Let The Prophets Judge The Prophets

[keita]

Let the Prophets Judge the Prophets

By Norm Franz
September 28, 2002 (Tishri 22, 5763)
Eighth Day of Sukkot (Shemini Atzeres)


Last night, I was listening to a teaching tape that a friend of mine sent me. The minister was a woman, who many people recognize as a prophetess. To be specific, she was a seer prophetess versus a word prophetess. Seer prophets are highly gifted with the ability to bring God's revelation through the dreams and visions that He gives them.

As I listened, I heard some awesome things that the Holy Spirit has clearly revealed to me from His word. As a word prophet, I was blessed with a seer prophet's insight that brought confirmation and increase to my own revelation of God's plan for the ages. This is how God uses prophets and other five-fold ministers to bring the body of Messiah into the full revelation of His word.

The Truth/Error Mixture

Unfortunately, as a word prophet, I also recognized that some of her interpretations were according to unscriptural, over spiritualized, Greco-Roman doctrine that permeates much of Western Christianity today. This is the primary danger that today's seer prophets face every time they attempted to interpret a dream or vision from God.

In order for seer prophets to operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness, they must be grounded in the Hebraic understanding and interpretation of Scripture. If they have been infected with the Greco-Roman style of over spiritualizing Scripture, which is the predominate type of hermeneutics taught in most of today's seminaries, they will have a tendency to interpret their dreams and visions through the tainted eyes of their manmade doctrines.

It's not that they don't see prophetically, it's that they interpret what they see through a mystical Greco-Roman eye rather than the Hebraic eye of Scripture. I believe this is one reason why the Apostle Paul gives us instructions for how to conduct a meeting where a prophet or prophets are ministering:

"Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." (1 Cor 14:29-33 KJV)

The Prophets Must Govern Themselves

Paul is saying that the prophets need to oversee and correct one another when necessary. In my opinion, the only reason that would warrant one prophet interrupting another prophet while he was ministering a prophetic revelation is that the revelation failed to line up with the Word of God.

When Paul further points out that "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets," he is not necessarily referring to an individual prophet having control over his own spirit. Although, a prophet is supposed to control (suppress) his own spirit when prophesying by the Holy Spirit, it is easy for his own spirit to sneak in and prophesy when he is caught up in the heat of the ministry. If you are a prophet and you are thinking this could never happen to you, then chances are it happens regularly.

This is a phenomenon that ran amuck among the prophets of ancient Israel. Israel's prophets didn't watch over each other to correct prophecies that strayed from God's Torah. In fact, they began stealing each other's prophecies so that they would appear to be on the same spiritual plain as their contemporaries. They eventually began to prophesy out of their "own spirit" as a way of attaining a prophetic one-upmanship over each other. At that point, God says they were prophesying "oracles" from their "own inspiration," but declaring that they were "the oracles of the Lord." (Jer. 23:25-40; Ezek. 13:1-7).

In due course, this turned Jehovah against them, and they were disgraced and punished for mishandling His prophetic word. These will undoubtedly be among the prophet who will stand before the Lord on that day and say, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name…" only to hear Him say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt 7:23).

When Paul recognized that this same mistake was being made among the prophets at Corinth, he simply pointed out that "the prophets as a group can exercise control as needed over individuals among their number."1 His purpose was not to embarrass or control anyone, but to keep the prophets, especially the seer prophets, from bringing forth "uncontrolled ecstatic utterances,"2 which is something I heard several times on the tape I was listening to last night.3...

[keita]

...Prophetic Words vs. Pathetic Words

It is easy to see that this same phenomenon is running rampant throughout the prophetic movement day. Some prophets and prophet wannabes have a new prophetic word, dream or vision almost every day. In my opinion, many of these prophetic utterances are simply the speculative ramblings of imaginations that are out of control. It is like they are in competition with each other for bragging rights just like the prophets of Israel were immediately prior to the Babylonian captivity under Nebuchadnezzar.

One ministries' website I viewed contained a prophecy that predicted every prophetic event imaginable. There were no specifics; just general predictions pertaining to end-time prophecies that are already laid out in Scripture. It appeared as though he made a list of all the prophecies about the last days and then put a "Thus says the Lord" in front of them to make it appear as though he had gotten them directly from the Holy Spirit. This is not a "prophetic word" it's a "pathetic word" and it needs to stop.

Prophetic Education and Relationships

There is still a lot of confusion in the prophetic movement. I believe it's because prophetic ministry not only flows in the highest levels of the Spirit, but it also has numerous planes of authority that it operates on. Consequently, it is sometimes difficult to discern between the different levels of prophetic ministry that flow throughout the body of Christ. Proper education and relationships with peer-level prophets and governing apostle are two of the best ways to overcome this confusion.

For example, God's word clearly teaches that "all are not prophets" (1 Cor. 12:29). However, in the last days, "all can prophesy" and have dreams and visions whether they are prophets or not:

"But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:16-17 KJV; see also Joel 2:28-29; 1 Cor. 14:31)

In other words, just because a person prophesies or has dreams and visions, it does not mean that they are a prophet. They may simply be flowing in the "gift of prophecy" or be under the unction of "the spirit of prophesy," where everyone is able to prophesy (1 Sam. 10:1-13; 19:20; Rev. 19:10).

The gift of prophecy is given by the Holy Spirit for the "common good" and edification of the body (1 Cor. 12:7). Consequently, when a believer who is operating in the gift of prophecy gives a prophetic word or relates a dream or vision, they are restricted to the ministerial boundaries of "edification, exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 14:3). We call these "prophetic believers."

On the other hand, the gift of prophet is an ascension gift that is given by Jesus for the purpose of equipping the saints doctrinally and in every area of life until we all come into the unity of the faith (Eph. 4:8, 11-16). This office carries with it a governing authority to direct, correct, impart, illuminate, revelate, and pronounce judgment on the wicked both inside and outside the family of God. These are things that prophets and apostles have always been anointed to do, while prophetic believers are not.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of prophetic believers flowing in the gift of prophecy, who mistakenly think that they are prophets and present themselves as such. This makes it especially difficult to distinguish between a full-fledged seer prophet and a prophetic believer who is simply having dreams and visions under the anointing of the spirit of prophecy.

Needless to say when a prophetic believer tries to function in the office of a prophet it is usually disastrous especially from a doctrinal standpoint. Inevitably, all types of unbiblical, spooky spiritual and outright impossible things end up getting declared as being the ways of God when they are not even close to what the Lord is actually doing. This releases a confusion that is not from God, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace."...

[keita]

...Raising the Prophetic Bar

If the prophetic movement is ever going to come in out of the rain, the prophets must raise the standard by which they prophesy. This is especially true for the seer prophets, because they are particularly susceptible to deception. Paul warns us about this when he writes:

"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind…" (Colossians 2:18-19 NAS)

Seer prophets have a tendency for basing the authority of their vision (taking their stand) on the vision and/or the angel who delivered it, rather than on the Word of God. If they inflate their vision with their "fleshly mind" to the point where it violates Scripture, and they refuse to accept correction from God's word, they have begun to hold the angel's word above God's word. This results in "the worship of angels," which in my opinion is what has happened too many of the seer prophets today.

This is why I believe that the prophets, especially seer prophets, need to get back to Paul's instructions and develop some meaningful relationships with qualified word prophets or apostles who they can submit their prophecies, dreams, and visions to for judgment. If they fail to make this correction and continue to walk in the stubbornness of their own ways, then God will turn against them just as he did the prophets of Israel.

I'm not talking about just joining an Apostolic/Prophetic Network as a way of getting a "rubber stamp covering" so that you can do your own thing, but true biblical relationship that is mutually submitted to one another. This submission is not about controlling you; it's about protecting both you and the body of Christ from the incomprehensible deceptions of the last days:

"Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14 KJV)

Those who refuse to properly submit themselves and their ministries are most likely under the spell of Jezebel, who calls her self a prophetess but refuses to repent and surrender to the ways of God (Rev. 2:20-22). Unfortunately, on that day these prophets will undoubtedly find themselves among those to whom Jesus says, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).

However, if we as a company of prophets will turn back to God's ways of conducting prophetic ministry, it will go along way to keeping the prophetic word pure. And when we stand before Him on that day, we will hear Him say:

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. (Matthew 25:21 KJV)

Selah!

[krazeeboi]

Very interesting article.

Something jumped out at me. The passage that forms the basis of this article (1 Cor. 14:29-33) has interesting wording. It specifically speaks says "prophets" ("let the prophets speak..."), and not just "those who prophesy." I, too, believe that there is a difference between someone having or operating in the gift of prophecy and one who functions as a prophet. However, looking at the context, I believe that Paul is using "prophets" in the passage in question as a shorthand for those who prophesy, and not those who function as prophets, as it is the gift of prophecy (and tongues) and the correct way to operate in that gift that forms a central theme of the chapter. It would disrupt the entire flow of the chapter for Paul to start talking about the ascension gift of the prophet (commonly referred to as the "office of the prophet") in the middle of talking about the gift of prophecy, particularly when he has not referenced the office of the prophet prior at any other point in the passage. I also believe that the general nature of verse 26, which constitutes something of the beginning of a shift in Paul's discourse (based on previous groundwork laid), confirms that he is speaking of those who are operating in the gift of prophecy at some particular moment in the worship service. And then connect that with verse 31 that says that ALL may prophesy in turn. So clearly, Paul isn't talking about prophets in the technical sense, but rather those that are prophesying.

With that in mind, it would definitely make us rethink who is to do the judging of prophecy. I think the best interpretation would either be the leadership (the elders; such an explanation should be self-explanatory) or the corporate assembly, which would also make sense since everyone in the assembly has the ability to prophesy (assuming that they all are truly Spirit-filled, and Paul essentially gives them that much).

I have never heard of the distinction between "seer prophets" and "word prophets" as presented here. Not sure how I feel about that. Personally, I don't think that any prophet that's not rooted in the Word has any business prophesying.

[abundanceofpraise]

Amen Krazeeboi If they are not rooted in the Word of God then they sure nuff don't have any bizzness prophesyin...........and Yes there is the difference Having the gift of prophesy and being called into the office of a Prophet thats where alote of people mess up. Just because God gives you a word to tell somebody or gives you a word of knowledge doesn't necessarily mean that you are a Prophet. It is very very essential that you find out for sure which one you are to be effective in the body of Christ.....

[giantsdodie]

krazeeboi said:

Very interesting article.

Something jumped out at me. The passage that forms the basis of this article (1 Cor. 14:29-33) has interesting wording. It specifically speaks says "prophets" ("let the prophets speak..."), and not just "those who prophesy." I, too, believe that there is a difference between someone having or operating in the gift of prophecy and one who functions as a prophet. However, looking at the context, I believe that Paul is using "prophets" in the passage in question as a shorthand for those who prophesy, and not those who function as prophets, as it is the gift of prophecy (and tongues) and the correct way to operate in that gift that forms a central theme of the chapter. It would disrupt the entire flow of the chapter for Paul to start talking about the ascension gift of the prophet (commonly referred to as the "office of the prophet") in the middle of talking about the gift of prophecy, particularly when he has not referenced the office of the prophet prior at any other point in the passage. I also believe that the general nature of verse 26, which constitutes something of the beginning of a shift in Paul's discourse (based on previous groundwork laid), confirms that he is speaking of those who are operating in the gift of prophecy at some particular moment in the worship service. And then connect that with verse 31 that says that ALL may prophesy in turn. So clearly, Paul isn't talking about prophets in the technical sense, but rather those that are prophesying.

With that in mind, it would definitely make us rethink who is to do the judging of prophecy. I think the best interpretation would either be the leadership (the elders; such an explanation should be self-explanatory) or the corporate assembly, which would also make sense since everyone in the assembly has the ability to prophesy (assuming that they all are truly Spirit-filled, and Paul essentially gives them that much).

I have never heard of the distinction between "seer prophets" and "word prophets" as presented here. Not sure how I feel about that. Personally, I don't think that any prophet that's not rooted in the Word has any business prophesying.

All prophets should be submitted to some leadership somewhere. They should be accountable to some leadership.

I dont agree with the disctintion between 'seer' and 'word' prophets personally.

And no not everyone who prophecies is a prophet just like everyone who leads someone to Jesus isnt an evangelist and everyone who ministers isnt a pastor either.

There are many churches who operate in the prophetic gifts and office correctly... Its just that the loopy ones are on TV...

[krazeeboi]

LOL, you're right about that.

[abundanceofpraise]

Double AMen Bro. Giant

[Beulah5]

Amen Giants. I also believe that it is the church (local & worldwide) that shd hold the prophet accountable not just other prophets.