captive. The last thing he saw with his physical eyes was his sons being put to death. Then he believed, didn't he? But too late. Too late. You see, there are many today that don't believe the word of the Lord. They refuse to believe the word of the Lord. They're in unbelief. Because they're in unbelief, because they're wicked, because they're sinners, because they come forth from the womb. Sinners. The condemnation of God abides upon them. Their children are wrapped. Light has come into the world, but they don't like the light. Why? John 3, 19, because their deeds are evil. They're just fine in their unbelief. They're just fine in their darkness. Because It's not carried out speedily. They persist in their wickedness, and they persist worse and worse into their wickedness. Scoffers, scoffing at the coming of the Lord. Because they scoff at it, they continue on in their evil ways, and they get steeped deeper and deeper into their sin and their evil ways. Show me the book of Luke. The book of Luke, chapter 17, I think this points it out pretty clearly. Luke 17 and verse 22. And He said unto the disciples. Notice who He said this to. He says it unto His disciples. He says it unto believers. His people. The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man. And ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, see here or see there, go not after them nor follow them. Why? Because they're false prophets. Believers don't follow after false prophets. Our land is full of false prophets today. They get up and they appear to be all religious and what they proclaim, they proclaim in the name of religion. But it's not the Word of God. The Lord didn't send them. It's not His message. Don't you go with them. Don't you follow after them. They're false prophets. For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of Man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation." And that has happened. And it's still happening. He's being rejected. And his people are suffering many things at their hands. And as it was in the days of Noah, So shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. You see the progression from the days of the Lord and the rejecting of Him and His suffering, putting Him to death and His suffering. And because the Lord hasn't returned speedily, they have persisted on in their evil and pernicious ways, grown more evil and more evil and more evil. Until we have it as it was in the days of Noah. What happened in the days of Noah? Sudden destruction. They did eat, they drank, they married wives. They were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. They were not looking for the Lord. They were not looking for the judgment of the Lord. They were just eating and drinking and giving in marriage and marrying and having a high old time. They weren't carrying on the work of the Lord. They weren't carrying on the business of the Lord. They could care less about the work of the Lord. And judgment came. Likewise, also, it was in the days of Lot. They did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built. They did everything but the work of the Lord. They weren't looking for the Lord. They didn't do His business. They didn't do His work. They were just carried on about the things of the world. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. He is coming again. Whether you believe it, whether you disbelieve it totally, or whether you try to discredit it, He's coming. It is the Word of the Lord. It is the Word of God. It is sure. It will come to pass. And I'm afraid that day is going to come quickly upon those who are not looking for it. And sudden judgment shall fall upon them. Well, we'll stop there tonight.