Biblical Prophecy

Biblical prophecy is something that can seem very foreign. There is a lot of controversy over prophecy. Lies have been spread throughout the world that God doesn’t prophesy anymore and/or Biblical prophecy has somehow changed. This is a false teaching. We see in scripture that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8-9 ESV). In Revelation 19:10b NASB For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. His gift of prophecy remains the same. In 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 He gives us more clarity on this topic.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 ESV

This tells us “when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” Verse 12 tells us “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” So these gifts of the Holy Spirit will not pass away until then. We also see from Ephesians 4:11-16 more on this subject.

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV

We must understand that all of these positions in the body are still here on this earth to equip the saints because we know that the body has not, as a whole, grown up into mature manhood. So we must conclude that if there are prophets to build up the body then there is prophecy.

As Jesus followers, we must understand what Biblical prophecy is, why we should desire Biblical prophecy, who can prophesy, how Biblical prophecy is given, and why it must be weighed. Jesus repeatedly warns us in Revelation 2 and 3 that we must have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 2:7 ESV

It is very important that we learn the Word of God for ourselves in order to spiritually discern between good and evil. If we do not know the Word of God and fulfill His Word in our own lives then we will not grow up into spiritually mature disciples and we will not understand weighing/testing/distinguishing prophecy. Weighing, testing and distinguishing are all terms we see used in scripture for examining things. Hebrews 5:14 tells us the mature believers have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice.

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:14 ESV

These people know the Word of God and live it.

Learning to weigh prophecy

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and Jeremiah 28:8-9 give us some good parameters for weighing prophecy.

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 ESV

Nowadays, we don't hear about people saying follow other gods, but we will hear people say follow my way of teaching, thinking, or theology. This is the same as following another god. It is following a different gospel, not that there is truly a different gospel, but there are teachings that will lead you to stray from the true gospel. Jesus and Paul address this issue.

Now obviously we do not put that person to death like it says in Deuteronomy, but we do remove them after trying to correct them. If we have no relationship with the person, then we just remove their influence from our lives.

In Jeremiah we see more guidelines for weighing prophecy.

8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Jeremiah 28:8-9 ESV

I encourage you to read this whole story in Jeremiah 28 but what I pointing out here is that Jeremiah is speaking about how prophets have always spoken. Since the beginning, prophesy has been you must repent or destruction is coming. We see here, that we should only believe a prophecy of peace when it comes to pass; “the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet”. We are actually given examples of this in Zechariah 2:9; 4:9 and 6:15. An angel is speaking to Zechariah and confirms this way of thinking. I encourage you to go read these sections and look for “you will know that the Lord of host has sent me”.

Examples of Prophecy

In Ezekiel 37, the Lord tells Ezekiel to speak specific words. These words are from the Lord, they are not Ezekiel's words or Ezekiel's thoughts. God commanded Ezekiel to speak out these prophetic words. These words brought life into these bones. 

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Ezekiel 37:1-14 ESV

Prophecy speaks life into people. It is also warnings of repentance for ourselves and/or others.

God required Ezekiel to speak out His words to warn His people to repent. He was required to speak to God’s people and he took it very seriously, as should we. He requires the same of us when we receive His prophetic word.

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

Ezekiel 3:17-21 ESV

It is important to deliver the message as God reveals it, without adding any of our own words, or removing any words we don't understand. When God tells us to deliver a message, we have that responsibility just as Ezekiel did. If we feel awkward or concerned with how the message will be received, we should look to the Holy Spirit for guidance as we are still required to obey God to deliver the message.

Prophecy can also be warnings of things to come into our lives or the lives of others. In scripture we often see prophecy giving directions, telling us of upcoming events, or warning us of trials.

22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

Acts 20:22-23 ESV

10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

Acts 21:10-11 ESV

In Acts 20 and 21 we see examples of prophetic warnings in the life of Paul. These types of warnings bring comfort during the trials because God has prepared us for that trial through prophecy. The comfort comes because we know He is with us as we are going through the refinement process. First, in Acts 20, we see the Holy Spirit tell Paul that imprisonment and affliction awaits him. Then in Acts 21, we see God confirming His word through His Prophet Agabus.  

We also see in scripture prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 2:13-15 an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph to give him directions. Matthew 2:13-15 is fulfilling a prophecy that the Prophet Hosea spoke. 

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew 2:13-15 ESV

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hosea 11:1 ESV

We see how the Word of God literally is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalms 119:105 ESV

More understanding on what prophecy is

True Biblical prophecy is God’s thoughts spoken out by a human, it is not the thoughts of a human.

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

In Obadiah 1 we see that he heard a report from the Lord. Prophecy is a report from the Lord.

We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations

Obadiah 1:1 ESV

Prophecy is a gift (1 Corinthians 12:10) and prophecy gives gifts to people. 

14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

  1 Timothy 4:14 ESV

Prophecy speaks to people for strengthening, encouraging, and comfort.

3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for strengthening, encouraging, and comfort.

1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV

Desire Prophecy

Scripture tells us to desire all spiritual gifts, especially the spiritual gift of prophecy.

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV

In Jeremiah 15, God tells Jeremiah if he will utter what is precious and not what is worthless, he shall be as God’s mouth. Jeremiah spoke the words that came from the mouth of God.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth.

Jeremiah 15:19b ESV

God wants to share His heart with us. He wants us to see Him, pay attention to Him, and know Him. We see from Jeremiah 33 that He wants to show us hidden things. 

2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3  Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jeremiah 33:2-3 ESV

In Psalms 81, He tells us to open our mouths wide and He will fill it. He wants to speak through us. 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalms 81:10 ESV

God is actually heartbroken when His people do not want to listen to Him or to seek Him. You can read the whole book of Malachi and see the love God has for His people. Malachi expresses how upset God is that His people do not love Him or want to listen to His heart and His mind. We see here in Psalms 81 that His people won’t listen to Him and won’t submit to Him. 

11 ”But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

Psalms 81:11 ESV

Who Can Prophesy?

He will/can use anyone. It is also important that we do not assume the person prophesying is a godly person. Spiritual gifts do not prove a person is a godly person, Matthew 7:15-20 addresses this. Below are some examples in scripture of who God will use to prophesy.

In Joel 2 and Acts 21 we see God will not hold back prophecy from anyone. 

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Joel 2:28-29 ESV

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

Amos 7:14-15 ESV

8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.

Acts 21:8-9 ESV

If we claim to be followers of Jesus then we can’t recoil from prophecy. Biblical prophecy is a gift from the Father to speak to His people.

How Prophecies are Given

There are different ways God communicates prophetic messages to us. We see in Jeremiah 1 and in Ezekiel 13 both say the Word of the Lord came to me. 

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Jeremiah 1:4 ESV

The word of the Lord came to me

Ezekiel 13:1 ESV

God speaks through visions, parables, and dreams.

I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables.

Hosea 12:10 ESV

Daniel also received dreams and visions. 

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.

Daniel 7:1 ESV

In Revelation 1 we see God will send us angels to deliver messages from Him. In Revelation it says, angels will deliver prophetic messages to us in dreams and visions.

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 1:1-3 ESV

There is instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 how prophesying should be given in a gathering of believers.

30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

1 Corinthians 14:30-33 ESV

Prophecy Must be Weighed/Tested 

It is very important that we weigh prophecy against scripture. It is very dangerous to assume everyone is prophesying from the mouth of God.

1 John 4 says test the spirits. It doesn’t matter who the person is that is speaking, we must always test the spirit. We may be hearing something we think is from God ourselves and we need to test what we are hearing. We also must test what we hear people say because they may be listening to the wrong spirits.

“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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

‭‭1 John 4:1 ESV

We see the words spirits and prophets in this section. The spirit speaks and the prophet listens. We must test the spirit that is speaking to ensure we never speak anything that is not pleasing to God.

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11:13-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In Deuteronomy God tells us He uses prophecy to test us to see if we will follow Him or the prophet giving the message. The test is, are we going to follow the person into worshiping something/someway other than the way He tells us or are we going to stick to His blueprints He gave us on how to live?

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lordyour God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 ESV

We see from Jeremiah another way to weigh the prophecy.

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Jeremiah 28:5-9 ESV

Prophets can actually make people believe lies. God will send strong delusions on disobedient people.

15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.

Jeremiah 28:15 ESV

9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 ESV

We see an example of lying prophets in 2 Chronicles 18 this is the story of King Ahab believing the lies of his prophets. 

1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. 2 After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” 4 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 11 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 12 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” 14 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” 15 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” 18 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 20 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ 21 And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 22 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.” 23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” 25 And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” 27 And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!” 28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. 32 For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34 And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died.

2 Chronicles 18:1-34 ESV

This is a very heavy story. We can learn a lot from it though. The most important thing we can learn from it is to weigh and examine what we are being told through a prophetic message.

Be Aware

In Deuteronomy 13 we see that someone may prophesy and the prophecy may come to pass, but we must not follow that person if they are not following scripture in all areas of their lives. If you are not in the person’s life, you will not know if that person is producing the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus says, we know the tree by the fruit. We will know the person is rooted in truth when the Fruit of the Spirit is seen in all areas of their daily lives. Many times people look at leaders and measure maturity by the manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit but Jesus says to look at the fruit of the tree not the gifts. 

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Matthew 7:15-20 NLT

Following people and their personalities, rather than scripture, is an epidemic on the earth. There are a lot of leaders that may have signs or wonders in their lives but they do not follow Scripture/the Word of God. Following someone that does not follow scripture leads to death. We are to compare everything we hear to scripture. Our hearts can deceive us so it is important that we do not listen to our feelings, but compare it to the Word of God. 

9“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT

We see a story in 1 Kings 13 about a prophet that didn’t hold on to the Word of God, but instead listened to another prophet. We see in this story that it is very dangerous to follow someone else, rather than God, even if we hold that person in high esteem. 

1 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel. 11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. 20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.” 33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

1 Kings 13:1-34 ESV

In this story we see this young prophet chose to follow the older prophet verses what God spoke to him. We see this throughout Biblical history and in our Christian culture today. We must examine scripture to see how we are supposed to live as a Jesus follower verses how our Christian Culture teaches. We need to examine everything. 

Now we can look at the life of Jesus. He gives us our example how to deal with anything that is contrary to the Word of God.

1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Matthew 4 :1-11 ESV

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Matthew 16:21-23 ESV

Jesus shows us how to deal with the lies of the enemy by clinging to the truth of the Word of God. He used scripture to deal with Satan himself and then with Peter who Jesus saw Satan use to try and trip Him up from the calling God had for Him. We must do the same in our lives. If we are Jesus’ followers, we will do the same as Jesus. The Word of God is our blueprint for living this life on earth and we must cling to it.

The more we know and understand scripture, the more we will understand prophecy. We will know and understand the heart of God. If we don’t understand the prophetic message given, then we need to sit the prophecy on the shelf in our mind. 1 Thessalonians 5:20 ESV says, “Do not despise prophecies,”

Just because we do not understand something we shouldn’t reject it, if it lines up with scripture. We need to ask God to explain it to us and patiently wait for the answer. Ask Him if you are meant to pray about the message or to speak it. Always remember that timing in delivering the message is important, ask God to let you know his perfect timing. We shouldn’t disregard a prophecy that we don’t like because it doesn’t fit into our plans. We have seen from the scriptures that prophecy is used to rebuke, correct, give direction and confirm His word to us.