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Intro:
Prophesy is one of the most common themes in the Bible. If fact, the Bible itself is a collection of prophetic words. We see nations rise and fall through the power of the prophetic. Individual lives and families forever changed due to it. It is one of the primary ways God has talked to man since the beginning.
Is it any wonder then that the enemy hates it? Tries to discredit it. Twist it. Dismiss it? In what could be considered the very first prophetic prediction, God said he would bruise the head of the enemy.
Due to the power of prophecy, and the enemies hate for it, there is a great deal of confusion on the subject, even its very nature. This is nothing new. We see it throughout the Bible.
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So what is prophecy?
Forthtelling
Prophecy is not foretelling, it is forthtelling. The distinction may seem small, but it is critical. Foretelling is simply predicting what will happen. That happens all the time. The enemy can do it (see 1 Samuel 28). Man can do it without the supernatural using insight and common sense (think predicting recessions and things like that).
When God prophesies it is forthtelling. Meaning He doesn't predict, He brings FORTH things that were not there before (Rom 4:17). The prophetic word doesn’t just pass along information, it carries with it the power to perform. When God speaks, power is released just as He spoke the world into existence. Words AND power side by side. That’s what makes prophesy different than just foretelling.
This is one of the cool elements of prophecy that people often miss. They get hung up on the predictive nature and miss the transformative nature. A prophetic word that does not talk about the future can still be forthtelling. A word of knowledge delivered through prophesy about, say, past hurts, that also speaks words of comfort can bring FORTH emotional healing. For example, “I know you’ve been through X, Y, and Z (unknown to the speaker), take heart, for I am with you”. Just hearing something like that prophesied can bring FORTH tremendous healing.
God’s Heart
This would seem to be obvious, but often it is not. Prophesy will always be an expression of God’s heart towards His people. Meaning, it will always line up with His word and His nature. Revelation 19:10 says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. And Jesus was the embodiment of God’s Word and nature.
So what is God’s nature? Love. Which is why Paul said in 1 Cor 13 without love prophecy is a resounding gong, because without love it isn’t truly from Him (Note: You can get an accurate word from the Lord, but not deliver it in love, that word then, though accurate, doesn’t reflect God… I’ll write about this further in a future post). That doesn’t mean the prophetic cannot be strong or even harsh at times, there are plenty of biblical examples of that, in those cases God’s heart is for repentance, which is consistent with His nature. Sometimes God needs to root out, pull down, destroy and throw down some things in our lives to make room to build and plant some better things (Jer 1) that will help us grow into His image. That is His nature.
Forthtelling and God’s heart will always be in line with God’s word, which brings us to...
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But, what if it doesn’t happen?
Probably the most common confusion and argument over prophecy revolves around this question. Often Deut 18:22 is cited:
To understand this scripture we have to consider the entire context of prophecy in God’s word, including the forthtelling, and God’s heart aspects. We also have to understand the difference between unconditional prophecy and conditional prophecy.
Unconditional Prophecy
This type of prophecy the far less common type. Unconditional prophecy revolves around God’s plans and purposes for mankind as a whole. It is unbreakable and unchanging. Prophecies revolving around Jesus fall into this category. Nothing any man did was going to change God’s plan and purpose in Jesus. The book of Revelation would be considered unconditional prophecy that has yet to happen (in most people’s view at least).
Conditional Prophecy
This type of prophecy is far more common in the Bible and it is what we see today. Conditional prophecy revolves around individuals, families, nations… This is where the forthtelling and heart aspects of prophecy becomes so important. When God prophesies to men/women/groups His HEART is to bring FORTH something good in their lives, but we have the free will to accept or reject it. We have a part to play. If we reject it or dismiss it. It may not come to pass, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t God’s will.
So, what about Deut 18:22 then? First the word for prophet here can mean true prophet or false prophet, so in this context it is clearly talking about one who is a false prophet. The verses right before make it clear that the type of person the scripture is talking about is NOT speaking from God’s HEART. Secondly, notice that verse 22 says, “if the thing follow not, nor come to pass”. There are TWO elements going on here. We can reject the word if an unconditional prophecy “does not come to pass” OR we can reject a conditional prophecy if it “does not follow”
Does not follow
Does not follow what? Doesn’t not follow God’s heart or forthtelling and by extension His word. Additionally in NT context, if it doesn’t not testify to Jesus in some way. So, “does not follow” means that the intent/direction of the word must follow God’s nature/plan/purpose. That way even if the word is rejected by the recipient, it still follows. For example, let’s say an individual gets a word that tells them to turn away from drugs and adultery and turn back to God, and they reject that word and continue their destructive lifestyle. That word still “follows” God’s nature. What God wanted to bring FORTH in their life lines up with His word and heart.
Explicit OR Implicit
Again, to understand the nature of prophecy we have to look it all of it, not a single verse. Fortunately, the Bible is full of examples. One key to remember is that a conditional prophecy does not have to explicitly state the conditions to be conditional. It only has to carry with it the power to bring FORTH GOD’S HEART. In, Jonah 3, Jonah prophesied that Ninievah would be destroyed in 40 days. There was no condition explicitly stated. Ninievah was not destroyed which completely lines up God’s heart (repentance) and brought FORTH something good. In Micah 3:12, Micah prophesied that “Zion will be plowed like a field”, no explicit conditions, but the invasion fell short (Jer 26:18). And there are actually considerably more examples.
----------------------------------------------
This may seem like a lot. Remember, the devil hates prophecy and wants to discredit it. What I've outlined here does not just look at one scripture, but takes into account the entirety of scripture... it's consistent.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As long as we live in a fallen world, as long as we have struggles, as long as we haven’t reached the fullness of His plan and purpose for our lives, God’s HEART will continue to be to bring FORTH direction, hope, healing, or whatever else is needed in our lives. Prophecy is only one way He does it, but it is a powerful, powerful way - when we understand it and are open to it.
----------------------------------------------
Please note you are in the Spiritual Gifts forum, please make yourself aware of the Statement of Purpose for this forum before responding.
This material comes from over 12 years of personal ministry experience backed by mentors with over 100+ years of combined experience in prophetic ministry.
The goal of this thread teach and guide not to debate the scriptural merit of what is presented, please keep responds limited to that context.
I will post further threads involving other aspects of prophetic ministry in the future.
----------------------------------------------
Intro:
Prophesy is one of the most common themes in the Bible. If fact, the Bible itself is a collection of prophetic words. We see nations rise and fall through the power of the prophetic. Individual lives and families forever changed due to it. It is one of the primary ways God has talked to man since the beginning.
Is it any wonder then that the enemy hates it? Tries to discredit it. Twist it. Dismiss it? In what could be considered the very first prophetic prediction, God said he would bruise the head of the enemy.
Due to the power of prophecy, and the enemies hate for it, there is a great deal of confusion on the subject, even its very nature. This is nothing new. We see it throughout the Bible.
----------------------------------------------
So what is prophecy?
Forthtelling
Prophecy is not foretelling, it is forthtelling. The distinction may seem small, but it is critical. Foretelling is simply predicting what will happen. That happens all the time. The enemy can do it (see 1 Samuel 28). Man can do it without the supernatural using insight and common sense (think predicting recessions and things like that).
When God prophesies it is forthtelling. Meaning He doesn't predict, He brings FORTH things that were not there before (Rom 4:17). The prophetic word doesn’t just pass along information, it carries with it the power to perform. When God speaks, power is released just as He spoke the world into existence. Words AND power side by side. That’s what makes prophesy different than just foretelling.
This is one of the cool elements of prophecy that people often miss. They get hung up on the predictive nature and miss the transformative nature. A prophetic word that does not talk about the future can still be forthtelling. A word of knowledge delivered through prophesy about, say, past hurts, that also speaks words of comfort can bring FORTH emotional healing. For example, “I know you’ve been through X, Y, and Z (unknown to the speaker), take heart, for I am with you”. Just hearing something like that prophesied can bring FORTH tremendous healing.
God’s Heart
This would seem to be obvious, but often it is not. Prophesy will always be an expression of God’s heart towards His people. Meaning, it will always line up with His word and His nature. Revelation 19:10 says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. And Jesus was the embodiment of God’s Word and nature.
So what is God’s nature? Love. Which is why Paul said in 1 Cor 13 without love prophecy is a resounding gong, because without love it isn’t truly from Him (Note: You can get an accurate word from the Lord, but not deliver it in love, that word then, though accurate, doesn’t reflect God… I’ll write about this further in a future post). That doesn’t mean the prophetic cannot be strong or even harsh at times, there are plenty of biblical examples of that, in those cases God’s heart is for repentance, which is consistent with His nature. Sometimes God needs to root out, pull down, destroy and throw down some things in our lives to make room to build and plant some better things (Jer 1) that will help us grow into His image. That is His nature.
Forthtelling and God’s heart will always be in line with God’s word, which brings us to...
----------------------------------------------
But, what if it doesn’t happen?
Probably the most common confusion and argument over prophecy revolves around this question. Often Deut 18:22 is cited:
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
To understand this scripture we have to consider the entire context of prophecy in God’s word, including the forthtelling, and God’s heart aspects. We also have to understand the difference between unconditional prophecy and conditional prophecy.
Unconditional Prophecy
This type of prophecy the far less common type. Unconditional prophecy revolves around God’s plans and purposes for mankind as a whole. It is unbreakable and unchanging. Prophecies revolving around Jesus fall into this category. Nothing any man did was going to change God’s plan and purpose in Jesus. The book of Revelation would be considered unconditional prophecy that has yet to happen (in most people’s view at least).
Conditional Prophecy
This type of prophecy is far more common in the Bible and it is what we see today. Conditional prophecy revolves around individuals, families, nations… This is where the forthtelling and heart aspects of prophecy becomes so important. When God prophesies to men/women/groups His HEART is to bring FORTH something good in their lives, but we have the free will to accept or reject it. We have a part to play. If we reject it or dismiss it. It may not come to pass, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t God’s will.
So, what about Deut 18:22 then? First the word for prophet here can mean true prophet or false prophet, so in this context it is clearly talking about one who is a false prophet. The verses right before make it clear that the type of person the scripture is talking about is NOT speaking from God’s HEART. Secondly, notice that verse 22 says, “if the thing follow not, nor come to pass”. There are TWO elements going on here. We can reject the word if an unconditional prophecy “does not come to pass” OR we can reject a conditional prophecy if it “does not follow”
Does not follow
Does not follow what? Doesn’t not follow God’s heart or forthtelling and by extension His word. Additionally in NT context, if it doesn’t not testify to Jesus in some way. So, “does not follow” means that the intent/direction of the word must follow God’s nature/plan/purpose. That way even if the word is rejected by the recipient, it still follows. For example, let’s say an individual gets a word that tells them to turn away from drugs and adultery and turn back to God, and they reject that word and continue their destructive lifestyle. That word still “follows” God’s nature. What God wanted to bring FORTH in their life lines up with His word and heart.
Explicit OR Implicit
Again, to understand the nature of prophecy we have to look it all of it, not a single verse. Fortunately, the Bible is full of examples. One key to remember is that a conditional prophecy does not have to explicitly state the conditions to be conditional. It only has to carry with it the power to bring FORTH GOD’S HEART. In, Jonah 3, Jonah prophesied that Ninievah would be destroyed in 40 days. There was no condition explicitly stated. Ninievah was not destroyed which completely lines up God’s heart (repentance) and brought FORTH something good. In Micah 3:12, Micah prophesied that “Zion will be plowed like a field”, no explicit conditions, but the invasion fell short (Jer 26:18). And there are actually considerably more examples.
----------------------------------------------
This may seem like a lot. Remember, the devil hates prophecy and wants to discredit it. What I've outlined here does not just look at one scripture, but takes into account the entirety of scripture... it's consistent.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. As long as we live in a fallen world, as long as we have struggles, as long as we haven’t reached the fullness of His plan and purpose for our lives, God’s HEART will continue to be to bring FORTH direction, hope, healing, or whatever else is needed in our lives. Prophecy is only one way He does it, but it is a powerful, powerful way - when we understand it and are open to it.
----------------------------------------------
Please note you are in the Spiritual Gifts forum, please make yourself aware of the Statement of Purpose for this forum before responding.
This material comes from over 12 years of personal ministry experience backed by mentors with over 100+ years of combined experience in prophetic ministry.
The goal of this thread teach and guide not to debate the scriptural merit of what is presented, please keep responds limited to that context.
I will post further threads involving other aspects of prophetic ministry in the future.
