What is a false prophet?

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ByTheSpirit

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[Staff Edit] Before I begin what I want to discuss let me say, if we are going to present some material. Instead of saying, "This is how this is going to happen." Let's say, "This is how I understand things will occur." Reality is, you can't be sure how the end times are going to play out. I know the Pentecostal and largely Charismatic view on the end times is a pretrib rapture one, so not much emphasis is placed on what happens during the Tribulation. Well I am NOT a pretribber as is well documented in this forum.

Here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7808185/ and here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7822608/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7822609/

Anyways, on to what I want to discuss.. What is false prophecy?

Now scripture gives us a few different definitions of what prophecy is.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. (1 Cor 14:3 NIV)

All believers can prophecy in this manner. We can all strengthen, encourage, and comfort each other by our words and actions. We do this by pointing others to Jesus. Jesus is the source of our strength (Phil 4:13). By looking to Him do we overcome (Hebrews 12:2). He knows our deepest hurts and understands the struggle we all face. He was tempted exactly as we are (Hebrews 4:15-16) and so He can comfort us and help us when we seek Him.

This is exactly the message the angel shared with John in Revelation 19:10, The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. All prophetic utterance points individuals to Jesus.

In this context, what is false prophecy?

Now in the Old Testament we know people like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah, etc were prophets of God. Their messages were inspired (2 Peter 1:20-21) by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in their given time. Individuals then who were condemned as false prophets would give messages that would counter the ones given by these holy men of God.

For instance, Jeremiah dealt with false prophets at almost every turn. In Jeremiah 28 we read about one such dealing with the False Prophet Hananiah. I'll post portions of that chapter here to help illustrate what I'm trying to get at here.

Jeremiah 28:1-4 ESV
Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

Now Jeremiah had been prophesying that Judah would become slaves of Babylon if they did not repent and turn back to God. Hananiah stood in the presence of all the people and told everyone that instead God would powerfully break the yoke of Babylon off Judah's back within 2 years.

Jeremiah is seemingly impressed with this message and even says Amen to it. Then he counsels everyone present "As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet."

He is reminding them that all true prophecy comes from God and will be fulfilled. Prophecy is not just a message that gives people false hope.

But Hananiah insists and even demonstrates his message:

Jeremiah 28:10-11 ESV
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.”

So he is really stressing that God has told him the Babylonians will be dealt with within 2 years. But the Lord is never fooled by false prophecy. He reveals to Jeremiah that Hananiah is a fake and thus the prophet says these words:

Jeremiah 28:15-17 ESV
15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” 17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

So you see from the 28th chapter of Jeremiah the basis for determining false prophecy. False prophecy, and by extension false prophets, are people who share a message contrary to the true word of God with the intention of leading people away from the Lord.

For instance I can say the sun is going to be late rising in the sky by 30 minutes. When that doesn't happen, it doesn't make me a false prophet, it makes me a foolish person sure, but not a false prophet.

Now, if I share a message with someone, for instance, "You will find a high paying job within a week and God will give you a car as well." When that message does not come to pass, I am tiptoeing on that fence. If that person falls away from the Lord because of my words I may well find myself as a false prophet. If they are able to forgive me of my foolishness and be reconciled to me and the Lord then I have just spoken out of turn.

A 100% hands down no doubt about it false prophet is someone who comes around and preaches a gospel contrary to the truth. That is they preach that Jesus is not the only way into Heaven. That we can earn our way into Heaven, or that Muhammad saves, etc.... False prophets share messages that lead to falling away and open rebellion against God.

It is a sobering reminder to always check our intentions before we just spout off with something we really want to say.

All true Spirit inspired prophecy will lead people to Jesus.

All false prophecy will lead people away from Jesus.

No matter what form this takes, verbal or physical, if me or my message leads people away from the cross I will be found to be a false prophet and stand in danger of judgment.
 
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ByTheSpirit

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The essence of prophecy is not only how it is received, but the spirit in which it is spoken. Remember we are to test the spirits that prophecy so we know who is real and who is false. False prophecy is a MAJOR deal to God and not to be taken lightly. Nor do I believe that false prophets are covered by the blood. They openly teach against the blood even if subtly.

Even if our message seems correct, if we utter a message in a wrong spirit with the intention of deceiving others or leading them astray, we are to be found as false prophets. All false prophets are errant in their message as well as their heart, they are not regenerate, nor can they be. They openly blaspheme the name of Jesus and put Him to shame.

We must check ourselves to ensure we do not fall close to this dangerous possibility.
 
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ByTheSpirit

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I also believe it is our responsibility to warn others of false prophets with strong evidence. Of course I'm talking about the 2-3 witnesses the scriptures speak of.

People deceiving others away from the cross is a BIG DEAL. Not something we should bat an eye at or say, Ah well God will take care of them eventually. The souls of others are at stake! We must be sober and vigilant and always be prepared to defend others and their eternal destinations from vicious wolves who may indeed prowl in sheep's clothing.

Some though walk right through the flock in plain sight, not caring at all about who sees them or who cares. Jesus would fight for the safety of His flock as David did. We should too. Even if we are not pastors or "official" ministers of the church, we all have a duty to look out for each other and protect them from harm and evil.

Lord, help me to be vigilant and sober. Help me to be courageous and strong on behalf of Your flock. Guard my message through the power of the Holy Spirit and guard me from falsehood. Give me wisdom, knowledge and discerning to know false prophets from real. Lord, silence them and heal those that have been harmed by such false messages. Gather Your flock to Yourself Jesus! Give strength to those who fight these battles in Your name every day Jesus. As You would watch over Your flock, so too may we Jesus!
 
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geetrue

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I know the Pentecostal and largely Charismatic view on the end times is a pretrib rapture one, so not much emphasis is placed on what happens during the Tribulation. Well I am NOT a pretribber as is well documented in this forum.

Here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7808185/ and here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7822608/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7822609/

I agree with this part of which I would say many a thread has already been started that discussed the pre-trib or mid-trib or heaven forbid the end of time as man knows it trib.

Let your nay be nay and your yea be yea says the Lord in the OT and in the NT

but this thread is about false prophets so I bow to the OP carry on ...

However I think St Peter said and I don't have time to find it, "No prophecy of scripture is of a private interpretation"
 
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SavedByGrace3

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In the NT, a false prophet is someone who is not a Christian and who does not want you to be a Christian either.
False prophecies do not make one a false prophet. If a Christian makes a false prophecy, that makes him troubled, confused, mistaken, and in need of teaching. There may even be some work done in the area of demons. But none of that makes him a false prophet.
 
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ByTheSpirit

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In the NT, a false prophet is someone who is not a Christian and who does not want you to be a Christian either.
False prophecies do not make one a false prophet. If a Christian makes a false prophecy, that makes him troubled, confused, mistaken, and in need of teaching. There may even be some work done in the area of demons. But none of that makes him a false prophet.

I agree, I don't think a true Christian can become a false prophet because Christ lives in us (Col 1:27) and He can not deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13) ... But a false prophet is still someone who diverts others away from God. Not just someone who foolishly says something that turns out not to be true.
 
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Faulty

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Now, if I share a message with someone, for instance, "You will find a high paying job within a week and God will give you a car as well." When that message does not come to pass, I am tiptoeing on that fence. If that person falls away from the Lord because of my words I may well find myself as a false prophet. If they are able to forgive me of my foolishness and be reconciled to me and the Lord then I have just spoken out of turn.

If you were to say such a thing and state these are words from the Lord, then you would be a false prophet because you spoke a lie in the name of the Lord. If you are saying it from your imagination, then it would be best to keep it to yourself.
 
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SavedByGrace3

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What people call "personal prophecy" is not prophecy at all. It is _maybe_ word of knowledge.
I am automatically suspicious of any word that is directed to me about who I am to marry, what kind of job I should get, or what kind of tie I should wear.
There are two kinds of prophecy. One is the gift of prophecy that comes from the Holy Spirit and is only operated via His will and power. The other is prophecy that comes from the spirit of Christ that has been born again into us. This sort of prophecy has no supernatural element in it. It is "merely spiritual" just like new tongues is "merely spiritual." It is meant for the comfort, edification, and exhortation of believers. ANYONE can do this and should. This is what Paul talking about in the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 14. It is you praying in the spirit and prophesying out of your own spirit (not I that live, but Christ that lives in me...).
Everybody does this, they just do realize what they are doing when they do it.
My books "The Mechanics and Practice of Prophecying" and "The Mechanics and Practice of Speaking in Tongues" teach people how to do this... we need to learn how to speak in tongues and prophecy "on purpose with purpose..."

Dids...
 
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Faulty

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The other is prophecy that comes from the spirit of Christ that has been born again into us. This sort of prophecy has no supernatural element in it

How does something come from the spirit of Christ and not have a supernatural element?

And why do you separate the Holy Spirit from the "spirit of Christ"? Adding one more person to the Trinity?
 
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SavedByGrace3

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How does something come from the spirit of Christ and not have a supernatural element?

And why do you separate the Holy Spirit from the "spirit of Christ"? Adding one more person to the Trinity?

The spirit of Christ is that spirit which born into you when you were saved. You are the spirit of Christ. We are members of His body.

When you were born again, you did not become the Holy Spirit.

Two different spirits.
 
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Tobias

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[Staff Edit] Before I begin what I want to discuss let me say, if we are going to present some material. Instead of saying, "This is how this is going to happen." Let's say, "This is how I understand things will occur." Reality is, you can't be sure how the end times are going to play out. I know the Pentecostal and largely Charismatic view on the end times is a pretrib rapture one, so not much emphasis is placed on what happens during the Tribulation. Well I am NOT a pretribber as is well documented in this forum.

Here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7808185/ and here: http://www.christianforums.com/t7822608/ http://www.christianforums.com/t7822609/

Anyways, on to what I want to discuss.. What is false prophecy?

Now scripture gives us a few different definitions of what prophecy is.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. (1 Cor 14:3 NIV)

All believers can prophecy in this manner. We can all strengthen, encourage, and comfort each other by our words and actions. We do this by pointing others to Jesus. Jesus is the source of our strength (Phil 4:13). By looking to Him do we overcome (Hebrews 12:2). He knows our deepest hurts and understands the struggle we all face. He was tempted exactly as we are (Hebrews 4:15-16) and so He can comfort us and help us when we seek Him.

This is exactly the message the angel shared with John in Revelation 19:10, The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus. All prophetic utterance points individuals to Jesus.

In this context, what is false prophecy?

Now in the Old Testament we know people like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah, etc were prophets of God. Their messages were inspired (2 Peter 1:20-21) by the Holy Spirit and fulfilled in their given time. Individuals then who were condemned as false prophets would give messages that would counter the ones given by these holy men of God.

For instance, Jeremiah dealt with false prophets at almost every turn. In Jeremiah 28 we read about one such dealing with the False Prophet Hananiah. I'll post portions of that chapter here to help illustrate what I'm trying to get at here.

Jeremiah 28:1-4 ESV
Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

Now Jeremiah had been prophesying that Judah would become slaves of Babylon if they did not repent and turn back to God. Hananiah stood in the presence of all the people and told everyone that instead God would powerfully break the yoke of Babylon off Judah's back within 2 years.

Jeremiah is seemingly impressed with this message and even says Amen to it. Then he counsels everyone present "As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet."

He is reminding them that all true prophecy comes from God and will be fulfilled. Prophecy is not just a message that gives people false hope.

But Hananiah insists and even demonstrates his message:

Jeremiah 28:10-11 ESV
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.”

So he is really stressing that God has told him the Babylonians will be dealt with within 2 years. But the Lord is never fooled by false prophecy. He reveals to Jeremiah that Hananiah is a fake and thus the prophet says these words:

Jeremiah 28:15-17 ESV
15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’” 17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

So you see from the 28th chapter of Jeremiah the basis for determining false prophecy. False prophecy, and by extension false prophets, are people who share a message contrary to the true word of God with the intention of leading people away from the Lord.

For instance I can say the sun is going to be late rising in the sky by 30 minutes. When that doesn't happen, it doesn't make me a false prophet, it makes me a foolish person sure, but not a false prophet.

Now, if I share a message with someone, for instance, "You will find a high paying job within a week and God will give you a car as well." When that message does not come to pass, I am tiptoeing on that fence. If that person falls away from the Lord because of my words I may well find myself as a false prophet. If they are able to forgive me of my foolishness and be reconciled to me and the Lord then I have just spoken out of turn.

A 100% hands down no doubt about it false prophet is someone who comes around and preaches a gospel contrary to the truth. That is they preach that Jesus is not the only way into Heaven. That we can earn our way into Heaven, or that Muhammad saves, etc.... False prophets share messages that lead to falling away and open rebellion against God.

It is a sobering reminder to always check our intentions before we just spout off with something we really want to say.

All true Spirit inspired prophecy will lead people to Jesus.

All false prophecy will lead people away from Jesus.

No matter what form this takes, verbal or physical, if me or my message leads people away from the cross I will be found to be a false prophet and stand in danger of judgment.


I think your teaching on this is very good! :thumbsup:

In fact, I was going to suggest you post this as a teaching tread. Just the false prophet stuff, and not the pre-trib or anything that ties this to the other thread... that I haven't seen (and I hope won't make this one look really bad once I've read it.)

I do like the way you've laid it all out plain and simple though! :cool:
 
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Tobias

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What people call "personal prophecy" is not prophecy at all. It is _maybe_ word of knowledge.
I am automatically suspicious of any word that is directed to me about who I am to marry, what kind of job I should get, or what kind of tie I should wear.
There are two kinds of prophecy. One is the gift of prophecy that comes from the Holy Spirit and is only operated via His will and power. The other is prophecy that comes from the spirit of Christ that has been born again into us. This sort of prophecy has no supernatural element in it. It is "merely spiritual" just like new tongues is "merely spiritual." It is meant for the comfort, edification, and exhortation of believers. ANYONE can do this and should. This is what Paul talking about in the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 14. It is you praying in the spirit and prophesying out of your own spirit (not I that live, but Christ that lives in me...).
Everybody does this, they just do realize what they are doing when they do it.
My books "The Mechanics and Practice of Prophecying" and "The Mechanics and Practice of Speaking in Tongues" teach people how to do this... we need to learn how to speak in tongues and prophecy "on purpose with purpose..."

Dids...



Ok... wow. That's a completely different direction than the way I've seen things work. Have you read my thread on Psychic Abilities? http://www.christianforums.com/t7719291/ Even if you just take a look at the op you'll get an idea of where I'm going with this. :cool:


That thread is a mess, probably because I called them "psychic abilities". What I mean, is that they are "natural abilities" rather than "God-given" or "Devil-given". It is within the power of Man sometimes to "hear" the spirits, or to otherwise gain knowledge from the spiritual realm. And just like any other gifts or talents or abilities we have, we need to learn to submit them to God.

IOW, I can hear all sorts of spirits, but it is a choice on my part to only speak forth that which I know is from God. God is God, and I cannot make Him talk. So my prophetic abilities are first dependent upon His desire to say something, and then my integrity to relay the message correctly.

If I really really want to be known as a Prophet, or for some other reason do not make the effort to speak only when God has something to say, then I am either listening to other spirits or making it up myself. I do not see a "spirit of Christ" inside of me clause, that justifies me making the claim that "Thus sayeth the Lord" when really it is just me. It doesn't matter if I am sanctified and united with Christ. "Thus sayeth Tobias" does not equal "Thus sayeth the Lord"!!!

Other gifts of the Spirit often have us confused. We often do get a word of wisdom or knowledge, and because of our ignorance we take this information and word it as a spoken prophecy from God. The source is still God, which makes that part valid, but the presentation is full of human error.

I make a huge distinction between the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and any gift I might have to offer another person that comes out of my own spirit. I don't think it is right to call human insight "prophecy". But I suppose... I have heard the term "personal prophecy". I always thought that meant it was for one person, personally. I never imagined that this means the "prophecy" doesn't come from God, but from the "prophet's" personal human spirit. Ick!
 
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K2K

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In Revelation we see that there is A False Prophet, which is a spirit. In 1 John 4 Christians are told to test the spirit because many have gone forth as false prophets. The question is: many what? People or spirits?

We are told our battle is not with flesh and blood, but it seems we often forget this. We want to label people as false prophets instead of looking past the person to the spirit influencing the person. For example Jesus told Peter "Satan get behind me", but of course not Peter (His disciple) but Satan whom was influencing Peter without Peter knowing it.

My point is that Christians, and I mean real honest to good disciples of Christ, can wind up giving false prophecy!! That does not mean they aren't disciples but perhaps just didn't test the spirits.

So what are we supposed to do? Well, we are supposed to take all thoughts to Jesus Christ. That is: if someone comes up to you and gives you a prophecy, you have a responsibility to talk it to Jesus Christ yourself. If I do that, then a false prophet (a spirit or a person being influenced by a bad spirit) serves the same purpose to me as a person giving a word from the Spirit of God. Both will cause me to seek the voice of the Lord for myself for an explaination.

Now think about this. If I do take all things to the Lord, then what benifit does an evil spirit get from trying to trick me into thinking some is from God when it is not? Not only does the trick not work but it actually drives me closer to the Lord. The/a spirit of false prophecy will have to go else where or continually drive me closer to the Lord.

So a false prophet is a concern for a non-believer or a believer not taking things to the Lord like they should. Though perhaps none of us take things to the Lord like we should. Thus false prophets (a spirit or a person influenced by a spirit) don't bother me, except if I do take the info to the Lord I might wind up in prayer for the person. This too is a problem for a spirit of false prophecy. Not only we that spirit drive me closer to the Lord but also will often cause prayer to go up for the persons tricked.
 
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tturt

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Scripture to support KCK's post: ""Despise not prophesyings.21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." I Thes 5:20-21.

We prove all things by - Foremost we have Holy Scripture and The Holy Spirit, prayer, hearing God’s voice, spiritual discernment, confirmation (such as Acts 9;9-19 especially v 10-12; II Cor 13:1), and Godly counsel (such as Prov 11:14)

A few NT personal prophecies:

Paul tells Timothy because of the personal prophesies he had received, he would be able to make good warfare. I Tim 1:18

A famine was prophesied and they were able to prepare for it Acts 11:28-30.

Acts 13:9-11. Paul prophesies that Elymas, the magician, would be struck blind - and he was.

Prophesy is defined as "comfort, edification, and exhortation." Edification also means restorative and exhortation also means to urge.
 
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We know that prophecy is one of the gifts of the spirit and given that I sway a little more towards you either have been given the gift by the Holy Spirit or you have not. It says you can pray for the gift of prophecy, but I am not sure if everyone has this gift.

The other thing is if it is a gift of the spirit, then I don't know how much of this I need to learn how to prophesy that there is or should be. I don't know yet though, this is one of those areas that I have not made a clear determination about, however I would think that if someone does not have the gift, yet operates as if they do, or more distinctly says that their words are 'from the Lord' then there is a certain responsibility in God's eyes for that. I'm not sure what that would be though.

I also don't know what I think as far as some saying that all should have this gift. To me by saying that all should there is a lot of pressure put back on the believer to have this. Wouldn't that then lead to problems? I think a gift is a gift. If the spirit wills then it is. If the spirit does not will it, then it is not.

If all should have this gift then why are we told to pray for it? That to me says that it is a gift the the Spirit must give.
 
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