The Sunday Mail
I decided to heed a call to make my own contribution on the fascinating subject of prophecy. I am only doing this on the basis of being a religious commentator, something I do from the pulpit, in written articles or through song. The views carried herein are personal, they may fall short when weighed against public opinion.
Prophesy, to begin with, is a part of the five-fold ministries that were mentioned by Apostle Paul (Eph 4:11) alongside other spiritual gifts that include Apostleship, Pastoral, Evangelistic and Teaching ministries. The main role of prophecy is to stimulate, invigorate and energise the body of Christ which is the Church. Prophets possess rare gifts of insight, receiving visions, predicting the future and forewarning the Church on various issues to come.
It is a critical means by which God makes utterances (most spontaneous) which are aimed at warning His people of an impending calamity, encouraging them to uphold certain standards and values or observe certain tenets in specific situations. Other prophesies may take place in the form of pronouncing things that are not there into existence, like in the case of Ezekiel who commanded dry bones to retain life (Ezekiel 37). It involves the conveyance of God’s will in a supernatural way.
Prophecy, according to scripture, can be true or false. One becomes a false prophet knowingly or unknowingly. If we closely look at the behaviour of Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders of the biblical times, it is so evident that an individual can involuntarily operate under the influence of evil spirits. The obsession to oppose Jesus that characterised these officials’ activities gave no clue that they were acting in disobedience to God’s will. Since the God of the Bible is the same as the one who is in charge in true prophecy, the two facilities are expected to have harmony between them. Prophesy ought to be supported by Scripture. One of the main challenges though is that when making reference to the Word of God, one really needs to understand it in the manner that Paul highlighted on 1 Timothy 2:15. Paul urged his disciple to “rightly divide the truth”. Prophecy becomes handy in scenarios where biblical interpretation may be subjective to the extent of confusing saints on how to handle certain Christian subjects. It is not initiated by man but God Himself. It cements people’s faith and brings certainty on divisive matters.
Prophesying can involve anyone according to Paul who encouraged the saints at Corinthians to yearn for spiritual gifts that include prophesying (1 Cor14:1). When one is granted the privilege of predicting futuristic events, it doesn’t always follow that they are prophets, some could be seers, while others could have been imparted with Word of wisdom.
These are complementary ministries of Prophecy but may not be distinctly regarded as such. Stereotyping is the main source of confusion in this regard, we have associated everybody with related gifts with Prophecy. Being able to prophesy and operating in the office of prophet are two different things.
Occasional insights, predictions and visions may not make one a prophet. It could be widely agreed that countless men and women of God have at some point prophesied, albeit outside the “office” of prophecy. According to Deuteronomy 18:18-19, Prophets are raised by God. God also told Israelites that He intended to raise men among the tribe who would serve in that capacity. Many in the Bible appear to have been moved away from their lines of duty into prophetic ministry. These include Amos who had previously been preoccupied with trading on sycamore fruit (Amos 7:14). Elisha as well compelled himself to slaughter the oxen he was found ploughing with by Elijah, destroyed the tools of his project and took up Prophetic ministry full time (1 Kings 19:19-21).
During Elijah and Elisha’s day, prophets undertook studies. There were formal institutions where prospective candidates would enrol under the auspices of distinguished mentors. These students were identified as “sons of the prophets”, a title which probably give us an insight into the mechanics of their curricula. It suggests why students such as Elisha would follow their superiors as far as being separated by a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Gehazi though turning to be a failure became Elisha’s protégée. One had to stick with the mentor, understudying them in every aspect. The training could be necessary in order to safeguard the integrity of the ministry in general. Lack of it would probably put the prophet and the tribes of Judah and Israel at risk considering the geopolitical landscapes of the day. It was possible to make unnecessary provocative remarks towards rival kingdoms or other critical offices, hence the need to put a scholarly mechanism in place to abate such.
This training could be equated to enrolment for theological training in our day. Much of the outcries prevalent today seem to emanate from the distance that certain prophetic practitioners have moved from generally accepted biblical truths.
While there is no singular way of eradicating malpractice, there is general belief that proper theological training could minimise the damage, notwithstanding the fact that one may still be heretic even after attaining such formal training.
To ensure that false prophecy is not promoted, men and women of God must desist from disregarding the Word of God. The prophets need to adhere to the dictates of the spiritual blueprint, which is the Bible. The general membership also needs to be vigilant as was the character of the Berean Church ( Acts 17:11). Paul recounts that the saints at this Church were so noble that they used to be critically analytical of all the teachings they used to receive. It is a pity that most people, professionals and high-ranking people included, would rather subject their industrial products to various integrity checks while they can hardly do so with their own spiritual matters.
It is no doubt that we have God-sent prophets among us, people whom we need to accept and give our attention, but by the same token we could be having false ones too.
Testing the spirits
There are a couple of mechanisms prescribed by the Bible regarding the criteria with which to determine the real status of spirits. It a matter avoiding two extremes, either standing in God’s way which may attract retribution or letting heresy and apostasy loose. To avoid both upsetting God by unjustifiably persecuting his human instruments, and curbing the corrupt conduct, we need to implement disciple John’s advice. He advocated for a deliberate attitude which does not “believe every spirit but tests the spirits to see whether they are from God”.
This needs to be done objectively with caution otherwise God might silence them while the devil is given unwarranted hospitality. Elijah, though coming much earlier that John, suggested a showdown which would distinguish the genuine and counterfeit God or gods at Mount Camel.
A criterion which was suitable and pragmatic during those times was employed and the God who was going to answers with fire was the one to be worshipped. Even King Ahab consented with the decision (1 Kings 18:16-45). One of the major challenges pertaining to issues of faith is that they are difficult to legislate.
It is much more difficult in our continent which is home to a people whom Professor John S. Mbiti refers to as “notoriously religious”. Prophecy may be interpreted in the immediate but can also apply to more than one setting or time periods, however in order for it to be true, it aught to be fulfilled in one way or another.Daniel, for instance, prophesied on the numerous chronological events that were to occur among the world superpowers of his day ( Daniel 7: 14).
Indeed the Alexander the Great of this world became part of that prediction.
In carrying out testing exercises, the Bible should be the sole benchmark for the believers’ evaluations.
It is easy to resolve to persecute a true prophet if our evaluation is subjective.
After the ascension of Jesus, a related scenario occurred in Jerusalem, when suggestions were made to the effect that disciples needed to receive heavy punishments owing to the impact of their preaching, something which was considered distractive by the religious leaders.
This prompted one Gamaliel to remark that the disciples’ lives deserved to be spared on the basis of similar developments that had unfolded in days that had gone by when false preachers eventually got exposed after a long period of hiding under the guise of being part of the clergy (Acts5: 34). It also seems ungodly to disapprove someone on the basis of mere differences we may have with them on issues like church regalia, places of worship, and other nuances which may never be common among worshippers. Not everybody who does things differently is an enemy of the Gospel. Devoted Christians are not expected to rely on hearsay. They need not have the Bible dictated to them, rather one has to read it personally and attentively so as to help them establishing firm roots.
This has a bearing on the manner in which they make discretions. That is what Paul advised as well on 2 Tim 1:13.
The Bible provides the basis for sound doctrine. Also, on relating current developments with historical ones, there is need to realise that demographic and geopolitical disparities between these the two settings may inspire certain variances in the application of the Word.
There are instances when a false prophet seems to do certain things “right”, fooling our perceptions and others where a true prophet errs and appear to be evil. We need to know where to draw the line.
Moses the servant of God would regrettably disappoint in certain occasions by being too emotional, and wrongly executing instructions, but he remained a true prophet up to the day he was taken away. No sin is condoned by God, but what God does very well, something we may not be good at, is drawing the line between the erring person and the actual error.
This intriguing phenomenon of prophecy of our time calls for both a cold shoulder and a pat at the back. The former obviously needs to be directed to those proven beyond doubt that they are pervasive while the latter is for the ones who seem to be on the right course.
Why must we tolerate any person claiming to be used by God when we take some of their actions with a pinch of salt?
The reason why we should avoid making quick conclusions on the fate of such people is that Christianity has also accommodated some of our forefathers who, through other limitations, misinterpreted certain scripture.
The office of a prophet which has had unprecedented attention in recent times may need a little patience from us to prove itself, but we need to do so with a forgiving heart especially to those who seem genuine. Some errors could be a result of trying too hard! Let us, for instance, consider an issue like the use of western or traditional instruments.
It has been so topical in the distant past, that congregations would instantaneously split owing to acute sentimental differences.
Pastors who used to discourage the use of such instruments could be among the users of such kits today. The society has forgiven them for having labelled music instruments ‘apparatuses of the devil’.
Due to social and religious dynamics at play, change has been inevitable, hence it is also necessary to view players in the prophetic ministry with some amount of tolerance. When the prophet seems to have gone wrong, the same may not apply to the entire prophetic ministry.
The tolerance being implied here does not include criminal offences coming from rapists, fraudsters, paedophiles and other such offenders.
Abuse of human rights and all deeds that are grossly unethical should not be tolerated.
This is not the same as persons who hold a minor ideological difference with us. Some churches, for instance, baptise their followers in the name of Jesus, while others do so in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we can not label them false prophets on that basis.
In conclusion, we have to agree that we deserve the best from anyone who claims to be God-sent because God gave us His best. We can not remain victims of emotional, physical or financial abuse. Criminals who hide behind religion should not be accommodated in our lives.
They need to be shunned, shamed, exposed and prosecuted if their deeds warrant such. They may be excommunicated if they are subject to our authority.
The biggest CAUTION, however, could be that we should be wary of losing our own men and women who are mightily raised by God, misconstruing them for impostors but at same time remaining steadfast to discourage and stop any abusive, satanic and heretic behaviour.
