Last night I came across a situation (or, more specifically, a person) that brought me back to a rather controversial topic in the church these days... the idea of Prophets and prophecy.
First of all, do I think Prophets exist today? Yes. I think they're needed. I think for a time they "went out of style," you could say -- but I do believe the Lord is bringing back the 5-fold ministry to the church. Instead of a "board" leading a church (which, in my opinion, is an entirely unbiblical way to run a church anyway), the Lord is bringing the church back to rulership under the Apostle and Prophet. He's restoring both, by the way.
Now, what is a Prophet? I don't believe that we can count the Prophets of today in the same category as the Old Testament Prophets. Why? Because of one simple thing: Jesus. I'm under the impression that if you can't find something portrayed in Jesus' life, it's illegal to use. Example, if Jesus didn't preach the doom and gloom message of the Old Testament, but preached the "favorable year of the Lord" -- then we can't look at the Old Testament and say "God is all about doom and gloom." He's not. Why? Because Jesus said that He wasn't. So Prophets today won't typically carry the same message as Old Testament Prophets. They're role is to be in charge of the Bride and prepare her to be pure and spotless with the washing of the Word. They use revelation from heaven ("prophecy") to bring forth the realities of heaven onto earth for the purpose of the Bride. A Prophets role today is to reveal the heart of God to His children.
Now that brings me to the concept of prophecy. Prophets prophecy, obviously. However, prophecy and the office of a Prophet are two completely different things. Prophecy is the revelation of heaven available to everyone, while a Prophet is a specific person called to be at the head of the church using prophecy to help the body of Christ. Everyone in the church is called to prophecy. Everyone. But not everyone is called to be a Prophet.
Prophecy, though, is a spiritual gift sorely needed today. It's purpose is to hear from heaven on behalf of another (or, on occasion, on behalf of a church,etc.) and release grace and life to that person. If you look at 1 Corinthians 14, prophecy is for edification, exhortation, and comfort. Basically, for an individual to prophecy means that they are speaking out "revelations from the Lord" in order to build someone up, call someone near to God, or comfort them (i.e. "the Lord really loves you and He's wanting to bless your life!"). But not all prophecy has to be "the Lord sayeth.." -- it's as easy as telling someone they have nice teeth! Seriously! I've seen many people prophecy without even knowing they were doing it. Prophecy is amazing and life-building and everyone in the church should be pursuing it. After all, what's wrong with having someone tell you how amazing you are and calling out into reality the dreams of your heart? In my opinion, nothing! It's great! We need more of it in the church today.
Now, prophecy can get a little confusing because you'll find people saying things like, "I think such-and-such an event is going to happen in the future, etc..." and people are wary of prophecy because if the event doesn't happen, they get confused and think people are crazy. There are two different kinds of prophecy's beside those meant to build someone up (remember: prophecy is used for edification, exhortation, and comfort) - they are foretelling and forthtelling. Foretelling is to know the future (i.e. "I believe the Lord is saying that financial blessing is coming your way" -- this tells the future and still keeps in line with edification, exhortation, and comfort); while forthtelling is to cause the future to happen (i.e. saying that someone is about to receive financial blessing actually causes the grace to be released in their life for financial blessing to come -- basically, the Lord will cause the blessing because someone declared it). This can all get kind of confusing, but if you remember that no matter what if you're prophecying or someone else is prophecying, what is being said should either cause another to be encouraged, to draw near to the Lord, or to be comforted. Stick with these guidelines and you'll be okay. (Also note: prophecy is different than word of knowledge -- if you read Treasure Hunt testimonies, we get those by word of knowledge not prophecy; though a prophecy can come out of a word of knowledge. For more info check my "resources" info at the bottom of this post).
However, there are many ways to prophecy can and has been abused. For example, preaching a doom and gloom message that God is angry? Not okay. Why? Because Jesus changed all that. Prophecy should come out of a heart of love and an understanding that God loves His children. Also, calling out sin in someone's life? NOT OKAY. Under no circumstances should someone be calling out the negative stuff in your life (i.e. "I see Satan is using you for this..." or "I know you've been struggling with pornography..." or "the Lord says He's going to deal with your anger problem..." Bad bad bad!) or giving you direction (i.e. "The Lord is telling you to read your Bible more!"). Not okay. Let me repeat: NOT OKAY. I've seen so many people hurt by churches or individuals who called out sin in their lives or gave them directions claiming they were "from the Lord" and it only caused havoc. I'm under the impression that prophecy should be confirming something the Lord already told you or at the very least bringing you life. Now, Prophets are a little different in that they have a role of authority so they can sometimes give directional words or point out specific areas of your life, but they still should never be calling out sin in your life in a way that makes you uncomfortable. But someone who does not hold the office of a Prophet and is simply prophecying over you should NEVER give a directional word (without a relationship with you and having submitted it to an authority like a Pastor or a Prophet) or should under any circumstances call out sin in your life. It can be very damaging to a person, which is the opposite of what prophecy is meant to do.
Let me state this, however: prophecy is very powerful. It can literally change a person's life. Prophecy in itself reveals the dreams of someone's heart and actually releases grace for someone to step into their calling. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 says "But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you." This is not talking about revealing his sins. Its the LOVINGKINDNESS of the Lord that leads to repentence. A non-believer walks into a room, and suddenly everyone in there is telling him how awesome he is and that the Lord wants to fulfill the deep dreams of his heart he's never told anyone before (and how did they know he wanted to be a chef all his life, anyway?) -- you can guess that this guy is going to think about how much God really loves him. Prophecy truly is a remarkable thing if its used correctly.
However, it can be used for manipulation. This leads me to another point: False Prophets.
We know that in the end times the Lord will pour out His spirit on all flesh and all with prophecy and perform signs and wonders. But we also know that there will be specific people called to prophecy who will lead people astray (also known as False Prophets - but remember Prophets hold an office while everyone else is called to prophecy. At the same time, however, someone who is prophecying who is not a Prophet may use prophecy to manipulate someone, so these can apply to them, too). So, then, how will we be able to identify a False Prophet from a real Prophet?
Let me tell you one thing: a False Prophet is NOT someone who prophecy's incorrectly. Let me repeat -- it is NOT someone who prophecy's incorrectly. Sometimes real Prophets get things wrong. People hear things wrong all the time -- no big deal. So if a False Prophet prophecy's correctly, what exactly makes them False?
A False Prophet is someone who uses their gifting to manipulate people into following them. A real Prophet will always lead you to God. A False Prophet will always lead you to themselves. It's about them prophecying out of the wrong motives of the heart. Remember when Jesus described "wolves in sheep's clothing?" These are the kind of people He's talking about. It takes real discernment to pick them out sometimes -- that's why Jesus warns us not to be deceived. Typically, though, they can be spotted with a certain amount of accuracy if you know what to look for...
Here are some tips: If you get uncomfortable about the way they talk about themselves (i.e. right away they identify themselves as "Hey, I'm a Prophet. Listen to me!"), chances are something is fishy. This doesn't necessarily mean they are a False Prophet, but typically Prophets are pretty humble and will not come right out and identify themselves. After all, they are the friends and servants of God. A general rule: They should talk about God more than they talk about themselves.
Here's another IMPORTANT ONE -- if they don't belong to a home church and have people keeping them accountable (i.e. they wander from church to church proclaiming the "word of the Lord" like a "lone Prophet") something is definately wrong. Prophets should always be connected to the body of Christ through a home church. No Prophet is a one man "God-show."
Also, beware of Prophets who put on the "God-show." Meaning that all they care about is the big prophecy's from stage and amazing healings and things like that. Those things are great and most Prophets will probably get a chance to do them -- but if they care more about the show and about drawing attention to themselves than to God, there's a problem. I'm under the impression that any person (especially a Prophet) cares just as much about taking out the trash at their church as they do about getting someone out of a wheelchair.
Another thing to look out for is "parking-lot" prophecy. Now, I'm generally under the impression that when a Prophet or anyone else is giving you a word it should be done in a private manner -- but at the same time there should be room for other people to have their impute (remember: "Let two or three prophecy and the rest judge"). Others should be allowed impute or confirmation on a word given to you. If a Prophet chases you out to the parking lot after the service and waits until no one else is around to prophecy something relating to your sin or its a directional word (and it causes you not to share it with anyone else), beware. Most real Prophets know how to keep themselves and others accountable for the words they give.
And, of course, if they are constantly saying "the Lord sayeth" without leaving room for interpretation (i.e. they make everything they say "directly from the Lord so you should do everything they say") something is also fishy. Most real Prophets know the Lord really well so they can speak pretty confidently about what He's saying, but if someone tells you "the Lord says you should marry this person" and manipulates you into believing you should without letting anyone else have any confirmation -- something is definately a little sketchy. Note this: God always confirms the words He gives - either in scripture or through several witnesses.
Finally, their character should match their ministry. If you know them personally or can hear someone speak about them personally, and their character (what they do when no one is around) doesn't match up with the things they preach -- its a problem.
But remember, someone prophecying a wrong word over you doesn't make them wicked hearted or false or anything like that, even if it's a Prophet. People get things wrong. If something doesn't sit right with you, feel free to pray about it or "flush it," as we like to say.
And of course, you shouldn't freak out when someone starts to prophecy over you -- not all Prophets are False Prophets and not all prophecy's will be wrong. My point in writing this is to let you know that prophecy is real and that real Prophets do exist today, and they are awesome! But I'm also wanting people who are wary of this sort of thing to know that there are people out there who will leave a bad taste in your mouth. It shouldn't cause you to forget that God has real servants here who want to love you and help you into your calling.
And also, even if you never run into a real Prophet (or False one, for that matter), everyone should be pursuing the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is an awesome, awesome gift and it is truly needed in the church today. There are a lot of broken people who don't know their identity in Christ, and prophecy can help identify what the Lord is saying to and about people. Seriously, eagerly desire this one!
Anyway, I thought I should share this simply because last night while I was prophecying over a group of people I ran into a Prophet-type who was a little sketchy to me and I know that in these days this is going to get more and more common in the church (prophecy and Prophets, I mean, not necessarily sketchy ones -- but perhaps those too). So I thought I'd address some main points about prophecy, Prophets and False Prophets and what the difference is between them and what you should look for (or look out for!) when it comes to these things.
I have met and know several real Prophets very well and I can attest to their powerful ministry and stand up character. I also know a ton of non-Prophets who can prophecy at amazing accuracy and have personally given me some of the best affirming words of my life! So this stuff definately exists out there, and I want to let you know to be aware of it and to pursue it. I've been dealing with prophecy and Prophets for a while now and I have many examples of both good and bad prophecy (and I've run into both good and bad Prophets) so if you have any questions, comments, or concerns - email me or leave a comment. Blessings!
Recources:
This stuff will become more prevalent in these last days-- so be sure you know your stuff!
- A really good book that teaches how to prophecy correctly is A Call To War by Kris Vallotton (He's one of the Prophets out at Bethel Church in Redding, CA)
- This is a great blog post about prophecy if you're looking to learn more about it than what I've said here: http://jesusencounter.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/prophetic-guidlines/ (this mentions more info about word of knowledge vs. prophecy)
- A really good article about the nature of prophecy can be found here: http://www.jba.gr/1-Corinthians-14-prophecy.htm
- Wanna learn how to prophecy? Here's a quick lesson: To get a word for a specific person is very easy. One really good way to get a prophecy for someone is to picture Jesus sitting next to that person and ask yourself, "What would Jesus say to them if they were having a conversation?" Then listen for a response. Usually what comes to mind after you've asked that question is your prophecy. If it's something negative, try to put it into a positive spin. For example, if you get "I'm releasing you from such-and-such a sin" you could say "I believe the Lord is going to bring restoration into your life!" Another good way is as simple as asking God this: "Lord, what can I say to this person that lets them know that you love them and have a plan for them?" or simply, "Lord, show me how to love them." Don't over analyze your thoughts, either. Even if you get a word in your head like "Jesus loves you," and you think it's a silly word - just remember that you only see and prophecy in part. You'll never know the full story or see the full impact of your word unless you tell it to them!! I've had many seemingly "silly" words come into my mind but when I spoke them to the person they've broken down in tears praising the Lord.
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