• Prophets were tremendously used to confirm, set, affirm, and ordain mature leaders in the church, just like in Antioch when Paul and Barnabas were released as apostles (Acts 13:1–4).
• Prophets move in the ministry of consolation, encouragement, exhortation, and strength (Acts 15:22).
• Prophets can foretell through divine prediction what is to come to warn the people, as Agabus did in regards to the famine that happened (Acts 11:27–30; Acts 21:8–14).
• Prophets, along with the apostles, are foundational ministries in the NT church (Eph. 2:20–22; 3:5).
• Prophets have a special warfare mentality and confrontational grace to contend against false doctrine, prophets, and teachers who are like wolves in sheep’s clothing (2 Thess. 2:11–12; Rev. 13; Matt. 24:11, 24).
• Prophets, along with apostles, possess by their call, mantle, office, and gift the spiritual ability and insight into God’s divine plan, revelation, purpose, and heart concerning His church (Eph. 3:1–5).
As we take into consideration the role of the prophets and prophetic gift in the New Testament we can clearly see its importance and relevance in the early church and today. I believe it is a cutting-edge ministry that is in need today in the church and in the world. There are churches and leaders today that still refuse to embrace the prophetic ministry of the prophet in their church. A church without the voice of the Lord speaking is like a desert in need of water. The Bible says the church is built on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets according to Ephesians 2:19–22.
NEW COVENANT PROPHETS
The New Testament church made mention of prophets that were sent, used, and operated in the early church. Below is a list of the prophets identified:
• Agabus was a reputable prophet of God (Acts 11:28; 21:10–11).
• Judas and Silas were considered prophets (Acts 15:32).
• Ananias was sent as a prophet to Saul, who later became the great apostle Paul (Acts 9:1–15; 22:10–15).
• Prophets stationed in Tyre (Acts 21:4).
• Prophets sent from the city of Jerusalem (Acts 11:27).
• Prophets were in the midst of the displaced churches (2 Pet. 2:1–2; 1 John 4:1–3).
• Prophets and teachers were a part of the leadership team at Antioch (Acts 13:1–4).
• Prophets at Corinth (1 Cor. 14:27, 29; 12:28–29).
• Prophets were in Ephesus (Eph. 4:9–11).
• Prophetess Anna, an eighty-four-year-old woman of God who served in the temple (Luke 2:36–38).
• Jezebel, a self-appointed and self-acclaimed prophetess (Rev. 2:20).
• False prophets at Crete (Titus 1:10–13).
MIXING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY WITH THE OFFICE OF THE PROPHET
There is a difference between the gift and office of something. A person’s gift (charisma) is something that a person can operate in with little or no effort because that’s what they do. It is their gift. On the other hand, a person who stands or holds a particular office carries a greater responsibility than is required of a person flowing in a specific gift. I have come across people in ministry who mix the gift of prophecy with the office of the prophetic because they really don’t know the difference. Also, because they believe that a person who prophesies is a prophet automatically. The gift of prophecy is found in the Book of 1 Corinthians 12:10, Romans 12:6, and Acts 2:18.
The gift of prophecy is a spiritual gift to utter things by the Spirit. It is a gift, not an office. Moreover, the gift of prophecy is simply the God-given ability to speak forth by the Spirit supernatural things that pertain to things of the Spirit in a known tongue that is communicated to a specific situation or person. The office of the prophet is mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28–29. The office of the prophet is a headship leadership position called, sent, set, and stationed in the church for the sole purpose of equipping, perfecting, training, and making the saints fully ready and qualified for ministry service.
In addition, the office is a seat of the prophet’s authority and power. The prophet flows and operates from that place by God’s authority. The power of their prophetic office is recalibrated through the prophetic mantle. They are God’s special messengers and His mouthpieces. Moreover, a prophet’s office is who they are, and that was predetermined before they were born. A person operating in a gift is what they do, but a prophetic officer is who they are. It is the Lord who set them in their office and not anyone else. The local church is called to establish, confirm, and recognize the call of the prophet on someone’s life and utilize them for the upbuilding of the body of Christ. The gift of prophecy is limited to exhortation, encouragement, and comfort, while someone who functions in the office of prophet has a greater level of authority, power, and release from God, because God set them there.
The prophetic office carries much weight in the prophetic realm when it comes to the hearing and speaking as “oracles of God.” When a prophet prophesies, prays, and engages in prophetic acts of warfare, he carries in his mantle a supernatural ability to create, root out, pull down, destroy, overthrow, build, plant, and call things into divine alignment. (See Jeremiah 1:9–10.) The office of the prophet is the highest level in the prophetic realm. Throughout the Old Testament, when God wanted to get things done He used the prophets to do it. God also reveals His secrets to His servants, the prophets (Amos 3:7). We need prophets and seers operating in their office in the local assembly to combat and address false prophets, teachers, doctrine, and demonic behaviors, patterns, systems, and strategies.
50 Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “apostolos,” www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G652 (accessed June 4, 2013).
51 John Eckhardt, Dictionary of the Apostolic, second edition (Olympia Fields, IL: Crusaders Ministries, 2005), 276.
52 John Loren Sandford, Elijah Among Us (Ada, MI: Chosen Books, 2002), 63.
53 Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., “Problems in the Contemporary Use of the Gift of Prophecy” (an unpublished paper given at the Society for Pentecostal Studies, November 14, 1980), 13.
54 Wayne A. Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 128.
55 Ralph F. Wilson, “Understanding the Gift of Prophecy II. The Purpose of Prophecy Today,” Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries, http://www.joyfulheart.com/scholar/purp-pro.htm (accessed August 6, 2013). Copyright © 1985-2013, Ralph F. Wilson.
56 Strong’s Greek Concordance, s.v. “parakletos,” 3875, http://biblesuite.com/greek/3875.htm (accessed July 12, 2013). See also the NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries, Copyright © 1981, 1998 by The Lockman Foundation; New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, ©2002 by Thomas Nelson, Inc and the Holy Bible New King James Version ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Definition of parakletos is found on page 1472, located in the “Word Wealth” Index section, Strong# 3875., Dictionary of the Apostolic, Revised, 2nd Edition, ©2005 by John Eckhardt, page 124, published and produced by Crusaders Ministries.
57 Robeck, 13.
58 Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “apokalypto,” www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G601 (accessed July 12, 2013).
59 Barbara Wentroble, Fighting for Your Prophetic Promises (Ada, MI: Chosen Books, 2011), 131.
Chapter Twelve
FALSE PROPHETS AND PROPHECY
But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
—DEUTERONOMY 18:20–22, NAS
AS THE LORD is raising up new covenant-type prophetic models today in the church, the adversary is also. Just as there were true prophets in the e
arly church, there were false ones in disguise. In Deuteronomy 19:20–22, it reveals the nature of a presumed word that God has not given. The Lord was very serious addressing false prophecy and prophets in the days of Moses. The Lord was telling Moses that He would raise up a prophet like him from among the people and He will put His word in His mouth. Jesus was that prophet that God was referring to because this type of prophetic representative will speak what God puts in His mouth.
True prophets only speak what God commands them to speak. God went on to say that the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which He has not commanded for them to speak, or speak in the name of another god, then that prophet will die. Obviously, the Lord’s punishment for releasing presumptuous words in His name or any other god’s name will be to serve the death penalty.
The Old Testament prophetic guidelines were very severe and shouldn’t have been taken lightly. In verses 21 and 22, the Lord gives the outline on how to determine if the word was from Him or from that prophet. He says that if a word spoken in His name that He did not say doesn’t come to pass, that prophet spoke presumptuously and the people should not fear him. The Lord said that the prophecy was presumptuously spoken, and the people should not receive that prophet. This is interesting because I have received and even released a presumptuous word before through my prophetic ministry. I have had people come to me about a situation and immaturely I gave them what I wanted to see happen to them out of good intention and motive, but it wasn’t God plan.
Due to the fact that I released that word in the prophetic authority that I had, I figured that God would honor my request because I ministered it in accordance to His word; but the Lord said it wasn’t what He revealed to me by His Spirit, but what I already knew in regards to the Scriptures about a situation. As prophets and prophetic people we must not prophesy out of the personal need of someone who comes to us for a prophetic word or counsel. We must seek the Lord in everything we do and release what God says, no matter what. Some people are not open to receive what God reveals to them.
I recall a time when I was in a choir meeting and the leader wanted me to pray that God would supernaturally heal his mother, but in my spirit (inner knowing by the Spirit) the Lord revealed to me that she would not live to the end of the year. It would have been devastating to this leader if I had told him what God revealed to me by the Spirit. With wisdom I just prayed that God would comfort his heart and that he would be able to endure the season to come, and that the Lord’s will be done. His mother passed away in December of that year, and it was one of the most trying times of his adult life. Can you imagine what would have happened if I prophesied that God was going to heal her completely, decreeing healing scriptures over her life? Most likely I would have been labeled a false prophet because what I released presumptuously wasn’t what God had spoken.
We must understand that God’s will always supersedes our will. My point is that even though a genuine prophet missed it in a prophecy doesn’t mean that he or she is a false prophet, technically. I have hit and missed many times in the prophetic ministry while others may not have known it because in my Spirit I knew it because we sometime value or look at people on the outer appearance and not the heart. God doesn’t look at the outward but in the inward.
The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word presumption as “a presumptuous attitude or conduct, and attitude or belief dictated by probability.”60 God doesn’t want us to prophesy out of our own presumptuous attitude and beliefs that are dictated by probability, but Holy Spirit-inspired utterance of assurance. Prophets don’t prophesy out of presumptuous probability, but confirm the supernatural acts of God performing His Word in a person’s life that brings impossibility into being. Let me be clear on what a false prophet is; a false prophet is simply a person who turns you away from the true and living God.
John the Apostle wrote in 1 John 4:1–3 (NKJV):
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
First John 4:1 tells us to “try” or “test the spirits.” This mandate is for our protection. The way to test a false prophet was by his or her teachings, not by what they would actually say. In Deuteronomy 13, God says a word can actually come to pass, but that He is testing you to determine whether you love the Lord. That is powerful to know, that a word can come to pass so the Lord can test a person.
In the Old and New Testament there were instances where false prophetic ministry posed a threat to the upbuilding of the church and would come to devour the flock. There are Bible guidelines and tests by which all prophets, apostles, teachers, and other ministry gifts have to show proof of authenticity. There were examples, instances, evidences, and warnings in both the Old and New Testaments against false prophets. Throughout the Word of God there are countless passages that warn of false prophets and to beware of them. We must understand that Satan hates the prophets and apostles, so in turn he will gather up false prophets, apostles, and teachers to deceive the people.
Below I have provided for your own study some biblical principles for testing the ministry of the prophet and prophecy:
• Testing of the three spirits that can be at work in the prophetic utterances is the Holy Spirit, human spirit and demonic spirit (John 4:1–3; Ezek. 13:1–6; Jer. 23:17, 26–32).
• Testing of the teaching or doctrine that a prophet shares (1 John 4:1–6; 1 Tim. 4:1–3; Isaiah 8:18–20; Matt. 24:11; Mark 13:22; Rev. 16:13–14).
• Testing of the fruit in that prophet (Matt. 7:15–23; Rev. 2:20; Rom. 6:16–22).
• Testing of prophetic fulfillment of the prophecy they release (Deut. 18:19–22).
• Testing of their ministry call to the people to bring them back to the Lord and cause people to repent and serve God (Heb. 12:17–14).
• Testing if the prophet covets, especially a lover of money (Mic. 3:11; 2 Pet. 2:1–3).
• Testing if the prophet initiates worship or turns people away to worship of the deities (Deut. 13:1–5; Matt. 24:11, 24; 2 Thess. 4:1–3; Isa. 8:18–20).
• Testing prophecy function that promotes and is limited to edify, exhort, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:4).
• Testing prophecy that advocates freedom or bondage (Rom. 8:15).
• Testing prophecy that generates life (2 Cor. 3:6).
• Testing prophecy that brings glory to Christ Jesus (John 16:13–14).
• Testing prophecy that challenges obedience to God (Deut. 13:1–5).
• Testing that aligns, confirms, and agrees with the inspired Holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16).
• Testing prophecy that bears witness to the Spirit in the born-again believer (1 John 2:27).
There is an interesting scripture in Ezekiel 13:2–3 that says, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!’” God says one can actually say they are hearing from the Lord, but it really is their own spirit.
Moreover, in the Corinthian church there was a limit to those who could prophesy. The prophets were to minister one by one, in turn, while each of the others judged the word. The Bible says that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. So that being said, prophecy must be judged by others. Prophets are not the only ones to judge each other; it the responsibility of the believer to judge the word as well. We are not to judge the prophet, because he or she is not perfect, but we are to judge the word and the spirit of the word.
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.
—1 C
ORINTHIANS 14:29, NKJV
The apostle Paul wanted to bring order to the prophetic release and presbytery. I love to see prophets flowing together as a team. As a prophetic leader on the prophetic team at my local church, I usually go first to release a word. But sometimes when I am not the lead, what happens is the other prophet with me will begin to prophesy and I usually get the same things that the lead received from the Lord, which confirms that we are in tune to the voice of the Lord. Prophets recognized and used in the local church will eliminate a lot of false teaching, idolatry, pride, error, perversion, division, greed, and false prophets. I believe prophets serve as the watchmen along with the senior leader when it comes to discerning the spiritual climate or temperature in the house. That is why I cannot express enough the importance of prophecy in the church; we should not despise its capabilities.
Dr. Bill Hamon, in his book Prophets, Pitfalls & Principles: God’s Prophetic People Today, talked about what he calls the “Ten M’s” for ministry that will assist believers and leaders in determining a prophetic minister’s true or false statuses. The “Ten M’s” for ministry by Bishop Hamon is a good checks and balances for seasoned and emerging leaders below which one can study on their own with biblical references:
1. Manhood (Gen. 1:26–27; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:6,10)
2. Ministry (2 Cor. 6:3; Matt. 7:15–21; Deut. 18:22)
3. Message (Eph. 4:15; 1 Tim. 4:2; Mark 16:20)
4. Maturity (James 3:17; Gal. 5:22; 1 Cor. 13)
5. Marriage (1 Tim. 3:2,5; 1 Pet. 3:1,7)
6. Methods (Titus 1:16; Rom. 1:18; 3:7–8)
7. Manners (Titus 1:7; 3:1–2; Eph. 4:29; 5:4)
8. Money (1 Tim. 3:6, amp; 1 Tim. 6:5–17)
9. Morality (1 Cor. 6:9–18; Eph. 5:3; Matt. 5:28)
10. Motive (Matt. 6:1; 1 Cor. 16:15; Prov. 16:2; 1 Cor. 13:1–3)61
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