Being Wary Of Prophetic Words Spoken Over You

Waggles

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Could you possibly make comment regarding post #22 where @Alithis said;
Acts is of the beginning years and much was happening in those days that we are not so powerful in
respect to our own times ...

12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches,
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks,
and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Acts 5:

11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases
departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Acts 19:

If you read of the life and ministry of Smith Wigglesworth, the apostle of Pentecost revival from the
1890s to 1946 there are accounts of the above happening through him and his family in the early days.
But it could be that now that we have some 100 years of the Pentecostal latter-rain and with many
churches being grounded and obedient to the epistles on how to conduct worship and the use of the
spiritual gifts within an established church - for example 1 Corinthians 14 - perhaps the
excitement and the unrestrained power of the Holy Spirit is not so much required these days as
it was in the beginning of each Pentecostal age.

Whilst we still do lay hands on the sick and pray for healings and miracles, in regard to the voice
gifts given to the Church prophesy is kept within a worship service along with diversities of tongues
and interpretation.
We follow Paul's instructions on how at a church service - when ye all come together - the voice
gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be done decently and in order.
This helps to avoid confusion and the dysfunctional conduct that many charismatic churches are
accused of.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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What do you do when you know you need deliverance but you can't seem to get enough strength to win the fight?
This is where you go to a trusted, mature pastor or elder who is able to assist you. I know that I have said that we can cast demons out of ourselves, but there are times when we need help from others, especially those who have good experience at this type of ministry. It goes along with the scripture, "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Also, "When two agree on a thing it will be granted by our Father in heaven" (my paraphrase). But employ a person who does not subscribe to the practice of getting you in a group of people and yelling at demons to come out of you. That will not do you any good at all. Neil Anderson wrote a book called The Bondage Breaker. Google it and download the PDF copy if you can't get access to a hard copy. Get a trusted friend and go through the steps to get rid of any garbage that a demon might be feeding on. Your friend will support you and the two of you will have the strength to win. But believe the scripture, "God's strength is made perfect in our weakness." "When I am weak, then He is strong."
 
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SavedByGrace3

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I agree Oscarr. We should be very very cautious of receiving so-called "words" from self-appointed prophets. I have only received three genuine "words" in my life as a Christian. That is a period of 46 years. I know they were genuine because, first of all, they agreed with what the Spirit told me very early on in my walk. Also, all 3 stated the same fact about my ministry that nobody else knew... all three agreed.
Generally speaking...most prophecies delivered to a church or individual are going to be very general in nature. Very rarely will there be genuine prophecies that tell you who you should marry or what job you should take. Almost all genuine prophecies have to do with your ministry and are almost always confirmational in nature. If someone prophecies over you and says you should go to Africa, and the Lord has not said such a thing... and if it just goes against your spirit. Receive that with a cup of salt.
 
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I agree Oscarr. We should be very very cautious of receiving so-called "words" from self-appointed prophets. I have only received three genuine "words" in my life as a Christian. That is a period of 46 years. I know they were genuine because, first of all, they agreed with what the Spirit told me very early on in my walk. Also, all 3 stated the same fact about my ministry that nobody else knew... all three agreed.
Generally speaking...most prophecies delivered to a church or individual are going to be very general in nature. Very rarely will there be genuine prophecies that tell you who you should marry or what job you should take. Almost all genuine prophecies have to do with your ministry and are almost always confirmational in nature. If someone prophecies over you and says you should go to Africa, and the Lord has not said such a thing... and if it just goes against your spirit. Receive that with a cup of salt.
I think that receiving accurate prophecy is not an every day occurrence for any believer. I can say that over the last 50 years, I have had only two or three good prophecies spoken over me, and these have only been partly fulfilled. In fact, prophecy is right down there as one of the least reliable forms of guidance. It has to be confirmed by other factors: The Word of God, circumstances, concurrence of mature experienced mentors, and a strong sense of peace. When some want prophecies every day or every week, then they are trying to replace the personal voice of God to them and are depending on others speaking God's will for them. This approaches the horoscope and a spirit of divination could replace genuine prophecy.

Also, I will make another observation here. You have heard critics of the prophetic quoting Old Testament scriptures about false prophets, and these people have accused prophetic ministries making mistakes in their prophecies as false prophets to be condemned with the type of punishment prescribed for false prophets in the Old Testament.

But, I can't find any instance of a prophet being punished for making a mistake in prophecy. Nathan the prophet made a mistake when he prophesied to David that he could build the Temple. As he left, God told him to correct his prophecy and he had to go back and say to David that he couldn't build the Temple after all. Nathan was never punished for making a mistake. God merely corrected him so that he gave a true prophecy.

The Scripture says that Moses was the greatest prophet. Those who were punished were those who tried to usurp the prophetic ministry of Moses, and to use prophecy to turn people away from God to worship idols and to indulge in sexual orgies. I have studied the work of the prominent prophetic ministries of modern times, and I see no evidence of any of them using prophecy to turn people away from Christ and to wilfully commit serious sin. It is quite true that these prophetic ministries made their mistakes and learned from them. Jack Deere, one prominent ministry was quite open about the errors he made in his Beginners Guide to the Gift of Prophecy. He said that in most cases God allowed the errors to teach him important lessons. He said that we humans are just earthen vessels who become anointed once in a while, and that we are subject to getting the wrong end of the stick occasionally. God comes to us with grace and encouragement because He wants to work with us and develop us into effective ministries for Him.

I think that those who get up on their hind legs and accuse good prophetic ministries of being false prophets when they make mistakes and set up websites to expose who they think are false prophets and teachers are just damnable religious hypocrites, full of their own pride and self aggrandisement, speaking out of a hole in their backsides. If Jesus was here, He would speak to them as harshly as He did to the hypocritical self-righteous Pharisees of His time.
 
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SavedByGrace3

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I present in my material how that a prophet who makes a mistake is not a false prophet... he is just a prophet who makes a mistake.
In the NT especially, the term "false prophet" is very specific. A false prophet is someone who denies Christ and who wants you to deny Christ also.

From the pamphlet "A Christian Cannot Be a False Prophet"

There are No Christian False Prophets

Who can be a false prophet?

1. All false prophets are inwardly wolves....i.e. "unregenerate".

Matthew 7:15
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.​

In this verse, is the false prophet a sheep (born again believer) or is he a inwardly (in his spirit) a wolf (unregenerate person who just wants you to believe he is a sheep)?

Christians (by definition) cannot :
  • be inwardly wolves,
  • deny that Jesus is come in the flesh,
  • or deny the Lord that bought them.

Doing these things makes you a non-Christian.

A false prophet is always an unbeliever. If he were a sheep (a believer) he would not have to dress up like one! But because he is an wolf (inwardly an unbeliever) he has to try and make you think he is a sheep by acting and looking like one outwardly.

The false prophet "Bar-jesus" in Acts was a non-believer who tried to turn people from the faith. He was not a believer who was just messing up:

Act 13:6-8
6 And when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus;
7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.

The key element in any false prophet is that they are unbelievers who try and turn people away from Jesus and the gospel. This is true in every NT instance. They are always non-believers, and they always try and turn people away from the gospel.

Look at Peter's description also. They were false prophets whose end goal was to turn people away from Jesus. This is always the case with true false prophets. All false prophets deny the Lord and try to get you to deny Him also that also:

2 Peter 2:
1 But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Nothing could be clearer than the passage in 1 John.

All false prophets deny Jesus has come in the flesh:

1 John 4:1-3
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.

2. If you confess that Jesus is come in the flesh, you cannot be a false prophet!

You can be mistaken... but that does not make you a NT false prophet. ALL NT false prophets are unbelievers who deny Jesus and seek to turn people away from Him. Once you see this, you are freed up to seek God and begin to utilize the wonderful gifts He has given you. You will make mistakes, and perhaps be corrected by the "judges"... but you should never be afraid to speak when the Lord moves upon you.

So what is a Christian who makes false prophesies?

He is a misguided believer who is mistaken and needs correction. He technically cannot be a false prophet because in the NT: all false prophets are unbelievers!
 
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StillGods

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I have had prophecies that were most likely not from God but only in hindsight did I see that.
I tend to not listen to prophecies now, I find God guides just fine without them. I'm not against prophecy but I find my walk has been better without it for the last 10+ years.
The weird thing is people give a prophecy and everyone rushes around trying to see if it is Biblical, they finally find a verse and say oh yes that prophecy was from God because it says what this verse says.. and I'm left thinkibg why not just say the verse and save all the drama... buts that's just me ;)
 
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SavedByGrace3

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What people miss is that prophesyings are not for your head. They are not for your mental aggrandizement or excitement. They are not intended to direct you or give you an emotional high. They are intended for your spirit. They are "living word" that proceeds from the spirit of Christ and/or the Holy Spirit. This living word goes down into your spirit and is added to the total of your spiritual being. These living words are engrafted into your spirit and become the stuff of your living faith. It literally "builds you up" in your spirit. It is not building up your emotional mental self. Your soul (mind) may not perceive anything different or special. The natural man never does. It cannot perceive or receive the spiritual things of God. It is not equipped or able to receive spiritual things regardless of the origin.
Do not despise or reject true prophecies. They may not excite or give you a mental high... but they are the Word of God spreading in our midst. Learn what they are and what they are meant for.
 
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Blade

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Well God has not changed. If its of GOD...you always know 1st before the word. And.. did not Jesus say my sheep know my voice? Know..not wonder..not guess.. know. For me..if I have to wonder.. its not Him. If we can get "GOD/JESUS CAN NOT LIE" you will have no problem with faith. Jesus cant lie. So if He said..who so ever believes in me.. your saved period. If He says my sheep KNOW my voice.. you do. He cant lie. :)

There are teachers preachers prophets in this world. That has not changed. These gifts are still at work today.. that means GOD is still at work. If one chooses not to believe .. your choice :)
 
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lismore

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Not everyone who says, "Thus says the Lord," is actually speaking from the Lord.

Hello Oscarr! I believe that when the bible says 'Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands' that what you have said is the reason. No offence to anyone here, but I have encountered Charismatics and Pentecostals who are too hasty and too Cavalier with these things. God Bless :)
 
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SavedByGrace3

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Hello Oscarr! I believe that when the bible says 'Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands' that what you have said is the reason. No offence to anyone here, but I have encountered Charismatics and Pentecostals who are too hasty and too Cavalier with these things. God Bless :)
Hi Lis... long time!
You are correct. Let me add that the other extreme has negative results. There are those who fail to treat holy things holy...and then there are those who treat them so holy that they never practice them. They hide these precious things away.
Blessings.
 
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Hello Oscarr! I believe that when the bible says 'Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands' that what you have said is the reason. No offence to anyone here, but I have encountered Charismatics and Pentecostals who are too hasty and too Cavalier with these things. God Bless :)
Too true! When there is the urge to be hasty about laying hands on someone or giving a prophetic word then there has to be some doubt that it actually comes from God. I have learned from experience that nine out of ten impressions are more like to come from the world, the flesh or the devil. Some think that unless we act on an impulse immediately, God withdraws it. This is not true. There have been scriptural examples (Samuel for instance) where it took several goes for God to get through to him, and it was Eli who realised what was going on. The Lord knows that it is very wise to take the time to get confirmation about any impression or word to comes to mind. Sometimes the word may be correct, but the timing may not be. Rushing in to give a word or lay hands on someone when it is not God's time for it can cause more harm than good. God is in no hurry about these things. No one is actually going anywhere, are we?

The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus, but the 120 had to wait for Him to arrive. It was no point doing the Pentecostal thing and getting people to be baptised with the Spirit and to speak in tongues before the Day of Pentecost, because it would not have happened until the right moment. But the Pentecostal thing would have been for a group to gather around a person with one half saying, "hold on brother", and the other half saying, "let go brother", and when it did not happen, to accuse the "brother" of not having enough faith to receive! ^_^^_^
 
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lismore

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Hi Lis... long time!
You are correct. Let me add that the other extreme has negative results. There are those who fail to treat holy things holy...and then there are those who treat them so holy that they never practice them. They hide these precious things away.
Blessings.

Good to see you again :)

Yes and we are also told not to treat prophecies with contempt, but rather test everything. God Bless :)
 
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LinkH

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Anyone who gives prophecies needs to be especially careful that they are giving genuine prophecies. There are several reasons not to give false words. Here are some:\

1. Falsely prophesying in the name of the Lord is such a heinous sin that it earned the death penalty in the Old Testament, like idolatry, murder, blasphemy, male same-sex sex, inappropriate behavior with animals and adultery.
2. It is wrong to bear false witness of God.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. False prophecy can harm and confuse people.

Doesn't I Corinthians 14 imply that prophecies should be judged (or weighed carefully) in the assembly? That could save a lot of grief if we did that. I haven't seen much of this in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, though.

We also want to avoid being too critical. I would say that it is Biblically normative to hear genuine prophecies from the Spirit of God in church meetings.
 
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LinkH

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Anyone who gives prophecies needs to be especially careful that they are giving genuine prophecies. There are several reasons not to give false words. Here are some:\

1. Falsely prophesying in the name of the Lord is such a heinous sin that it earned the death penalty in the Old Testament, like idolatry, murder, blasphemy, male same-sex sex, inappropriate behavior with animals and adultery.
2. It is wrong to bear false witness of God.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. False prophecy can harm and confuse people.

Doesn't I Corinthians 14 imply that prophecies should be judged (or weighed carefully) in the assembly? That could save a lot of grief if we did that. I haven't seen much of this in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, though.

We also want to avoid being too critical. I would say that it is Biblically normative to hear genuine prophecies from the Spirit of God in church
 
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LinkH

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Just how common is it for people to request a prophecy?

I do see enquiring of the Lord in the Old Testament, so I am not against it per se. It is just not something I am very familiar with. I was raised Pentecostal, and you didn't ask for prophecies where I went to church growing up. You might get rebuked in some Pentecostal churches if you did. If God gave one, then the person who got it was supposed to speak it out.

I heard or read an excerpt from Bill Hamon about speaking out prophecies based on the authority of being a prophet. I took that as meaning in contrast to actually getting a prophetic word. I told my wife I didn't want any of those prophecies-- just given on the authority of being a prophet. I don't want a prophecy unless the Spirit moves the individual to speak it.

I do think some of the Charismatics, Third Wave prophetic movement, and maybe to a lesser degree Pentecostals, have gone into some dangerous territory by accepting false prophecies as okay. One preacher was even saying that there is a difference between false prophecies and wrong prophecies.

The excuse I've come across is to use 'for we know in part and we prophesy in part.' It does say that. It says 'we prophesy in part.' It does not say 'we prophesy in error.' If you had a map of Florida with holes where Miami and the keys are supposed to be and the panhandle torn off, that's in part. But if your map says that Jacksonville is on the southern tip of the state, that map is in error. 'In part' does not mean false.

Falsely saying that God said something that He did not is bearing false witness of God. Prophesying that God told you something that He did not tell you to say is false prophesying.
 
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Too true! When there is the urge to be hasty about laying hands on someone or giving a prophetic word then there has to be some doubt that it actually comes from God. I have learned from experience that nine out of ten impressions are more like to come from the world, the flesh or the devil. Some think that unless we act on an impulse immediately, God withdraws it. This is not true. There have been scriptural examples (Samuel for instance) where it took several goes for God to get through to him, and it was Eli who realised what was going on. The Lord knows that it is very wise to take the time to get confirmation about any impression or word to comes to mind. Sometimes the word may be correct, but the timing may not be. Rushing in to give a word or lay hands on someone when it is not God's time for it can cause more harm than good. God is in no hurry about these things. No one is actually going anywhere, are we?

The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus, but the 120 had to wait for Him to arrive. It was no point doing the Pentecostal thing and getting people to be baptised with the Spirit and to speak in tongues before the Day of Pentecost, because it would not have happened until the right moment. But the Pentecostal thing would have been for a group to gather around a person with one half saying, "hold on brother", and the other half saying, "let go brother", and when it did not happen, to accuse the "brother" of not having enough faith to receive! ^_^^_^
Bro I believe you are hitting a very important topic....
Especially when you say Christians are not seeking the Lord as they should and waiting in prayer......
Prophecies are in part and we should test the prophecies to see if they are of God......
Little children keep yourselves from idols....
1 john5:21
I believe this brother that got afflicted could have been using prophecy of others instead of seeking the Lord first...and left an open door for the enemy....
This is idolatry......
Putting people before God.....
Whether we are praying to dead saints for a word....
Or listening to live prophets for a word.....
Without going to the Lord first and foremost....
Its all idolatry....
Could be a pastor or trusted family member.....
Abraham did this with Sarah.........
 
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Anyone who gives prophecies needs to be especially careful that they are giving genuine prophecies. There are several reasons not to give false words. Here are some:\

1. Falsely prophesying in the name of the Lord is such a heinous sin that it earned the death penalty in the Old Testament, like idolatry, murder, blasphemy, male same-sex sex, inappropriate behavior with animals and adultery.
2. It is wrong to bear false witness of God.
3. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. False prophecy can harm and confuse people.

Doesn't I Corinthians 14 imply that prophecies should be judged (or weighed carefully) in the assembly? That could save a lot of grief if we did that. I haven't seen much of this in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, though.

We also want to avoid being too critical. I would say that it is Biblically normative to hear genuine prophecies from the Spirit of God in church meetings.
False prophecy involves deliberately prophesying to turn people away from Christ, to worship other gods and to be involved in sexual immorality. It is not a modern person making a mistake with a prophecy. There are instances of prophecies being wrong in the Old Testament but the people giving the prophecies were not put to death, so they didn't violate the false prophecy law.
Those who are accusing modern prophets of giving false prophecies are accusing them of getting believers to commit idolatry and to engage in sexual immorality. I don't know of any modern prophets who are doing that, although I take some of their prophecies with a grain of salt. A proper reading of the Bible helps.
 
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Traveling teacher

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Its not the prophets themselves but the people that are not seeking the Lord for a second testimony
I corinthins 12-14
Prophets are subject to other prophets

Need a second personal word......

Same as listening to a pastor without checking the word for yourself
 
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