What New Testament passages echo the warnings found in Ezekiel 13:10? Ezekiel 13:10 Revisited “Because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they plaster it with whitewash.” Echoes in the Gospels • Matthew 7:15 – “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” • Matthew 7:24-27 – Jesus contrasts a house on rock with one on sand, mirroring Ezekiel’s flimsy, whitewashed wall. • Matthew 23:27-28 – “You are like whitewashed tombs… outwardly you appear righteous, but inside are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Echoes in Acts • Acts 20:29-30 – “Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock… speaking perversions to draw away the disciples.” Echoes in Paul’s Letters • 1 Thessalonians 5:3 – “While people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ destruction will come upon them suddenly…” • 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 – “Such men are false apostles… disguising themselves as servants of righteousness.” • Galatians 1:6-9 – A warning against embracing “another gospel,” however attractively packaged. • 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – People will “accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires… and turn aside to myths.” Echoes in the General Epistles • 2 Peter 2:1-3 – “False teachers… will secretly introduce destructive heresies… and many will follow their depravity.” • Jude 4, 12-13 – “Certain men have crept in unnoticed… they are clouds without water… trees without fruit.” Echoes in Revelation • Revelation 2:14-16 – The church in Pergamum is rebuked for tolerating deceptive teaching that lulls believers into compromise. • Revelation 3:17-18 – Laodicea boasts of peace and prosperity, yet is “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,” needing “white garments” from Christ. Key Takeaways • False assurance of peace is a recurring danger; Scripture repeatedly unmasks it. • God equates smooth, flattering messages with structural whitewash—temporary, cosmetic, and ultimately deadly. • The New Testament reinforces Ezekiel’s call to measure every message—and messenger—against the unchanging standard of God’s Word. |
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