“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” –Jeremiah 17:9
There is an evil circulating through the church today. It is not a new problem, but in our modern time is has sprung up with ferocity. It has spread beyond denominational boundaries and has affected the thought and philosophy of many. It whispers, shouts, and tickles the ears of countless churchgoers. It spreads doubt, fear and false hope. Chances are good that you've encountered it firsthand; it is commonly known as the gift of prophesy.
Now, do not misunderstand me; I recognize that prophesy is a legitimate spiritual gift spoken of in both the Old and New testaments. In the Old, the prophets preached both blessing and judgment to God's people, as well as looked toward the coming Messiah. In the New, prophesy strengthened and established the early church as it was in its formative years, aided in the writing and establishment of the scriptural canon and points us toward the return of Christ and the restoration of creation. These things are true prophesy and true gifts from God. But what I refer to is prophesy of an altogether different sort.
In our day, seeking for spiritual gifts has led many, not just as individuals but as denominations to downgrade the nature of the spiritual gifts in order to make them more applicable to broader groups of people, or to excuse the failure of many who claim to possess them to hold them in the same manner as the prophets of old. Nowadays, if one is to believe it, there are hundreds, even thousands of individuals in prominent church positions who claim to possess the gift of prophesy. If this were true, there would be no reason for concern. But the examination of Scripture against the practice of these so-called prophets makes it altogether unconscionable that such practice pervades the cultural landscape of our churches.
Even among the most well-known and touted "prophets", it is commonly understood that their prophesies are often wrong. In the Old Testament, to prophesy, to make a proclamation and claim that the divine inspiration of God is its source, and then to have that prophesy fail, was punishable by death and such an one would be branded as a false prophet. This was not the ordinance of man, it was the ordinance of God set down in scripture (see Deuteronomy 18:20). Why? Because the prophets were God's primary mouthpiece to His people, revealing His truth, His will and His judgments. The amount of damage a false prophet could produce by speaking lies in the name of God was significant, and therefore punished most severely as a warning to all that this evil would never be tolerated.
Nowadays we seem to have gone beyond that. Certainly we do not stone anyone; indeed, we have the closed canon of Scripture available to us now, which should be our guide in all matters. If someone speaks in a manner inconsistent with scripture, we can see it and know not to follow them or listen. Strangely, however, countless millions within the church do not seem to know not to listen to a man who claims to prophesy, but whose prophesies are often false. How can this be? Are we so ignorant of the scriptures, or do we believe that God, the God who never changes, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hewbrews 13:8), has relaxed his standards? Do we honestly believe that at one time he spoke clearly to His prophets, so that they had no doubt that He was speaking, spoke because they were compelled to, indeed were left without choice (as Jonah discovered when he attempted to flee from God rather than deliver His message) and whose messages certainly came to pass, that now in the present day He speaks uncertainly, speaks in vague and interpretive nudges within the heart that are without clarity, so easily misinterpreted that when pronounced they are wrong more often than right? Or does He now speak with a voice that is so very similar to that of our own hearts that often we mistake our own thoughts and feelings for the voice of God, and thereby proclaim falsehoods that were never anything more than our own emotional leanings?
God forbid that we ever stand and proclaim that He speaks in such a frail manner. He is the almighty God of Heaven and Earth, creator of the universe, creator of Man and ruler over Man’s heart and mind; He certainly can make His voice heard, and heard plainly. I consider it blasphemous that we hold so little fear of God as to openly proclaim that His standards have been relaxed, that they are barely there at all, that His voice is so small as to be often indistinguishable from our own. He is the God who will judge the living and the dead; have we no more fear of Him than to open proclaim lies in His name, excuse our lies by essentially saying that His voice is so difficult to separate from our own thoughts and emotions, and endlessly follow after, uplift and defend those who make it their regular practice to speak and act in this manner, those who claim to be displaying the glory of God while speaking utter nonsense to His people? Can we not see how this diminishes God's glory, how it holds Him open to ridicule instead of the worship and praise that is His due?
If the church wishes to experience the gift of prophesy, how can it ever hope to do so if it defends and justifies those who are not prophets at all? If you desire to hear prophesy, read the book of Revelation, or certain passages of Daniel and the other Old Testament prophets dealing with the return of Christ and the final and absolute establishment of His kingdom. If you desire to prophesy yourself, then read it aloud and preach it to others. Do not trust in your own heart as the mouthpiece of God, not when you already know how very frail and deceitful a thing it is.
Consider this: if a “prophet” is wrong time and again, and then this prophet comes to you and tells you that he has a message for you from God, the very best that you can say, given his record, is that “it probably isn’t true”, and if it probably isn’t true, you should not listen and he should not speak. No matter what he says, if he has proclaimed false prophesies, he has proven that he is no prophet.
“’…any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’ But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the LORD?’ If the prophet speaks in the LORD’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.” –Deuteronomy 18:20-22
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