December 2016 – Meizon Ministries Blog

December 31, 2016April 22, 2018

What Is Prophecy? – Part 1

Everybody seems to know what prophecy is. When it comes to prophecies, one can safely say that the people are the judge. The fastest way to lose credibility is to be a professional predictor in the name of the Lord. It takes one audacious, but failed prediction to earn you an indelible tag.

This simplicity in the understanding of prophecy is derived from the literal meaning of prophecy itself. The word, prophecy, is a combination of two words, “pro” (before) and “phemi” (make clear or clarify, assert as priority). So, prophecy is that which was made clear or asserted before it happens. In a nutshell, prophecy is equivalent to accurate prediction.

Prophecy and prophet are kindred words. A prophet is the person who makes clear before it happens. In other word, a prophet is the one who made the prediction.

With this simple, root word definition, almost every prediction could pass as prophecy. The difference between prophecy and other types of predictions though, is that, while predictions based on statistical and empirical results owe their accuracy to some human or man-made mechanisms, prophecies assume a basically supernatural origin. They owe their sources to some super-human intelligence, and that is why their failure is so disgraceful.

When the prediction fails, the individuals are tagged false prophets, and their predictions, false prophecies. It is in this sense that the predictions of Nostradamus are also called his prophecies. But, prophecy has a deeper meaning than mere predictions.

The complexity of prophecy stems from the fact that not all that is called prophecy is indeed prophecy. The best definition of prophecy is found in Rev.19:10. It is more of a description than a definition.

“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. “ (KJV).

Let’s read the same verse from other translations.

I fell at his feet to worship him, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t do that,” he said. “I’m a servant just like you, and like your brothers and sisters who hold to the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (The Message)

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus. (NLT)

This description elucidates two arms of genuine prophecy. On one side, prophecy is a prediction that originates and points to God. Note the phrase, “…the spirit of prophecy…” Think of this as the spirit that inspires, drives, gives, utters, and administers prophecy. It is the testimony of Jesus, or witnessing for Jesus Christ. This “metadata” introduces a qualification to the general meaning of prophecy. The NLT is more direct. It says, “… the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus …” That means, merely declaring events before they happen does not qualify as prophecy. It is prophecy only when there is Jesus in it. It is a prophecy when there is in it an element of God’s glory, or something that points your attention back to God.

Genuine prophecies must, in one way or the other, convey to us the mercies, love, goodness, favour, warning, admonition, comfort, etc. of the Lord, or an exhortation from the Lord. Every true prophecy comes from God and points man to God. Anybody could tell you what the next big event or success is that lies ahead of you; but if there is nothing there to point you to God, then it’s a mere prediction.

We can see this pattern in the prophecy of Jeremiah. He called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest. He said to them, “You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply: ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’

“But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here; instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’ then hear the LORD’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there, the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’ (Jer.42:7-17).

This prophecy restores the faith and confidence of Judah to God. It makes Judah to draw closer to God, instead of going farther. It tells what God would do. It showcases God to the people of God.

Prophecy in the New Testament

In the New Testament, we see the second arm of prophecy. Prophecy is not just about declaring the future and pointing to God; it also carries the meaning of inspired utterance. And, this inspired utterance comes as you engage in the preaching of the Gospel. As you testify about Jesus, you could prophesy, that is, God could speak through you. Not every preaching or teaching in the New Testament qualifies as prophecy. It takes a man who has yielded himself to the Holy Spirit to prophesy when he is teaching or preaching. He delves into prophecy when he begins to utter the mind of God, whether consciously or unconsciously. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit that activates prophecy. To spew out memorized Scripture verses, sermons, stories and Gospel phrases, does not qualify as prophecy. Whether you are teaching or preaching, it is prophecy when you are speaking from the heart, pressed in the spirit, yielding your faculties to the Holy Spirit and uttering the mind of God for that moment.

For the preachers and teachers of the New Testament, their grand business is to bear testimony to the Saviour. Prophecy or prophesying is the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth. Those truths could relate to past, present or future significance. That is why theologians say that prophecy could be forth-telling or foretelling.

When we put these two arms together, we come to see that prophecy is an utterance inspired by the Spirit of God, and that leads back to God. The inspired utterance could relate to something past, present or future; it could be preaching, teaching, or exhortation that expresses the mind of God for the moment. The major purpose of prophecy is to exhort, comfort, and build the body of Christ.

Personal Prophecies

Most personal prophecies tell only a part of the story. In the heat of prayer meeting, someone walks up to you and says, “Your husband is on the way. By this time next year, you will have your wedding”. And it came to pass. Another person was told, “A big contract is coming to you”. And it came to pass. All these are one part of the story; the second part is, why is God doing that miracle? For some people, it could be so that God would prove His faithfulness; for another person, it could be so that the business man would use that money to further the interest of the Kingdom, etc. If you have been given one-sided prophecy which came to pass, you would be wise to search the Scriptures and prayerfully find out the second part of that story. If you fail to fulfill the purpose that is attached to that miracle, it would become a judgement, instead of blessing to you. Let’s look at the life of Esther as an example.

What motivated Mordecai to release Esther for the Beauty Queen Contest? If there had been a prophecy that Esther would become the Queen, at the end of the exercise the prophecy was fulfilled. It was a miracle. Yes, Esther had become Queen, but to what purpose?

It took several years before Esther discovered the purpose of the miracle. The Jews faced extermination threat. They needed help, and that helped was in the hands of Esther.

Mordecai said to Esther, “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14).

Through Esther God delivered the Jews. And, through Esther a godly lineage that would later produce Cyrus, was initiated in the heathen land.

Granted that you may never fully comprehend the purposes of God for the prophecy, it is to our advantage to understand purpose as much as possible, so that the beneficiary of prophecy would yield himself to the fulfillment of those prophecies. And, when other Divine purposes are not known, it would be important not to forget that the main purpose for prophecy is to comfort, exhort, and build you in the faith.

Do not be addicted to prophecies

The hallmark of prophecy is what God has already revealed in the Scriptures. There are two extremes to avoid, namely, despising prophecies and depending on prophecies. Paul taught the Church and said,

“Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good”. (1Thes.5:19-21).

If the people of God are eager to hear from God, there would always be prophecies, but the habit of desperately seeking for prophecies on every issue is a fault. The rush for “Man of God, prophesy for me…” is an error. Declaring God’s Word over our lives is prophecy. God would rather have the believer life by faith in God’s Word than be addicted to personal prophecies.

Things to Ponder

What is your attitude to prophecies?
Are you addicted to personal prophecies? If yes, you would need to adjust.
Do you resent prophecies? If yes, you would need to more accommodating.
Do you consider the written Word of God as the ultimate prophecy? If not, you would have to.
Do you have absolute confidence in God’s written Word? If not, you really have to.

As you prayerfully ponder over these issues, may God illuminate your understanding, and make you strong in the Word of God, while not despising prophesying, in the name of Jesus Christ.

To all our friends, partners, and the saints of God in general, we at Meizon Ministries wish you and your love ones, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December 31, 2016April 22, 2018

Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?

If I should say that I understand the story of Christmas, someone might likely ask me, which of the stories? There is, of course, the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and there is the historical account of the birth of Christmas.

When I was younger in the faith, and got to understand the history of the birth of Christmas, I concluded that Christians should not celebrate Christmas. I was not the only person who held that view. The internet is saturated with articles on why Christians should not celebrate Christmas.

Why Christians should not celebrate Christmas

Some of the reasons why Christians should not celebrate Christmas are as follows;

Jesus was not born in December.

There are controversies about the birthdate of Jesus Christ. There is no consensus among Bible scholars on the answer to the question of when Jesus was born. It is, however, a fact that Jesus was not born in December. When Jesus was born, shepherds watched their flocks at night. (Luke 2:7-8). It is impossible for shepherds to have been tending their sheep at night in the dead of the winter. It is popularly believed that Jesus was born in Spring. This means, December 25^th is not really the birthdate of Jesus Christ.

December 25 was the celebration of the birth of the sun god

That Jesus was not born in December is not the only issue. There is also the issue of December 25^thbeing the celebration of two heathen festivals. The Romans celebrated “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti”, which means, “the birth of the unconquered sun”; and the birth of Mithra, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness” whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. This indicates that the December 25^th celebration was global, and this global phenomenon continues even when it was changed to Christmas.

Christmas was not celebrated by the early Apostles

There was no injunction in the Scriptures to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. The early Church knew nothing about Christmas until the conversion of Constantine. It was in 336 AD, under the Roman Emperor, Constantine, that Christmas became a Christian celebration. Initially, some groups of Christians did not welcome the idea. It took centuries before Christmas became popular among Christians.

These are historical facts. Judged on these facts alone, the most likely verdict is that Christians, not only should not celebrate Christmas, but also would sin if they do. It is considered equivalent to idol worship if Christians should super impose the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on an idolatrous holiday.

Despite the evidence, Christians can celebrate Christmas

Despite the above facts, a good understanding of the Scriptures would elicit reasons why Christians might celebrate Christmas. Some of the reasons are as follows;

a) Early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ

As early as AD 185 some Christian fathers had started advocating for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. These Christian fathers were the Contemporaries of Origen and Clement of Alexandria. It is believed that this celebration was included in the January 6^th celebration of the Epiphany by the early Church. Epiphany is a theological term that describes the festival of the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Several events were usually commemorated during this festival, among them are, the birth of Jesus Christ, His baptism, the visit by the Magi, and the transfiguration. Even though Bible scholars believe that Jesus was not born in January, some of them had no problems remembering the birth of Jesus Christ in January. When the celebration was changed to December 25^th, some of the fathers still observed it on January 6^th.

b) No other God but Jehovah

The association of the celebration of the birth of the Son of God with the celebration of the birthdate of the sun god should not really be a problem for Christians. It is comparable to eating meat sacrificed to an idol. And, this is what Paul taught the Church on that issue:

“So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.

However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.” (1Cor.8:4-8)

To a Scripturally thinking Christian, Mithra or the sun god is inconsequential. Even if the Roman world dedicated that day to the celebration of an idol, to a Christian, that day can be dedicated to the service of God. Changing “the celebration of the birth of the sun god” to “the celebration of the birth of the Son of God” is an act of faith. Nothing idolatrous. In fact, God is pleased when righteousness overcomes darkness. If the world remembers the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, on December 25^th, it is a win for the Kingdom of God. And, it does not matter to God whether this celebration is done in January, June or December. It is of no importance. The remembrance itself is the material fact. As a matter of fact, whether you remember the birth of Christ on December 25^th, January 6^th or none, you are neither better off nor worse off in terms of your standing with God. It would neither make you righteous nor make you sin.

c) Opportunity for evangelism

A true Christian seeks to use every event, occasion, or celebration as an opportunity to evangelize. No other time of the year creates the right environment for evangelism on both local and global scale as much as Easter and Christmas. Many people who ordinarily would not give heed to the Gospel, are compelled by the characteristics of the season to give a thought to the importance of the Saviour. Christmas creates the opportunity to sow seeds of kindness, words of faith, strengthening of brotherhood, remembering the poor, and strengthening the weak. I have heard Pastors say they receive over 50% of their annual income in December. There is no Christian who looks up to exploiting the opportunities for evangelism created by Christmas and Easter who would turn around to tag it a pagan holiday. As Christian we celebrate the opportunity created for the Gospel, not necessarily the event itself. The best way to commemorate the birth of Christ is to re-echo the essence of His birth during the season.

d) The example of Paul

Apostle Paul was one minister who knew how to turn every idolatrous practice into opportunity for the Gospel. Such was his approach when he visited Athens. In Acts 17:16-32, Paul was brought to the Council. In his defence, he capitalized on an inscription he saw, which read, “TO UNKNOWN GOD”.

“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: ‘Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.’” (vrs.20-23).

The Athenians had used the term, “To (an) Unknown God” to refer to deities they could not identify. How in the world did Paul relate that phrase to the God of Heaven? He did, because he reasoned that the God of Heaven has not been known to the Athenians. In other words, Paul super imposed the knowledge of God upon the myths of the Athenians. Even if the Athenians never had the God of Israel in their minds when they used that phrase, Apostle Paul could fit Jesus Christ into that picture, because to Apostle Paul, other gods are inconsequential.

This should be the mindset of Christians. When Christians approach Christmas with the consciousness that there is no other God, but Jehovah, the consciousness of the pagan origin of Christmas fades away. But, the Bible says that not all Christians live by this knowledge. (1Cor.8:7). So, Christians would have to grow up.

For the Christians, Christmas is not about Father Christmas and Santa Claus, who perhaps do not know Christ; or Christmas Trees, lights, and the decorations; or the revelry, orgies, and lewdness that seem to characterize the season. The catch for the Christians is that opportunity created by the season to reach out to others with the Gospel.

If we would have this mindset, the less we would be critical of Christmas.

To all our friends, partners, and to the saints of God in general, we at Meizon Ministries say, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR IN ADVANCE!

One Reply to “Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?”

Victor Etukudoh says:

December 19, 2016 at 3:13 pm

Very profound exposition into Chrismas. I would rather say am blessed by this teaching because i have now argumented my faith with more faith.

Reply