The Importance Of Testing Prophecy
I want to share a little about why it is important for us to test prophecy and then offer some guidelines on how to do it. I could say a lot more about this subject than I am sharing here; I am sort of briefly covering the topic rather than doing an exhaustive study on it. All the same, I hope that you will find what I share here helpful when you are in situations where you need to test prophecy.
Before we start discussing the actual tests we use to judge prophecy, I'd like to quickly look at three things that lay a foundation for us to build upon. They are:
- Why We Need To Test Prophecy.
- What Our Attitude Should Be As We Test It.
- The importance of Scripture In Testing Prophecy.
So, let's look briefly these three things...
1. THE NEED TO TEST PROPHECY
The New Testament actually commands believers to test prophesy. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 says, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."
Indeed, God intends that type of testing to be a part of the normal New Testament ministry process, where "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said" (1 Cor 14:29).
Please note carefully the context of this passage in 1 Thessalonians. First, God did not want them to have a negative attitude towards the gifts. He did not want them to resist the moving of the Holy Spirit (specifically prophecy) so that the fire of the Spirit is quenched in their lives. The Greek word "sbennumi" (sben'-noo-mee) means to extinguish. The picture is of a fire that has been started, but is deliberately put out. How awful a thought, that one can, without proper reason, deliberately chose to put out or damp down something started by Almighty God!
Secondly, don't treat prophecies with contempt. There are two opposite dangers here.
The first (and most obvious) danger is if we treat prophecy as something which is not of God for today. If we do that, we are treating a precious gift that God sent to edify the church (1 Corinthians 14:4) as if it were a contemptible thing. That type of attitude, at best, comes from our flesh. And, at worst, it comes from the devil. Either way it is very bad and we need to avoid it.
The second danger is more subtle. The danger is that we accept prophecy as being something God still does today, but then we treat it much too casually. We tend to treat things we value with great care, and treat the things that are of little value to us very casually. Let me give you an example: which one would you handle with more care--an ornate gold jeweled watch worth $1,000,000 or a cheap plastic watch worth about $1? I suspect that you'd probably be much more careful with the very expensive watch than the cheap one, wouldn't you? You'd be careful to keep it from getting scratched or from falling off of your wrist. But you probably would not put a whole lot of care into protecting the cheap watch because you can easily replace it if it gets damaged or broken. In short, you "value" the expensive watch a lot more than then cheap one, and that effects how you treat it.
The danger here is that we start treating the gift of prophecy as if it were the cheap watch that we don't care much about. If we treat this precious gift from God in an offhanded and casual sort of way, then there is a real danger that it will be lost or misused.
So how are we to treat prophecy carefully? The answer lies in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 21--test it! Make sure that it's the genuine article. If it is, then we hold onto it and treat it with respect and heed what the Lord has to say. But if it isn't genuine, then we avoid it.
The Attitude Of The Tester
There is a passage in the bible that is quoted a lot when people talk about using Scripture to test a prophesy. It refers to the Jews at Berea, and it is found in Acts 17:11. "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
Many people consider that this passage proves the importance of examining Scripture, since the Bereans were regarded as "having a more noble character" for doing so. Actually, that is not the full story: I missed out a bit. Here is the full reference, with the section I deliberately omitted earlier capitalized for emphasis.
"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they RECEIVED THE MESSAGE WITH GREAT EAGERNESS AND examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 NIV)
Do we get the point? If we have a heart that is closed to new revelation and reluctant to acknowledge that something radical and different may be the truth, we are in trouble. With that attitude, it is probable that no amount of examining Scripture (however commendable that is) will ever change our minds. We need both the eagerness to hear from God and the willingness to check things out by examining Scripture. In other words, our heart must be right in this BEFORE we can test anything properly.
The attitude of our heart is very important to God, as per 1 Sam 16:7. "... The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
The Importance Of Scripture
- 2 Tim 3:16-17 NIV
- All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I'm not going to debate hermeneutics (methods of interpreting Scripture) here. For various reasons, I believe the bible is the inspired word of God in accordance with its own claim outlined above. It is therefore very important to me when considering how to train myself (or others) in methods of testing prophecy that I base my approach on biblical standards. This I have tried to do.
Please understand that I do not exclude tests of prophecy which are not specifically mentioned in the Bible. But I would weigh up those tests themselves in the light of what Scripture does say!
Ways To Test Prophecy
The tests to be conducted are ranked in my personal order of priority. Your mileage may differ and you will probably think of other tests to apply as well. Please feel free to do so!
I am going to list my tests here, and then I will develop them in the next lesson. Here are 10 tests you can use to judge prophecy.
- Does It Contradict Scripture?
- Did The Prophecy Come True?
- Does The Prophecy Uplift Jesus Or Somebody Else?
- What Is The Character Of The Prophet?
- Is There An Inner Witness Of The Holy Spirit?
- Is There An Independent Witness?
- Does The Word Set Us Free?
- Does The Prophet Testify That Jesus Is God In The Flesh?
- What Does Your Church Leadership Say?
- What Is The Prophet's Attitude Towards Other Brothers/Sisters?
Some Ways To Test Prophecy
As I said in the previous lesson, it is very important that we test prophesy. In fact, the bible actually commands us to do so in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 and 1 Cor 14:29.
Prophecy is a precious gift from God, and we need to value it and treat His spoken words with the respect that it deserves. At the same time, we don't want to call anything a "thus sayeth the Lord" that God hasn't actually said. That means we need a way to determine what is really God speaking and what is not, so that we can reject the false and honor and obey the true. And the bible has given us a way to tell the genuine from the counterfeit--by testing (or judging) prophesy.
With that in mind, I want to discuss some of the ways that we can evaluate a word, to see if it is really from God. I am going to give you ten simple tests that you can apply to it. These tests are ranked in my own personal order of priority. Your priorities may differ, or you may think of some other tests to apply as well.
Also, remember, we cannot judge prophecy or discern apart from the Holy Spirit, Who "will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). So do not try to apply these tests on your own, as if in a vacuum, but prayerfully, asking God to help you judge whether or not the word really is from Him.
Having said all that, here are ten tests that you can prayerfully apply to judge prophesy:
- Does It Contradict Scripture?
- Did The Prophecy Come True?
- Does The Prophecy Uplift Jesus Or Somebody Else?
- What Is The Character Of The Prophet?
- Is There An Inner Witness Of The Holy Spirit?
- Is There An Independent Witness?
- Does The Word Set Us Free?
- Does The Prophet Testify That Jesus Is God In The Flesh?
- What Does Your Church Leadership Say?
- What Is The Prophet's Attitude Towards Other Brothers/Sisters?
Let's look at each one in a bit more detail.
Does It Contradict Scripture?
2 Tim 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
If a prophecy goes against Scripture it goes against what God has said. Throw it out.
But be careful: sometimes a prophecy can be against our own personal understanding of Scripture. We need to make certain that our own understanding is not at fault here. For example, if we believe that Scripture says God does not supernaturally heal today (I can't find any references for this one!) then a prophecy that somebody is going to be healed might be rejected by us, even though the Lord really has spoken it.
A more subtle situation is that sometimes the prophecy can seem to contradict Scripture, but in reality what the Lord is saying through it is in accordance with Scripture! Peter found this out in Joppa:
Acts 10:11-16 (NIV)
He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.""Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
The vision was a direct contradiction of the food laws taught in the Old Testament. But the key to the interpretation is found in verse 16, where it was shown three times. Although the vision puzzled Peter, it was not long before he understood the significance of this, when three men visited him:
Acts 10:17-20 (NIV)
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."
(By the way, this shows the importance of details in understanding a vision.)
Peter himself explained the vision later, when he spoke to Cornelius, the man who had sent for him, and his friends: Acts 10:28 (NIV)
He said to them: "... God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean."
In other words, Peter was given a vision which appeared to contradict Scripture. But as he pondered it, the Holy Spirit and events showed him the true meaning.
Did The Prophecy Come True?
Deut 18:21-22 says, "You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?' If what a prophet proclaims 'in the name of the Lord' does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."
To paraphrase: If it didn't happen the way the word said it would, then it very probably was not of God.
Why "very probably" and not "certainly"?
Because God's prophecies are not set in stone: there is an element of personal choice in their application. So sometimes a prophecy may not come to pass because the people involved changed their behavior. A classic example of this is in Jonah:
Jonah 3:4-5,10 (NIV)
On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth... When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
The Lord Himself explains this principle in Jeremiah in Jer 18:7-10. "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in My sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."
A second reason why a prophecy from God may not come to pass is because of intercession. Look at Isa 38:1-5:
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, "Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.'"
A final point. It may seem strange that this test should be applied when considering a prophecy, because surely the idea is to test the prophecy before it happens? While this is true, often when the Lord gives a prophecy He also gives an immediate lesser prophecy so that the truth of the major prophecy can be relied upon when the initial prophecy comes true. A classic example of this is found in 1 Samuel 10, where Samuel gives Saul a series of relatively minor incidents which were to follow in order to (amongst other things) confirm the truth of Saul's prophetic calling to be king.
Here is the passage (1 Sam 10:1-7):
1. Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance? 2. When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"' 3. "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. 5. "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
Does The Prophecy Uplift Jesus Or Somebody Else?
Rev 19:10 says, "...For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
If a prophecy exalts anybody else other than Jesus (especially if it flatters the prophet's reputation) be on your guard. This is one of the most difficult tests to apply if the prophecy is exalting you (the recipient) or your church! But be especially careful in such cases, as the temptation to pride is real.
More Ways To Test Prophecy
In our last lesson, I gave you 10 tests you can apply to judge a word. They were:
- Does It Contradict Scripture?
- Did The Prophecy Come True?
- Does The Prophecy Uplift Jesus Or Somebody Else?
- What Is The Character Of The Prophet?
- Is There An Inner Witness Of The Holy Spirit?
- Is There An Independent Witness?
- Does The Word Set Us Free?
- Does The Prophet Testify That Jesus Is God In The Flesh?
- What Does Your Church Leadership Say?
- What Is The Prophet's Attitude Towards Other Brothers/Sisters?
We already looked at the first three in our last lesson. So let's pick up from there, and start with the fourth test.
What Is The Character Of The Prophet?
Matt 7:15-17 says, ""Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
So one of the things you want to do when evaluating a word is to determine if there are evidences of the fruits of the Spirit in the prophet's life. According to Gal 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit includes the following: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control..."
In addition to seeing evidence of the Holy Spirit in the person's character, you can look for other types of "good fruit" in the prophet's ministry. That would be things like previous prophecies have come true, people are turned to Jesus, etc.
By the way, one of the first tests of a prophet's character is to tell him (or her) that you are going to test the prophecy--if the prophet reacts badly then that's a pretty strong negative indicator!
Jesus warned us that, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). So be cautious if you hear any the following come out of the mouth of the 'prophet': condemnation, self-justification, judgment, or manipulation. If the prophet speaks those types of words, that prophet is likely to be speaking out of his/her own unhealed heart rather than from the Spirit of Jesus.
Is There An Inner Witness Of The Holy Spirit?
I John 2:20 says, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth." And John 16:13 says, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come."
The inner witness of the Holy Spirit is very important and is usually the very first test to use. But be careful, because the voice of the Holy Spirit is discerned in the inner being. This means that your own soulish reactions can obscure His message. For example, if you are offended by the prophet's mannerisms (or even by strange physical manifestations), then it is highly probable that an inner dislike of these manifestations could come across as a "check" in the Spirit.
"Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7). Seek to discern the difference between your own soulish reactions and the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.
It is important to grow in discernment and walking with the Lord to make it easier to hear His voice on these things. Practice makes perfect--or, at least, better!
Heb 5:14 puts it this way: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
Is There An Independent Witness?
Deut 19:15 says, "...A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."
This is a fundamental Scriptural principal which was obviously greatly respected in the early church (Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1, 1 Tim 5:19). It is a very important test of any prophecy.
If a word of prophecy is given, especially if it is a major life-changing one, it would seem reasonable to me to "put it on ice" until independent confirmation has been received. Such confirmation could be another prophecy, a bible reading or something similar which clearly reflects the guiding hand of God.
One thing to watch out for here is that the other witnesses must be truly independent. This is why a prophecy given by somebody who in the natural does not know anything about a given situation is so powerful.
Of course, the absence of independent witnesses does not necessarily mean that a prophecy is false. But I do feel that there are Scriptural grounds for seeking independent confirmation from the Lord on such matters.
One strange thing about false prophecy is that often the devil will generally arrange for some form of seemingly independent witness to it (1 Kings 22, especially verse 22). You see, he knows that these witnesses strengthen his case. However, something about the prophecy will not "ring true" (verse 16) or a small part of the fruit will be bad - it might cause fear, for example (2 Tim 1:7). Which leads onto the next point...
Does The Word Set Us Free?
Remember, the Lord's will for His disciples who hold on to His teachings is found in John 8:32: "...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
As we seek to obey the Lord and to hold onto His teachings, then I believe that we are entitled to live in the good of that promise! At the very least, we have helped create a favorable environment in which to hear accurately from the Lord.
Does The Prophet Testify That Jesus Is God In The Flesh?
I John 4:1-3 says, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."
This is the litmus test for every religion or religious group in the world: what do they say about Jesus? Do they acknowledge that He is really God incarnate, fully man and fully God? If there is any wavering on this central point of how we view the Lord, be very careful, because something false has got in.
What Does Your Church Leadership Say?
Heb 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."
It is a pretty sure principle that those whom the Lord has raised into leadership in the church will have a good insight into your life, and can judge a personal prophecy spoken over you. That's NOT to say they are always right (leaders are imperfect too) but a confirmation from a leader can be a pretty strong indicator that a word spoken over you is accurate.
The ideal situation here is for your church leader(s) to also minister in the prophetic, since this will further equip them to judge the prophecy. 1 Cor 14:29 says, "Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said."
Even if a church leader is not a prophet, I do believe that his or her input is valuable in weighting up a prophecy since they are moving in an anointed position (if they are God appointed that is!) and that anointing from the Spirit can show them the truth in matters pertaining to their area of authority (such as their oversight for you). I John 2:20 bears that out: "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth."
I have often found spirit-filled leaders who are not in themselves prophets to have real words of wisdom when evaluating prophecies.
What Is The Prophet's Attitude Towards Other Brothers/Sisters?
I John 2:11 says, "But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him."
This point is really a particular aspect of an earlier point, but it has a more detailed emphasis on the prophet's attitude towards others in the church.
It seems to me that somebody who walks around in darkness is not exactly a good person to be relied upon to give me clear guidance from the Lord!
Psalm 92:13 says that the righteous are "PLANTED in the house of the Lord." (The emphasis is mine.) Some people have a pattern of being what I call "tumbleweed Christians." They go from church to church and never set down roots; and as a result, they are not properly accountable to Godly authority. We need to be cautious about receiving words from prophets who cannot demonstrate that they are planted in a fellowship and that they are in a right relationship with the other leaders who God has set in the church (Ephesians 4:11).
A prophet can fall into false prophecy and divination more easily when they are not accountable in their local church. 1 Samuel 15:23 tells us that rebellion is linked to divination. So if a prophet is deliberately in rebellion against God's authority, that person becomes more vulnerable to receiving false revelation from a spirit of divination instead of from the Holy Spirit.
It is important that we understand accountability, and I've recently had an experience that underscores that point. My wife and I had been mentoring someone who was growing very quickly in prophetic ministry. But he came under the influence of a tumbleweed Christian. As a result, the person who we were previously mentoring has recently gone "off the rails." I learned a few lessons from that experience, which I used to adjust my approach to judging prophecy. Now I emphasize more need for a proper authority structure in the prophet's life. I feel that he/she must be planted in the local church (Psalm 92:13), and not be a "tumbleweed Christian" who blows from church to church.
Proper accountability is an important point for the Western Church to consider. It is easy to be "independently minded" in our culture. However, the Lord doesn't see us as a collection of individuals, but as a body. That is why it is so important for us to learn the lesson of proper accountability. In fact, I am wondering if this (the lesson of accountability) is one of the reasons that the Lord had us resurrect this teaching at this time?
And Finally
Please understand that the above represents the state of my knowledge on this topic as it stands at the moment. I have much more to learn on testing prophecy and my subsequent lessons may well modify what I have written here, but this is the best that I know at the moment. I trust that it will be helpful.
I would like to close by praying Eph 3:14-19 over you:
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.[Previous Article] [Next Article]