DAY PROPHETS?…
Does God speak today through modern-day prophets as the New Apostolic Movement claims? No!!!!
I remind you that we are dealing now with what the Old Testament prophets called “the great and terrible day of the Lord.” I find it difficult to make such messages amusing or entertaining. It strikes me that to attempt it would be somewhat analogous to hiring a comedian to entertain the witnesses at a public execution! This is not entertaining material, I grant you, but it is true! And we have to face unpleasant truth at times. SRH…
DOES GOD SPEAK TO US TODAY THROUGH PROPHETS?
It is easy for somebody to claim to be speaking on behalf of God. Because it is so easy, God put a standard in place in the OT. God said that a false prophet is identified by less than one-hundred percent accuracy: “if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Dt. 18:22). Such a false prophet was to be put to death (Dt. 18:20).
The hallmark of true revelation is that it is inspired (from God), infallible (cannot be broken) and inerrant (without error). The Bible says that revelation does not originate “from the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:19)—this speaks of inspiration. Jesus said of the OT Scriptures that not one jot or tittle would fail to come to pass because it was incapable of being broken (Mt. 5:18)—this in infallibility. And God cannot err either intentionally (an absolute moral law-giver cannot deceive) or unintentionally (because He is omniscient). Therefore, since God cannot err or deceive, His Word cannot have error—this speaks of inerrancy. Inspiration, infallibility and inerrancy stand or fall together. All special revelation must have these three characteristics if it is genuine.
NAR teaches there is an abundance of new revelation available today: “There are going to be those in the end time generation who will have Daniel-types of revelatory experiences.”1 However, these “revelatory experiences” are said to be a different type of revelation: a revelation that can err and fail from people whose accuracy is said to increase over time (the “best” of the NAR prophets are said to only be sixty-six percent accurate).2 Despite this, they claim that this revelation is on par with the OT prophets and NT apostles.3
EVIDENCE REVELATION BEING FAKED
Because this is not genuine revelation, there are many examples of NAR prophesies that have failed. For example, Rick Joyner and Bob Jones prophesied in 1997 that California would soon be destroyed by earthquakes and nuclear bombs.4 People even sold houses and left jobs (there was harm done). Kim Clement claimed a word from the Lord in 2007 that Osama Bin Laden would be captured in 35 days (he was not).5 In March 2007, Catherine Brown issued a prophetic word that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine; the Great Recession started in December of the same year.6 Many prophesies are so vague they are unfalsifiable.
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- Kirk Bennett in Keith Gibson, Wandering Stars: Contending for the Faith with the New Apostles and Prophets(Birmingham, Alabama: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2011), loc. 2303-2306
- Ibid., loc. 5843-5844
- Rick Joyner proposes four levels of inspiration for modern prophecy, ranging from the lowest called impressions to the highest called trancesin The Final Quest (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1996), 8-11. The higher the level, the more certain he says it is that a word is coming from God in an uncorrupted form. He followed this list by saying his book is the highest certainty of revelation: “The visions contained in this book all began with a dream. Some of it came under a very intense sense of the presence of the Lord, but the overwhelming majority was received in some level of a trance.” (The Final Quest, 11). Choo Thomas in her bestselling book Heaven Is so Real! writes, “Every word in this book is true. The words of Jesus have been transcribed exactly as He said them to me… and I have endeavored to be faithful to every word and experience.” (Choo Thomas, Heaven Is so Real! [Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2006], 153.) ↑
- Gibson, Wandering Stars, loc. 6068-6070
- Ibid., loc. 5967-5975
- Ibid., loc. 6083-6085
The Bible encourages us to test what we are being taught to see whether it is the truth. (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1) An individual who does so may eventually choose a faith that differs from that of his parents. The Bible mentions a number of faithful servants of God who did not follow the religion of their parents, including Abraham, Ruth, and the apostle Paul.—Joshua 24:2, 14, 15; Ruth 1:15, 16; Galatians 1:14-16, 22-24.
The Watchman does not confuse truth with consensus. The Watchman does not confuse God’s Word with the word of those in power…
