Prophetic Utterances
While prophetic speaking has been with us for thousands of years there is a lot more emphasis on it today simply because of the ease of communications. There have always been prophets, both real and false, in the world. The ease of publishing a prophetic word out in this day and age however make it seem as if there is more of it happening. And it’s possible that there may be!
The proliferation of prophecy brings up several questions, among these being: (1) How do we know what is really from God? - and (2) Who judges what is right and what is not?
Let me define terminologies before we go any further. When I speak of the “prophetic” I am not speaking of interpreting eschatological Scriptures, that is, those Scriptures that speak of the “end times”, the return of Christ or the end of the age. I am speaking of those who claim to have a special revelation from the Lord of coming events or seasons. An example in the Bible would be Acts chapter 11 verses 27 and 28:
27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Here a prophet, identified by the name of Agabus, speaks a revelation from the Lord that there is going to be a severe drought and a famine. And it came to pass. This revelation was given far enough in advance that the Church could prepare to help take care of their fellow-Christians, which they did.
Many today claim the same ability to reveal future events and happenings through the power of the Spirit of God.
For those of you who do not believe God is doing this sort of thing anymore there is no problem. To you all of it is false. If you are one of those you have no need to read any further. However for those of us who know that the Lord can and does move through His Body with various gifts and manifestations of His Spirit we are faced with the task of rightly discerning what is the Word of the Lord and what is of man.
Let me partially answer the two questions that we asked, (1) How do we know what is really from God? - and (2) Who judges what is right and what is not?
First, (2) Who judges what is right and what is not? – You are supposed to!
1 Cor 14:29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass
judgment. NAS
The “judgment” spoken of is a “judgment” of the prophetic utterance, not necessarily of the person speaking it. Literally it means “discernment”. We are to discern what is of the Lord and what is not. It is our responsibility.
Which brings in the first question (1) – How? How can we discern the true from the false? There are
tools the Lord has given us. The following are some of them.
WORD
First of all we judge by the written Word. Does what is spoken line up with the written Word, both in spirit and in fact?
For instance, I recently heard a man preaching on Luke 14: 31 “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”
He spoke an exciting and encouraging word about how even if you only have half as much as you need, you can still have the victory! But no matter how good it sounds (and, even if it is a Biblical principle) is that what this particular Scripture says?
In Bible School one of our teachers taught us that “..text without context is pretext..” In other words, you can take a Scripture verse out of context and make it say anything you want.
Luke 14:31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. NIV
The context is surrender! It is not about the fight of faith and overcoming. The chapter is about disciples, taking up one’s cross and following Jesus, laying aside everything else.
So …. When you hear a Word, judge it by the Word of God. The written Word is the final arbitrator in all arguments. This means we must learn it. We must live it and it must live in us! We need to “rightly divide” the Word – that is, we MUST understand it! Read the context, study what is being said and see if what is being preached lines up.
The preacher in the above instance illustrated was not necessarily a false prophet. He may have simply been guilty of not studying enough, something many of us have done at times. Or he may have been young, full of zeal and enthusiasm to help the Lord’s people and in his zeal made some mistakes.
By itself it is not a sign of falseness, but poor exegesis of the Scripture should be a caution sign to us. Remember I
Thess. 5:21
“Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.” KJV
TIME
The second thing we judge by is this: Does the prophecy come to pass? This takes some time of course, but time is a judge! A man who claims a prophetic gift sent me a prophecy a long time ago predicting famine and plagues on America by September 2005. Well, we have had our disasters and troubles, but he never mentioned those. Either God was mistaken and meant “hurricane” but instead said “plague” or the “prophetic word” was wrong. I find no place in Scripture where God does not say what He means. He has no problem communicating His intentions.
I still have a copy of the booklet “88 Reasons Why the Lord HAS to Return in 1988”. The man who wrote it said that if it didn’t happen, then he was a false prophet. Yet the next year, when the Lord had not returned as he predicted, he wrote another book explaining where he made his mistake. He also predicted yet another date which also did not come to pass. I hope he repented but I am not sure if he ever did or whether he simply retired from public life out of embarrassment.
Deut 18:21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?" 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. NIV
DRAWING CLOSE
Third, does the prophetic word help you walk closer to the Lord or not? Anything that is supposedly of God but that draws you away from Him is not of God. He does not bring fear, unbelief or
unchrist-like attitudes.
Deut 13:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. NIV
James 3:15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. NIV
RELATIONSHIP
Fourth, does the person who is delivering the prophecy have a covering or a relationship with people who will correct him if he is wrong or in error? We all need to be surrounded with people we love and trust and who will if necessary, correct us when we need it. I appreciate those who love me and who challenge me at times. None of us are infallible. That’s why the Scriptures teach us to
“prove all things, hold fast that which is good.” (I Thess. 5:21) It is not wrong to test and try what we are being told. Since we are admonished to prove all things and to
“try the spirits” (I John 4:1) it would be wrong not to!
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. NAS
GUIDELINES
- Prophecy by itself is never to be directional. It may be confirmational, or preparational, but by itself it is never directional. That is, it may prepare you for something or it may confirm something to you. But prophecy alone is not enough for you act on it.
- Prov. 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Prov. 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
Prov. 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Godly counsel and prayerful advice from those you are submitted to and have a relationship with is wisdom and a safety net. Remember, no one person has the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is found in the Body of Christ.
- Think, look and discern. Who is exalted by the prophecy? Rev. 19:10b “
… the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The adoration and worship of Jesus should be lifted up because of the word given. He is the Head of the Church. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. All glory, all honor, all praise is to go to Him.
Pastor Jim
Christ Chapel
Sept. 2005