Jeremiah and Hananiah

In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will 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. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet." (Jeremiah 28:1-9 ESV)

Today, when we look at Jeremiah and Hananiah, it is so easy to identify who is the real prophet and who is the false prophet. However, if you were living in the days when Jeremiah and Hananiah are alive, who would you believe? As a Jew, would you believe in the patriotic prophet Hananiah who prophesied the fall of Babylon, or the traitorous prophet Jeremiah, who asked you to surrender to the enemy? Tell me frankly. Who would you believe?

Swap Israel with your own country and Babylon with your country's enemy. Then a Jeremiah appear and ask you to surrender to the enemy country. Will you listen to him?

And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' (Matthew 23:30 NIV)

But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" (Luke 23:21 NIV)