Ecclesiology
Ministries in the Church – II
Prophets
Lesson XXIII
April 26, 2007
The
importance of Paul’s Apostleship to the Church for every generation cannot be
over emphasized.
Romans 1:5 Paul claims to have
received grace and apostleship.
Romans 1:5
(5) By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for
obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
In
1 Corinthians 4:7, he asks:
“For what maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive?” Paul’s
apostleship was not something he sought after nor was it something he had
attained.
1 Corinthians 4:7
(7) For who maketh thee to
differ [from another]? and what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why
dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received [it]?
Ministries
of the Holy Spirit are gifts which He sovereignly
gives as acts of grace, not rewards.
In Galatians 1:1 Paul writes:
(1) Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
Thus,
Paul claims he received his apostleship directly from the resurrected
Christ. The dignity of Paul’s
apostleship is therefore borne out in the fact that the authority of his office
is none other than the resurrected Christ.
Romans 1:5 The channel of Paul’s
apostleship was the grace of God.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
(9) For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
(10) But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his
grace which [was bestowed] upon me was not in vain; but I laboured
more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.
Paul
claims there was evidence of his apostleship.
1 Corinthians 9:1
(1) Am I not an apostle? am I
not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
2 Corinthians 12:12
(12) Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you
in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
2 Corinthians 10:8
(8) For though I should boast somewhat more of our
authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your
destruction, I should not be ashamed:
2 Corinthians 13:10
(10) Therefore I write these things being absent, lest
being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the
Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.
“The
Galatian letter is written to uphold Paul’s apostolic
authority and to show the suffering of the gospel he preached.” (MacRitchie)
Galatians 1:6-9
(6) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
(7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble
you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
(8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed.
(9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye
have received, let him be accursed.
In
Galatians 2:4 he has been writing about false brethren.
Then,
Galatians 2:5-11
(5) To whom we gave place by
subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue
with you.
(6) But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever
they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for
they who seemed [to be somewhat] in conference added nothing to me:
(7) But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of
the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as [the
gospel] of the circumcision [was] unto Peter;
(8) (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the
apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
(9) And when James, Cephas, and
John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me,
they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we [should go]
unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
(10) Only [they would] that we should remember the poor;
the same which I also was forward to do.
(11) But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him
to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Imagine
Paul withstanding Peter, who in some books of theology was the first pope!
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…
Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your
enemy , because I told you the truth…?
Galatians 5:10 He that troubleth you shall bear his judgment….
Galatians 5:12 I would they were cut off
which trouble you…
Galatians 6:17 From henceforth let no man
trouble me … for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
Paul’s
claim to authority is spelled out in Galatians
1:11-12
Galatians 1:11-12
(11) But I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
(12) For I neither received it of man, neither was I
taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:37-38
(37) If any man think himself to
be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write
unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
(38) But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
In
my words those verses mean: Any man who will not bow before the authority
of Paul is actually refusing to bow before the authority of Christ. Such men are to be ignored. If they will not bow to Paul’s writings they
will not bow to the commandments of the Lord and our word will mean nothing to
them. We can be of no help to them.
If
they ignore the Scriptures, ignore them!
I 1
Corinthians 12:28 The ministry of the
Apostles are first; secondarily are prophets.
The
word ‘prophet’ basically means “anointed speakers”.
1 Corinthians 12:28
(28) And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets,
thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues.
II In the Old
Testament, prophets …
1 Samuel 9:9 In the Old Testament such
men were first called “Seers” but in the time of Samuel they were called
“Prophets”.
1 Samuel 9:6, 7, 10 Notice these ‘Seers’ or
‘prophets ‘ were men of God.
1 Kings 13:1-8 Notice the references to “the
man of God”.
John 1:6 There was a man sent from God
whose name was John
1 Samuel 9:9
(9) (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of
God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer:
for [he that is] now [called] a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
1 Samuel 9:6-7, 10
(6) And he said unto him, Behold now, [there] is in this
city a man of God, and [he] is an honourable man; all
that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go
thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we
should go.
(7) Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, [if] we
go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is
spent in our vessels, and [there is] not a present to bring to the man of God:
what have we?
(10) Then said Saul to his servant, Well
said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God [was].
1 Kings 13:1-8
(1) And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by
the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn
incense.
(2) And he cried against the altar in the word of the
LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD;
Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon
thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee,
and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
(3) And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This [is] the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the
altar shall be rent, and the ashes that [are] upon it shall be poured out.
(4) And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the
saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he
put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which
he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to
him.
(5) The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out
from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the
word of the LORD.
(6) And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me,
that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD,
and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as [it was] before.
(7) And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with
me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
(8) And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine
house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in
this place:
John 1:6
(6) There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John.
Old
Testament prophets were often forth-tellers as well as fore-tellers. They were always in conflict with false
prophets. The predictions of the true
prophets were always 100% correct.
Deuteronomy 18:22
(22) When a prophet speaketh in
the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the
thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
True
Old Testament Prophets were often hated men.
One example:
1 Kings 22:6-14
(6) Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets
together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said,
Go up; for the Lord shall deliver [it] into the hand of the king.
(7) And Jehoshaphat said, [Is there] not here a prophet
of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
(8) And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, [There
is] yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him;
for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but
evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
(9) Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said,
Hasten [hither] Micaiah the son of Imlah.
(10) And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of
Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the
entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
(11) And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah
made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the
LORD, With these shalt thou
push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
(12) And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to
Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver
[it] into the king's hand.
(13) And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying,
Behold now, the words of the prophets [declare] good unto the king with one
mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak
[that which] is good.
(14) And Micaiah said, [As] the
LORD liveth, what the LORD saith
unto me, that will I speak.
In
verse 6, Ahab had his prophets. King
Jehoshaphat knew they were not prophets of God.
Ahab knew a Prophet of God named Micaiah. Ahab hated him “because he doth not prophecy
good concerning me” (Verse 8).
An
interesting observation is that Jehosphaphat knew
that Ahab’s prophets were false and Ahab knew that Micaiah
was not like the prophets of Baal.
In
the days of Elijah, the days also of Ahab, Elijah was outnumbered four hundred
and fifty to one, by the prophets of Jezebel on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:19).
1 Kings 18:19
(19) Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel
unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred
and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's
table.
2 Kings 2:3
(3) And the sons of the prophets that [were] at Bethel
came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou
that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day?
And he said, Yea, I know [it]; hold ye your peace.
There
were ‘schools of the prophets’ in the days of Elijah and Elisha, but it seems
that the schools produced ‘informed unbelievers’ 2 Kings 2:3. They somehow, knew that Elijah was going to
be taken up on a given day. But when it
happened the school boys sent men to find Elijah’s body!
2 Kings 21:16-18
(16) Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much,
till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith
he made Judah to sin, in doing [that which] was evil in the sight of the LORD.
(17) Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, [are] they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
(18) And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried
in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza:
and Amon his son reigned in his stead.
Were
they men of faith or men of unbelief? That story made me wonder if such will be
the case at the time of the Rapture!
Enoch was not found, they must have looked for him, and will people look
for raptured Saints?
In
the days of Zephaniah, he wrote of the prophets in Israel that “they were light
and treacherous persons.” Zephaniah 3:4.
Zephaniah 3:4
(4) Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons:
her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
In
the days of Jeremiah, we read in Lamentations 2:14, “thy prophets have seen vain
and foolish things….”.
See also Jeremiah 23:9-39.
We
read in 2 Peter 3:2
(2) That ye may be mindful of the words which were
spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles
of the Lord and Saviour:
When
‘prophets’ are named before ‘apostles’ in Scripture, the reference is to the
Old Testament Prophets. And all written
about them and by them is for our learning.
2 Peter 2:1
(1) But there were false prophets also among the people,
even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and
bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 3:2-3
(2) That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken
before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the
Lord and Saviour:
(3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2 Peter 2:1 (In the context of the last days 2 Peter 3:3)
Peter warns that there were false prophets among the people of
Israel and there will be false teachers in the Church.
Prophet
Seminars, Prophet Schools, Prophet Conferences and Prophetic gathering (not
Biblical prophecy gatherings) have been the rising thing in some prominent
circles in recent years.
In
1987, Bill Hamon, the father of these prophets said:
“That there were ten-thousand prophets being raised up.” So people were being prepared for their
appearance.
I
have before me an advertisement of “
This
is strange language to me. “Hot Spots”? “Apostles and Prophets arising”? And these are the foundation
of the Church? This is a perversion of
Ephesians 4:11.
Ephesians 4:11
(11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Of
course they would not be surprised at my response, for we faced the same kind
of thing back in 1947-1949. During that
so-called ‘great revival”, it was explained that a person like myself was on a
lower level than they, and they understood why we could not be taken in by their
new revelations.
1 Corinthians 3:11
(11) For other foundation can no man lay than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians
Matthew 10:41-42
(41) He that receiveth a
prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man
shall receive a righteous man's reward.
(42) And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little
ones a cup of cold [water] only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto
you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Alexander
MacClaren in his exposition of Matthew 10:41-42 makes
the statement that the humblest believer is above
the prophet or the righteous man. I am
inclined to believe that we have here an ascending series—that we begin at the
bottom not the top: that the prophet is
less than the righteous man: and the righteous man is less than the little one
who believes in Christ. Balaam was a prophet, Balaam was not a righteous man.”
When
reading about today’s prophets we ask:
“Are these men willing to take the lowest place?” In all their literature, these very men who
claim to be prophets and apostles present themselves as having the highest
place.
Moses
is named a prophet in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, quoted in Acts 3:22.
Deuternomy 18:15,18
(15) The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall
hearken;
(18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall
speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Then
in Numbers 12:3, we are told Moses was very meek above all the men which were
upon the face of the earth - meekness being a mark of a true prophet. So also Christ in Matthew 11:29.
Numbers 12:3
(3) (Now the man Moses [was] very meek, above all the men
which [were] upon the face of the earth.)
Matthew 11:29
(29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Abraham
is also called a Prophet in Genesis 20:7 as is David in Acts 2:30.
Genesis 20:7
(7) Now therefore restore the man [his] wife; for he [is]
a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt
live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that shalt
surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine.
Acts 2:29, 30
(29) Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of
the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
(30) Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.
In
1 Samuel 7:15, we are told that
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
Then,
in Acts 13:20, “And after that he
gave them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the
prophet.”
Acts 3:24 “Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and
those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of
these days” (that is, the days of restitution in Acts 3:21).
Samuel,
therefore, was last of the order of Judges in Israel and also the first of a
line of prophets, the last of those prophets being John the Baptist.
Matthew 11:13
(13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John.
Hebrews 1:1-2
(1) God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
(2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
The
“last days” in this context, means the last days of the Old Testament
prophets. When John the last of those prophets came, he was to decrease. Christ was to increase. John was sent to introduce “the Lamb of God
who taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
But
today we are seeing the rise of another line of prophets. My judgment is that most, if not all, are
false prophets. In the 1990’s, Kansas
City claimed to have 10,000 prophets.
They were accepted as prophets if they were correct 50 % of the time!
One
such prophet was known as brother David and I quote
from material I have. In 1998, “Brother David was convinced he was to become
the world’s last prophet and that time will end next year in Jerusalem.” Brother David and a company of people sold everything
in the
In
1992, Peter Wagner (of fame among today’s prophets, who was a Fuller Seminary Faculty
Member) predicted great things for the city of Calgary, Alberta, here in
Canada. BC Report quotes Mr. Wagner as
having said that there will be “ … in the next decade, a decrease in violent
crime, poverty, pornography, alcoholism and drug abuse, and an increase in
physical healings, peace and prosperity”.
The decade is well passed. We can
safely say that none of these predictions have come to pass. If increased population has brought
prosperity, nothing else has happened.
Was this not a false prophecy?
Other
prophets have taught that all believers have the right to be happy, healthy and
wealthy! Of course, the Bible does not
teach such. It speaks of those who are
the poor of this world but rich in faith.
James 2:5
(5) Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the
poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath
promised to them that love him?
Acts 3:6 Peter and John the Apostles said, “silver and gold have we
none…” Did they lack faith?
Acts 3:6
(6) Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but
such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk.
Hebrews
11 describes the heroes of faith and in verses 36 and37 we read of others
unnamed, who were destitute, but “all having a good report through faith…” (verse 39).
Hebrews 11:36-37, 39
(36) And others had trial of [cruel] mockings
and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and
imprisonment:
(37) They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were
tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered
about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
(39) And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise:
The
late John Wimber said that “Paul Cain was the most
anointed prophet in America.”
Paul
Cain has since been removed by his friends from their fellowship, a man in
disgrace because of his alcoholism and other named sins.
Then,
prior to these prophets, there were the Fort Lauderdale Shepherds. One of their false teachings is still being
accepted by sincere brethren. It is the
teaching that there is need for ministers to have a covering. I quote from papers I have.
“Tell
your shepherd when going on a vacation.
He covers you and his spirit will be with you”.
“Obey
your shepherd even when he is wrong.”
“God
tells me to tell you what to do.”
Shepherds
have all authority. And don’t miss this
one.
“Shepherds
get tithes.”
Peter
warns us that false teachers would be marked by the fact that “through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” 2 Peter
2:3.
2 Peter 2:3
(3) And through covetousness shall they with feigned
words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not.
It
is very important to see how carefully the Apostle Paul dealt with the matter
of handling Church money. Read with care
2 Corinthians 8:16-22.
2 Corinthians 8:16-22
(16) But thanks [be] to God, which put the same earnest
care into the heart of Titus for you.
(17) For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being
more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
(18) And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise [is]
in the gospel throughout all the churches;
(19) And not [that] only, but who was also chosen of the
churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the
glory of the same Lord, and [declaration of] your
ready mind:
(20) Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this
abundance which is administered by us:
(21) Providing for honest things, not only in the sight
of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
(22) And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have
oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the
great confidence which [I have] in you.
Paul
sent Titus with an offering to be taken to the poor saints at
The
man chosen was a brother. Often times, not just once, proved diligent, and not
in one area, but in many things. Thus by
reading Scripture, we can see the kind of men that were chosen by the Apostles.
Ephesians 2:20 The Church builds upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Ephesians 2:20
(20) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner [stone];
We
notice again the apostles are named before these prophets,
therefore this verse is speaking of New Testament prophets. Luke and Jude were not Apostles, but because
they wrote Scripture they are numbered with foundational prophets. Only those who wrote Scripture qualify for
this rank among prophets. Such are no
longer being raised up today.
The
Scriptures do speak about other prophets, whom we identify as local Church
prophets.
Acts 11:27-28
(27) And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto
Antioch.
(28) And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be
great dearth throughout all the world: which came to
pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
Acts 13:1-5
(1) Now there were in the church that was at Antioch
certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger,
and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen,
which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
(2) As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy
Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called
them.
(3) And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid [their]
hands on them, they sent [them] away.
(4) So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed
unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
(5) And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word
of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to [their]
minister.
Acts 15:32
(32) And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves,
exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed [them].
Acts 21:10-11
(10) And as we tarried [there] many days, there came down
from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
(11) And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle,
and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith
the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver [him] into the hands
of the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 16:12
(12) As touching [our] brother Apollos,
I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not
at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient
time.
Acts 11:27-28 There came a prophet from
Jerusalem to Antioch, named Agabus. What he predicted came to pass. He is no true prophet who makes predictions
that do not come to pass.
Acts 13:1 “Now there were in the Church that
was at Antioch certain prophets.” We
notice in verses 3 to 5 they were sent forth and preached the word.
Acts 15:32 “Judas and Silas, being
prophets also themselves exhorted the brethren with many words and confirmed
them.” How could they confirm their
words if not by the Holy Scriptures?
Acts 21:10-11 Once again we read of Agabus. He by the
Holy Spirit foretold what would happen to Paul if he went to
It
seems that the over-all teaching of the Scriptures is that each believer must
be persuaded in his own mind and conscience what is the will of God. God does not reveal his will to others for
others.
1 Corinthians 14:27 “Let the prophets speak two or
three, and let the other judge.”
1 Corinthians 14:27
(27) If any man speak in an [unknown] tongue, [let it] be
by two, or at the most by three, and [that] by course; and let one interpret.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 Despise not prophesyings, prove all things,
hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
(20) Despise not prophesyings.
(21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Any
anointed speaker, who claims that you must not judge what he says, proves
himself to be false by such a demand.
What
is said is to be judged by the word of God.
And on this subject, never forget 1 Corinthians 14:38.
1 Corinthians 14:38
(38) But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
It
has been our observation that many who are ‘thinking themselves’ to be prophets,
almost without exception, are ignorant of Paul’s epistles. Most are strong on the words of Jesus as
found in the gospels.
John
Wimber said, “The Church has been too occupied with
Paul, it was time to return to the words of Jesus.” He identified himself by that statement. We need no other instruction, no other rule
to follow.
Anyone,
who will not accept the inspired writings of Paul as being on the same level as
the written words of Jesus, is not a true prophet.
Perhaps
these present-day prophets are preparing the way for the coming of the
false prophet of the book of Revelation (Revelation 16:13; 19:20 and 20:10).