(Click picture to go back to Table of Contents)
Welcome
Enjoy... But remember
"Don't give in to winning the argument
and losing one of your eternal crowns..."
God bless you...
Enjoy... But remember
"Don't give in to winning the argument
and losing one of your eternal crowns..."
God bless you...
Prophets - some views I heard..
Prophecies (Wahshing)
Curiosity (Royston Ong)
Prophecy (Wahshing)
I think this thread has drifted from its main intention (Royston Ong)
|
I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message. I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
Jeremiah 23:21
The author of Ecclesiastes exhorts his readers not to speak rashly in the presence of God (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7). Jesus warns that God will hold us responsible for carelessly speaking worthless things (Matthew 12:36). James cautions those who would be teachers of spiritual truth to remember that they will "incur a stricter judgment" (James 3:1). These are consistent with Deuteronomy 13 and 18, which lay down strict guidelines for God's prophets. In spite of such Scriptural warnings about the seriousness of speaking for God, ours is becoming an "age of prophets," or at least an age of those who call themselves "prophets." Whoever speaks for God speaks with a great deal of authority. If you want to accomplish anything, for good or for ill, "Divine authority" is a good way to motivate people to believe or do whatever you are promoting. The justification for elevating these prophecies is often "the restoration of the five-fold ministry" of Ephesians 4:11, believing that the church in every age should have apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. This view, however, limits God to working in any one age rather than throughout history, ignoring that the work of the Spirit might be to establish apostles and prophets in one age (the time described in the New Testament) upon which He would base the work of evangelists, pastors, and teachers (or perhaps, pastor-teachers) throughout the church age - both then and thereafter. In Ephesians, Paul definitely indicates that the church is to mature over time, so such an interpretation is fully consistent with Paul's teaching in this letter. Another justification used by modern "prophets" is that the ministry of prophets and apostles will be restored just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. However, the verses from Joel used to justify a "latter-day" restoration of the offices of prophet and apostle ignore the teaching of Peter on Pentecost that these verses were fulfilled that very day (Acts 2:15-21, Joel 2:28-32). What fuels so much of the prophetic movement in our day is the belief that a separate time of history begins just before Christ's return, one in which God will present Himself to the world in a new way through His people, a time marked by a multiplicity of supernatural events, "signs and wonders," including many prophecies. However, Scriptures does not teach us to expect the glorification of God's people prior to the return of Christ (I Thessalonians 4:14-15, I Corinthians 15:20-24 - notice carefully that the context is the resurrection of God's people). False prophets and false prophecies draw interest primarily because they appeal to sinful desires for pleasure, security, and self-importance apart from dependence upon God. The message God delivers to us is generally much less comfortable, much more personal, much more costly, and much more challenging that that brought by false prophets. In Paul's second letter to Timothy he warns that there will come a time when people will seek out preacher's who satisfy their own desires. Paul literally says that people will "heap up" for themselves preachers who say what they want to hear. In other words, they won't be able to get enough of them. Paul's words relate strongly to Isaiah 30:10-11 and Ezekiel 33:30-33. These false teachers, appealing to sinful desires, will turn the people away from sound doctrine into myths - into ingenious religious fantasies their listeners find appealing. However, as our attention focuses upon these prophecies, we are diverted from Scripture. There is also a strong pressure to give in to false prophecy because, when it is popular, it is costly to oppose. Very much for this reason, it has always been easier to find those who would prophesy falsehood than truth. Elijah stood alone against 450 priests of Baal, standing by while they "prophesied" (I Kings 18:16ff.). The courageous Micaiah faced 400 false prophets (I Kings 22:1ff., II Chronicles 18:1ff.). The major and minor prophets of the Old Testament were uniformly unpopular for their teaching. Jesus, the greatest of all prophets, "came to His own and His own received Him not" (John 1:11). "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!' How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:25-28 The contemporary claim to renewed offices of "prophet" and "apostle" should alert us that those doing so may be signaling their intention to promote doctrinal innovations -- teachings that would be considered unacceptable if not presented in the cover of "Divine authority."
|
to:
Back to Antioch's Home Page