Let us review the key lessons of part one. It was about Prophet Jeremiah and how the leaders of Judah misjudged his prophecy. (Jer.42). The leaders had requested Jeremiah to seek God on their behalf, and pledged to do whatever God told them to do. When God responded, it was different from what the leaders had expected. Their response was to accuse Jeremiah of concocting the prophecies.
Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt! Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.” (Jer.43:2-3).
They had the boldness to tell the servant of God that he lied, when he did not. The experience of Jeremiah is like those of present day Christians, who believe a prophecy only when it suites their flare. The flip side are those who believe anything that someone says in the name of the Lord. This gullibility is an error that also needs to be addressed.
Generally, every word spoken to you in the name of the Lord deserves a careful attention. One of the attributes of a man who fears God is that he trembles at the Word of God. Job was so much in awe of the Lord that he said, “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. “ (Job 23:11-12).
Your attitude to prophecy is a direct reflection of your attitude to God. Despise prophecy, and it would be obvious you do not care about what God says.
On the other hand, to believe every prophecy is like drinking every water you find on the street: chances are that you could poison your system. It is a manifest immaturity in the Faith. This, therefore, makes it imperative for Christians to learn to accurately judge prophecies, so that they can differentiate truth from lie.
How prophecies should be judged
There are a few ways through which prophecies could be judged. Moses knew that the Israelites would need to know how to separate true from false prophecies, so he gave a few guidelines, which are;
a) Fulfillment of the Prophecy
“And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follows not, nor comes to pass, that is, the thing which the LORD has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him.” (Deut.18:21-22).
From this Scripture we can deduce one major rule of judgment, which is, the fulfillment of the prophecy.
This is a common parameter, which is applied even by those who are not knowledgeable in the Scriptures. The characterization of prophecy as false based on non-fulfillment is a common practice. And, its opposite is also true. Those who consistently give accurate predictions sooner or later become notable as true prophets. Because of this thinking, many sorcerers, witches, prognosticators and enchanters are called prophets. The only certification is that their ‘prophecies’ come to pass.
b) By their fruit you shall know them
The fulfillment of predictions, however, is not the only way to judge prophecy. Thanks to God for Moses who taught the Israelites to go beyond fulfillment of predictions when assessing a genuine prophet of God. He told them;
“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. Since they try to lead you astray from the way the LORD your God commanded you to live, you must put them to death. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.” (Deut.13:1-5).
Note the above reference carefully. The prediction was accurate, yet the minister was false. Is it possible for a so-called prophet to predict the future in the name of the Lord accurately, yet he is a false prophet? Moses said it is possible. How? Jesus gave the answer. He taught the people and said,
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matt.7:15-20).
Could you please ponder over the statement of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught the people to first accept a person before they accept his or her prophecies. That is to say, if the so-called prophet practices adultery/fornication, uses prophecies to enrich his pocket, attracts attention to himself, merchandizes prophecy, or any other un-Scriptural behaviour, reject him and his prophecy, even if his prophecies are accurate.
You should watch, not only his life, but also the other attachments to his prophecies or predictions. The difference between the predictions of a soothsayer and that of a true prophet of God is that, the predictions of a soothsayer would lead to unrighteousness, but the predictions of the prophet of God will lead to God and bring glory to God. What did the so-called prophet ask you to do before and after his predictions? Probably, bring candles, come to the river for a bath, offer some rituals, give Prophet’s offering, and the list goes on? Irrespective of the accuracy of his predictions and the potency of his prayers, his ‘ministry’ multiplies unrighteousness, and every genuine child of God should stay away from such prophets. For instance, if a so-called prophet prophesies to you that you would have an accident soon. You got scared, and asked him what you should do. He told you to come to him for prayer and bring certain amount of money for offering so that he would pray and avert the impending tragedy. Mark that prophet. He is a false prophet. Even if his vision is accurate, the fact that he seeks to enrich himself by means of his visions has nullified the integrity of his prophecies. He is a false prophet, do not listen to him.
The backbone of ministry is character. Genuine ministry is based on godly character. When character breaks, ministry ends, even though the incumbent might continue in office for many years. Anointing does not define ministry. Anointing is like rain, it falls on the wheat as well as the weeds. A believer could be false even when he has anointing. It is character that defines genuine ministry. It is anointing based on godly character that offers to God the kind of offering He accepts.
For a man to qualify to stand before God and minister to people for Him, the man must have a clean hand and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4 ). To possess the otherwise and still do ministry for God is to offer strange fire on the altar.
c) The Testimony of Jesus Christ
So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev.19:10).
The New Living Translation brought out the meaning of that verse in a clearer language. It reads,
“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.’”
The major objective of every genuine prophecy is to testify about Jesus Christ. When prophecy brings comfort, exhortation or builds the spiritual life of believers, the result is that Jesus is glorified in the lives of the saints. Any prophecy that has no relevance in bringing glory to God or showing to humanity the love, kindness, power, majesty and terror of Divinity, should be received with a pinch of salt. Endeavour to always ask yourself, what does this prophecy seek to accomplish? If you cannot trace how this prophecy manifests God to humanity, thread with care; and if you must receive it, do so with caution. Screen it with other parameters to see whether it fails any of the tests.
Accurate understanding of God’s Word is imperative in judging prophecies. We live in a bi-polar world, where people are either bent on one extreme or the other. To reject prophecy or to be voracious for prophecy is an error that must be avoided. Let us embrace balance based on the accurate understanding of the Word of God.