Should Christians be guided by prophecies?

[Willie-T]

I can't tell if you are directing that at me as an accusation. You're very difficult for me to interpret most of the time when you quote my posts and reply to me.

I don't have an opinion one way or the other whether or not God speaks to people. Each of us has our own experiences, so I can only speak for myself, and my experiences are unique to me and my life. I don't think God has ever spoken to me. Maybe He has and I didn't "hear". Maybe He doesn't. I just don't know. I'm still curious to hear about other peoples' experiences though. I need a lot more info to help frame my own experience/lack of.

I generally use someone's "quote" to show other readers that I am following that particular train of thought, as maybe opposed to the OP or maybe one of the dozens of random notions that may have been brought up by various posters commenting all along the way.

In this particular case, I used "SOME" to indicate all who might express a similar view. I seldom play the forum game of saying 'some people' when I mean one specific person. In those cases, I usually say "YOU" so that there is no mistake that I am addressing that one particular individual.

 

[Depleted]

Well if the prophecy has turned out to be false then the man was never a prophet of God.. Because prophets of God never fail in their prophecy..

Should a person follow the leading of a supposed prophet ??? Well that's up to them, I guess it all depends on ones confidence in the truth of that persons claim to being a prophet...

How do you know if it is ever false? Sometimes God's plan looks like our failure.

(Which is also why I wouldn't stick around a church like that. Big deal. Kind of like saying, "Have a good day" and thinking that changes the person's day. lol)

 

[resurrection33]

When I was about 30 I was told by an elderly Christian that when I am old I would be a Great Prophet. Well I am fairly old now! Nothing to report so far.

"Prophet" is a word the world uses. What the Lord is looking for is people who will carry out his will.

 

[notuptome]

Christians are guided by two things. The word of God and the Holy Spirit working through the word of God.

Gideon put out a fleece before the Lord to confirm the will if God in a matter.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

 

[Willie-T]

Willy, I never said that and the context was some guy claiming to be a prophet and prophesying about what one must do in their life.......serious?

But, the point is that no one ever went to this supposed prophet, and asked him directly. Any knowledge he had of SPECIFICS that might pertain to only one person in the audience when he spoke, had to have come from some other source.

And what I think SOME OF US (that could be anyone) are toying around, not saying, is that we actually think Satan put that idea in the "prophet's" head. It has to be one of the two, God or satan, doesn't it? Unless, of course, you think the guy is a mind reader.

 

[Adstar]

How do you know if it is ever false? Sometimes God's plan looks like our failure.

(Which is also why I wouldn't stick around a church like that. Big deal. Kind of like saying, "Have a good day" and thinking that changes the person's day. lol)

Well if a supposed prophet tells me that trump will be assassinated tomorrow and tomorrow comes and goes and trump is still alive and kicking then obviously that supposed prophet is no prophet and i would disregard anything else that person ever said again...

God never fails..

When i hear someone make a prophecy i my default position is well lets wait and see if it comes true..

 

[Marcelo]

God can use His children where ever you are..new city or old city.

It's not a prophecy to say "Tomorrow the sun will rise."

In the Bible God would tell His prophets the name of the person to receive the prophecy, not just make a generic self fulfilling prophecy to a large crowd of people....that method is similar to how psychics work.

It's a technique called buckshot....make general statement that someone in the audience will relate to. Con artist use it to work the crowd.

Now if someone approached the person personally. Who hadn't heard or spoken to anyone about thinking of moving and told the person.."God wants you to move to____"

I would still pray about it, but is more the way it works in the Bible.

I liked the term "buckshot". So far, I knew only the term "generic prophecy".

 

[Willie-T]

Christians are guided by two things. The word of God and the Holy Spirit working through the word of God.

Gideon put out a fleece before the Lord to confirm the will if God in a matter.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

How did that "working through the word of God" work when there wasn't a bit of Scripture involved for Gideon? You do that quite often.... infer that we have to get everything from only reading black and white words out of our hardbound Bible books.

 

[Willie-T]

God can use His children where ever you are..new city or old city.

It's not a prophecy to say "Tomorrow the sun will rise."

In the Bible God would tell His prophets the name of the person to receive the prophecy, not just make a generic self fulfilling prophecy to a large crowd of people....that method is similar to how psychics work.

It's a technique called buckshot....make general statement that someone in the audience will relate to. Con artist use it to work the crowd.

Now if someone approached the person personally. Who hadn't heard or spoken to anyone about thinking of moving and told the person.."God wants you to move to____"

I would still pray about it, but is more the way it works in the Bible.

You have a good point there. In our congregation, individuals often have other people approach them privately with impressions they have felt about that specific person.

 

[samuel23]

I would NEVER allow myself to be lead by the prophecy of another person, however I would consider a prophecy and take note of it. I had a dream about a year ago about this same subject. In the dream I was at this really good church that I attended while in the military and I was asking this Christian man that I greatly respected if God used other people to tell us what to do. He told me that there was a lady in town that was known for being able to do that very thing. I suddenly felt a great conviction in my heart and I said to him. Why do I need to go to another human to know what God wants me to do, God can speak to me Himself If He wants me to do something. A prophecy may confirm something but it should never be the guide for something...to much room for error.

 

[Depleted]

Willy, I never said that and the context was some guy claiming to be a prophet and prophesying about what one must do in their life.......serious?

In all fairness, Jimmy Jones, David Koresh, et. al., would never tell someone in their church to leave. How do they get worshipped if the fools leave?

(At least, we have one sure sign this isn't happening in that church.)

 

[Yahweh_is_gracious]

I generally use someone's "quote" to show other readers that I am following that particular train of thought, as maybe opposed to the OP or maybe one of the dozens of random notions that may have been brought up by various posters commenting all along the way.

In this particular case, I used "SOME" to indicate all who might express a similar view. I seldom play the forum game of saying 'some people' when I mean one specific person. In those cases, I usually say "YOU" so that there is no mistake that I am addressing that one particular individual.

Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated.

 

[Dino246]

... What do you folks think about that? Is it OK for Christians to let themselves be guided by such prophecies?

I would not take something like you described if it were the only guidance. I would seriously consider it if I knew the pastor, their walk with the Lord and concern for the flock, and how accurate such words had been in the past. Given that the person was seeking guidance about that very issue, I would suggest it's possibly from the Lord. Is it provable? No... there are too many factors.

Generally, I would sooner trust guidance I receive directly from the Lord than that through another person, but I recognize that believers can't always hear the Lord for themselves.

 

[Depleted]

Well if a supposed prophet tells me that trump will be assassinated tomorrow and tomorrow comes and goes and trump is still alive and kicking then obviously that supposed prophet is no prophet and i would disregard anything else that person ever said again...

God never fails..

When i hear someone make a prophecy i my default position is well lets wait and see if it comes true..

Yeah, but more than one thing is happening here:
1. Was that word of knowledge or a prophecy?
2. Was it either?
3. What was its purpose?

Considering it was so vague, it really wasn't anything but someone being full of themselves. That certainly hasn't stopped God from getting his will though.

 

[Marcelo]

The example you site is so specific, it would be hard to ignore. However, I suspect most "prophecies" are far vaguer, and vague prophecies can always be interpreted in more than one way.

I would generally say that these are not really prophecies, but if I was considering a move to Tahiti, and had told no one, and the pastor said, "Someone in the congregation is thinking about moving to Tahiti, and this is what the Lord has to say about that ..." it would be hard to ignore, though why did the Lord tell him and not me?

Great! I agree with you completely!

 

[RickyZ]

Ok, teachable moment for those willing to listen.

THERE ARE NO NEW PROPHECIES. Can you find "You will get a job at Walmart" anywhere in the Bible? If not, it is not prophecy. Prophecy uses the existing word of God. There are no new prophecies.

"You will get a job at Walmart" is a word of knowledge (perhaps wisdom). If it is from God it will be confirmed by at least one other witness. And it will not in any way violate scripture. And yes, it is generally delivered privately between individuals and not delivered to an assembly (altho it could be if needed).

Does it make a difference? Eh, some will call it semantics. And in that sense no it doesn't. But then, some will want to know specifics about the subject of prophecy/words of wisdom. It's kinda like asking if your package will be delivered by box truck or semi. It's not terribly important in terms of will your package arrive. But box trucks and semis are built for different purposes, and a mature believer should know the difference between prophecy and words of wisdom/knowledge.

 

[88]

Suppose a Christian is considering whether to move to a new city or not. There, he would have better job opportunities, but he is doubtful about God's plan for his life. So, before the service in his Pentecostal church he earnestly prays for guidance. During the sermon the pastor (or elder) says: "a brother in here is seeking advice from God on whether to move away from this city. God says this brother may go because He has a plan for him in the new city".

I know a number of Christians who let themselves be guided by such prophecies and were successful, but I know some cases of negative results. I have no statistics on that because failures are almost never made public.

What do you folks think about that? Is it OK for Christians to let themselves be guided by such prophecies?

**** if I knew the person giving the message was credible---- if what they told me agreed with my spirit-----I believe in praying until God reveals to us the path---- others can put in help---- test all things...

 

[JustWhoIAm]

Ok, teachable moment for those willing to listen.

THERE ARE NO NEW PROPHECIES. Can you find "You will get a job at Walmart" anywhere in the Bible? If not, it is not prophecy. Prophecy uses the existing word of God. There are no new prophecies.

"You will get a job at Walmart" is a word of knowledge (perhaps wisdom). If it is from God it will be confirmed by at least one other witness. And it will not in any way violate scripture. And yes, it is generally delivered privately between individuals and not delivered to an assembly (altho it could be if needed).

Does it make a difference? Eh, some will call it semantics. And in that sense no it doesn't. But then, some will want to know specifics about the subject of prophecy/words of wisdom. It's kinda like asking if your package will be delivered by box truck or semi. It's not terribly important in terms of will your package arrive. But box trucks and semis are built for different purposes, and a mature believer should know the difference between prophecy and words of wisdom/knowledge.

That makes a lot of sense. In fact, it makes perfect sense.

Here's the one reservation I have: Why would Paul preach about the importance of a prophetic gifting if it was no longer important?

(KEERAP! EDIT AFTER I GOT LIKES).

 

[Depleted]

Ok, teachable moment for those willing to listen.

THERE ARE NO NEW PROPHECIES. Can you find "You will get a job at Walmart" anywhere in the Bible? If not, it is not prophecy. Prophecy uses the existing word of God. There are no new prophecies.

"You will get a job at Walmart" is a word of knowledge (perhaps wisdom). If it is from God it will be confirmed by at least one other witness. And it will not in any way violate scripture. And yes, it is generally delivered privately between individuals and not delivered to an assembly (altho it could be if needed).

Does it make a difference? Eh, some will call it semantics. And in that sense no it doesn't. But then, some will want to know specifics about the subject of prophecy/words of wisdom. It's kinda like asking if your package will be delivered by box truck or semi. It's not terribly important in terms of will your package arrive. But box trucks and semis are built for different purposes, and a mature believer should know the difference between prophecy and words of wisdom/knowledge.

It is semantics, but semantics is important for the very reason you posted this.

Prophecy is not word of knowledge. Prophecy means something. Word of Knowledge means something. THAT is semantics. That's a good thing.

 

[JustWhoIAm]

Details surrounding this discussion need to be backed with scriptural arguments, especially since the prophetic gift expresses itself in more abstract terms than say, healing or teaching.

JMO.