Recently, as I was studying the book of Ezekiel my perspective of false prophecy was given more insight. In the 13th chapter the Lord speaks through the prophet Ezekiel regarding false prophets and their soon judgement as a result of their untruths regarding Jerusalem’s future. These false prophets whitewashed the word by prophesying pleasantry when God had declared his wrathful judgement on the people of Jerusalem. The word whitewash first appears in the 10th verse of the chapter.
Ezekiel 13:10 [NLT]
10 “This will happen because these evil prophets deceive my people by saying, ‘All is peaceful’ when there is no peace at all! It’s as if the people have built a flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to reinforce it by covering it with whitewash
Immediately after reading this scripture I became contemplative. This was my first time really noticing the word whitewash in Ezekiel. It was also my first time relating the word whitewash in a spiritual sense. Before, the term only had context in conversations concerning entertainment, media, and the American History narrative.
This idea of spiritual whitewashing adds another dimension to the craft of false prophecy. In the spiritual sense the word whitewash can take on one of two definitions. The following definitions are referenced from the Cambridge Dictionary:
- to make something bad seem acceptable by hiding the truth
- an attempt to stop people finding out the true facts about a situation
Whitewashing, whether done intentionally or unintentionally, is the altering of God’s truth with lies that are presented as more favorable than what God has said. It builds a house that appears to be strong but crumbles at the slightest sign of adversity. The art of whitewashing separates us from Christ, denying us of the joy and peace that come from having a true relationship with him. It is at the root of false prophecy/teaching. These false prophets are not just teaching lies they are whitewashing those lies. This whitewashing is a serious issue that can determine whether we participate in eternal life or damnation. It stirs up Gods anger. It makes us negate our true purpose and so much more. I can honestly go on and on about the effects of whitewashing, but I’ll do that in a later post. I want to take my time with this topic because it is a very important and prevalent issue in our world. Over the next few weeks we will detail different aspects of whitewashing. Some that will be included are the different forms of spiritual whitewashing, the consequences of adhering to a whitewashed word, and how to overcome whitewashing. Part 2 will be released next week. Happy Monday and have a wonderful week until next time!
XO,
Courtney
As Told By Courtney 
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