I have recently had multiple dreams concerning a specific spiritual attack intended to heighten the perception that there is major abuse, misuse, or misrepresentation happening concerning the gift of prophecy in the context of the local church. I also feel that God is speaking through the dreams that the enemy’s purpose of creating these negative perceptions is to create fear and mistrust with the hope that the response of leadership will be to curtail or limit the ways or forms in which prophecy can or should be released in the local body.
After praying about this issue for a period of time I feel God desires to give us a working definition of prophecy, to put us all on the same page concerning what we are talking about as well as highlight several particular open doors that the enemy could use to cultivate a negative mindset regarding prophecy.
Prophecy: A working definition
The word prophecy itself can potentially and unknowingly be a source of conflict and misunderstanding as it means many things to many different people. For some, prophecy is simply a word in season, an encouragement spoken at the right time, or an exhortation to persevere through a particular trial. For others, the idea of prophecy engenders pictures of declarations of judgment concerning the nations, visitations of angels to encourage, empower and protect; or dramatic open visions in which secrets of hidden places are revealed!
Although some of these examples sound extreme, none of these definitions are particularly wrong, although at one point in time or another, all of these descriptions of prophecy could be wrong! How can this be?
Revelations 19:10 for the testimony of jesus is the spirt of prophecy
Here, John the Revelator is sharing out of a more dramatic experience of prophecy that he has received on the island of Patmos in which he had communication with angels, was taken up into the third heaven, even saw God himself speaking and moving in the earth. Taking what he said in this passage and making it applicable to life today, we would have to say that practically, this Revelations passage of scripture is saying that Jesus testimony is prophecy; therefore prophecy is whatever Jesus wants to say to us, however he wants to say it.
Therefore our working definition of prophecy is going to be, “Prophecy is whatever Jesus wants to say to us, however he wants to say it.”
With this working definition, we have laid the foundation to continue on regarding the open doors that the enemy wants to use to induce fear and mistrust concerning prophecy.
Door #1: A Lack of understanding concerning receiving prophecy.
A key door that leads to fear, mistrust and people being hurt by prophecy has to do with a lack of training or understanding concerning the receiving of prophecy from other individuals. Those other individuals can be known or unknown, even leaders with proven reputations in the prophetic or revelatory gifts.
1 Corinthians 14:29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.
Here scripture says that we are to judge the words of even proven prophetic leaders in the Body of Christ. If we are to judge the words spoken by men and women that are trusted, have proven track record and history, how much more should we not judge the words coming from those we don’t know, those who are learning and will make mistakes in both message and delivery? Here is another scripture that follows the same vein of thought.
2 Peter 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Words given by prophets, people with a proven track history in giving words should be as a light in a dark place, illuminating that which God desires to say to an individual or to a group. That illumination is not the end of the experience however. That illumination should be just a catalyst leading towards the Morning Star rising in your heart. As the morning star is a prophetic picture of Jesus, (he is the bright and morning star) God’s ultimate goal is that the individuals relationship with and communication with Jesus would rise to ever greater and higher levels.
Ultimately, this means that it is up to the receiver of a word to determine for themselves if what has been given to them whether through an individual or from a corporate word is relevant or pertinent to them. Does it cause the dawning of revelation of Jesus or increase in us the knowledge of what Jesus has to say to the receiver? If an individual is struggling with a word that has been spoken to them, whether personally or corporately, there are two very healthy options that they can take concerning that word.
· One option is to talk to several friends or people that they trust concerning that word. Friends typically can be a safe place to air your concerns and bounce things off of.
· The second option is to simply, “put the word up on the shelf” and trust that if God desires to accomplish something through that word, we can trust that he is bigger than our ability to get off track and bigger than the enemies ability to deceive us. He is good, and will do good to us and the knowledge of his character in that regard allows us to trust him to bring about his will. If we are open, humble and walking with Jesus, he will see his plans come to fruition.
Door #2: Discerning what Jesus wants to say
Scripture says that Jesus did so many things while here on earth, that no amount of books in the world could contain them. So when we hear of particular manifestations of the spirit communicating to and through individuals, that type of occurrences failure to exactly appear in scripture is not sufficient evidence to allow us to dictate an automatic dismissal of that event.
That being said, some individuals have an uncanny gift or ability to see what is happening in the spiritual realm concerning individuals, corporate groups, or even what God is doing over whole nations, the entire body of Christ or even the world. The way in which God communicates these messages to individuals are just as wide and varied as the number of stars in the sky he created.
Just because an individual may discern what is happening in the spiritual realm concerning an individual or a group, does not mean that the communication of that knowledge is what Jesus has to say to the individual or the group at that point in time.
Some words are more intended for the individual discerning those words to use as a catalyst in partnering with God bringing his will about here on earth as it is in heaven through intercession. The role of intercession is a vital partnership role with God to see what he doing in the spiritual realm and calling it forth into the physical. This role can often be lonely, as God is not showing everyone the same thing, but ultimately grows great levels of personal intimacy, character and integrity in the one God is using for this purpose. As an individual learns to wait on the Lord in regards to sharing what he is shown, the Lord is able to entrust him with higher and higher levels of revelation. Those who are faithful in little will be made rulers over much.
So what do we do with words that are given us, whether from individuals or from a corporate setting that seems to be off?
Honor people, but give the opportunity of personal growth through correction of the word. If the word was in a personal setting, then the correction should be personal. If the word was from a corporate setting, then the correction should be corporate. Those who are openly hostile, vicious, or intentionally harmful should obviously be restrained, but the majority of people are sincere and desiring to personally learn and grow in this gift that should be desired above all the gifts.
The appropriate response, in which words are bad or even malicious, is not the limiting of all people attempting to speak and grow in the spirit of prophecy. Personal dealings with sin should be dealt with through the biblical model of talking to them individually, then with a witness, then before the church, but most mistakes concerning prophecy are usually a lack of experience, maturity or understanding concerning the administration of God’s heart.
Ultimately a great plumb line concerning discerning the prophetic gift is, no matter whom the vessel in the giving of a prophetic word is, we each have a responsibility to judge the word and we do this by determining, does it cause the dawning of the Morning Star, an increasing revelation of Jesus in our hearts?
