Prophecy IX

Chances are there were individuals in Joel’s time who rolled their eyes and proceeded to say something snarky about how what Joel had prophesied was nothing more than wishful thinking. Everyone knows God doesn’t do that; I mean, could you imagine sons and daughters, men and women, old and young, prophesying, having visions, and having dreams? Why, that’s unheard of. We know how things work. Whenever needed, God raises up a prophet; they prophesy, we ignore it because we don’t like what they have to say, and inevitably what they prophesy comes to pass because we refuse to heed the warning. That’s what we’re used to, and God can only do what we are comfortable with. Anything beyond that is suspect. Sound familiar? It should. People are people, and the way they react to new information that takes them out of their comfort zone doesn’t change from generation to generation.

There were likely scoffers in Joel’s day who became more vocal and belligerent the more time passed, and there was no evident outpouring. Sons and daughters weren’t prophesying, young men weren’t seeing visions, the old weren’t having dreams, there was no increase in prophecy, and the passing of time only emboldened them in their renunciations. Five centuries is a long time to wait for the fulfillment of a prophecy, at least to man, but to God it’s mere moments. To put it in context, the least time that could have passed between Joel’s prophecy and its fulfillment was twice as long as America has been a nation.

Another thing that few take into account is that the prophecy itself survived and was circulated by word of mouth for all that time, so that when it was fulfilled, Peter could harken back to it and confirm its fulfillment. There was no database with all the prophecies prophets had uttered over time; no mass pamphlets were printed; you couldn’t just log on to a website and access it for a small fee. Joel’s prophecy survived through the centuries because God willed it.

Nathan the prophet wrote an entire book that has been lost to time. It’s mentioned twice in First Chronicles and Second Chronicles, but as far as what it contained, we will never know. We can debate whether Joel was a more prominent figure than Nathan, and when allowing for their influence during the time they lived, it’s not a stretch to conclude they were on equal footing, even though Nathan had access to the king, while Joel never mentions any.

What’s the point? The point is simple, really, that God, in His sovereignty, established what would remain and be remembered from generation to generation, and what would be lost to time. He established what would be included within the canon of Scripture, and what would be left out. For anyone to insist that something that shouldn’t be within the pages of Scripture somehow made its way in, or that something which should be included was somehow left out, is to question both the sovereignty and omnipotence of the God we serve.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”

Does this mean that everyone who desires to prophesy will prophesy? It is, after all, what Paul instructed: to desire spiritual gifts, especially that we might prophesy. The short answer is no. Not everyone who desires to prophesy will prophesy, because, ultimately, God is the gift-giver, and He chooses whom He endows with that specific gift. In modern terms, you don’t get every job you apply for, and you may not get the position you desire even if you get hired.

Desiring to prophesy is biblical, and Paul even encourages it, but we must ask ourselves why we desire it. Is it to speak edification, exhortation, and comfort, or because the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues? God already knows the answer. He knows the intent behind the desire, and if it is to glorify self rather than Him, if it is to see ourselves superior in some way, though we may desire it, because it will be detrimental to our spiritual growth, God will say no.

You can’t bribe, coerce, threaten, or purchase your way to prophecy. It is God, via the Holy Spirit, who chooses specific servants for specific tasks, then equips them with the gifting necessary to carry out said task. The one thing incumbent upon us is to keep ourselves pure and undefiled, walk humbly with our Lord, serve Him in spirit and in truth, and be willing to serve in a greater capacity if He so chooses.

What we must likewise be aware of is that with a greater calling comes greater responsibility, as well as a bigger bullseye painted on our back. The devil doesn’t bother those already doing his will. He leaves those spreading deception, false doctrine, or false prophecy to their devices, knowing that they’re doing his bidding. He targets those who desire to serve, obey, and follow Jesus, not out of ulterior motives or vested interests, but because they’ve surrendered their lives to Him in their entirety. The enemy attempts to disspirit, dishearten, and destroy the faithful, not those who sow division and confusion, because they help achieve his end goal: a weakened, divided, distracted, and compromised church.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Prophecy VIII

 One thing that cannot be overstated, which also baffles the agnostics and atheists who study Scripture from a purely intellectual standpoint, is the interconnectedness of a book that spans and covers over 4000 years of human history, written by approximately 40 human authors, over a span of 1500 years. It is something they cannot explain because they refuse to allow for the possibility of divine inspiration, or that God had a hand in the authorship of this divine text, if not literally putting quill to parchment, then guiding the hands of those who did.

From the first book to the last, the Bible is a prophetic book. When the Holy Spirit descended in the upper room, it didn’t blindside those present; it was not a surprise, nor did they question what they had experienced, because it was the genesis of the fulfillment of what they knew had been prophesied by the prophet Joel, and reiterated by Jesus Himself when He promised that He would not leave them orphans, but would pray to the Father to give them another Helper.

John 14:15-18, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

Those gathered in the upper room, about 120 people, may not have known the specifics of how or when this would happen, but they believed it would. They were commanded not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, and rather than debate and go back and forth as to how this would happen, or what the signs would be, they continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.

No further insight was offered, no timeline was given; roughly ten days had passed since Jesus had ascended, yet they were all still there in fellowship, in prayer, because they understood a fundamental truth that few today understand: when God promises a thing, He will bring it to pass in His time, in His way, and for His purpose.

It is also worth noting that the promise of the Helper was not presented as some stopgap, but as something permanent. In Christ’s own words, the Helper the Father would send would abide not for a season, or for an allotted time, but forever.  

Contextually, depending on which expert you ask, at least 400 years passed between when the book of Joel was written and when the events of the day of Pentecost took place, and at most 900. It’s a big window, but let’s be generous and err on the side of caution. Almost half a millennium passed between the prophecy itself and the beginning of its fulfillment.

We know that this was the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy because Peter himself harkened back to it when addressing the people of Judea and all who dwelt in Jerusalem, as some were amazed and marveled at hearing their native tongues spoken to them by Galileans while others mocked them, saying they were full of new wine.

As is the case with those who use Scripture to confirm their bias, rather than approach it with a sincere desire for understanding, more often than not what Joel writes is never presented in its full context, because it would undermine the presupposition of those insisting that what was no longer is, and was to be for a limited time and within a limited context.

Joel 2:28-32, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

Contrary to popular belief, Joel’s prophecy contains more than a foretelling of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. While Pentecost marked the beginning of its fulfillment, it was by no means the end. Since we, as men and women, are tethered to linear time, it’s difficult to wrap our minds around the idea that within the span of a handful of sentences, Joel prophesied something that would stretch beyond a singular event and into a millennia-long fulfillment.

God is outside of time. He knows the end from the beginning, and to Him a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day. While the day of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit marked the beginning of Joel’s prophecy being fulfilled, we have yet to see its fulfillment in its entirety. After God promised that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, wherein sons and daughters would prophesy, the old men would dream dreams, and the young men would see visions, he also goes on to prophesy about the sun being turned into darkness, the moon into blood, all these things serving as mile markers on mankind’s way to the great and awesome day of the Lord.

Although, in hindsight, the promise that what was once reserved for a handful of individuals throughout history known as prophets would be granted to a far broader swath of servants, both young and old, men and women, menservants and maidservants, seems inconsequential, when factoring in the historical context of when this prophecy was recorded, it would have been earth-shattering.

Given that the Old Testament covers roughly 4,000 years of history, from Genesis to Malachi, the number of those called to be prophets of God throughout this time was minuscule. Suddenly, here’s Joel prophesying that the day would come when sons and daughters would prophesy, old men would dream dreams, and young men would see visions. What was once exclusive and rarely witnessed would be broadened to the point that it would become, if not commonplace, exponentially more frequent.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Prophecy VII

 Now to the big question, the one that must be answered, and biblically so, because it will frame the rest of this study: Is prophecy still for today, and if so, what does it look like? By now you already know where I stand. I haven’t been coy or subtle; I’ve shown my hand and made my position clear. For those who may have missed it, yes, I believe God still speaks to His children, engages with His creation, and is intimately aware of all who serve Him in spirit and truth. For Him to keep a running count of the hairs on your head while withholding something as profound as speaking to us through His chosen servants, something He has done since the beginning of creation, is both illogical and contrary to His nature.

It’s one thing to believe something; it’s another to prove it biblically. I’m not here to present you with experientially derived doctrine that was passed down from past generations, nor am I going to lean on anecdotal evidence and personal experience as proof of why I believe what I believe. As always, we will go to the Word, for it has the final say; it is the final authority, and as long as we submit to it, we will know the truth that will make us free.

Since it is one of the most divisive topics within Christendom, I will approach it as lovingly as I am able, while remaining true to Scripture, not taking one verse out of context and pinning all my hopes upon it, but by rightly dividing the Word, studying the entirety of often misquoted passages in context, and using the light of Scripture to guide our path.

It’s not that rational arguments shouldn’t be presented or have a say; one of the strongest is this: if there is no longer true prophecy or prophetic utterance, why is so much of the New Testament focused on warning against false prophets and false prophecy? Would it not have been clearer to declare that these things have ceased, are no more, so any prophecy is, by default, false and should not be weighed, measured, or contrasted with the Word to see if it is of the Lord?

Why would Paul the Apostle encourage the church at Corinth to desire spiritual gifts, especially that they might prophesy, if, by the time the letter reached the church, there would be a window of a handful of years in which they could do as he instructed? It’s not as though Paul finished his letter, clicked send, and the e-mail was delivered to the church staff. There was no FedEx or DHL, so after writing his first letter to the Corinthians, it had to travel from Ephesus to the church at Corinth, about 300 miles away, not by any modern convenience, but by ship and horse; then only after arriving could it be read to the congregation. All told, there was about a ten-year window between Paul writing his first letter to the Corinthians and his death. 

Why is so much time devoted to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the operation of the gifts, and the insistence that we should earnestly desire to prophesy, and not forbid speaking in tongues, if that was done away with within a generation and never to be seen again?

Did Peter mispeak on the day of Pentecost when he declared that the promise was to them, to their children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call? If so, that calls into question the notion of divine inspiration with regard to Scripture itself, does it not? If something as monumentally relevant as the day in which the Holy Spirit was poured out can be muddled by the added opinions of men, wherein Peter declared that this was now the standard, and not a temporary exception to the rule, from generation to generation, a promise God had fulfilled to those who were His, and it was not the case but his added two cents, what does that infer about the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture?

I believe Scripture is divinely inspired. Therefore, I believe that the Holy Spirit superintended human authors to write His exact message without ambiguity or opacity. It is only when men attempt to inject their opinions and superimpose their doctrinal leanings upon the written text that confusion reigns and everyone ends up doing what is right in their own eyes.

It may come as a surprise, but the doctrine of cessationism is only roughly five hundred years old. For fifteen hundred years after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, no one even debated whether the gifts of the Holy Spirit were still active and present. As those with a fondness for musty tomes and the writings of the early church fathers can attest, the presence of spiritual gifts was testified to as early as 165 AD, wherein Justin Martyr wrote, “For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to this present time,” some fifty years after the death of John the Apostle, in 100 AD.

Some people like to pretend there was no church history BC – Before Calvin – but anyone with a willingness to take the time and diligently study it will soon come to realize that there were many notable individuals who devoted their lives to The Way, and throughout the years wrote extensively about brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifting, speak all kinds of languages, and bring to light the secret things of men.

You may recognize some of the names, even after millennia due to the impact they had in leading the early church, from Irenaeus, to Tertullian, Origen, Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, John Knox, or George Fox, all wrote about ongoing gifts, prophecy, and healing. The presence of the Holy Spirit was never disputed by any of these men, nor were the gifts of the Spirit denounced or censured.

Again, ancient writings and the testimonies of the early church fathers are not evidence in and of themselves. It’s easy to get into the endless back-and-forth of he said, we say, they said, I say, but what is paramount is what the Bible says. What we are doing with this study is building a house, brick by brick, using the Word of God as the foundation. Likewise, at the risk of ruffling some feathers, I do not believe the words of Calvin to be sacrosanct; his words are not gospel; his words are not divine; therefore, I lend them as much weight as I do the words of the aforementioned men who affirmed the spiritual gifts well into the sixteenth century.

One piece of evidence may not sway anyone or convince them beyond a shadow of a doubt, but piece by piece, we are building a body of evidence. Eventually, all the evidence will be presented, the body thereof will be complete, and once it is, my job will be done. What you do with it is on you.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Prophecy VI

 Even when God calls out a hidden sin or vice through prophecy, it’s not to wow the crowd or elevate the status of the person delivering it, but to stir repentance in the heart of the individual being addressed. It’s not so much about getting a word from the Lord or receiving a prophecy; it’s about how you respond, and whether it compels you to humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and repent of what He has pointed out.

On occasion, I’ve been present when someone has received a word of rebuke or correction, and rather than acknowledge that what was contained in the word of prophecy couldn’t be known by anyone else except for God, allowed their feelings to dictate how they responded to it, and, in the vernacular of the modern-day buffet-style prophecy template where you pick and choose the ones you like and leave the rest under a heat lamp for some other soul to poke at, they did not bear witness with the word.

They allowed their pride and their feelings to dictate how they responded to a word of prophecy instructing them to turn from their lukewarmness, repent of their misdeeds, and correct the error of their ways because it did not praise them, honor them, or lift them to a place or position they knew full well that they weren’t ready to ascend to.

From a practical standpoint, a good rule of thumb for prophecy is that a false prophet, and by extension a false prophecy, will never steer you toward drawing closer to God, denying yourself, repenting, or seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus. Chances are, it will pander to you, stroke your ego, and attempt to placate you, insisting that you are righteousness personified even though you know there are areas in your life that need tending to.

If one filters prophecy through the prism of whether it made them feel good about themselves, it leaves the door open for the enemy to exploit the individual’s predisposition to reacting positively to praise and adulation, and given that the devil is ever on the prowl, he will inevitably facilitate a meeting between the individual and one of his minions to do just that. Once that seed is planted, if, perchance, in His love and mercy God sends a servant with a word of correction, they will be shunned and ignored because the individual will cling to the word of praise rather than the word of correction, due to their biases and how they view themselves.

The attitude of our heart should echo the words of David if our desire is to grow in the likeness of the One we serve, and not desire to be showered with undeserved praise, or told that we’re so special that the standard God has established in His Word does not apply to us.

Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Just because a word of prophecy brings correction does not make it false, and just because a word of prophecy praises you does not make it true. Usually it’s the reverse, and if we attempt to attach feelings and emotions to prophecies, we’re likely to reject the true men of God, whom He sent to deliver a word, and embrace those who were never sent but saw an opportunity to exploit our sensibilities.

God will not coddle someone in their sin just to spare their feelings, and someone whose attitude is that of being an open book, and desiring for God to know their heart and see if there is any wicked way in them, shouldn’t expect Him to.

God chastens those He loves. As any good father would, He corrects those in need of correction, encourages those in need of encouragement, strengthens those in need of strength, and comforts those in need of comfort if His presence is their heart’s desire. God knows what we need better than we do, and while we might want something that would offer a temporary respite, His remedies are permanent.

God will not be put in a box, give in to men’s demands, nor will He offer counsel via prophecy that undermines the ultimate goal of becoming more like Jesus. God will not send a word of comfort when what we need is correction, nor will He send a word of correction when we need encouragement. Above all, God is good! He is a good Father, who is not too busy to know what you need, nor is He stingy in providing it. Whether we receive it as a gift from a loving God, even when the flesh protests, is another question altogether.

A true word of prophecy can just as easily lift you up from the darkest pit of despair as bring you so low as to humble you into the dust, depending on what God knows you need. Yes, I want correction if correction is called for. I want God to tell me if I’m getting ahead of Him, if I’m allowing my flesh to dictate my plans rather than His Spirit, even subconsciously and unbeknownst to my rational self.

My desire is to be pleasing in His sight, and if chastening is required for me to do so, then that chastening is an expression of love and affection.

Proverbs 3: 11-12, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.”

Never correcting your child, even when you see them doing something they ought not to be doing, isn’t love; it’s indifference. I would rather God correct me every day if warranted, when warranted, than feel as though He is indifferent or unaware.

God’s silence is not consent. If you know that the path you’re walking is leading you further away from Him, if you know that the things which you occupy your time or pine over are contrary to His Word and no correction is forthcoming, it is not a reason to breathe a sigh of relief, but one for grave concern.

Knowledge and responsibility go hand in hand.

James 4:17, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Prophecy V

 Sometimes it’s not the prophecy that is false; it’s the way we interpret its meaning that falls short of the mark. I’ve seen this on numerous occasions and have had to console individuals who, having received a word of prophecy, superimposed their own desires atop it and concluded it is what the Lord meant, when it wasn’t.

In the old country, in pretty much every Christian community, there is always a house, known to the body as a place where you can go to pray, not at any particular time, or between such and such hours, but whatever the day, whatever the hour, if you show up for prayer, the person is happy to receive you, have a prayer or two, sing a few hymns, and let you be on your way. It’s an open secret of sorts, and if you’re ever in a new place where all you know is a brother or a sister, you can always ask where you can go for a prayer, and chances are they’ll point you in the right direction.

Usually, it’s someone who’s in the latter part of life, who isn’t able to travel to church, and by opening up their home as a house of prayer, they get the fellowship of the brethren that they would otherwise miss out on.

Some of these individuals are also gifted in the prophetic, and although the purpose of the visit is prayer, if God has a word for someone present, it comes forth. I’ve always attended such prayer meetings, but after my grandfather’s passing, it became more common. I needed to pour my heart out to God, cry out, weep, groan, whatever the case might have been, and I couldn’t put it off until Sunday morning or Wednesday evening, so to prayer I’d go, whether midday on a Monday or Friday afternoon.

It was in one such prayer meeting, where I and a handful of other brothers and sisters were present, that a man, who I later discovered had a bedridden wife who had been ill for the better part of three years, received a word of prophecy. The man in question was as much a stranger to me as to the prophetess in whose house we were praying. Unlike the palm readers or tarot card readers of today, there was no exposition as to why we were there, what we were praying about, or what we were asking the Lord for clarification on.

God is not a magic 8 ball where we ask Him arbitrary questions, and He gives a yes or no answer. God knows your struggle; He knows your pain; He knows why you come before Him; and if He has anything to say on the matter, He will say it without narration or backstory.

Nobody in that room, except the man and God, knew his wife was ill, yet a prophecy came forth for him, one I remember verbatim because of what later transpired between the brother in question and me.

The word itself was short and to the point: “As for the one you have come to intercede for, soon, I will take away her pain.”

The man began to weep; we continued to pray, and after the prayer, we introduced ourselves, and I was glad to discover that he’d known my mother and that she’d helped him and his wife build the house they were living in. The village they lived in was a stone’s throw from where I lived, and given the number of people my mom had helped over the years, with everything from building homes to buying cows to digging wells, and everything in between, it wasn’t surprising to hear.

One week later, unbeknownst to me, his wife died. Three days later, I was at the funeral because the pastor who was to give the eulogy asked for a ride, and I happened to have a car. I sat in the back, waiting for the service to end since I couldn’t leave the pastor stranded, and I promised to give him a ride back into town when the man spotted me.

He waited until after the service, and while the casket was being loaded onto a flatbed to be transported to the cemetery, he walked up, eyes rimmed with tears, and said, “God promised! He said he would heal her. You were there; you heard it.”

I had no desire to add to the man’s pain, but I felt compelled to point out that all the prophecy had said was that God would take away her pain. There was no mention of healing or restoration, but he had interpreted the word to mean that she would be healed and, in that, her pain would be taken away.

“I know the pain you’re going through,” I said to him, having lost my grandfather less than three months prior, “but God kept His word, just not in the manner you thought He would. Her pain is gone, she is at peace, and that is all God promised He would do.”

I could see the heaviness lift from the man, the burden and shadow of doubt leaving his face, because he understood that he’d taken the word to mean what he thought it would rather than taking it for what it was. Even now, with all the years that have passed, I believe wholeheartedly that God had made a way for me to be there that day just so I could encourage this brother in his season of uncertainty, not so much to comfort him in his loss, but to strengthen him in his faith.

When we infer or assume something not specifically stated in a prophecy, we are opening ourselves up to doubt, resentment, the feeling of having been betrayed by God Himself, when what He said is what He meant, and He kept His word to the tittle. It may not be what we want to hear; it may not come to pass as we hoped it would, but unless God specifically says it, we cannot browbeat Him into making it happen, or making it happen in the way we think He should.

If you’re up for a job promotion and get a word of prophecy declaring God will bless you, and that same week your wife tells you she’s pregnant, but you don’t get the promotion, it’s not that God lied about the blessing; it’s that you didn’t see the blessing for what it was, and you assumed it would manifest in a different manner than it did.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Prophecy IV

 If no allotted time is given, if there is no specific date by which a prophecy must come to pass, then you cannot make a determination on whether or not it was true based on its fulfillment, and so you must seek to discover the intent. Is the prophecy encouraging me to draw closer to God, or further away from Him? Is the prophecy encouraging me to seek after the Lord with my whole heart and soul, or is it encouraging me to flirt with mysticism, divination, out-of-body experiences, psychedelic journeys, or other such inanities? Does it aim to glorify God and point the way to Christ, or make the man or woman delivering it a de facto deity which must be obeyed without question? 

If you’re looking to be justified in your rebellion, you’ll likely find someone willing to do it. It will come at a price, but someone will provide the supply if there is demand. That doesn’t mean God is justifying your rebellion; it means a man whose interest is to steer you toward other gods is justifying your rebellion.

What’s heavier still is that when someone whose motive is to steer you away from the truth gives an accurate word, God is testing you to see whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and not merely paying Him lip service.

If I love God with all my heart and soul, I’m not looking for excuses to disobey Him; I’m not looking for permission to sin, because I do not want to sin knowing it will break His heart. If I love God, I serve Him and hold fast to Him, no matter how many insist I don’t have to be that radical, that committed, that watchful, or that sober-minded.

Look, that one guy prophesied something that came to pass, then insisted it was the Lord’s good pleasure for me to leave my crippled wife and marry my secretary even though I vowed to love her in sickness and health until death did us part. He must be right because he showed signs and wonders, even though Scripture states the opposite of what He insists I have the liberty to do.

It can’t be as simple as denying myself, picking up my cross, and following after Jesus. There has to be more, some repetitive act I can perform, some hidden knowledge I can access, something, anything. Look, over there, there’s a man who claims to be a prophet, who says sin is a mental construct, all dogs go to heaven, and in the end we all end up in the same place whether we are saved, sanctified, and redeemed by the blood of Jesus, or think our pet ficus is god.

If someone precedes something wholly unbiblical with the words “the Lord told me”, it wasn’t the Lord. At best, it was their feigned imaginings; at worst, it was the devil using them as a convenient pawn.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Walk after the Lord your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and obey His voice. Serve Him and hold fast to Him. Anyone who tries to sway you from these truths, even if what they’ve said came to pass, even if they showed signs and wonders, is, by God’s own definition, a false prophet!

That’s not me saying it; that’s God saying it.

Angry yet? We’re just getting started. If you are angry, who are you angry at? Is it me? Is it Scripture? Or is it having to wrestle with the reality that things aren’t as simple as they may seem, and that some men and women you believed to be prophets and prophetesses aren’t?

Yes, prophecy has a role within the household of faith; however, nowhere in Scripture does it say we’re supposed to chase after prophecy, go on an endless crusade to find the latest and greatest prophetic voice, or seek liberties through prophecies that the Word of God does not afford us. If God has a word of prophecy for me, I don’t have to chase it down; it will be delivered as surely as the mailman delivers my mail six days a week. The prophetic word will find me; I don’t have to search for it.

The problem with trying to bypass loving God, walking after Him, fearing Him, obeying His voice, serving Him, and holding fast to Him in lieu of seeking out a prophecy is that there are a plethora of unscrupulous, ill-meaning wolves in sheep’s clothing who will exploit your desire to receive a word from the Lord to their own ends.

God already told you what He expects of you. He won’t change His mind on the matter, no matter how many people insist that He has. Walk humbly with your Lord. Obey His voice, serve Him, and hold fast to Him.

If a prophecy you’ve received aims to impede your growth, if a prophecy you’ve received aims to keep you from hungering after God, if a prophecy you’ve received aims to hinder you in your pursuit of righteousness, it’s not true prophecy, no matter how fanciful and entertaining it may seem.

True prophecy will never contradict Scripture. Not ever, not once, no matter the situation or circumstance. God is not double-minded, nor is He double-tongued, and you will find the answers to the burning questions you have within the pages of Scripture far quicker than through any prophecy you might seek out. Prophecy confirms the Word of God. It confirms your need to draw closer to Him, deny yourself, grow in your faith, and mature in your walk. Yes, prophecy may point out some blind spots, some areas where you need to double your efforts; it may offer you a glimpse into the future, preparing you for what is to come, but Scripture first, always, without fail.

Granted, there are those who know what Scripture says, and because they don’t like what it has to say on a given topic, they seek after prophecies hoping that they will contradict the canon of God’s written Word. What those individuals are doing is nothing less than tempting the Lord and seeking permission for future rebellion.

If one’s attitude is “I know what the Bible says; I know what God is likely to say, but I will only accept a word that confirms my position,” they’re not seeking to know the truth; they’re seeking confirmation bias. Even though such individuals try to play games with God, I assure you, God doesn’t play games.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

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.