Not Believing in 'Personal Prophecy'

[LinkH]

I was talking with an AOG missionary couple that travel around the world ministering. They were saying that they put in their newsletter how someone had prophesied to them that the Lord was going to bring one of their family members back into the fold, and how it happened as prophesied.

They almost lost support from one of the AOG churches in one country because the preacher said they didn't believe in personal prophecy. That may have been Australia, but I've picked up on a prejudice against personal prophecy in AOG circles before back in the '80s when I grew up in them. In a way, the AOG is a 'big tent' denomination for Pentecostals with a fair amount of variety. So I know there are those who believe in personal prophecy.

I suspect the prejudice against it comes from a reaction to the Latter Rain movement and some of the excesses of previous eras. I've also encountered ideas about prophecy that I can't find scripture for, in the AOG, like the idea that if a prophecy is not confirmation, it probably isn't true, or the idea that if a prophecy about your calling is not confirmation, it probably isn't true.

What about you posters? Have you encountered a rejection of the idea of any kind of personal prophecy in the AOG? What about other Pentecostal denominations?

By personal prophecy, I mean when one person gets a prophecy about another person's situation, for example when Agabus prophesied over Paul. There are numerous examples in the Old Testament including Samuel's prophecy over Saul when he met him, Ahijah's prophecy to Jeroboam, and the prophecy of one of the sons of the prophets to Jehu. I get the impression that some AOG people who are comfortable with a prophecy addressing the congregation are uncomfortable with the idea of a prophecy for one individual.

 

[JRSut1000]

I'm all for personal prophecy, HOWEVER I do agree that it's been so popular that many times there has been much false personal prophecy. Churches and leaders do need to be cautious, but they also should never quench the Holy Spirit. It's a fine line and that fine line rests on one thing - spiritual discernment.

Let me also add that much of the time when personal prophecy IS accurate, it is a confirmation of what is already in our spirits or what another has said. In all things, by the mouth of 2-3 witnesses, a matter is confirmed.

 

[Buzzy]

I'm IPHC and not AOG actually but I think we've just been burned too many times by slick talkers who tickle our ears and haul off the cash. I personally believe in it but not in those who have done it in my presence so much.

 

[Nanopants]

I've experienced prophecy myself: I was once given a dream that was fulfilled in my own sight, but this seemed only to be one of the things that was done to establish my own faith because I've never had a prophecy to give to someone else.

There have been other situations where I am listening to an inspired teacher, and his words will line up exactly with what I happen to be going through or to address a question that I am wondering about. Whenever this happens, if it is from God, it is done without the knowledge of the person who is speaking, and this seems to serve as a sign that I am indeed hearing from God and not a person (though he is being moved by God).

I think that the major difference between the OT prophets and prophecy as we experience it lies in the difference between the relationship God has with his people under the different covenants. The old covenant set up individuals to be intercessors between God and the rest, but under the New Covenant we all have access to that which only the high priest had access to: we all become members of the priesthood so to speak.

In other words, under the new relationship with God that every believer should have, I don't believe that there is any need to lift people up as prophets over them any more.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

There has been a lot of abuse of personal prophecy in the Pentecostal church, with it being used as a power and control device in many cases. For me, (and I fully believe in personal prophecy and use it often), using it to predict the future or for guidance of others is a misuse of it and a person who uses it this way is in danger of causing distress and misery to others, as well as discrediting his or her ministry and making him or herself totally useless for Christian ministry. All it takes is one shonky prophecy, and people lose confidence in the ministry, especially if the prophecy causes people to go away from the lord because of the misery it has caused.

I believe that NT person prophecies are love letters from the Lord, designed to strengthen a person's faith and cause them to have a stronger dependence on the Lord.

So I fully understand if the AOG has resisted personal prophecy, because the misuse of it has been more prevalent in that denomination than anywhere else, and I guess the leadership want to minimise the misery and disillusionment caused by prophecies in the flesh, or even demonic ones given by lying spirits!

 

[stormdancer0]

We have no problem with personal prophecy. However, the penalty for false prophets is harsh, scripturally. In the OT, people who's prophecies did not come true were stoned.

I know that I've given prophecy, but was very hesitant, for the above reason. Not that my church would stone me, but it shows how displeased God is with false prophets.

We all have to be careful, remembering that even when someone is in earnest, they may be misinterpreting their own thoughts for "messages from God."

The thing is, if it's from God, it will happen.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

1 Corinthians 14:1 says to pursue love and desire the best gifts. The practical principles of love are found in 1 Corinthians 13. If we take these principles seriously and practice the particular gifts of the Spirit that we are given, then it would be pretty well impossible to make a mistake.

Most if not all false prophets work from a selfish motive of some kind and when their motives are examined, we see that they are breeching one or more of the principles of love in 1 Corinthians 13.

So, if your motivation is that you love the Lord Jesus and your brothers and sisters in Christ and want only that the Lord blesses them and builds up their faith and strength through your operation of the gift of prophecy, then the chances that you will make a mistake are very minimal.

 

[LinkH]

There has been a lot of abuse of personal prophecy in the Pentecostal church, with it being used as a power and control device in many cases. For me, (and I fully believe in personal prophecy and use it often), using it to predict the future or for guidance of others is a misuse of it and a person who uses it this way is in danger of causing distress and misery to others, as well as discrediting his or her ministry and making him or herself totally useless for Christian ministry.

When I read that part about predicting the future, what came to mind is the fact that the one personal prophecy quoted in the New Testament is a prediction of the future. Agabus also prophesied a coming drought on another occasion.

So I fully understand if the AOG has resisted personal prophecy, because the misuse of it has been more prevalent in that denomination than anywhere else,

That is a pretty bold assertion about false prophecy in the AOG. I don't know that it's not true. The fear of prophesying that some people have does seem to be a reaction to error, rather than following what the Bible has to say on the matter.

I think another problem is the overemphasis and overreliance on one pastor. If one man in the congregation is expected to know if every prophecy is from the Lord, he may just dread prophecies being given, and that may show up in his teachings.

 

[stormdancer0]

We must also keep in mind that "Prophecy" does not necessarily equal "foretelling the future."

Much of prophecy, especially personal prophecy, is forth-telling. It is confirming a decision, giving exhortation and support, warning of danger, that sort of thing. If you'll read the scripture carefully, you'll find that a prophet's job was warning of coming danger if Israel did not change its ways. Almost every prophecy was worded, "If you keep doing that, this is what will happen."

 

[Togowack]

There is a lot of hatred for the gifts of the spirit when certain denominations have been overlooked by the spirit of God

it does happen... they begin banking their entire doctrine against it, instead of going forward into it granting that others had it first.

 

[stormdancer0]

I don't think the Spirit overlooks denominations. He gives His gifts to all believers when the gifts are needed. Whether the believers USE those gifts is up to the believers.

IOW, God isn't overlooking them; they are ignoring God's gifts.

 

[Togowack]

Possibly. It also says to seek these gifts, so if they aren't actively seeking them...

 

[lilmissmontana]

I don't think the Spirit overlooks denominations. He gives His gifts to all believers when the gifts are needed. Whether the believers USE those gifts is up to the believers.

IOW, God isn't overlooking them; they are ignoring God's gifts.

I would say this is an extremely accurate statement (other than I disagree with the last statement the way it's written) ... considering the Holy Spirit is God's Spirit and He says don't be partial ... I would add He gives them as HE chooses ... not according to wat we think at all ...

it's just my opinion (NOT POSTING AS FACT), but I can't see how God would or could possibly choose one denomination over another ... they're all flawed ... every single one of them ... in more ways than one ... and I darned sure don't believe He would ignore any denomination or overlook them ... He's just and He's fair ... I don't believe He would call someone to a church in a certain denomination, for example, and then disqualify them because of it ... He doesn't think like us ... He says so ... and I choose to believe he looks at each person individually ... and uses whom HE chooses ... regardless of where they come from ...

we CHOOSE what we believe ... have a hard time believing God would give a gift to someone He knew would place no value on it ... I believe the purpose of the gifts is to His glory and purpose ... not to make someone feel special or to make someone feel left out ... or to divide the haves and have nots ... or all the other trillion ways people have decided He thinks ...

also when Jesus gives the messages to the churches in Revelation 1, He never says He has a problem with any of them just because they didn't get a gift because they went to the wrong denomination or because thry disregarded a gift from the Holy Spirit ... and I'm not aware in any of Jesus teachings where he said you wouldn't get a gift if you went to the wrong denomination ...


probably too wordy ... so be it ...

 

[Togowack]

see i view a denomination not so much as catholic or whatever but individual churches. Not the organization of man

and some churches miss out

 

[Episaw]

1 Corinthians 14:1 says to pursue love and desire the best gifts. The practical principles of love are found in 1 Corinthians 13. If we take these principles seriously and practice the particular gifts of the Spirit that we are given, then it would be pretty well impossible to make a mistake.

Most if not all false prophets work from a selfish motive of some kind and when their motives are examined, we see that they are breeching one or more of the principles of love in 1 Corinthians 13.

So, if your motivation is that you love the Lord Jesus and your brothers and sisters in Christ and want only that the Lord blesses them and builds up their faith and strength through your operation of the gift of prophecy, then the chances that you will make a mistake are very minimal.

Oscarr, very refreshing, very informative and very true. I was given four personal prophecies by four different men who did not know each other at four different times in four different meetings. They all said the same thing.

I accepted them as from the Lord and found myself doing what was said in the prophecies. It seemed the most natural thing in the world.

I do think that in our concern with getting things perfect that we kill off the good with the bad. We mature in our failures, not our successes so making mistakes is par for the course.

Where there is growth there is mess. i.e babies, toddlers, children.

 

[stormdancer0]

.

 

[lilmissmontana]

Not hatred, so much as disbelief. God does not force His gifts on anyone who does not want them.

yep ... agreed

 

[tturt]

Apostle Paul and Timothy received personal prophecies and AP told Timothy to make good warfare over the prophetic words he had received.

Prophetic words should 1Co 14:3 "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." Exhort can mean to instruct. But one difference between OT and NT prophetic words is that now prophetic words are under the umbrella of loving Yahweh and loving others as ourselves.

You know when you hear a sermon about something that you've never heard before - do you just think well Pastor said this so it's fine or do you search it out? The latter is the same process involved with prophetic words.

As a believer, there's nothing wrong with getting prophetic words from believers who speak prophetically since it's in Scripture that it is a spiritual gift given to some in order to aid other believers. (One thing that's different between going to a psychic and believers who speak prophetically - THE SOURCE).

Anyway, one main problem is the church has done a poor job teaching and we, as believers, have not researched it for ourselves about what to do with the prophetic words once they're given. But the instructions are in Scripture.

It is just the beginning when prophecies are given. The person being spoken to can accept or reject what has been said to them prophetically. I Thess 5:20-21 - 20 "Despise not prophesyings. The next VERSE 21 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

How do we prove all things?
-Foremost, everything has to line up with Scriptures.
-Plus here’s some scriptures that acknowledges that we need His divine help in every step we take such as Jeremiah 10:23, Psa 37:23, and Prov 3:5-6. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit.
-Sometimes it confirms what we already know in our hearts. I Sam 9:19
-confirmation - an example of Biblical confirmation: Acts 9:9-19 especially v 10-12. In 2 Corinthians stresses that there will be 2-3 witnesses to confirm what’s been said (II Cor 13:1).
-We need Godly counsel such as stated in Proverbs 11:14 and Psa 1:1.

We have Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit, prayer, hearing God’s voice, spiritual discernment, wise Godly counsel and confirmation to help us. Once we have proven all things (I Thess 5:21), we hold fast to that which is good.

Then in I Tim 1:18, Apostle Paul told Timothy to make good warfare over the prophetic words he had received.

Almost all spiritual assignments require a period of learning. In other words, if a prophetic word is given that you are going to be an evangelist to a foreign country. If you don't get a passport, it's probably not going to happen. Plus you've got to learn Scripture, etc. Look at Apostle Paul's life - he spent years studying even though he was already a scholar before his Damascus Road experience.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

As one who has been IN the AoG for most of the last 50 years, I have received MANY personal prophecies, out of which TWO, and possibly three, where actual "Words from God" (and the ONE of the two was delivered by a non-Christian, and the other by a Non-charismatic Catholic Brother in the Lord). The third one was that my "Ministry" would be largely in "Acts of Kindness to others" and that seems to have been accurate in the 35 or so years that have followed it.

The the rest of 'em were just well-meaning folks scratching their "religious itch" by "wrapping their personal opinions in prophetic clothing" so they could sound "Spiritual".

But I feel that they SERIOUSLY believed in what they were doing - there's so much REALLY BAD teaching about gifts in the AoG, that error of that sort is normal.

Paul warned us NOT TO DESPISE PROPHESYING. And having been Pentecostal, AND AoG for all these decades, I understand PERFECTLY why he'd say that. Most of it is just plain PHONY. But now and again, there's a REAL WORD from God.

But anybody who commits RESOURCES on the basis of an unconfirmed "Prophesy" is a fool.

 

[tturt]

Well, we can see in Scripture that there were personal prophecies including the NT. But we sometimes judge Scripture based on our personal experiences. We really like our own opinions so we chose those over Scripture.

Of course, Yahweh can do what He wants. If you're called to another country and don't get the passport, He can definitely transport you like He did Philip. Acts 8 39 "And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea."

In regards to personal prophecies, we are also His hands, feet, ears, etc. Sometimes through prophetic words, it's revealed how He wants to use us in particular - it's details about how He sees us in the future - and we can agree to do those things.

Luke 1 states that Mary agreed to Yahweh's plan 37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."