Analyzing ( Jeremiah 29:8 ) rejection of other prophets prophecy by keeping Jeremiah 28 & Jeremiah 29 in context

Question

@b-a 's answer in this related posting is quite good, and I just wanted to spawn out some more questions about it:

Related Question Posting: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/a/30584/19810

Therefore, just continuing on from @b-a 's answer above.

Jeremiah 28:1-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

.....Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me ...............saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

......prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah..............................the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord [a]confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7 Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! ............................................................10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

12 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them yokes of iron.” 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have also given him the beasts of the field.”’” 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has Not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.

Jeremiah 29:1-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

29 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) .................................................................................. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.....................................................13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

By viewing Jeremiah 29:8, and keeping in mind the contextual importance of Jeremiah 28 and Jeremiah 29

(Jeremiah 29:8) For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

Would it be reasonable to call prophets like Hananiah are "Mistaken Prophets", and I use the were "Mistaken" because it's sort of broad enough to include

-prophets are intentionally lying about prophets

-, and said term is also broad enough to include prophets who have dreams and visions caused by fleshly desires?

( LOL, if a man like John Doe is infatuated ( i.e fleshly infatuated desire) with a lady like Mary Smith then John Doe would very likely have dreams and visions of marrying or courting her( and vice versa)

Another example, a person who invests a considerable amount of money in the stock market( i.e. a stock broker) would obviously have a vested interest in seeing stock prices go up, and therefore might have a "misleading" dream/vision about a particular stock of some company like ACME corporation go up in value. However, said "misleading" dream/vision just comes about due to fleshly desires. )

Answer 1

Your question seems to be, Would it be reasonable to call prophets like Hananiah are "Mistaken Prophets"?

While it is true that Hananiah (and his ilk) were mistaken (history proving the whole bunch of them to be utterly wrong in everything they claimed), to call them 'mistaken prophets' would not even approach God's view and description of them.

In those biblical times, true prophets sent by God stood in direct contra-distinction to those called "dreamers". Yes, God sometimes sent dreams to some of his prophets, but not always; direct messages were given to them, in the main. "Thus saith the Lord" was their refrain because the Lord had, indeed, spoken to them. Even when dreams and visions given to his prophets (like Daniel and Ezekiel) were recorded, they also included words spoken in their hearing by God's messengers (angels). Thus Daniel asked the angel what this or that dream meant, and the angel spoke words to him by way of explanation, and also instructions were given, to say what the prophet was to do after having a dream or a vision. Exact information and precise instructions were given to God's true prophets. That was never the case with pretend-prophets, who just dreamed up stuff to say.

The warnings about such dreamers are crystal clear in the book of Deuteronomy, and note how there are two categories - a prophet, and one who shares dreams:

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them', you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer... That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God... You must purge the evil from among you." (13:1-5)

"But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death... 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. Do not be afraid of him." (18:20-22)

In the Bible, presumptuousness is as the sin of divination (1 Samuel 15:23 A.V.) and diviners were to be put to death.

The chosen answer of b-a that you refer us to points out the critically important fact that :

"Jeremiah said the exile would last 70 years (29:10), and told them to build houses, marry, and pray for the welfare of their city (29:5-7). Other prophets were making the claim that the exile would be short and they would return to their land soon (28:3). This is the claim Jeremiah was disputing, which is far from saying "no longer to listen to anyone's dreams"."

God had instructed his prophet to prepare his people for 70 years of exile, to get them to settle down in the foreign land, build houses, marry and do business, because (for most of them) they would never see the land of Israel again. But Hananiah and company were in diametric opposition to the revealed word and will of God! They told the people the exact opposite to what was the truth! They were liars, every one of them, no matter how they claimed to have got their information. Worse, they were lying in the name of the Almighty, claiming they were sent by him, while Jeremiah was the liar, they claimed.

The Bible is clear as to what God thinks about liars, and no liar will get into the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:8 where liars are lumped alongside the abominable, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters and so on.) God has promised all such unrepentant ones "the lake of fire".

You refer to the context of Jeremiah chapters 28 & 29. Well, in 28:16-17 it states:

"'Therefore, thus saith the Lord;' [Jeremiah speaking this prophesy] 'Behold, I will cast thee [Hananiah] from off the face of the earth; this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord.' So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month."

Then, in chapter 29 vss.8-9 we learn, again from God's direct speaking to Jeremiah :

"'Let not your prophets and your diviners that be in the midst of you deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name. I have not sent them,' saith the Lord." Then vss. 21-23 add:

"...of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Manaseiah, which prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: and he shall slay them before your eyes. And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; because they have committed villany in Israel with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord."

Your question is, Would it be reasonable to call prophets like Hananiah "Mistaken Prophets"? No, in view of all the foregoing clear warnings from God, the answer is that that would not be reasonable. To merely call them 'mistaken', would be to deride the warnings of God as to all such liars and deceivers. God is witness to all false prophets, and they shall not escape his wrath, no matter if everyone else tries to make light of their 'mistaken dreams'.