Prophecy III

 Few prophecies of old came to pass while the prophets tasked with delivering them were alive to see them fulfilled. They did not fret or rub their hands together, wondering if they’d misheard, or consider their reputation when the graying hairs grew in number, and the message they were told to deliver did not come to pass, because they knew who they were, they knew God had spoken, and understood that God would bring it to pass in His time.

It wasn’t about them, their reputation, their standing, their status, but that they faithfully delivered the message. It took almost seven hundred years for Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the birth of Jesus to come to pass. It took far longer for the first recorded prophecy in Genesis 3, coincidentally also about Christ and His ultimate victory on the cross, to be fulfilled.

Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

It’s not about the man or woman tasked with delivering a prophecy. It’s never been about the man or woman. It will never be about the man or woman, and anyone who attempts to make it about themselves is not following the examples of those who came before them.

I keep coming back to this point because it’s important: prophecy is not a means of elevating one’s status! Prophecy is not a means of growing one’s net worth! What’s worse is that some take their personal opinions and label them as prophecy just to give more weight to their musings. Such individuals have no fear of the Lord, for speaking when the Lord has not spoken, and going when the Lord has not sent, does nothing less than incur the wrath of the Almighty.

The quickest way to determine whether a prophecy was from God or someone’s belly is to use the two-tiered Biblical litmus tests of whether it comes to pass, and whether the prophecy itself is drawing you closer to the one true God, or toward the embrace of other gods.

Deuteronomy 18 is the benchmark Bible passage, the one most often used and not to be dismissed. However, there are caveats to this passage that we must consider and take into account, such as whether there was a specific timeline attached to the prophecy.

If there was, then your task is simple enough. A self-titled prophet said such and such a thing will happen on this date, or by this date; it didn’t happen; therefore, it was a false prophecy spoken by a false prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. 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 does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

By this plumb line, anyone who has ever set a date, insisting the Lord showed it to them, and that on this date the Lord would return, is a false prophet. They may be affable, you may like them, they may be your best friend, or they may have done you some kindness, but that does not erase the fact that they spoke something with specificity that did not come to pass within the allotted time they insisted it would occur. That doesn't change the fact that they spoke presumptuously; as such, they have no claim to the title of prophet, and you should not be afraid of him. Do not give them power over you, do not give them authority over you, do not defer to their counsel, because they are not true prophets!

That’s the easy test: straightforward, clean, clear, and absent ambiguity. But what happens when someone whose word came to pass, who showed some sort of sign or wonder, insists that there is more than one path, more than one god that man can serve and still be pleasing in the sight of the Lord? Are we to believe false doctrine just because someone is showing signs and wonders? Are we to disregard Scripture and embrace false gods just because someone prophesied something and it came to pass? Does a sign, wonder, dream, or prophecy that comes to pass override the established truth that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life?

Deuteronomy 13:1-5, “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ – which you have not known – ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.”

To be clear, the prophet that prophesied something and did not come to pass, the one who spoke presumptuously, you should not fear. You disregard them because they have proven themselves to be false prophets. However, the one who showed signs and gave wonders, and what they said came to pass, yet attempted to lead the people of God astray, saying they should go after other gods and serve them, should be put to death.

This is not a distinction without a difference, and many conflate the two passages, insisting that those who prophesy a thing and it does not come to pass were to be put to death. That’s not what the text says. If they spoke presumptuously and what they said did not come to pass, they should no longer be acknowledged as prophets or vessels of God; they should not be feared or believed when they insist they walk in the office they claim.

It’s those who, having given accurate words, shown signs and wonders, and attempted to turn the hearts of God’s people away from Him, that God declared should be put to death. Just because it sparkles, it doesn’t mean it’s gold.

For a prophecy to pass the Biblical litmus test, the one delivering it must show the evident fruit of a good tree and deliver an accurate word that comes to pass within the allotted time. Their doctrine must align with Scripture, and their purpose must be to stir men to repentance and a life of obedience not to themselves, but to God.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.