Is prophecy real today

[VW]

A touchy subject, for sure. But can we ignore this ministry? We all know just how badly it has been used in the past, and is even still being misused. Can we afford to not have prophecy?

Some would say that we have the completed scriptures, and so do not need any more prophecy, as prophecy is from the Lord, and He has spoken all that He needs or intends to speak.

Some would say that the Holy Spirit, from who all prophecy that is true comes from, no longer does this, as it was only for the time of the apostles, when they were starting the church.

Some would say that prophecy is only for the church leaders, or the big name evangelist.

I submit that none of these things are true, that every child of God can speak with the words of the Holy Spirit. After all, that is what prophecy is.

We all have the Spirit in us, or we are none of His. And the Spirit knows what the Spirit is saying. The Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God. Submission to the Spirit is the only real requirement for us to speak with His voice, to speak His words. It even say that our testimony is the spirit of prophecy.

What would be the result of a body that has the word of prophecy active in the measure that is possible in the Spirit?

Some would say confusion, turmoil, pandemonium. Chaos. Disorderliness. And they would be right, if the words were not from and of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is gentile, kind, loving, and orderly.

So, it is obvious that there must be some who are filled with the Spirit who can discern by the Spirit what is of Him. Actually, we all should be so filled, but this is not the way it is now. We can hope.

What good can come from this ministry? More than we can imagine now.

In His peace,

 

[Mal316]

Would that all the Lord's people were prophets! That the Lord would put His Spirit on them! Numbers 11:29 (ESV)

 

[lighthousejohn]

The gift of prophecy is definitely needed more today. I brlieve that it has been misused for rprofit by charlatans who have done more harm than good. i have seen it usedfor insight intowhat God intends to do in particular ministries and in personal lives. It is a valid gift but one that must be used under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 

[VW]

The gift of prophecy is definitely needed more today. I brlieve that it has been misused for rprofit by charlatans who have done more harm than good. i have seen it usedfor insight intowhat God intends to do in particular ministries and in personal lives. It is a valid gift but one that must be used under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Amen! True prophecy is from the Holy Spirit, but as you say, some misuse it for their own gain. I believe that the Holy Spirit really despises this.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

I believe that there are four aspects of prophecy: revelation prophecy, teaching prophecy, preaching prophecy, and doctrinal prophecy. The word prophecy in scripture is not so much the "predicting the future" as proclaiming the word of God.

 

[lighthousejohn]

Revelation prophecy comes in at least two forms that I am aware of; Discernment towards an individual (also called a word of knowledge) and insight/guidance for an agency such as a ministry. I have been involved in both.

 

[pickles]

I have seen the gifts of prophacy even today. But as you said it has been misused.
I have learned that disernment is very important.
And testing is our best tool.
If not of the Holy Spirit it will be shown untrue.
Also scripture says that it cannot come of our will but only of the will of God.
I think the issue is less about wether the gifts are still here and more about how to disern and recognise these gifts.
Many times I have asked pastors about what I can do to properly disern and how these gifts work?
Too often the answer has been that the gifts were only for the apostles.
If this were true then why have I expearianced these gifts?
What I do make sure of is to always pray, test all spirits and make sure that all comes from the proper sourse.
From in Jesus Our Lord and Savior, by God Our Father, through his Holy Spirit.
God bless, pickles

 

[pickles]

I wanted to add, I have found that when I recieve a knowlage, prophacy, or teaching in the Holy Spirit.
It can always be backed by scripture.
I find that this is a great comfort.
God bless, pickles

 

[machew]

The short answer: Yes! (even though it has been abused before, the devil only bothers counterfeits things of value to the church)

A good book on this subject: User Friendly Prophecy By Larry Randolph

 

[oopsies]

Revelation prophecy comes in at least two forms that I am aware of; Discernment towards an individual (also called a word of knowledge) and insight/guidance for an agency such as a ministry. I have been involved in both.

Please, keep sharing - other gifts too.

 

[VW]

Revelation prophecy comes in at least two forms that I am aware of; Discernment towards an individual (also called a word of knowledge) and insight/guidance for an agency such as a ministry. I have been involved in both.

There is a third.

Revelation to the body of Christ as a whole.

Not often accepted.

 

[VW]

I wanted to add, I have found that when I recieve a knowlage, prophacy, or teaching in the Holy Spirit.
It can always be backed by scripture.
I find that this is a great comfort.
God bless, pickles

And many times in ways that I never thought of before. Like wow, I never saw that.

Blessings sister.

 

[shad]

A touchy subject, for sure. But can we ignore this ministry? We all know just how badly it has been used in the past, and is even still being misused. Can we afford to not have prophecy?

Some would say that we have the completed scriptures, and so do not need any more prophecy, as prophecy is from the Lord, and He has spoken all that He needs or intends to speak.

Some would say that the Holy Spirit, from who all prophecy that is true comes from, no longer does this, as it was only for the time of the apostles, when they were starting the church.

Some would say that prophecy is only for the church leaders, or the big name evangelist.

I submit that none of these things are true, that every child of God can speak with the words of the Holy Spirit. After all, that is what prophecy is.

We all have the Spirit in us, or we are none of His. And the Spirit knows what the Spirit is saying. The Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God. Submission to the Spirit is the only real requirement for us to speak with His voice, to speak His words. It even say that our testimony is the spirit of prophecy.

What would be the result of a body that has the word of prophecy active in the measure that is possible in the Spirit?

Some would say confusion, turmoil, pandemonium. Chaos. Disorderliness. And they would be right, if the words were not from and of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is gentile, kind, loving, and orderly.

So, it is obvious that there must be some who are filled with the Spirit who can discern by the Spirit what is of Him. Actually, we all should be so filled, but this is not the way it is now. We can hope.

What good can come from this ministry? More than we can imagine now.

In His peace,

If you are going to bring up this subject of prophecy, you need to define it and give an example of it actually happening with at least two witnesses. Anyone can give a revelation of the word of God because they have the Spirit indwelling them. Those that have been called by God to preach and teach, who labor in the word and doctrine, have the Holy Spirit that reveals truth to them about many things that edify the body and promote the unity of the faith. The kind of prophecy and prophets that you are referring to 'foretell' specific things or events that will happen in the future that the word of God does not get specific about. If one claims to be a prophet in the church and foretells that the coming of Christ is near, that is not a prophecy it is an exhortation of the truth that every believer has access to in the scriptures.

If those that claim to have a gift of prophesy reveal a future event or specific knowledge that can be confirmed or will come to pass, there will be proof of their prophetic utterance to substantiate their gift in submission to the leadership and the body will be edified through the witness of the Holy Spirit. Satan can counterfeit any of the prolific gifts that come from the Spirit through his ministers of righteousness. Satan does not have all power but he does have limited power and can transform himself into an angel of light and predict the future through specific responses and actual happenings that can be observed and perceived by sight.

Here is an example. Some hyper-spiritual person in the local assembly claims to have a word from God and claims that there are (3) men and (3) women that are living in adultery at this present time and one of them has two children that are considering leaving home because of it. The devil knows these things because he is going around seeking who he can devour. He tempts individuals who have weaknesses in the flesh until they fall into sin. He observes and catalogs the responses of those that are close friends and family.

After he has established a pattern of sin in these individual lives he inserts that information in the form knowledge or 'spiritual discernment' in the light of what can be observed and proven to be true. This is how he tries to authenticate a spiritual gift in an assembly that comes under the premise and pretense of 'spiritual discernment'. Different scriptures are utilized to confirm the legitimacy of the gift and the person being exercised thereby. It's going to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to discern this counterfeit gift and deal with it in a quick and powerful way to keep the local assembly from being spotted in their feast of charity. Those that are naturally or carnally minded do not have the ability or capacity to discern this kind of activity in the assembly.

 

[VW]

If you are going to bring up this subject of prophecy, you need to define it

Let me start with this first, and then we will see about the rest of your concerns.

Prophecy is first and foremost our testimony. That's right, our testimony. When we testify of Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, that He is the Savior of the world, that He is our Lord, this is by prophecy, or it is dross. The Spirit testifies of Jesus, it is one of His purposes. If I testify of Jesus Christ, and that testimony is from my knowledge and nothing else, then it is not a true witness, because it will not do what it was sent to do. However, if I testify of Christ by the Spirit, with His power, by His words, then it will do as sent, because it has the power of God in it.

Prophecy is merely this, speaking what the Spirit is saying.

 

[VW]

The kind of prophecy and prophets that you are referring to 'foretell' specific things or events that will happen in the future that the word of God does not get specific about.

Actually it is not. That is not even the office of prophet as given by the Spirit to build up the body of Christ. That is something else again, and while I will not say that it is not possible that God has called another prophet into the world, (because He may have done just that,) I know of none right now.

The prophecy I am talking about is the simple speaking what the people hear from the Spirit. We are weak in the Spirit. Why? Because we do not allow the speaking of what the Spirit lays on the people's hearts in the congregation is one major reason. We are afraid that someone might be wrong, or might say something that is not from God, or so many other reasons, all from fear and a need to control. We do not even like tongues spoken in the congregation, even just in prayer. It is because these things are to us often a spectacle. The sheep suffer because of our lack of discernment. We tell them that if they want to grow in the Lord, all that they need to do is study the bible daily, and come to church weekly, and pray a lot. I say that we need to grow in the Spirit of Christ, by learning to walk in Him.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

Revelation prophecy comes in at least two forms that I am aware of; Discernment towards an individual (also called a word of knowledge) and insight/guidance for an agency such as a ministry. I have been involved in both.

I think that Spirit lead worship is also revelation, as it leads the congregation into a revelation of the presence of God.

 

[VW]

If one claims to be a prophet in the church and foretells that the coming of Christ is near, that is not a prophecy it is an exhortation of the truth that every believer has access to in the scriptures.

One does not need to claim to be a prophet to prophecy this. That is absurd. But if one is shown in the Spirit that His return is near, then it is not something that is from the scriptures, but something from the Spirit, a touch of God on the heart of the one speaking.

If those that claim to have a gift of prophesy reveal a future event or specific knowledge that can be confirmed or will come to pass, there will be proof of their prophetic utterance to substantiate their gift in submission to the leadership and the body will be edified through the witness of the Holy Spirit. Satan can counterfeit any of the prolific gifts that come from the Spirit through his ministers of righteousness. Satan does not have all power but he does have limited power and can transform himself into an angel of light and predict the future through specific responses and actual happenings that can be observed and perceived by sight.

So basically because Satan can prophecy, we should not. Most prophecy I see and hear is not about future events, but about what God wants from His people. Satan does not imitate this. Satan tells people to do things, God exhorts us to change our hearts about things.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

I believe that the vast majority of prophecy is not about the future. Even revelation is within the context of spiritual growth rather than a carnal voyeurism. Interestingly the OT book that we most consider prophetic, Daniel, is not considered by the Jews to be a Prophet, but is put among the writings and some books that we look at as history, they put among the Prophets.

 

[VW]

After he has established a pattern of sin in these individual lives he inserts that information in the form knowledge or 'spiritual discernment' in the light of what can be observed and proven to be true. This is how he tries to authenticate a spiritual gift in an assembly that comes under the premise and pretense of 'spiritual discernment'. Different scriptures are utilized to confirm the legitimacy of the gift and the person being exercised thereby. It's going to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to discern this counterfeit gift and deal with it in a quick and powerful way to keep the local assembly from being spotted in their feast of charity. Those that are naturally or carnally minded do not have the ability or capacity to discern this kind of activity in the assembly.

Those who are naturally or carnally minded should be convicted by prophecy from the Spirit in the body. We who are mature know the attacks of the enemy, because the Spirit shows us his methods. And a leader who is filled with the Spirit will know at once if Satan is speaking in the congregation. I have been there, I have seen it, and the whole congregation knew that it was the devil. We let the deluded one speak, then escorted him from the congregation, to be ministered to by the elders. It actually strengthened my belief that we all need the Spirit's words in us, and His discernment. Otherwise, we are really helpless against our adversary.

 

[charisenexcelcis]

True gifts of prophecy should not shy away from the judgement of the elders. It's not hard to see when a person is acting in the flesh. One thing I notice is that if a person makes an effort to let you know first thing that he or she is a prophet, that is a sign of pride and probably you are dealing with someone who is trying to put themself higher than others. Prophecy serves the body, not the other way around.