The Gift of Prophecy

There is MUCH abuse in the church of today over this issue, and MOST of those who are doing the abusing wouldn’t know the gift if it came up and bit them.  They are false prophets, fakes, deceivers.  I’ll cover this a bit later after the “basics” of the gift.

Do NOT confuse this with the OFFICE of a PROPHET.  They are two entirely different things.  One with the gift of prophecy may not be a prophet and vice versa.  A Prophet may not have the gift of prophecy.  As a small example, a child may have a fireman’s hat, but it doesn’t mean he is a fireman.  In other words, operating in the gift of prophecy does not qualify you to hold the office of a Prophet.  The ministry calling of a Prophet, though a gift, has to do with one’s life calling.  Though the gifts are given for life, (Romans 11:29), one may operate in the gift of prophecy only one time or hundreds of times, it is God’s leading and will in that area.  As we continue, I’ll show you the differences. 

Prophecy is a supernatural utterance, speaking forth the counsel of God in a known language. It has NO connection with human intellect, reasoning or thought.  Prophecy can concern current or future events and is also used to exhort, to encourage and to comfort the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3).  Note there is no mention in these passages describing the gift of prophecy that one with the gift would “predict” (or foretell future events).  There is no scriptural basis to assume that one with the “Gift of Prophecy” would “predict” any future events. 

Prophecy is NOT

PROPHECY IS NOT “POETRY” and it is not disguised in prose.  When you hear someone "rhyming their sentences, discount it immediately, they are pretentious and they are false.

Prophecy is Not Fortune Telling.  Fortune telling is forbidden in the Word of God. 

If you have ever heard of so called “Psychic” Jeanne Dixon, you may remember that at one time she wrote a book called “The Gift of Prophecy” and attempted to claim that her “ability” to tell the future was from God.   

Anyone who has followed her predictions knows that she is far from being right even 1% of the time. 

Then there were false prophets or supposed fortune tellers in Jeremiah's day.  God said concerning them:

Prophecy is not simply the ability to preach.  Many uninformed, mostly spiritually ignorant preachers of today claim that the gift of prophecy is merely the gift of being able to preach the gospel.  To preach means to proclaim, to announce, to cry to tell.  Politicians, lawyers, and teachers can do that, even though they may have never received the Holy Spirit.  The word prophesy means to “bubble up”, to “flow forth” or to “drop like rain”.  Teaching and preaching are a result of careful study, prayer and devotion.  Prophecy, on the other hand comes solely by the inspiration of God, whether you’ve studied or not.

Prophecy is not the ability to quote scripture.   Scripture quotes may be a part of prophecy from time to time, but the gift of prophecy should not be confused with the natural ability some people have to remember and quote Scripture.  Even the devil can quote Scriptures:  he did it with Jesus, he can do it with you. 

Prophecy is not the laying on of EMPTY Hands on EMPTY Heads.  Many Charismatics have a practice of going around laying hands on everyone and then saying whatever comes to mind.  You should be extremely careful about just who you lay hands on AND about who lays hands on you. 

Tragically, this is EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MANY PENTECOSTAL CHURCHES TODAY.  Friend, Prophecy is NOT just  “speaking whatever comes to your mind”  That is wrong, and it is false.  It is the mind of man and is much closer to  DEMONIC than anything else.  People have been taught that this is the gift of prophecy. 

This is not the Spiritual gift of prophecy as given by the Holy Ghost. 

At a Charismatic meeting, a certain woman was told that her husband was running around on her.  The rest of the group was so sure about this that they even tried to determine just who it was that he was running around with.  When the angry wife went home and confronted her husband concerning this supposed sin in his life, it almost destroyed their marriage.  He was totally innocent, but it took a great deal of prayer, counsel, and explanation to convince his wife of his innocence.   

At another such meeting, a woman was told that her mother was going to die very shortly (those at the meeting were led to believe it would be just a matter of days), but she hasn't died yet, and it’s been 16 years!   

They "prophesy" a lot of things which never come true at such meetings, and often people are hurt emotionally and spiritually, left confused and bewildered.  People often turn away from God, assuming that ALL such claims to “gifts” are false. Folks, This is not the Biblical gift of prophecy. 

I know of MANY such false prophesyings that have cause people to completely leave the church and to stop serving God altogether.  I can 100% assure you that GOD does NOT want you to stop serving him. 

If that is true (that God does NOT want you to stop serving him), and it certainly IS true,  then the only source of these types of prophecies is Satan himself.  Period. 

This kind of Garbage is PREVALENT in the Pentecostal churches of today.  Truth has given way to the “spectacular” and many churches feel that unless they have someone prophesying every service then they haven’t ‘had church’. 

Friends, this is hogwash, it is garbage and the church today needs to wake up and discern the real from the false!

Why do I say such things? 

Take for example, some of these “prophecies” heard around Pentecostal circles recently: 

“There is something about to happen to you and you’re going to be in trouble”.  Really?  You mean God can’t be more specific than that? 

How about this one: “God is going to resolve this problem that you’ve had”.  Whoa....perhaps it’s the one at the top of my list.... or could it be number 8 on my list?   

I once heard someone prophesy to a lady “Your financial worries are over, the check is in the mail!”   Well, I guess someone else got that check because that prophecy was given 15 years ago and she hasn’t received the check yet...! 

I have a very hard time with Pentecostals who hear such nonsense and believe it.  IF God is going to speak to you, he can and WILL be very specific.  Where is the accountability today?  Have we turned to lies simply because we want to feel good?

I’ll tell you quite frankly.  The church is afraid to hold anyone accountable because they (1) enjoy the sensationalism and (2) don’t want to have to make some of their elders sit down for prophesying FALSELY.

JUST ONE false prophecy is enough to brand one a false prophet.  JUST ONE. 

While I’m on the subject of prophecy, let me also, as I promised to do, cover the subject of Prophets.

 Prophets 

This is another area in the church of today that is extremely abused with MANY men today calling themselves “Prophets”.

Bear with me as I expose them for the deceivers they are.  You are about to see very quickly this is one area that I will stand very boldly against.  I am 100% against ANY man who calls himself a Prophet and has even ONE false prophecy.  You can rationalize all you wish, but the truth of the matter is that ONE, JUST ONE false prophecy makes you a false prophet.  PERIOD.  There is no “missing the mark”  “heard it wrong”, “didn’t hear clearly”, lame excuses. 

Does it make you angry when I say that?  Good.  It is my full intention to do just that.  If you are going to prophesy falsely, the I am going to be your worst nightmare and I will expose you AND all your methods of deception.  Perhaps you will think twice before you claim to be a Prophet (or even claim to be prophesying for that matter).   I guess by now, you have me figured out:  I cannot stand a false prophet...period.  Why?  Because he is a liar and causes the Holy People of God to believe in a lie. 

Anyway, first things first.  Just what is a prophet?  Let’s examine the character of a prophet.

Before answering that, let me rule out about 99.9% of the so called prophets today. 

A Prophet of God is ALWAYS 100% correct in their prophecies.  Always.  Anything less, and it rules out all probability that they are of God.   

Much like you view a pastor or an evangelist, a prophet is also a ministry calling.  It is not as the “gift of prophecy”  in that it may only operate one time, it is rather a Life’s Calling.  A prophet MAY only be used one time, but it is the demeanor, the actions, the thinking, the heart of the man that is different.  Prophets are perhaps the most misunderstood of all the offices of ministry and MOST churches would not recognize one immediately if they saw one.   

We are all familiar with the Old Testament prophets and thinking of the very word prophet conjures up images of sackcloth and ashes, of men wandering around with no particular place to go standing on tree stumps proclaiming “gloom, doom, and destruction”.  Although these thing are very much associated with Prophets only, there is yet so much more to it than that.   A prophet has a deep rooted love and sense of protection for the People of God.  He is ALWAYS concerned with encouraging people to just do the “right thing” in the eyes of God.   

A prophet may very often be dragged into conflict between the will of man (or the will of a church) and the will of God, but he will, if he is a REAL prophet, be more concerned with the will of God and will follow God at the expense of his own life.   

A prophet’s life often is filled with misfortune, tragedies, hard times, and extreme stress, both inside and outside the church. 

THIS is one of the main reasons that churches will quite often reject a true Prophet.

The church of today, especially has been taught that if someone is really going through tragedy, hard times, stress, etc. then that person has obviously done something wrong and can’t possibly be blessed of God.   (This is exactly how Job's friends viewed his misfortune).  How wrong you are my friend.  It would do you well to take a look at Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Job and the life of our Apostle, Paul.  It is this type of life experience that allows a prophet to know and to be more sensitive to  the burdens and the plight of the people of God.   

A Prophet has a passion for exposing and correcting doctrinal errors.   

A prophet speaks exactly what he has seen, heard, or received from the Lord (even in dreams and visions).  He does not add to nor take away from the facts.  He realizes that what he speaks will many times NOT be accepted and could result in him being treated as an outcast among, especially, the religious circles.  He DOES however, speak what God has given him.  

A true prophet always takes 100% Responsibility for his prophecies.  (Thus it behooves him to be absolutely certain that what he is speaking IS from God).   As I've already stated, a true Prophet is always 100% right.

The Prophets are NOT the SOURCE of the message.  They are the MESSENGERS.  In fact, they may not always understand everything they are prophesying until after it comes to pass.  (Again, if it does not come to pass, mark that man as a false prophet and AVOID HIM like the plague). 

A true prophet will often be rejected even in his own church if the time ever comes to reveal or speak something that people don’t want to hear.  I know of an instance where a  man prophesied to a church congregation that unless some of them repented, the church would split.  He spelled out exactly what was going to happen, how it was going to happen and warned them to repent.  They did not.  MOST of the church present  at the time rejected that man and regarded him as a false prophet and he was shunned by many who before, would at least be somewhat friendly with him.  Within a few short months, the church split exactly as the man had told them it would and in the manner he had told them.  After that, many believed him (although, it was too late to do anything about it).   

Many today believe that the prophet passed away with the Old Testament.  That’s an interesting stance, since Acts 11:27-28 show the workings of  NEW TESTAMENT prophets.  They warned of a dearth to come.  Then there is Agabus (again) in Acts 21:20 who warns Paul, although he didn’t realize it was Paul he was warning at the time.   Acts 13:1 also mentions prophets and in Acts 15:32 tells us of two more prophets by name:  Judas and Silas.

A Prophet’s Ministry 

As we mentioned, a prophet has a great passion for truth, for doctrinal correctness and hates error.  They will at times be involved in prophecy, or the “foretelling” of events.  The will be involved in Warnings, in Encouragements, in Exhortations and in Comforting the church.   

The will also be involved in REVEALING THE THOUGHTS AND THE INTENTIONS OF THE HEART, as God reveals it to them.  Most true prophets also operate with the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge, but not all.  The key difference between the gift of prophecy and a prophet is the revealing by a prophet of the THOUGHTS and the INTENTIONS of the heart.  In fact, a true prophet will work in this area on a regular basis.  He will reveal what someone was intending to do, or what they were thinking about doing and also will reveal what they thought they had hidden.  Many times, it will be something that only the person involved and God could possibly know.  It will NOT BE SOMETHING THAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO ANYONE.  Don’t confuse this with the “Word of Knowledge”.   

A prophet knows and is FULLY AWARE that ANY prophecy made MUST line up with the Word of God.  Obviously, if a prophet says “Sir, you are going to be in a Car Wreck next week”..the Word of God will have nothing to say about that particular thing.  In this case, I believe you need to examine MOTIVES.   Is his motive personal gain or prestige?  Is he just “prophesying for the moment...(you know..in the heat of a service just to have something to say....If he’s doing this, he is most certainly false!).  Then, you have a choice.  Believe it and try to avoid it, or Don’t believe it and see if it happens.  (Of course, if it does, then he has made himself at least ONE true prophecy, hasn’t he)?   If the man has a reputation for being right, I promise you, I would NOT ignore this!

Try ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF GOD and Prove them. 

Marks of a False Prophet 

A False Prophet will prophesy about NATURAL things, MATERIAL things.  A true Prophet is more concerned with the condition of man’s heart and spirit. 

A False Prophet is often arrogant, self centered, and brags on his prophecies in an attempt to make people around him believe that he is a “true” prophet. 

A False Prophet is often “very pious” in his actions toward others.  He often feels like he must be “RELIGIOUS” all the time. 

A False Prophet will often ‘rationalize’ or try to explain away his “missed” prophecies or mistakes. 

A False Prophet will often proclaim himself a prophet and attempt to get others to agree with him.  A true prophet is more often extremely humble about it and will be reluctant to call himself a prophet, despite the clear evidence. 

A False Prophet wants an audience.  He wants everyone to know that he has “just prophesied” about something or someone and it appears to be genuine (whether it is or not).  For Example:  If I were to prophesy that California is going to be struck by an earthquake, chances are pretty good that at some time in the next several years, it will.  I would then be able to claim that I predicted it and it came to pass.  Likewise, If I claim that Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, or any number of East Coast states will be struck by a Hurricane, what do you think the chances of that happening are?  You will NEVER hear a false prophet bringing up his past failures.  He doesn’t want you to remember them.  It is tragic today that the CHURCH itself doesn’t want to remember them.  I know of a man that has prophesied MANY wrong prophecies and his church still considers him a prophet.  I’m willing to guess that someday he will get ONE right (like the earthquake thing) and the entire church will praise him as a prophet and “spread the word”. 

Friends, this is happening in the church today on a REGULAR basis.  IT MUST BE STOPPED. 

Does this prophecy agree with the principles of the Word?  Is it in harmony with the character and nature of the bible? 

Has the person ever prophesied before?  If so, have the prophecies come true?  If they have, then you stand a good chance of this one coming true also and as long as it is in harmony with the nature of the Word of God, it probably should be heeded.  Why?  The Word of God gives the answer: 

Sometimes a Spirit-filled believer may be witnessing to someone when the Lord suddenly anoints the witness to say things which he or she didn't plan on saying 

This is “the gift of prophecy”.  It does not make one a prophet.  They are inspired by the Holy Ghost to say it, and it almost always causes the person to break or to repent.  

I would say this:  If you know someone who regularly tells you that an event is coming or “about to happen” and describes that event, and these things do happen:  If you have someone who reveals hidden things that he could not know, such as an event that happened to someone, or that regularly reveals YOUR OWN thoughts or intentions:  Then you should very much look at that person as possibly being a Prophet.  They very likely are.  However, as I keep telling you...TRY THEM BY THE WORD OF GOD. 

Remember something concerning the gift of Prophecy:  Prophecy always exalts Jesus as the only Savior of men. Neither Prophets nor those with the gift of prophecy will exalt anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ (not themselves nor another person who prophesies).