Only one is the right source.

The other two sources are wrong and do not produce true prophecies at all, though the “prophecies” may appear to be right.

But appearances can be deceiving.

Defining two terms: A continuationist believes the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 still continue. A cessationist believes these gifts have ceased, particularly prophecy and tongues and their interpretation and miracles and gifts of healings.

For the record, I’m a continuationist first because the Scripture commands it, and second because I personally like the gifts of the Spirit. It is great to see God heal someone or set him free from a demon or inspire a true prophecy.

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. (1 Cor. 14:1)

“Earnestly desire” is in the imperative or command form. We are commanded to desire spiritual gifts, particularly prophecy. How can I violate Scripture like that one, particularly when there is not one reference in Scripture that has an expiry date on the gifts?

I believe in the gift of prophecy and have received a fair number of them over the decades, though most have never come to pass or were irrelevant to my life. But I have a received a few that were right. Those ones have been a blessing. Truly a blessing.

However, countless numbers of people who prophesy–or who think they prophesy–are confused. Evidently they don’t know about two false sources of prophecy, which do not produce true prophecy at all. At best their “prophecies” are a mixture, and at worst, their “prophecies” may be influenced by an evil source.

The NIV is used here. If you would like to see others, please go to biblegateway.com.

Let’s begin.

First and Wrong Source

Unfortunately, this is the most frequent. See if you can spot it in these verses from Jeremiah and Ezekiel, particularly in the bold font:

[…] They speak visions from their own minds,
    not from the mouth of the Lord. (Jer. 23:16)

²⁵ “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ ²⁶ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? […] ³⁰ “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against  the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. ³¹ Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’   ³² Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:25-26, 30-32 emphasis added)

Ezekiel also has the right insight into these confused prophets:

² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! […] ¹⁷ “Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them  (Ezek. 13:2, 17, emphasis added)

So this wrong source of prophecy is from the human mind and imagination. Their dreams have a human origin–themselves–and they mistake these words for God’s words. They even steal words from each other.

Prophets today who are in the New Covenant also rely, wrongly, on their own imagination and minds, even though they believe their words come from God. They seem unable to spot this defective source but wrongly believe their own thoughts and dreams are God’s thoughts and dreams he gives.

I don’t believe that most of these confused prophets today are deliberately intending to deceive people, though some may be deliberately deceitful. This is why I cannot in good conscience call the sincere but confused people false prophets, for in Scripture false prophets seem to live outside a relationship with Jesus. “‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt. 7:23). (See the second source, below.)

Matthew 7:21-23: “I Never Knew You, Depart from Me!”

Instead, the sincere ones, though sincerely wrong, are simply uninstructed and over-zealous.

Some, however, are very strident and are unwilling to slow down. They may feel pressure to produce prophecies each week or two or three times a week. One prophet named Jeremiah Johnson, main leader and prophet of his church, who wrongly predicted a consecutive, back-to-back second term for Pres. Trump, said he lost $40k per month in revenue, even though he repented.

So the prophecy business is a cash cow for this one and no doubt for others. Feeling pressured by money to produce a prophecy or more per week can lead to mistakes. He is still prophesying vague words, so avoid him

Some prophets deliberately prophesy lies. Jeremiah is especially strong about this:

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. ¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them […] (Jer. 14:14-15)

Shawn Bolz has been caught data-mining his “prophecies” from Facebook. This is lying in the name of the Spirit. This is evil.

Second and Wrong Source

This is the worst of all. Can you spot this source in these verses, particularly in bold font?

The context is Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, intended to recover the town of Ramoth Gilead, and he requested the help of the good (enough) king Jehoshaphat of Judah. The kings asked for the prophets to step forward, and they declared words from the Lord that predicted victory. Then Ahab summoned Micaiah, a true prophet. Micaiah saw in the Spirit or heard from the Spirit that the prophets were believing a lying or deceiving spirit, sent or allowed by God himself. When God sends or allows deceiving spirits, then the prophets and people are under judgment.

¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. ²¹ Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

²² “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.

“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ (1 Kings 22:19-22, emphasis added; see parallel the passage in 2 Chron. 18)

I noted above the passage that when God sends or allows a deceiving spirit to influence the minds of prophets, then the prophets and people are under judgment.

How do I apply this truth of Scripture today, to prophets who live in the New Covenant? See the next section.

Ministries that Need to Repent

I have moved this section to this post:

Calling Leaders by Name to Repent

Third and Right Source

This is the only true source of prophecy that makes this biblical gift correct and right and edifying.

See if you can spot the source in these verses, particularly in the bold font:

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge  by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

The only true source of prophecy is the Holy Spirit. All other “prophecies” are not prophecies at all, but come from human imagination and their own mind or, worse, from a deceiving spirit.

When the Spirit speaks prophetically, he edifies, encourages, and comforts (1 Cor. 14:3). When words wander off from those three parameters, be cautious. The one prophesying may be listening to his own mind or worse–an evil spirit!

Question and Answer

Question:

In Acts 23:3-6 Paul and his team landed at Tyre on their way to Jerusalem and stayed with disciples for seven days. Then some of the disciples rose up: “Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v. 4). Yet Paul had already felt “compelled by the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22). How do we resolve the two conflicting verses?

Answer (as I see things so far):

1.. The important phrase is in 21:4: “Through the Spirit.” I believe this is Luke’s shorthand way to indicate the disciples were doing the act of prophecy. But how did Luke know this? Did these disciples raise their voices? Did they say, “Thus saith the Lord”?

And what evidence do I have that this may be Luke’s shorthand expression? All I have is this. I have translated and commented on the book of Acts, and Luke does this sort of thing all the time. I have nicknamed him “the Omitter.” Once he introduces or repeats a concept, sometimes he does not go into detail about it. This is his historical account, not a detailed epistle. He seems to be in a hurry.

Go to the search bar on the top right of this website and type in omitter. See what hits you get. I tried it just now and got many.

Back to the disciples at Tyre …..

If the phrase “through the Spirit” is Luke’s shorthand way to merely indicate that the disciples were doing the act prophesying, then they may have been listening to their own minds which were understandably concerned for Paul. But they dressed it up with the appearance of prophecy: “The Lord is speaking to you through us, Paul. Don’t go to Jerusalem!”

2.. Another solution is that they had a mixture between their own concerned minds and the Spirit. They were prophesying in part (1 Cor. 13:9), without full knowledge of what the Spirit was truly saying.

I like the second option, combined with the first one about Luke’s shorthand expression.

However, if these tentative solutions do not seem satisfactory to you, then you may come up with one of your own.

But one lesson we can learn is that you have to be cautious about receiving directional words from someone else: “Yeah, verily! Go thou to another city in another state and live there!”  “Yeah, verily! Marry thou this girl!” If God has never spoken to you about this, then put the prophecy on the shelf (so to speak). It is probably wrong. The prophetic person is speaking from his own mind–or from an evil spirit.

Paul went ahead to Jerusalem, ignoring this prophetic word from the disciples at Tyre. He was right to do this. They were wrong about this one prophecy, but I cannot find where Luke wrote them off as false prophets.

Conclusion and Solutions

To prophetic persons: in order to protect yourself from prophecies coming from your own mind and imagination or an evil spirit, please follow these guidelines.

1.. The first solution is humility and willingness to be taught and corrected.

However, prophets today are arrogant; they don’t seem to need or even want correction. But here’s what God does to arrogant and humble people:

⁵ […]  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  (1 Peter 5:5b-6)

The American church, particularly the Charismatic variety, sits under God’s judgment due to arrogance, Yes, individual churches may be doing things right and are not arrogant, but generally the church is not doing things right and is arrogant.

Prophets in these churches do not seem to understand this restriction:

For we know in part and we prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9)

It takes humility to accept their own limitations. If they do not, then they may fall prey to the worst source of all, a lying spirit.

More inerrantly inspired wisdom from Peter:

¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)

Yes, God really does judge his family household–his church–first. Recall that in 1 Kings 22 God allowed a deceiving spirit to put words in prophets’ mouths because the kings and the prophets were under judgment.

Here are sixteen signs that demonstrate that the American church is not healthy:

Sixteen Characteristics of an Unhealthy Church

To correct this, here are sixteen things the American church can do:

Sixteen Characteristics of a Healthy Church

2.. All disciples, particularly prophets, must live the crucified life.

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

We are to die daily.

Paul connects life in the Spirit with the crucified life:

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Gal. 5:24-25)

I believe that many prophets speak out of their own desires and passions, similar to the “prophets” in the OT who spoke out of their own minds and imaginations (the first source, above). The modern prophets may desire and be passionate for money or fame. Or their motives may be pure enough; they have a passion to bless people. The solution is to crucify those things. Then the Spirit can work and the mistakes will diminish.

3.. Another solution is for the prophets to submit to elders who understand Scripture, not to elders who stamp “we approve!” on every prophecy. Churches are to be led by a team of leaders who know what they are doing because they are Bible educated. They are also mature enough to tell the star prophet no. N-O, no.

Woe to the church that is led by a prophet! The pastoral epistles 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are long job descriptions of who the leaders are of a church and how a church operates. Elders lead. When Paul and Barnabas planted churches on their first missionary journey (Acts 13-14), they appointed elders (14:23). Paul had appointed elders in the thriving and large church in Ephesus (Acts 20:13-38).

There is not one verse that says a prophet should be the head leader of the local church.

As to why the word “elder” is not mentioned in the two surviving letters to the Corinthians, go to this link and scroll down to Point 23:

Check Out What Two Genuine Apostles Did and How They Lived

4. Social platform prophets should stay connected to a local church and tell us which one it is. If the prophet leads the church as the main leader, then he is out of order. He can help the church with his gift, but not be the head leader.

Today’s youtube prophets are untethered to the local church, or they do not tell us what their church connection is, so they can be encouraged or corrected by the local body. I wonder why they can’t prophesy within the safety and confines of their local church, where they can be safe and cared for, and not on youtube. Nine-tenths (or more) of youtube prophets must shut down their channel and go back to their local church and prophesy only there.

They are making themselves vulnerable to a severe judgment, the larger their audience. The following verse is about teachers, but I believe it can encompass anyone who stands up on a platform and shares things with the body of Christ. They are functioning as teachers.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

Fair warning!

5.. In their teaching, they need to keep the main thing the plain thing.

Scriptural themes like salvation, grace, redemption, reconciliation, regeneration, the kingdom of God, and holiness may be boring to hyper-charismatics and untethered prophets, but they can return to God’s favor if they return to the plain things and main things of Scripture. Satan has to loose his stranglehold on them when they stop deceiving themselves with wacky ministry practices and strange doctrines. Satan twisted Scripture; Jesus defeated him by interpreting it truthfully and correctly.

Now let me close by counseling those who receive prophecies.

Always, always judge them (1 Thess. 5:20-21; 1 Cor. 14:29; 1 John 4:1). The vast majority of them should be put on the shelf and wait for God to fulfill them. I have learned that the vast majority of them will not come to pass or are irrelevant to your life. The prophetic person may be speaking from his or her own mind or imagination. Let’s hope he is not speaking from a deceiving spirit.

In any case, just get close to Jesus, stay in the word, and live life in a local, word-teaching church. They can help you.

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