How should we view prophesy?
Discussion question for January 22, 2010.
God communicates with mankind through prophesy, as evidenced by significant portions of scripture. How does God use the prophetic in your life? What does it mean if someone prophesies over you, or gives you a “word of knowledge”? How does a divine message affect your life? How do you know it is true?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
There is a difference between prediction and prophesy. Prediction is a foretelling of a future outcome. Prophesy is the declared “word” of God – it is a communication from God to man. The purpose of prophesy is to point to the Savior (all redemptive acts of God including the Messiah) and to edify the believers.
A “word of knowledge” in our culture means a revealed truth about a person’s situation or condition that is given by God to one for the benefit of building up another. A “prophesy” in our culture means a revealed truth or word about a person or people group that includes future events or outcomes. The source of all true prophesy and words of knowledge is God.
False prophets, whether intentionally rebellious against God or unintentionally, speak things that do not come from God. Deuteronomy 13 says that we do not have to fear them or what they have to say. If they attempt to deceive and lead people away from God then they are to be dealt with in the most severe way. They were to be stoned in the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant it says “have nothing to do with them” and is the basis for excommunication or disfellowship.
God’s intent for revealing Himself to believers is that they be changed in the present, not just that they be aware of future events. A word of knowledge or prophesy given today should change my identity and response right now. Because we know something will happen in the future, we can begin to live accordingly today. The Redeemer foretold was credited to the ancients by faith, but saved them before the prophesy was physically fulfilled. So our past and future are each cared for by God through our faith. The past is redeemed by faith, confession and forgiveness. The future is redeemed by faith in His sovereignty and mercy. The application is a change in my current identity.
God will not override a person’s free will. The Biblical examples of prophesy included foretelling (Nineveh, Israel, Judah, etc.) that was applied and true on a people group basis. However, the predictions were not applicable on the personal level. For example, Moab was wicked and doomed to destruction but Ruth was redeemed out of Moab by God’s mercy. So the application was different on the personal level than on the national level.
All prophesy and words of knowledge are useful for equipping and edifying. Anything else (fear, greed, anger, selfishness) that comes as a result of prophesy is an indication that either the interpretation of its meaning is wrong, or the source is not God.