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INDEX
Meaningnabiy' = a prophet (to speak by inspiration)
Prophesies should be taken seriously: 1Th 5:20 Despise not prophesyings. What prophesies are meant for: 1Co 14:3 But he that prophe sieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.The Lord wants to tell us what we need to do and what will happen in the future so that we are not afraid of what lies ahead. He wants us to live a life without cares, trusting in Him. He knows that when we know what lies ahead, we can rest in that knowledge and this will build our faith and give us comfort while meditating on what God has said about our future.
Abraham
Now this is how God protects the people who listen to Him and obeys whatever He says. He did not allow the wife of Moses to sleep with another man even although Moses had so little faith in God's protection that he gave his wife to another man. Just the same for us - and even more because we are in a new covenant with God based on better promises. If we listen to the Spirit and obey, even if we make a mistake, the Lord will protect our wives.
Aaron (Man's prophet, not God's prophet)
If you are somebody's prophet, it means that you need to say what that person tells you to say. Aaron was Moses' prophet, so he needed to say what Moses told him to say. Remember, God never wanted Aaron's ministry. The only reason He gave Aaron something to do was because Moses kept on pestering the Lord until the Lord got cross with him and appointed Aaron. But Aaron did not say what the Lord told him to say, he needed to hear what Moses said and only say that. Miriam
A. If a prophet tries to turn you to other gods, he needs to be killed
B. A Prophets speaks what the Lord tells him to speak. If a person does not listen to the Prophet, it will be on that person's head and God will hold him responsible for not listening and obeying. Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. Again the Lord warns people who are saying that the Lord told them to prophesy and He didn't Deu 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. How do we know that somebody is a Prophet and that God spoke to him / her? Deu 18:21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. If that which the Prophet says does not come to pass, he or she is not a prophet and we do not have to listen to what they are saying. This means that the Lord will tell the Prophet about things that will happen in the near future. Therefore we will be able to see whether it came to pass or not and then we will know whether this person is a prophet or not. Now what the prophet says is what God says is going to happen. It therefore has nothing to do with your faith. If God said that something will happen, it will happen. Nothing can stop that thing from happening because God said it would happen. Sometimes "prophets" try to hide the fact that they are not really prophets. They do this by saying that something did not happen because you and I did not have sufficient faith for it to happen. Once God says that something will happen, you no longer need faith - He said it will happen and therefore it is a good as done and there is nothing you and I could do (or not do) to prevent it from happening. This is called FAITH - God will honour His Word because He cannot lie, make a mistake or be late because of unforeseen circumstances. C. A faithful servant is better off than a prophet
This is very interesting: God states that He will speak to prophets via visions and dreams, but with people as faithful as Moses He will speak face to face. This just shows how wrong we can sometimes be in the body of Christ: Moses, the local government, is being addressed by God Himself while the church leader, represented by the prophets, are addressed by God via visions and dreams. Here is a very important lesson for the body of Christ: The Lord never blessed the country while the church was obedient (like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others), but waited until the government (represented by the kings of Israel and Judah) turned to Him before He started blessing them. (So much for the people with the lame excuses that Christians should not be in politics!). The Lord has always been very strict on Prophets (and other five-fold ministers). His instructions are that we need to evaluate the information supplied by these prophets and that we should not just accept anything they say. But we have to compare what they are telling us to God's Word and if this is in line, we have to obey. But if these are not in line, these prophets were put to death in the old testament:
It is crucial that we know when a prophet is really talking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and not the inspiration of their flesh or other things. This is so serious that the Lord gave the instruction to kill these prophets should they not tell the truth. This of course means that when the Lord speaks through a prophet, the idea is that we take it seriously - so serious that we have to kill anybody who is pretending to be a prophet. D. Prophets control their prophesies We sometimes find that "prophets" try and take over a service or a gathering because the "Holy Spirit" came over them and they could do nothing else but prophesy. 1Co 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. The prophets can control when and how they bring a prophesy. The Lord gives them an idea and they then have to convey that idea to the people. The Lord does not speak in old King James English ("And so sayeth the Lord...). People just find it easier to speak like that if that is the Bible version that they are using. The Lord is not dumb - He knows how we speak and He will not try and impress us like humans do with a strange voice. Therefore prophets need to control themselves and not only find the prophesy from God, but also the wisdom when and how they need to convey that message. E. Walk in Love 1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Judging ProphetsWe need to judge prophets to see whether they are in actual fact saying what God wanted them to say.
How do we try them? Method 1: It is very easy to see whether a church is representing God or man: If the church has posters up everywhere declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord / King etc., this church represents God. All the others are using God's name to make a living for themselves just like I am using technology to make a living for myself at the company I am working for. If you are in a church that does not openly declare Jesus as Lord on posters, bulletin boards or similar, the chances are excellent that this church is part of the antichrist.
Method 2: See if what they say comes to pass
If whatever the prophet does not come to pass, we no longer have to listen to them. Talk about serious! Not only do we then not take this "prophet" seriously any more, we should also kill him - according to the previous Scripture! We have become so complacent that the Word of God is no longer that serious any more. This we have to change as a matter of life and death! The Lord used prophets to talk to governments, telling them that if they did not change their actions, serious consequences would follow. |
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