TESTING PROPHECY AND

TESTING THE TRUE AND THE FALSE OF PROPHECY AND RESPONDING TO THE PROPHETIC WORD

17 Points To Test Prophecy And To Check Your Own Heart.

Watch the terminology - we live in the 20th century, not in the days of King James. E.g. "Thus saith the Holy One..." There is nothing wrong with the good old King James version, but most people do not understand that type of talk and whan they do hear it – they place it in a catergory of a religious message. As a speaker you must be culturally effective and doctrinaly sound.
Presumption and the spirit of divination.

E.g. Presuming to speak on God's behalf to a situation. When the Lord speaks – then repeat only what the Lord says – do not speak on the Lords beahalf.

Parking-lot prophecy – For your own protection and for the benefit of others always record the message and have witnesses present. If the message is being delivered in the local church setting – then always try to present the message in the company of church leadership.
Attitude of status in prophesying (proud postures and gestures). Sometimes one can easily fall into temptations of status and pride. It is a good thing to know your gift – but deteramental to you, if flaunting it in front of others.
Check in your Spirit. Even if all the lights are green, if you are not sure and doubt the word, wait for a confirmation, or speak the word and let the recipients know that you are not too sure if it is you or the Lord.
When man encourages you to prophesy, or limits you to certain issues, or even offers money. E.g.: Your very own gifting and anointing can be to your detriment if pride comes in.
Not having a full relationship with Christ will affect your discernment between spirit/soul.
Witchcraft - spirits of control. People who try to control the word or the ministry. When told under control, what to say.
Misuse of the gift. Manipulating and justifying yourself after delivering a word. On occasions due to inferiority or other reasons – you might judge and condem yourself by thinking that you messed up. To over come this – you need to have confidence that the Lord spoke to you and through you.
Wrong motives in ministering the Word and recognition by others.
Imitation of others - in speech, actions, dress code.
Outside information can often blur what God wants to say, though it is not wrong to be like Daniel who was a man who knew the times he was living in.
No submission to God or to the authority above you and at the place where you are ministering.
Sin in your heart.
The timing in giving the word.
The spirit in giving the word. Always serve the word in a spirit of humility, and never impose a word on someone.
Never allow pride to keep you from admitting a mistake.

20 Tests of a True Prophet

Nearly in every magazine one reads or newspaper one looks at, there is some form of prophetic message to be given through tarot card readers or fortune tellers. These are easily recognisable as they are not sent from God and their source is from the other side. Often where there is smoke there is fire.

Eph 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

Eph 4:11-12 ¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

The Office of the Prophet is different than the gift of Prophecy and works of prophecy. The works of prophecy and the gift of prophecy will be looked at in a latter teaching. There is unity in diversity – and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit desire to speak to you.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Cor 12:1-11

Prophets are called of God to stand in the office of the prophet.
They have special sensitivity to spiritual things.
Prophets will have a fierce allegiance to God and the things of God. They are the sin finders in the Body of Christ...They can’t stand Sin!!!!
They have an awareness that Jesus is the spirit of Prophecy. And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Rev 19:10 (NKJV)
Prophets have a capacity for search out the secret things. They can hear from God... They get messages from the word of God.
Prophets have extraordinary wisdom and insight. They will understand things of the spirit and not really know why!
Prophets have heightened spiritual discernment and understanding of the spiritual world. They can detect the direction and movement of spiritual forces.
Prophets have outstanding leadership abilities. They are natural born leaders.... Prophets are brought in to help lay down the foundation of the church. Prophets are the... watchman, strongmen , intercessors and the voice of the Lord to the church today. They will usually point out the leaders in the church and will confirm those leaders for the Pastor!
Prophets have a deep understanding of the place of Prophecy in the body of Christ. They also have great organizational, management and administrative abilities. As it relates to the Church...They understand the structure of the church. They also know when it’s out of order.
They have remarkable accuracy in terms of divine communication. Prophets will know things that only God can know and minister it very accurately. They will see prophetic things in the world around them TV, commercials, the news, pictures! They see God in everything.
Prophets have Governmental abilities. Prophets understand foundations and structure in the church. What’s in order and what is out of order. They can help establish leadership in the Church.
Prophets have unusual Judicial aptitude... understanding of how and when to minister and when and when not to. They have integrity, patience and a understanding of timing.
Prophets will have unusual interpretive skills. They have the ability to see or hear something and then interpret what it means. They have a tendency to have Dreams and Visions. They are called "Seer". Seer - one who sees in the spirit or Sees what he is Prophesying.
Prophets have a comprehension of Prophetic matters.
Prophets have great sense for the application of Prophecy. Prophets can counsel by the spirit of God not from human understanding
Prophets will have an inordinate grasp of the Scriptures.
They have potential for inspired utterances. He has the gift of Prophecy and it will manifest at all times only God may not allow him to deliver it.
Prophets will have Strong literary skills. He does not have to be perfect but, should be able to leave written accounts for future generations.
Prophets have Impressive elocution or very bold speaking that arrests people and causes them to listen. Hear by the spirit.

Believe the words of the Prophet and you will prosper.. Shut the voice of the Prophet and God will no longer speak.

§ A true Prophet is not flaky or weird.

§ They don't do things out of order.

§ They work with and honour all Pastors and those in authority in a local body.

§ They don't manipulate or control in anyway.

§ True Prophets are not to be feared!

§ They are a special gift to the body of Christ to help the leadership and strengthen the saints!

So....The bottom line...If someone comes in to your church and they don't have these qualities... they are not a Prophet Period!

FALSE PROPHETS

It is often thought that if a person who brings the Word of God is not doctrinally correct or it does not come to pass, then that person is a false prophet. That is not the way that scripture explains it.

E.g. David enquires from the Lord and the word he receives is the same as the outcome, and then the next time he enquires of the Lord the word is different (1 Samuel 23:1-29). This did not make David a false prophet. We will look at testing prophecy later.

Even though taking on the identity and appearance of a prophet of God, that person will remain pseudo in the identity.
Christians, who make a mistake, should be corrected, encouraged and re-affirmed to hear from God again. We should not stone the prophets of God if they make mistakes. Prophets are not God. Neither are those who minister in the works of prophecy that the Father gives to the church, nor to those who have a gift of prophecy.
Ask God for discernment of Spirit, and see who are the false prophets. Expose their works and expel them from the church and have nothing to do with them.

Satan the arch deceiver will display his works of counterfeit to cause even the very elect to enter into sin through deception.

He will use false prophets to deceive the world and cause them to believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

False Prophets take on their own identity

Jeremiah 14:14 "Then the Lord said to me, the prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them."

We can see in this verse that God sends, appoints and speaks to His prophets. If a prophet that He happens to send makes a mistake because of lack of maturity, it does not mean that he's a false prophet. It means that he is a young prophet that needs some training.

False prophets will usually prophecy what the people want to hear.

Keep away from them, they are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive.

Matt.7: 15 "... watch out for false prophets ..."

Matt. 24:11 "... false prophets deceive people .."

1 John 4:1 "Test the spirits as there are many false prophets."

Acts 13: 6-10 “False prophets pervert the Gospel.”

They charge for their work, whereas a Christian prophet will never charge when they deliver a word.

If the Christian prophet does lay a charge for the prophecy, do not receive it rather pray for his soul.

He or she is bordering on spiritual whoredom.

Selling and charging for a ministry or a gift of ministry is not pleasing to God, though receiving an honorarium is correct.

Many prophets fall into sin, because of the lack of financial support that they receive.

Christians can fall into traps of divination by speaking into situations out of God's will. E.g. By overhearing a conversation, then speaking of what was heard.

TOPICS RELATING TO FALSE PROPHETS:

DIVINATION Genesis 44:15

Information received that is not from God. It is the same as fortune telling and is used in crystal gazing, astrology, augury (interpreting of omens, tea-leaves and other things that occur by chance), and necromancy.

Divination is an act into enquiring by false means into the realm of the divine.

E.g. teacup reading, tarot cards, etc.

MAGICIANS Exodus 7:11

Most of the false prophets move in supernatural powers and perform secret arts of the occult, of satanism and of witchcraft.

NECROMANCY Deuteronomy 18:11, Isaiah 8:19

Consult the dead (disguised demons) and seeking information from them. It is a form of fortune telling, that invokes demons for the purpose of receiving information from them.

SOOTHSAYERS Micah 5:12

It is fortune telling through the medium of dreams, visions, omens and other phenomena.

SORCERY AND WITCHCRAFT Deuteronomy18:10, Exodus 22:18

Sorcery is a type of magic that will try to control spirits, even direct the spirits, and witchcraft is to employ that medium for good and bad.

SPURIOUS MIRACLES Matthew 7:22

Miracles that are not performed by God, and performed by the works of darkness.

TESTING PROPHECY

Matthew 12.32 "Any one who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but any who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come."

These words hold serious consequences of rejecting the Holy Spirit.

Now you might say, what has this to do with prophecy.

Well -

§ To reject genuine prophecy, true prophets and the true prophetic ministry, also have implications that will not be good for the person who despises prophecy. 1 Thessalonians 5.20 (Amplified) "Do not spurn the gifts and utterances of the prophets [do not despise prophetic revelations nor despise inspired instruction or exhortation or warning]."

§ At the same time, we need to be careful of imposters and false prophets.

We need to test everything and hold only to that which is good, rejecting the evil, means a sifting process by which prophecy can be tested (1 Thessalonians 5.21).

Below is a simple process by which we can determine what is false (from a source that is other than from God). Please note these are only guidelines and not rigid laws

A) PEACE TEST

Colossians 3.15

" Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts."

The first test of any prophetic message, should be the PEACE TEST.

§ Allowing the peace of Christ to be a plumb line in testing what is right and wrong.

§ When delivering a word and you have no peace in your heart at the time of delivering the message, WAIT.

§ Wait until you have a green light in your Spirit that gives you the freedom to deliver the word.

§ When receiving a message, discern in your heart if the deliverer of the message is ministering with the peace of Christ in their life.

§ Also check the fruit of the message – does it bear the peace of Christ.

§ If peace is lacking in the spoken, then rather postpone receiving it as a Word from God.

B) DOCTRINE TEST

§ The Word of God is our absolute, and not prophecy or the words of any minister of God, or even a Prophet.

o The written Word is God's confirmed, established Word and it is God's final authority.

In Deuteronomy 13 we see that even if what a prophet says comes to pass yet is contrary to what we already know to be the Word of God, we should not listen to what that person has to say.

o If prophetic messages given today do not have words in them which were used in the Old Testament or in the days of the writings of the New Testament, these should not be discarded on grounds like that.

E.g. " The Lord says to you that you will travel much by light air-craft".

Though the word light aircraft is not found in the Bible, the testing of this word would be done in accordance to the spirit it was given in and whether or not it comes to pass.

§ When discerning a word we need to be careful that we are not negatively critical, if we do not fully understand the context in which it is given.

C) ACCURACY TEST

§ Deuteronomy 18.22 "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message that the Lord has not spoken".

§ True prophecy must always come to pass. However, one can wait a very long time, for some words to come to pass.

Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18 "I give you this instruction keeping with the prophecies once made about you.." .

o This keeping with the prophecies are two fold:

§ Praying over the word that was spoken over you.

§ Being obedient to the word that was spoken.

§ Praying over the prophetic word is important. We are to make warfare over the word, as it protects the word from being stolen, and also keeps you in focus with the vision that is unfolding through the prophetic message.

§ We need to remember that we only prophesy in part (1 Cor 13.9). “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;”

o The part that we prophecy can be 100% accurate. This is often dependant on the intimacy the speaker has with the Lord. We do not know everything and often a message that is given might only be a part of the bigger picture. The attitude in receiving the word is important.

o If you hear only what you want to hear, you could loose out on what God is wanting to say and become critical, judging as error when the problem lies with the receiver and not the deliverer.

§ In every prophetic word you should ask, does the prophecy line up with the Bible? The Holy Spirit will never act in contradiction to the written Word of God. He is the One who inspired the Bible in the first place.

o Christians should know the Bible and memorize key portions of it. It is the Word of God that will protect us against false doctrine, deception, and spiritual manipulation. Always check a prophetic word against the other seven keys, beginning with the Bible. If the prophecy contradicts the Scriptures, you can obviously ignore it.

§ Is the prophecy given in love and grace, or in anger and judgment?

o Prophecy in the New Testament flows from the Spirit of Christ, which is a spirit of grace and love. As we have already considered, the majority of personal prophecy should be given as edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3).

o It is interesting that the portion of Scripture that has become known as the "love chapter," 1 Corinthians 13, is sandwiched between the two chapters that deal with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Through these gifts God shows His love to the world, and He expects His ministers to do the same.

§ What is the character and fruit of the person giving the word?

o The personal character of a prophetic minister, or any minister for that matter, is the foundation of his or her ministry. Character is a primary guide for determining whether someone is a true or false prophet.

o Dr. Hamon has given a list of what he calls the "10 M's" for maturing and maintaining ministry. These key character attributes are a good guide for determining the fruit of the person giving a prophetic word:

v Manhood - Are they the man or woman that God intends for them to be in Him?

v Ministry - Do they exhibit the mature fruit of a loving, grace-filled ministry?

v Message - Do they speak the truth in love, in a balanced, scriptural manner?

v Maturity - Do they display a right attitude and heavenly wisdom in every relationship?

v Marriage - Is their life biblically in order, with the right priorities (God first, wife and family second, and then ministry)?

v Methods - Are they righteous, ethical, honest, and full of integrity, or are they manipulative or deceptive?

v Manners - Are they unselfish, polite, kind, and discreet? Are they a gentleman or a lady?

v Money - Do they have a love of money, or the proper perspective of stewardship in their finances?

v Morality - Are they virtuous and sexually pure? Do they display the right attitudes, thoughts, and actions in all situations?

v Motive - Is their motive to be seen or to serve?(2)

§ Is there some sort of religious bias in the attitude of the person giving the word?

Sometimes a person will bring what could be termed a doctrinal "hobby horse" into a prophetic situation that can twist a true prophecy and give it an unbalanced presentation. Be careful to judge the word against the Bible, and not against the positions of a certain denomination.

§ Do I sense a witness from the Holy Spirit?

When a guitarist tunes his guitar, he will play one note and then match the next string on the guitar to the note on the first string. A true musician can hear the dissonance when their instrument is out of tune, and they will tinker with the tuning key until there is resonance between the two strings.

Bruce Yocum writes of this principle regarding our spirit and the Holy Spirit's witness in our heart:

Objects have certain characteristic frequencies at which they vibrate. If you cause one object (for instance a bell) to vibrate near another object with the same characteristic frequency (another bell of the same size and weight and shape), the second object will begin to vibrate by itself. That is something like what happens when we hear the voice of the Lord - we resonate.(3)

When the Lord is speaking to us, no matter what method He chooses, our born-again spirits recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. Jesus made it clear in John 10 that His sheep know His voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. If a personal prophecy is not of God, the born-again Christian will get what is known as a "check" in their spirit - an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of the stomach telling them that something is not right.

§ Don't reject a directional word, but test it against the other keys.

If the word is something new that you have never heard before, it may be a directional word from the Lord, but don't act on it right away. Test it like you would any other guidance from the Lord.

Remember, personal prophecy is only one of the seven keys of God's guidance, and it alone should not be leaned on in making major decisions in our life. However, it is an important way that God guides the New Testament believer, and it should not be overlooked in seeking God's direction for our lives.