Second, Ezekiel denounced the false prophets because of their divesture of property. He said they had "taken the treasure and precious things." (verse 25) The false prophets of that day made a practice of divesting the peo-ple of their goods and property. Because of their lies and their presumptions of their positions as messengers of God, they stole from the people. They extorted money and property from the people, especially widows. By their deceits, they pillaged the land and peoples.

In fact, the Lord Jesus specifically spoke about this very sin in Matthew 2. The Pharisees of his day devoured widows' houses. In the time of Jesus, they went to those least able to defend themselves, lied to them, and ex-torted from them their goods, lands, and their property.

In a similar fashion today, many false leaders practice this same deceit. They ask members of their audience a series of questions. For example, "Do you experience financial difficulty? Do you have debts that you cannot pay? Do your expenses exceed your income so that you do not have enough money to cover all of your ex-penses and your cost of living? Does that describe you?"

Then, they follow with the following announcement. "If that describes you, I have wonderful news for you," they say. "If you will send me a gift in the amount of your debt, God will bless you and will send you money 100 times what you send me." In this way, these modern day false prophets and teaches divest millions of peo-ple of their money and property.

They did it in the time of Ezekiel and in the time of Jesus. They practice these devious methods in our day as well. Do not follow them. Yes, God did promise to provide for the needs of His children. However, when you hear or read someone who makes that kind of offer, turn them off, and destroy their publications. God will make a way for you, as you trust Him.

The third offence of the false prophets of Ezekiel's day comes in verse 28; they defended evil for personal good. Notice what it says,

"And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter."

Well, whom have they daubed and what does it mean to daub with untempered mortar? If you go to verse 27, you will see Ezekiel talk about the princes, the leaders and the ruling people of their day. He describes the ac-tions of the kings and their children who had positions of leadership. He then tells how the prophets treated those princes. It says the prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar. Well, what does that mean?

In that day when they made plaster for walls or structures, they used straw as a binding agent to help hold the material together to provide strength to the material. Maybe you remember the story of the children of Israel as slaves in Egypt. They had to make bricks for the Egyptians and used straw in making them. When the emperor or Egypt began to punish the children of Israel and afflict them greatly he took away their straw.

Well, that somewhat describes Ezekiel's picture. When he said that the prophets daubed them with untempered mortar, he meant that the false prophets propped up the princes, supported them, and defended them, but with untempered mortar. The mortar would not last nor provide strength, because it did not contain anything that would last or strengthen the mortar so that it would work.

The evil spiritual leaders propped up their leaders with false supports. They defended the evil actions of the rul-ers for their own good and advancement. The rulers became like ravening wolves, shedding blood, destroying souls, and profiting from dishonest gain. (See verse 27.) The false prophets supported and defended them to the people. They proclaimed that God had given them directions to aid them in this manner, when He had not so ordered.

Sadly, in our day, a similar practice exists. Ungodly men and women, who proclaim themselves as messengers of God, refuse to talk about sin. Not only do they not preach about sin to their audiences, they support their friends in the ministry who practice evil deeds and justify their actions. These false prophets and teachers en-courage their colleagues and promote them to others.

The false prophets of Ezekiel's day supported those wicked, evil princes who destroyed the land, perpetrating evil and wickedness in their land. We have those who practice the same folly today.

These three offences describe how the evil leaders of Ezekiel's day formed a conspiracy that resulted in the de-struction of the land. They give us a picture and insight into those same evil practices today. They serve as a warning, counsel, and encouragement to help us determine the true from the false. They are as current as to-day's television, radio, and print publications. I pray that the Spirit of God will open your eyes to discern the truth, so that you can reject error and pursue the truth.