The Gift of Prophecy

"Christian leaders should openly remind believers to avoid these false prophets whenever they manifest themselves. The continual silence of Christians to speak out against  false prophets gives them the temerity to deceive the simple."

The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there has been much confusion over this gift as many people desire to be called “prophets” of God. There are a few passages in the Bible to list out the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. I will list the passages from 1 Corinthians 12:7-12 and 1 Corinthians 12:27-28.

The Gift of the Holy Spirt

1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 

1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 

1 Corinthians 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 

1 Corinthians 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to other divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 

1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 

1 Corinthians 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

The Apostle also mentioned about these gifts in 1Corinthians 12:27-28, “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues”.

There has been much confusion over the subject of prophecy. Many “Christians” have claimed to possess the gift of the Holy Spirt in the area of prophecy. The Bible’s references on the various gifts are also found in Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:11-12 and 1 Peter 4:10-11.   

Prophets Today

One of the first questions we may need to ask is whether prophets and prophetess (i.e. collectively referred to as prophets) exist today? The Bible is completed and will the gift of prophecy still exist? In my answer to this question, we need to examine the ministry of prophets. 

Prophets speak on behalf of God. There are two functions of a prophet. The first is to make prediction of the future in accordance to the revelation they receive from God. The second function of a prophet is to speak on behalf of God to the people.  Most of us have in mind that the prophet's only role is to make predictions about the future. However, the second function is seldom emphasized.

When we understand the twin role of a prophet’s office, we can address the question whether there are prophets today. Before the Bible was completed, a prophet may exercise both functions: to make predictions of future events as God revealed to him; and speak to the people on behalf of God. Today, since the Bible is completed, there is no further prediction of events to happen as what God wishes to reveal has been completed and recorded in the Bible. The Bible is not concerned at all over who will be the next president of the United States of America. It has far grander plans to announce and the prophecies of Daniel and other prophets including the new testament books encapsulate all that is needed to be delivered. Therefore prophets today are only entrusted to speak to the people on behalf of God, based on His words as written in the Bible. For example, when we remind people to avoid fornication as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9, we are acting as a prophet of God. Any person who speaks beyond what the Bible has taught or revealed will be considered to be a false prophet.

The Present Manifestations of False Prophets

There has been an abundance of false prophets from the past to the present times. It is indeed spiritual blindness that many simple Christians are misled by these false prophets. The Lord Jesus has warned about this happening when He was on earth. In Matthew 7:15, He warned us: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”.  In Mat 24:11, He warned again: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many”.  

In the 2020 presidential election in the USA, false prophets predicted that Donald Trump will definitely win a second term. Prophets and prophetess like Kitt Kerr and Paula White made clear definite predictions using God’s name (Click on this link). Some of these “prophets” even allure him to Cyrus the great who gave the Jews the freedom to return to their homeland (Click on this link). Thankfully, their prophecies failed clearly in the Presidential elections. Undeterred by their failed prophecies, some of these false prophets fanned the seeds of discontent which resulted in the insurrection at the USA Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Adding insult to our faith, some of these rebellious folks during the insurrection declared openly that they are Christians! 

How do we Identify False Prophets?

The Bible is not a book of confusion. In 1 Corinthians 14:33, it is written: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”. 

The way to identify false prophets is to compare what they said with actual facts. If what they said does not happen, then we should just ignore them.  Christians can take comfort in the word of God which clearly sets out the difference between the true and false prophets. If anyone uses the name of God and what has been said does not come to pass — even once —then that person is speaking presumptuously and can be ignored. 

This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 18:21-22: “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 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”.  In essence, these prophets are making false claims that God speaks through them.

The Pernicious Effects of False Prophets

False prophets and prophetess with their lies have deceived the heart of the simple. In 2 Peter 2:1-3, the Apostle Peter declared, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not”.

When false prophets tell lies using God’s name, the way of truth enshrined in the word of God is doubted. We know that every word that God speaks will come to pass. These false prophets use God’s name in vain and this makes the preaching of the Gospel much more difficult because what they claimed in God’s name is not truth, resulting in the creation of doubts on the word of God (i.e. the Bible) Furthermore, with their irresponsible actions in promoting evil men who are known as liars, the integrity of the Gospel is compromised.

Damage Control

Christian leaders should openly remind the believers to avoid these false prophets whenever they manifest themselves. The continual silence of Christians to speak out against false prophets gives them the temerity to deceive the simple. Elie Wiesel’s advice has much to teach us on speaking out against these false prophets’ deceptions. He says, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented”.  

The silence by Christians over these false prophets’ claims may make the Gospel harder to be believed. I remember a relative who told me what he heard during a miracle healing rally his friend had attended. Contrary to the claims that the sick and invalid could be healed, they found that most of the people were still sick or invalid. They concluded that it was just a bluff. Since these false miracle healers used the Lord Jesus’ name in making their claims, our Lord’s name is smeared. 

This does not mean that miraculous healings are non-existent today. As God is omnipotent, some may still experience miraculous healings according to His will. However, the endowment of healing gifts to man is of the past. In this present era, most of us should seek medical help and making prayers for healing is scriptural.

The study of the Bible doctrines is essential. It is so clear that the Bible has all the teachings to warn Christians to avoid these false prophets, but because of the lack of knowledge, the simple are deceived. Just as the gift of tongues ceased when the Bible is completed as Paul the Apostle prophesied in 1 Corinthians 13:8, is there any necessity for the prophet's first role, i.e to make further predictions of future events?  The teaching of the withdrawal of the transient gifts of tongues, miracles and prophecy must be clearly taught. 

A Brain Twister

Quite a number of churches that accept false prophets also agree that the Bible is completed and all prophecies must be in compliance with the Bible. If that is the case, can there be any new revelation?

With God’s blessings,

CL