There has been a divide between Christians as to whether modern day prophets still exist or not but one thing that cannot be denied is that the gift of prophecy exists (you don’t have to be a prophet to prophesy). Scripture actively points towards this.
Act 2:17-18 ~ In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
1 Corinthians 13:1 ~ Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
There are many people who have this ability to prophesy whether they are labelled prophets or not. However just because someone can prophesy does not mean you should put your trust in them. Even the bible tells you to beware of them.
Matthew 7:15 ~ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves”
The story of the old prophet and young prophet in 1 Kings 13 is also a powerful reminder of this.
1 Kings 13 tells a story of a prophet sent by God to prophesy against the King of Jeroboam for leading Israel into idol worship. The Lord commanded this young prophet not to eat or drink whilst there and not to return using the same path. The young prophet conveyed this message to the King when he was invited to a feast and word of this instruction spread fast. An older prophet who heard about this tracked the young prophet down and invited him to a feast and lied saying the Lord had instructed him to do so. The young prophet upon hearing this older man was also a prophet immediately believed him and went to his house to eat and drink but of course, the old prophet lied. This funny thing about this is that during the feast, the old prophet received a message from God condemning the young prophet to his doom. On his way home, the young prophet was attacked by a lion and died.
Don’t get too comfortable trusting someone just because they have prophesied accurately in the past. People can change and go beyond what God has given them. Just because they were prophesying under the power of the Holy Spirit yesterday does not mean they will be prophesying under his power tomorrow.
Having a large following and influence does not mean they are trustworthy either.
You also shouldn’t put your trust in people because they’re family or friends. You don’t see everything they do and you don’t know their true intentions. The worst betrayals often come at the hands of the people we trust.
Problems that can arise from prophetic words
- Wrong interpretation. Sometimes, the message is actually coming from God but they have interpreted it wrongly.
- Faulty application. Even if they get the interpretation right, they could make an error in applying it to your life. (Even those with years of experience prophesying can fall victim to wrong interpretation and application).
- Wrong spirit. Not every one that can prophesy got this gift from God. It can be through divination as the bible shows us through the story of the slave girl (Act 16:16).
- Greed and wickedness: there are people that will see beautiful things about your life but will purposely lead you astray due to jealousy, greed, envy, selfishness and wickedness. They don’t want you to prosper.
How to deal with prophetic words
- Test the spirit
1 John 4:1 ~ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 ~ Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.
Effects of false/inaccurate prophecies
- Brokenness. Believing 100% that something will happen because God has promised it and it not actually happening can be really hurtful.
- Church hurt. This can bleed into your Christian life and the way you treat Christian things/people.
- It can also negatively impact your relationship with God.
