Beware the Prophets
It’s been quite a few weeks since I wrote anything on this
blog. I had a busy few weeks, meeting
friends, going to the movies, and helping out at church. The connect groups started and ended after 8 weeks, and
took quite a bit of my time, but I got to meet some of the most wonderful
people in my church that I wouldn’t meet under any other circumstances. I’ve been very excited about my group ever
since it was announced last year and decided to get involved, and I have to say that
there wasn’t any moment where I was disappointed over my choice.
But I would like to talk about something else. I have something that lies heavy on my heart. It is
something I’ve encountered in my faith ever since I was 14, and it, or they, have either caused joy or irreparable harm
to those that believe in Christ. I’ve
had mixed encounters with the people that say they have it, and I have heard
both good and bad stories about it (more bad than good, though), and I have
felt the need to bring this up here in my blog.
I’m talking about Christians who profess to have the gift of
prophecy, or are or have prophesied in their faith.
Now, before I continue, I must state my intentions and beliefs:
I have nothing against the gift of prophecy. I believe it is a legitimate spiritual gift
that is bestowed on followers of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and that it has a
very important part to play even among the faithful and unfaithful in today’s
society. Prophecies can guide believers
to do the right thing, rebuke those that have lost the way and bring them back
to Christ, and be a warning to both believers and unbelievers of coming calamities
or consequences due to Acts of God, acts by demons or acts by people. In no way am I trying to destroy or harm the
gift of prophecy in any way, but, and this is a big but, I am extremely
concerned in the way I see the vast majority of believers use or react to it. And it is out of this perspective that I
write this entry today
History of Prophecy
The gift of prophecy dates back long before it became a
spiritual gift for Christians and even long before Judaism itself was a
religion, in fact long before there was any group of people that could be
called Jews. The first recorded prophecy
in the Bible actually occurred in the Garden of Eden, where God Himself
prophesied to Adam that should he ever eat from the fruit of The Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil, he will surely die (Genesis 2:15-17). Since then
not only God, but a multitude of people who possessed the ability prophesied
over people and nations, warning of calamities to come, warning people of
consequences of their deeds, and teaching people the way of God. The greatest of all these prophets, and this
is true for both Christianity and Judaism, were Moses and Elijah. Note that I
deliberately left out Jesus, because Jesus was God, not a prophet.
Despite the claims from some churches, Prophesy did not end
with Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to Heaven. It continues to this day
where there is the unfulfilled prophecy of His return and subsequent judgement
and ending of this world (or universe if you want to be more specific) and all
people who have lived and are still living in it (I’m not going into detail
with this as there is ample of it in the Bible, but the jest is those people
who believed in Him and lived in His ways will be saved while those that didn’t
or don’t will burn in the eternal fires of Hell). Also, there are many Christians who, today,
prophesy in His (The God Trinity) Holy Name.
It is important to note that most prophecies were about
Jesus and His ways, and all prophecies surrounded Him and His glory. An apt reader of the Bible, reading it with
the right frame of both mind and heart will easily be able to pick this up most
readily.
What is Prophecy?
Of course, if one doesn’t know what prophecy is, one cannot
identify it, or separate it from the other gifts that are bestowed by the Holy
Spirit. Also, if incorrectly identified,
one can incorrectly attribute it to people who do not have the Spiritual Gift
of Prophecy, but have something more akin to fortune telling or even
fore-telling of the future, the first being bogus, and the second not
necessarily a Godly gift.
Prophecy is a motivational gift (in other word: it is meant
to motivate other people or believers’ into a certain behaviour) where God
makes His intentions and desires known to a person or group of persons. These people will then pass this motivation
on to others, usually a specific person or group of people. The intent will always be to:
- Change a person’s or group’s behaviour by making them known of a sin they are committing or an attitude that is not in line with what God want
- Make a person or group aware of God’s intent with them. Many times this will be but a confirmation
- Make a person or group aware of an action they need to perform for God, which could be anything that will lift up the Church as a whole or spread the loving Word of God. Again, this will be mostly be a confirmation, i.e. a confirming of something the person or group have already felt in their heart that they need to do.
- Rarely will it be a fore-telling of imminent danger or a future event. (Evidence of this can be found in Acts 21: 10-14)
- A pastor or preacher can also be considered a prophesier in that they speak forth the council of God from the scriptures and clarifies them to their audience.
A genuine
prophecy will be very specific or will attempt to avoid any vagueness. Whether directed at a congregation, group of
people or a single person, the person prophesying will know who exactly to
speak to and will know the exact message to give. It won’t be a spur of a
moment thing that comes up in conversation, but would have been delivered
through prayer, dreams or quiet contemplation with Christ. The person will be compelled to deliver this
message, and many times will stop at nothing to deliver it.
It is also very important to note that the first coming of
Christ, His subsequent death and resurrection has also altered the gift
completely. No longer are there any new
revelations: the Bible contains the complete Word of God. There are to be no additions or omissions,
and no prophecy will ever go against anything that stands within the Word of
God, nor add to it.
The False Ways
This article, however, is not to teach you about what the
Gift of Prophecy is, for that you can go visit your local church. The point of this article is to point out
some of the wrongs I have encountered surrounding prophecy, especially within
the churches I have served, are still serving, or have attended.
Many people are ignorant to the fact that prophecy, as with all
the other gifts, is not something that you use for showmanship. It’s not some fool waving his arms on a
stage blurting out all sorts of “prophecies” at their congregation, nor is it
something used to attract attention to one self. Not so long ago I attended a church in a
small suburb called Little Falls. The pastor was all fire and brimstone after
the prayer session, which came near the end of the service, spewing out
prophecies: “Someone in this section here has car trouble! Who are you?
Can that person show themselves with his or her hand?”
As if the fact that he had no respect for the person’s
feelings wasn’t enough, the pastor didn’t even know who it was he was suppose
to deliver the “message from God” to. This showmanship must have gone on for at
least 2 minutes before a woman in the back of the congregation meekly raised
her hand. Clearly she didn’t want to be
identified, but the buffoon on stage made sure that the minute she raised her
hand every person in the congregation was staring at her wide-eyed. There is so much wrong with this picture.
Couldn’t the pastor maybe just have contained himself and,
in a dignified manner, approached her after the service and given her the
message? But the sign was already
there: he didn’t know who it was. One of the many clear indications that
someone received a prophecy: they would know who to deliver the message to.
Since this “pastor”, and I say this as loosely as possible, didn’t know who he
had to deliver the “message” to, he clearly didn’t have any message from God. And from what I have heard about this church,
it’s not the first time this has happened.
There are many reasons why Christ never specifically said
the words “I am God.” (He always alluded to it, and if someone said He was He
would say yes, but He never outright said it).
The very reason is because God Trinity is not a God of showmanship. He never
shows off unless the situation calls for it, which is extremely rare, and He
never forces Himself on anyone.
Everywhere you read in His Word He is a God of humility. Jesus didn’t say: “I stand at the door
knocking. If you don’t open I’ll bash it
down, grab you by the neck and strangle you into submission.” No, He says: “I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open
the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Revelations 3:20). When He spoke to Elijah it was in the
stillness of the mountain and not the wind, earthquake or the fire (1 Kings
19:11-13). If this is the way that God
is and works with people, would it not be the same for the gifts He gives? And wouldn’t He expect us to use the gifts in
the same way He would? Are we not
supposed to be more like Him and less like us? (John 3:30)
I understand that sometimes a pastor has to shout at his congregation to get
a point across, especially when the flock is being thick-headed, but this is
not necessarily the gift of prophecy, and this is not delivering a personal message to someone,
but a message for a larger audience. And
even if the prophecy is one of rebuke the Bible commands that we do it with love
and respect for the person the message is being delivered to, not humiliate
them by rebuking them publicly unless all avenues have been taken, and then
only if the Church council is present.
Any person calling himself a prophet that rebukes a person in public
because “he got a prophecy from Christ that rebukes the person” is either lying
or not using his gift as God intended.
Such people should be ignored and even cast out of the Church. The Church is a place of love and respect,
not power mongering and retribution.
Another point that gets my blood boiling is
the so-called prophets that tell people to do certain things because “God gave
them a message”. There are prophets out
there that claim that God told them certain people need to give up jobs, food,
cars, houses, even everything they own, because He (God) needs the stuff
/them. Most of the time these so-called
prophets are practically running their own get-rich-quick scheme: enriching
themselves by lying to gullible people, then exploiting their gullibility to
get rich off of them.
Then there are those that claim that they
know when the End (or the Apocalypse) is.
I have no respect for these people as they are clearly lying. Stay away from these people at all costs.
Protection Against False Prophets
There are a couple of things that one can
do to prevent oneself from being conned, and I believe it is in fact quite easy
to recognize that you are being conned if you follow these steps:
- A prophecy should, in a majority of cases, be a confirmation. I have heard so many people tell me that when someone gave them a prophecy it was as if they have heard it before, or that it brought something to mind that they had already thought about, or that it confirmed a message or image or thought they received from God. Rarely would a prophecy blindside you with an idea or task that you never thought of or a situation you never encountered, but the problem is this is not a hard or fast rule; it can happen.
- A prophecy will never go against scripture. This IS a hard and fast rule. Is someone telling you to sleep with someone or marry someone? Scripture rarely shows where God actually points out a partner for someone. Also, adultery is forbidden in Scripture. How about money investments? Scripture is full of wisdom and rules regarding money. Does the prophecy recommend you using your money in a way that is against Scripture? Does someone’s prophecy tell you to murder someone? Does the prophecy “reveal” a new future or a Third Coming of Christ? All of these are going against Scripture. If a prophecy goes against scripture ignore it and avoid the person that prophesied it like a plague.
- If a prophecy is not against scripture, pray about it. Never just fall in line with any prophecy. The prophecy might be correct from a scripture point-of-view, but the person behind it might not have received a prophecy, or would want to use it for the wrong intentions. Always consult Christ, and when you receive confirmation, only then proceed.
- Prophecies from God are never vague. Is the prophecy given to you vague, or not clear on its instruction? Does it generalize, for instance does the person tell you that “God will open doors for you this year” but doesn’t clarify which doors God will open for you? Does the person talk about blessing that will come your way but doesn’t specify which ones? These are usually good clues that there is lying involved.
I’ve written quite a lengthy post, and for
that I apologize. I just felt like I
needed to give a lot of information through, and hope that this will be helpful
to those that find themselves in the company of people calling themselves
prophets or that prophecy.
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