http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2011-13&version=NIV
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “ 1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”
After reading in chapters 8 to 10 that we are not to forget the Lord, Moses now encourages the people to keep the commands of the Lord, and he tells them to seek the place where the Lord will choose for them to worship Him.
But yet, there is another potential pitfall in the Israelites path. Moses tells the people to not follow after other gods in chapters 11 to 13. He gives three ways in which people may be led into following other gods: through a false prophet, through friends and family, and through the world or culture.
I would like to focus on the following of a false prophet today. If you turn on the television to one of the “Christian” television stations today, you will see personalities that call themselves Prophet Bill, or Prophet Jack, for example. In and of itself this seems harmless. However, prophets in the Bible often times revealed new revelation to the people from the Lord.
Today, we do not receive new revelation from the Lord. The canon of Scripture is closed. What we receive is new illumination, or understanding, by the power of the Holy Spirit into the application of the Scripture’s message to our lives. When people call themselves prophets, people who are new to the faith may believe that such a person is going to give new revelation that has the same authority of that of Scripture. Second Baptist Church holds that the revelation of God is closed. This is the orthodox belief of evangelical Christians today. So, it is best to not use the title prophet as a title for oneself.
In the example above that Moses details, these prophets were able to do miracles. So miracles, in and of themselves, are not always indicative of God’s work. In this situation, it was a theological test. Was the prophet leading the people to or from the Lord? Now today many so-called prophets say they are for Jesus Christ. But are they really?
Are their lives indicative of what they say they believe? And are their beliefs in alignment with the Scriptures? Don’t get fooled by persons that have huge ministries, or say they can heal people in the name of God. As the Scriptures state, “Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-23)
Jesus also spoke of this when he said:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23)
This is such an important principle for us to follow today. Test everything according to the Scriptures. Test what I write, or Kelly, or Carol writes. Test what Dr. Young preaches against the Scriptures. Test what you hear on the radio or read in Christian books against the Scriptures.
Much of what you hear and read will be and is true to the Word of God. But ignorance will not be an excuse for us. The Lord has given us His Word and His Holy Spirit so that we can be discerning in this world.
Below is a list from Norman Geisler’s book, Correcting the Cults, that has criteria to determine if one is a false prophet or not. Test this list and see if it agrees with the Word of God.
1. Do they ever give false prophecies? Do 100% of their predictions of future
events come true? (Deut. 18:21-22)
2. Do they contact departed spirits? (Deut. 18:11)
3. Do they use means of divination? (Deut. 18:11)
4. Do they involve mediums or witches? (Deut. 18:1)
5. Do they follow false gods or idols? (Exod. 20:3-4; Deut. 13:1-3)
6. Do they deny the deity of Jesus Christ? (Col. 2:8-9)
7. Do they deny the humanity of Christ? (1 John 4:1-2)
8. Do their prophecies shift the focus off Jesus Christ? (Rev. 19:10)
9. Do they advocate abstaining from certain foods and meats for spiritual reasons? (1 Tim. 4:3-4)
10. Do they deprecate or deny the need for marriage? (1 Tim. 4:3)
11. Do they promote immorality? (Jude 4,7)
12. Do they encourage legalistic self-denial? (Col. 2:16-23)
Feel free to comment on this list or share your thoughts on this post.
Soli Deo Gloria
Today’s post was submitted by Russ Shellhamer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have heard people use the term prophet, like Prophet Russ, if you will, perhaps in the wrong sense, but "prophet" perhaps is also used to mean someone who simply speaks forth God or God's truth. But perhaps this is confusing to some. But we can also say sister Jeannie, brother Jack, brother Bill, etc. Or we can call one another "saints."
ReplyDeleteI like what the Lord is teaching us in Deut 13. Just because something comes to pass or some great miracle happens it doesn’t mean it is from God. As we read about the 2nd coming of Christ and Bible prophecy, we read about the coming of a false prophet, who in partnership with the man of sin, the Antichrist will work all kinds of lying miracles. (2 Thes 2:9 Rev 16:13) The whole world will marvel at what these men can do yet like Deut 13 they are drawing men’s minds away from the Lord.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, God sends His prophets who can work all kinds of miracles too. (Rev 11:6) These prophets prophesy for 3 ½ years until they are killed by the antichrist. What is the world’s reaction at the death of God’s prophets? They rejoice and send gifts to one another (Rev 11:10)
Have you heard this saying before, ‘Only if I can see a miracle I would believe” If people aren’t convinced by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and His Word even if they see some great supernatural event, they will not believe. Look what happened when people heard the voice of the Father while Jesus was praying. Did they believe? No, they made an excuse, “It thundered” (John 12:29) Jesus said by their fruits we shall know who is from God. (Matt 7:20) not if some great miracle happens.
The disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of his coming? The first thing Jesus said was “And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. Matt 24:3 This should make all of us do what Russ mentioned. What does the Word of God say