Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today, God has Ezekiel launch out with prophecies against other prophets, false prophets specifically.

He says they prophesy about things they've dreamed up in their own

minds or just have a feeling about in their spirits. The text says they see false visions and lying

visions, and it's unclear whether that means they're lying about what they see, or if the enemy

is faking these visions and the prophets just think they're from God. But probably the former.

The prophets also believe they have the

power to speak things into existence as long as they attach God's name to it, because then God's

hands will be tied and he'll be forced to comply with whatever they've spoken. If you look at their

beliefs and actions carefully, you might see that some of the popular ideas and practices in the

world today, and even in

Christendom, aren't too far off from this.

But God makes it clear that he is not the one informing these prophets, and he will not

bend to their will.

Not only are his hands not tied, but his hands will be used against them.

God compares their prophecies to a wall they've built and painted white.

It may look nice and fresh and clean, but he will crush it and it will fall on them.

God is using a metaphor here. He's probably not going to smash them with an actual wall.

He could, but more likely, the walls are their false prophecies, which will ultimately be turned back on

them, just like we talked about with the people's sins. Then God turns his attention to the magicians

or sorcerers. He talks about people who sew magic bands on people's wrists. And if you go to

Jerusalem today, you'll see a similar practice where some stores try to sell you little red string bracelets

...