THE GIFT OF PROPHECY

 WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY 
SAYS ABOUT PROPHECY

(Click On Picture to Listen to Audio)

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson, I am going to reveal some things from God’s Word that are so foreign to your thinking you’re going to be tempted to run your hand through the computer monitor. It will be devastating for some of you. It will turn some of you upside down. It will make some of you question everything you’ve ever been taught. So, listen to me. If you prophesy or go to a church where there’s a lot of so-called prophecy, please, do not be angry. Listen and study with a prayerful heart. Ask God if what I'm saying is true or not. Follow along with me and see if I'm using the Word of God or not. I don’t want to embarrass you. Please, wait until you can sit down with your Bible and follow along; a quiet place where you can pray and talk to God. Some of you will hear the voice of the enemy telling you to throw in the towel, to backslide if this is right. But you must overcome that proud spirit. Satan wants to hold you in darkness. And if you really want to know what God says about prophecy, and really want to walk in the truth, you’ll hang with me. I love you and I don’t want you angry with me. God knows this and I want you to know this. But He’s called me to dispel the darkness that hovers over you and that is what this lesson is about; God’s light shining to the honest hearted.

Brother, sister, the Bible tells us what prophecy is; what it should sound like; what its purpose is; and when and how it should be operated. Don’t you want to know these things? Do you prophesy? Don’t you want to operate that gift according to the Word of God and not according to tradition and the cultural influences of your church? It will be hard for you to admit you are wrong and have been going about God’s business in an un-Scriptural manner, but I know you want the truth! Oh, how I want you to walk in the truth. I love you and want to help you, not hurt you. Please, don’t mistake my motives. I simply believe you deserve to hear the truth of God’s Word; to walk in the light.

I know that some of you are simply doing the absolute best you know. You’re doing the same thing everyone around you does. I believe in you. I confident you. I believe God is in you, but I also believe you’re listening to this teaching by divine design. Don’t reject it! Let it take you to the next level.

I. WHAT IS PROPHECY?

What is prophecy? It is the knowledge of the future or a prediction uttered under divine inspiration.  Paul says the gift of prophecy is one of the 9 spiritual gifts listed in 1st Corinthians. The American Tract Society Dictionary defines prophecy as the foretelling of future events by inspiration from God.

The word prophesy in 1Co 14:1 is translated from the Greek word propheteuo (prof-ate-yoo'-o) and it means to foretell events, divine, to speak under inspiration.

So, prophecy is the foretelling of something that will come to pass sometime in the future. If it doesn’t foretell a future event, it isn’t prophecy; it may be some other gift, but it isn’t a prophetic word from God.

A beautiful example of prophecy is found in:

1Ki 13:2 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.

This clear-cut, easily understood prophecy was not fulfilled until 340 years later in 2Ki 23:15-20.

Let’s look at another example of what Biblical prophecy is like:

Eze 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

This prophecy did not come to pass until May 14, 1948, 1,260 years later!

A true prophecy can come only from God; and is the highest proof of the divine origin of the message that is given.

A true prophecy may be known by these 4 marks:

1. It must be announced at a suitable time BEFORE the event it foretells. It drives me crazy to hear someone say, “Oh, God showed me that was going to happen” after it has already happened. I know this happens, from time to time, to all of those that are spiritually minded, but for some people it seems to be an everyday thing. Real prophecy is spoken before the thing happens.

2. It must have a particular and EXACT agreement with that event. Real prophecy is clear-cut and precise. When a prophecy of some future event is given, the fulfillment of that prophecy must be exactly as the prophecy stated. Most so-called prophecies heard in this area’s churches are so vague that they could apply to just about anything. They are full of loopholes and generic terms like, “I see you low and I’m going to move for you soon.” Now, I’m not going to say that God NEVER speaks like that, but you won’t find a single instance in the Scripture of anyone doing it like that. Every prophecy in the Word of God is clear and the fulfillment of those prophecies happened exactly as they were spoken. Anyone can see someone with a sad, dark countenance and then go to them and act like God is speaking through them, saying, “I see you low. I see you sad. I hear your cries. I haven’t forsaken you. I will move.” Just about anyone can do that. And then a week later when the disability check comes in, they say the prophecy was fulfilled. That prophecy was so vague that just about anything could have qualified as a fulfillment. More times than not, that isn’t real prophecy. That is someone with a tender heart wanting to encourage a brother or sister, or it is someone using the name of God to promote themselves and the pride of their heart. It would be much better to simply walk over to them and say, “Hey sister, I can see you’re really troubled tonight. Get your head up. God is going to help you.” It accomplishes the same thing, but you’re not pretending that God is overtaking your person and speaking through you.

And that brings me to the 3rd mark of true prophecy:

3. True prophecy is of divine origin, no human sagacity or foresight can produce it. If a man can speak it or predict it through his own wisdom and experience, it is not prophecy. While talking to people, I have predicted future events weeks and even months before they happened, but it wasn’t prophecy; it was simply prudence, foresight. I had watched many people go the same route and knew where they were heading. Let me put it this way: If you get on I-75 in Berea, KY. and go south, it wouldn’t be prophecy for me to say you’re going to eventually pass through Tennessee, Georgia and ultimately windup in Florida. I’ve traveled that interstate so much I know where it goes. That wouldn’t require divine inspiration, just practical knowledge and wisdom.

Previously, we  read a prophecy about a young man named Josiah being raised up and bringing revival to Israel which came to pass 340 years later. There was no way mere mortal knowledge or prudence could have predicted that. It was of divine origin.

The following passage renders a prophecy uttered by Elijah the Tishbite to King Ahab:

1Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

This prophecy was exact. There wasn’t a single drop of rain or any precipitation whatsoever in all the land for 3 ½ years! It was incredible. There was no way Elijah could have known that.

So, you can pretty much mark it down, that vast majority of today’s “I see and I know” prophecy is not of divine origin, and is not, therefore, true Biblical prophecy.

4. The 4th mark of true prophecy is it is delivered by someone under the inspiration of the Almighty. And in order for a person to be inspired of the Holy Ghost, their lives must line-up with God’s holy Word. They must be born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost, and living a life consistent with those experiences.

Some of the brothers were telling me about a woman who prophesies regularly, and has been for many years. She didn’t even know who John the Baptist was! That means after all these years of prophesying, she had never read past the 2nd chapter of Matthew! She is supposed to be a prophetess. She is supposed to be someone who God entrusts with His Word, yet she don’t care enough about God’s Word to even read it. Brothers, sisters! That woman has no business on the floor prophesying!

Right now, there is a man in Madison County who smokes pot, snorts pills, fornicates and has homosexual tendencies going around prophesying to people left and right. No one will say a word against him because, as they say, his prophecies come to pass and only God can foretell the future! They place more emphasis on prophecy than they do a holy and godly life!

This is exactly why multiplied millions are going to follow the beast and anti-christ. Listen carefully to these verses:

Re 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The false prophet is going to work miracles and pray down fire from the sky. He will be able to make a statue talk! And because of these miracles countless millions are going to take the mark of the beast, selling their souls to the devil. And...unfortunately, many of my friends, family, and close acquaintances are selling their souls for the same thing!

Concerning the last days, Jesus said:

Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Do demons have power to do the miraculous?

Re 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Yes, they do! They are supernatural beings that have incredible abilities! Much of what happens in the earthly realm is first spoken in the spiritual realm. Demons are often able to hear those things and know them before they come to pass here on earth. So, yes, demons can know some things before they happen here. If someone is living an ungodly life and prophesying things they couldn’t know in themselves, they are demonically inspired and you need to either cast the devil out of them or run as hard as you can. If someone isn’t living right, praying, seeking God diligently, and hungry for God’s Word, they are not God’s prophet! I don’t care what they prophesy to you and how remarkable you think it is. They are false!

I think I’d be safe in saying that over half of the church problems in this area are directly related to the gross amount of false prophecy. I recently talked to a young man who said a false prophet was instrumental in him and 2 of his friends backsliding. I think I know the boy that prophesied to him. I knew he was a homosexual 12 years ago. I literally saw that spirit on him. In 2008, my little sister was getting ready to move to Florida to live with me and he prophesied to her that she was stepping into a trap. She called me weeping. I called his pastor and told him that I didn’t want that boy laying hands on my sister and prophesying to her ever again. I told him point blank, that the boy was homosexual. He said he would take care of it. But his wife stood up in the next service and told everyone how he was a man of God and how I had come against him. She said she knew he was God’s prophet because he had prophesied things to her that no one could have known and they had come to pass! A few weeks later, the so-called man of God’s wife walked in and found him with another man! He was prophesying under the influence of a demon and that pastor’s wife chose the devil over a Bible preaching holiness man!

I warned them, but no one would listen. They just let him prophesy to anyone he wanted. There are 3 young men out there tonight going to hell because a homosexual was allowed to prophesy! There are 3 young men going to hell because a pastor didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to stop a homosexual from operating in his church!

So prophecy is the knowledge of the future or a prediction uttered under divine inspiration. And a God inspired, true prophecy may be known because they are announced at a suitable time before the event it foretells; have a particular and exact agreement with that event; are of such revelatory magnitude no human sagacity or foresight could produce them; and are delivered by one who is under the inspiration of the Almighty.

II. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PROPHECY?

Now, I want to discuss the purpose of prophecy which brings us to the 14th chapter of 1st Corinthians, the Bible’s main chapter on the subject of prophecy. The Corinthian church had a lot of spiritual gifts in operation, but there was chaos in the church. There was no order to any thing they did, so Paul was trying to straighten some of the chaos out. One of the major problems was the confusion that surrounded their use of the prophetic gifts. So, the 14th chapter of 1st Corinthians primarily tells us what prophecy does, how it should sound, and how it should and should not be operated.

1Co 14:3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

According to this passage, true prophecy does 3 things to the child of God; it edifies, exhorts, and comforts them.

1.) The word edification means architecture. Prophecy builds people, it gives them structure in their spiritual life. It gives them much more than a momentary high, or emotional thrill. It puts a strong foundation underneath you. And the prophecy doesn’t have to be flowery, sweet words, it could come through stern reproof and even rebuke.

2.) The word exhortation means imploration. Prophecy will produce a great fire, a zeal to go higher in God! The root of imploration is the word implore. To implore someone is to beg them earnestly. Prophecy pulls at a man’s heart to hold on to God, to climb higher toward Him.

3.) And, thirdly, prophecy can comfort the heart. It will, at times, bring peace and confidence to the heart.

True prophecy is powerful and magnificently exalts the kingdom of God.

Now, let’s look at the next 2 verses. They tell us a little more about the purpose of prophecy:

1Co 14:4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
5  I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

Prophecy is primarily for the church as a corporate body. It is a spiritual gift that lifts the church as a whole. It gives structure to the church as whole. Real prophecy was never intended to be used as a “dial a prophet” kind of deal. You never read anywhere in the Scripture where men ran around the country trying to get someone to prophesy to them. God continuously told His people to seek His face for themselves. He told them if they’d cry out to Him, He’d answer them. Listen, if you can’t find what you’re doing, or anyone doing it like you’re doing it in the Bible, you need to reconsider what you’re doing. You need to conform what you’re doing to the manner in which the saints in the Bible did it.

I am amazed at how many people use these prophets and prophetesses like a psychic hot-line. They’ll call this person and then that one trying to get someone to tell them what to do. Why don’t they read the Bible? It has all the answers they need! Why don’t they pray and ask God for guidance? It’s because it isn’t about God, it’s about them finding someone that will tell them something that makes them feel better about themselves. The vast majority of Pentecostal people in Madison County would rather run to a prophet to hear them say, “I’m shining you high,” than they would God, or the man of God, who will say, “Thus sayeth the Word of God.”

Prophecy is designed to help the church, just like every other spiritual gift.

1Co 14:24-25, gives us 2 more purposes of prophecy:

1Co 14:24 But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

1.) Real prophecy makes the secrets of a sinners heart open, rendering the sinner vulnerable and amazed. They know the prophet just spoke things that no one in the world could know. This causes them to yield their hearts to the God of heaven!

2.) It causes them to say that God is in the church! It exalts God and then lifts the church. Most of the so-called prophecy we see in Madison County brings a reproach upon the body of Christ, not confirmation that God is in it.

III. RULES GOVERNING PROPHECY.

We’ve discussed what prophecy is and what its purpose is. Now, let’s look at how it is supposed to operate.

1Co 14:29  Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
 30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
 31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
 32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
 33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

1.) Verse 29 tells us “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.”

This is clear, there should never be more than 3 prophets who prophesy in any particular service. And one of them must be able to hear the other prophesy else he has no way to judge the prophecy.

I listened to one of my dear brothers speak about how 9 different people came to him in one night, supposedly in the Spirit, prophesying and how he left the church with his head spinning, confused, not knowing if he was coming or going. He almost backslid because of it. According to 1Co 14:29, at least 6 of them were false prophets.

There should never be more than 3 prophets that speak in a service. If there is more than 3, someone is either in the flesh or prophesying under the influence of a bad spirit.

2.) Verse 30 says, “If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.”

If a prophet is prophesying and another prophet receives a revelation from God, the first is supposed to stop talking and allow the other liberty to prophesy. That is not the case in our local churches. I have never heard one prophet say, “Sister, I have a word of prophecy that I need to deliver” and the first person sit down. They usually prophesy at the same time which is in direct violation to the next verse.

3.) Verse 31 says, “For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.”

Not only is there to never be more the 3 prophets prophesying in any one service, there should never be more than 1 prophet on the floor at a time. If there are 2 people prophesying at once, you can be absolutely certain that at least one of them is a false prophet. If 5 are prophesying at once, one over here, one kneeling beside someone over there, someone in the back of the church, one in the pulpit, and one next to the door, at least four of them are false prophets.

Paul said “For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.”

4.) Verse 32 says, “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.”

Now, this is a shocker because our people have been taught that you move whenever you feel the Spirit moving on you, but that is not what the Word of God teaches. The word of God teaches that the prophet’s spirit must be under subjection. The word subjection means to be subordinate; to obey: be under obedience (obedient). The prophet must get control of their spirit. Just because you feel the Lord upon you doesn’t mean you need to jump up and prophesy. You have to make sure there is no one else on the floor and if there is, you have to tell them you have a word of prophecy, or wait until they stop prophesying. If someone else is on the floor the prophet must get control of him or herself and wait until the appropriate time comes for them to speak.

Now, I remind you that I’m reading straight out of the King James Bible. I remind you that Paul is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is telling you that you need to learn how to hold your peace, to control yourself. If there are more than 3 prophets prophesy in a service; and if there are more than one on the floor at a time it brings confusion and chaos which is exactly what the next verse deals with.

5.) Verse 33 states, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” This verse is often quoted but almost never in context. God is not the author of confusion  and the manner in which the Corinthians were prophesying was bringing confusion and God was not in it.

I was always taught that anyone should be able to do anything they want at anytime, but, as you can see, this is in total contradiction to the Word of God. Let’s look at:

1Co 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

Now, remember that the context of this chapter is Paul is trying to bring peace and calm to a confused and chaotic church. Here Paul says, “How is it that everyone of you think you have a song, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, or an interpretation?” This was causing confusion. Everybody thinks they need to sing. Everybody thinks they need to share their little doctrine. Everybody thinks they need to speak in tongues. Everybody thinks they have a revelation. Everybody thinks they need to interpret everyone’s tongues. Paul is condemning this mentality. I find it strange that the exact opposite is taught in these local area churches. They try to get everyone to prophesy, sing, and preach. But it’s confusion!

You don’t believe I’m interpreting this passage correctly? What follows this verse? Let’s read:

1Co 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
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.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29  Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

It becomes very clear that Paul is not saying everyone should be on the floor doing something. Paul is saying everything should be governed and in order. He says if there is no interpreter the people need to be silent. He says the prophets must learn to hold their peace.

And concerning prophecy in church, the Word of God gives the women this clear-cut commandment:

1Co 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Now, I must remind you that these two verses are spoken in the context of prophesying in the church (if you don’t believe me, go back and read five previous verses, 29-33). So, this is not saying a woman can’t sing or testify in church, but it clearly teaches that a woman needs to hold her peace when it comes to giving out messages in tongues and prophesying in a church. Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you that Philip’s daughters prophesied, and Joel said our sons and daughters would prophesy, so a woman can be used in the gift of prophecy, but just not in the church. Some try to be slick and say this is talking about business meetings, but you aren’t going to find a business meeting in this chapter.

I told you that this would rock your world, but I want to reiterate, it doesn’t mean you aren’t saved or don’t have the Spirit of God in your life. I am not saying that you must stop using your gift; I am saying that you must stop using your gift in an unscriptural manner. You just don’t know any better. You are only doing what everyone else around you is doing, but now you are hearing the truth of God’s Word and will be required to do right. Don’t fall apart, get it right and keep marching on. Be glad that God has placed an anointing in your life!

I now want to draw your attention to the very last verse of this chapter. I want to show you how Paul sums this section on prophecy up. Concerning prophecy and tongues in a church service, Paul says:

1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

The word decently means: decorously. Decorously means: in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.

The word order means: regular arrangement, i.e. (in time) fixed succession (of rank or character), official dignity:--order.

The Oxford University Press dictionary says order means: 1 the arrangement of people or things according to a particular sequence or method. 2 a state in which everything is in its correct place.

So, the Holy Ghost, through Paul, states that all things, even the operation of spiritual gifts, should be done decently and in order, which means in good taste, polite and restrained and according to a particular sequence or method. So, I know that there will be those that say, “Brother Lamb doesn’t let the Spirit have His way.” But what they really mean is “Brother Lamb won’t let US have OUR way.” I’m going to pastor our church according to the Word of God and the Word of God says this church and the services it conducts should be arranged in the proper succession, sequence, or method. A church service must be ordered or we are sinning!

Paul said the same thing about giving out messages in tongues.

1Co 14:27 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.

First, there should never be more than 2 giving out messages in tongues, and there must be one there that can interpret the tongues; and then those that do speak and interpret must do it “by course”. The word course means division or section. So, even when they gave out messages in tongues it had to be in order, or properly divided.

We did say that we want the Word of God, didn’t we? Paul said in:

1Co 14:37 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.

Don’t get angry. Repent and acknowledge these things are commandments! Be happy that God loves you enough to expose you to the truth of His Word.

IV. WHAT DOES PROPHECY SOUND LIKE?

What should prophecy sound like? Please, take a few moments to read 1Co 14:6-20.

In these verses, Paul tells us that tongues and prophecy should be clear, plain, and easily understood. For example:

1Co 14:10  There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Prophecy should be brought forth in a clear and easily understood manner. It should make sense and edify the church.

What does prophesy sound like? There is only one final authority on all things spiritual ... the Bible.  Why don’t we go to the Bible and see how men prophesied in the Old and New Testaments? And once we’ve examined the Old Testament and New Testament prophets, let’s compare them to the local churches and their prophecies and see if they resemble each other.

ISAIAH

How did Isaiah prophesy? Read the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and see. Here are few verses out of this Messianic prophecy:

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?
           
JEREMIAH

How did Jeremiah prophesy?

Jer 21:3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?

EZEKIEL

How did Ezekiel prophesy? Here’s a prophecy concerning a great war that is yet to come upon Israel:

Eze 39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?

You can study all the Old Testament prophets and you will find they all prophesied in very similar ways. Now, let’s look at the New Testament prophets and prophetesses:

SIMEON

How did Simeon Prophesy?

Lu 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?
       
AGABUS

How did Agabus prophesy?

Ac 21:11 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.
Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?

PAUL

How did Paul prophesy?

Ac 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Do you prophesy like that? Do the people that prophesy to you sound anything close to that?

I could go on and on, showing you Old Testament prophets and their prophecies. We’ve read the words of some of the New Testament prophets and their prophecies. Although their terms were sometimes different; although their delivery was sometimes with different style; they were always articulate and clear. Their prophesies were powerful! Why? Because God is omniscient. He speaks intelligently and clearly and powerfully!

Why are the prophecies in these local churches so different from every single prophet in the Bible? Shouldn’t we prophesy like they did in the book of Acts? Did the Holy Ghost change? Why would the Holy Ghost move on the prophets of the Old Testament and New Testament to speak with amazing terminologies and articulation, but now they speak in ways that are so confusing and just plain weird you can hardly understand?

I don’t know how to go from here without pulling the cover completely off of this thing. I don’t want to hurt you, but God is all knowing and speaks intelligently. Not once in the Bible did God say to someone, “I’m signing you to a line.” And I know what that’s supposed to mean, but the word signing doesn’t not mean the same thing as “assigning”. Signing is the exercise of doing sign language. Another definition is an event at which an author signs copies of their book to gain publicity and sales.

When God told someone to go somewhere, it sounded like this:

Am 7:15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
 16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
 17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
Clear-cut and precise!

To say that God is signing someone to a line doesn’t even make sense. Somewhere, someone got tongue tied and instead of saying “assigned”, they said, “signed” and everybody jumped on the band wagon and said it too.

30 years ago the so-called prophets would say, “Souls, souls, and souls” while they were prophesying. One night the old lady got tongue tied and said, “Shoals, shoals, and shoals.” From that point on it spread like wildfire. Everyone was prophesying “shoals, shoals, and shoals.” Brothers, sisters, a shoal is a school of fish. And please, don’t try to spiritualize that; she messed up! She got tongue tied and everyone copied her.

God is all knowing, He speaks intelligently.

One lady prophesied and said, “I say, yay, nay, yay, nay.” Now, that literally means, “I say, Yes, no, yes, no.” That’s insane. The same girl told me, “I’m a helpin you. It’s a comin and a goin’; itsa comin and a goin’.” “It’s a”? God says “it’s a comin’”? The God of heaven can’t even speak proper English? I really, when she got done, I had no earthly idea what she was talking about and whatever it was I had no idea if I should expect it to come or go.

Oh, I know some of you are hurting right now. Broken and terribly confused. Listen to me. This teaching isn’t to discourage you. It is to educate you. It isn’t a shame to be ignorant, but it is a shame to be willingly ignorant and ignore the truth. Brother ... sister. I am not saying you aren’t feeling God. I am not saying that God hasn’t spoken to your heart. I’m not saying you don’t have a gift. I’m saying you have fallen prey to your environment. You have fallen prey to ignorant preachers who have not taught the whole Word of God.

Go to the Bible and study it. If you prophesy, prophesy like they did in the Bible. I know that you can control what you say. I know that the Holy Ghost hasn’t taken your body and mouth over to such a degree you no longer have control of yourself. I know at least 3 that prophesied just like the rest, but when the truth was presented to them, they stopped. It was always them; the Holy Ghost wasn’t completely taking their minds and mouths over. They were kind people; loving people; compassionate people that wanted to encourage people. God dealt with their hearts and they did the only thing they  knew. They prophesied in their flesh and tried to help people. You can still help people, but talk normal. Go to them and tell them that God showed you something about them. And if God takes your mind and mouth, He’ll speak like He spoke in the Bible: clear, articulate, and powerful.

CLOSING

Dear brother, sister, the reason such chaos continually manifests itself in these churches is there is almost zero teaching. I have asked congregations in this area how many had ever had a preacher open the Bible to the 12th and 14th chapters of 1st Corinthians and teach what it says about prophecy. There was virtually no one who had heard the subject taught on. Isn’t that strange? With so many people walking the floor supposedly prophesying in these churches, no one has ever went to the pulpit and taught what the Bible says about this gift! And what shocks me is no one has ever thought to question the proper manner in which prophecy should be carried out! They just assume that what they see going on around them is right, but on what authority do they gage what is right? It sure isn’t the Bible. We need teaching!

When my wife was baptized in the Holy Ghost, she was told that she probably didn’t have the baptism in the Holy Ghost because, although she spoke in tongues, the manner in which she spoke in tongues didn’t suit them. And to beat it all, they told her that when you get the baptism in the Holy Ghost you’ll not only speak in tongues, but you’ll prophesy. And this is too common among the churches in this area. There is strong peer pressure placed upon people to “prophesy”.

I have preached in well over a hundred churches in at least 15 different states and 2 countries. All of them, with the exception of maybe one, were Pentecostal. They all believed in the baptism in the Holy Ghost and in the gifts of the Spirit as they are laid out in 1Co 12 and 14.

But as I traveled, I noticed those churches were different than the churches I grew up in. When it came to the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, none of them, in over a hundred Pentecostal holiness churches, in at least 15 states, even slightly resembled the churches in Madison County. Now, these were clean living people. They were not loose living worldlings; they were not compromisers of the gospel. They were filled with the Holy Ghost. They spoke with tongues. They prophesied. They gave out messages in tongues and the gift of interpretation would follow. The gift of discernment worked at times. The gifts of wisdom, understanding, healing, and so on, were at times seen in operation. But the manner in which the Holy Ghost moved in those churches and the churches in Madison County were not even close in resemblance. He moved in exactly the same manner in every other church, but here, it was vastly different.

Now, that may not mean anything to you, but it troubled me. People may be different from one place to the next, but the Holy Ghost is not. So I began to study and pray for some answers as to why.  Why is there such a difference between the rest of the body of Christ and this little small pocket of people? Why does the prophecy here not even slightly resemble the prophecy of the Bible? Because the people walk in gross darkness with no light from the Word shining upon them.

I pray that you take this seriously and make the proper adjustments. I pray your heart is liberated by the truth because it is the truth that will set you free.

Just a couple of months ago, I talked to another young man, trying to get him to give his heart back to God. He desperately wants to, but won’t because his wife is so bitter she won’t even consider going to church to him. Why? Someone prophesied a bunch of lies to her and basically destroyed her faith in the church and everything associated with it.

And I can understand because, as a very young Christian it happened to me. I hadn’t been saved but a year or so when a woman came to me and spoke blatant, out and out lies, and did so in front of the entire congregation. She told me I had said things and thought things that I had never said or thought in my entire life. As a foolish young man, I almost quit God that night, but thankfully His grace and mercy and a dear friend helped pull me through! Years later, that same woman came to a church I was pastoring and thought I would allow her to walk the floors and prophesy to the people there, but I couldn’t ... I had to stop her. It was hard, but I could not allow a false prophet to have free reign in that house.

I could go on and on about how false prophecy hurt and almost destroyed people I know. This has to be curtailed. This has to be stopped. This has to be governed in the house of God. I greatly desire to have a place of worship that is free from false prophecy. People will say, “David Lamb won’t give the Spirit liberty to move and operate in his church.”

And I believe there are a few people in Madison County that actually have an anointing to prophesy, but they have never been taught how it’s supposed to be operated and therefore do the best they know how which is typically to copy those around them.

GOD’S VIEW ON FALSE PROPHETS

De 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
 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.


It only requires one false prophecy to mark a man or woman as a false prophet. When a man or woman, who claim to be prophets, prophecy lies or live lives that are not consistent with a Bible prophet, disregard them without fear. They are not of God. In the Old Testament, God would have the false prophet to be killed. Today, we may not kill men for pretending to be  God, but we certainly don't have to listen to them or allow them to operate in our churches! We must shut the false prophets down.

May God bless!