Introduction: Interpretation of the women that sew pillows to armholes and hunt for the souls of men – soothsayers; fortune tellers, sorcerers (Revelation 18:11-13 [11] And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: [12] The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, [13] And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
See All..., 23). The ones Ezekiel is called to pronounce judgment against are hunting the souls of God’s people (verse 18) and polluting God among His people (verse 19). This points to a broader application. This message focuses on those who make merchandise of God’s people in order to pollute God among His people (2 Peter 2:3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
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• Sorcery/Witchcraft (Ezekiel 13:23Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
  See All... – “divine divinations”)
• Pornography
• False Doctrine
• Meditation/Eastern Religious Practices
• Fantasy/Computer Games & Fantasy Worlds
• Pleasure (2 Timothy 3:4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
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1. THEY PROPHESY OUT OF THEIR OWN HEART (Ezekiel 13:17Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,
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1. They Follow their own Spirit (Ezekiel 13:2-3 [2] Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; [3] Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
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2.  They Find Those Willing to Listen (2 Timothy 4:3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
   See All...; Romans 16:17-18 [17] Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. [18] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
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2. THEY HUNT THE SOULS OF GOD’S PEOPLE (Ezekiel 13:18And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
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1. They Claim to have the Keys to Salvation (Ezekiel 13:18And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
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2. They Promise Liberty and Bring Bondage (2 Peter 2:18-19 [18] For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. [19] While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
   See All...)   Satan Rages Against the Godly – “The devil, both a serpent for craft and a lion for cruelty, doth, out of his hatred to God, make it his constant business by his power and policy to hinder godliness… While Satan reigneth in a creature, all may be quiet and calm; but if he be once cast out, he will rage and roar to purpose. While Israel serveth the Egyptians, carrying their crosses, bearing their burdens, doing their drudgery, all is well; but when once they shake off Pharaoh’s yoke, turn, their backs upon Egypt, and set out for Canaan, with what force and fury are they pursued to be brought back to their former bondage! Christ was no sooner baptized than buffeted; he went, as it were, out of the water of baptism into the fire of temptation.” –from The Works of George Swinnock: Volume 1 (pages 62-63).
3. THEY POLLUTE GOD AMONG HIS PEOPLE (Ezekiel 13:19And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
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1. They Defile God among the People (Ezekiel 20:39As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
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2. They Do It for Pieces of Bread (Micah 3:11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
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3. They Do It by Lying to God’s People (Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
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4. THEY REMOVE THE JOY OF THE RIGHTEOUS (Ezekiel 13:22Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
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1. The Joy of the Lord is their Strength (Nehemiah 8:10Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
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2. By Sorrow of Heart the Heart is Broken (Proverbs 15:13A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
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5. THEY STRENGTHEN THE HANDS OF THE WICKED (Ezekiel 13:22Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
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1. They Encourage the Wicked (Jeremiah 23:14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
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2. They Falsely Promise him Life (Genesis 3:4-5 [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
   See All...; Jeremiah 23:17They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
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Conclusion:   Satan’s Basket of Beans – “Rowland Hill began his sermon one morning by saying, ‘My friends, the other day I was going down by the street, and I saw a drove of pigs following a man. This excited my curiosity so much that I determined to follow. I did so; and, to my great surprise, I saw them follow him to the slaughter-house. I was anxious to know how this was brought about; and I said to the man, “My friend, how did you manage to induce these pigs to follow you here?” “Oh! Did you not see?” said the man. “I had a basket of beans under my arm; and I dropped a few as I came along, and so they followed me.” ‘Yes,’ said the preacher; ‘and I thought, so it is the devil has his basket of beans under his arm; and he drops them as he goes along: and what multitudes he induces to follow him to an everlasting slaughter-house! Yes, friends; and all your broad and crowded thoroughfares are strewn with the beans of the devil.’ ” –from New Encyclopedia of Prose Illustrations (page 21).