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Divine Judgment Against the False Prophets of ChristendomThe Watchtower—1979 | November 1
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“And to Shemaiah of Nehelam you will say, “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “For the reason that you yourself have sent in your name letters to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ‘Jehovah himself has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, in order to become the grand overseer of the house of Jehovah toward any man maddened and behaving like a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the pillory; now, then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is behaving as a prophet to you people? For that is why he has sent to us at Babylon, saying: “It is long drawn out! Build houses and inhabit them, and plant gardens and eat their fruitage,—”’”’”—Jer. 29:24-28; compare Jeremiah 29:4-6.
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Divine Judgment Against the False Prophets of ChristendomThe Watchtower—1979 | November 1
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18. How was Shemaiah trying to run ahead of Jehovah, with what consequences to himself and his offspring?
18 Shemaiah in Babylon did not want to wait upon Jehovah to bring deliverance to the Jewish exiles, of whom he was one. He did not believe the earlier prophecy of Isaiah 44:28 through 45:4 about Khoresh, or Cyrus the Persian, who was to overthrow Babylon and restore the Jewish exiles to their homeland. Hence, Shemaiah wanted to run ahead of Jehovah. He schemed to work out salvation for himself and fellow exiles in his own way. He favored a course that would bring a “yoke of iron” from the king of Babylon upon the neck of the vassal Kingdom of Judah. (Jer. 28:13, 14) Hence, no deliverance at all would come to Shemaiah the revolter. His offspring would be cut off, not sharing in Israel’s restoration!
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