Wormwood said:
Well Michael,
I have tried to show you that there are definitions for these offices. It is how people (and God) determined what a prophet was, and conversely what constitutes false prophecy. Its how the Apostles determined who would take the place of Judas (Acts 1:21-22).
I have had many people who claim to be prophets make predictions over my life. One such prophet said I would have a son and then a daughter which was not true. Another said a friend of mine would soon come across great wealth. He has lived as a fairly impoverished minister for the past decade since the prediction. Of course these "prophets" generally like to make their predictions about people they do not know so they cannot be held accountable for their "predictions" at a later date. I find most such prophets resemble much more of something you'd see on a psychic hotline than anything from Scripture as they speak vaguely about coming blessing or trial in some unspecified time period. Or, they often use such self-declared offices as a means of placing themselves on a sort of pedestal over others and seek to speak as authoritarians over them. I see none of this type of behavior in the prophets of the Bible. They spoke specific words about specific events that often required specific actions on the part of the hearers.
My only desire is to serve the Lord and be faithful to his Word. Whether blessing or trial comes my way, I do not really care. I am the Lord's. He knows my heart and that is all that matters to me. I hope what you are saying is true. I would much rather be disciplined by God than have your words be false. I tremble at the thought of you standing before God giving an account of threats you made against one of his own in his name if not. I simply urge you and anyone else who may proclaim themselves to be a prophet to really think, study and pray over this matter. It is of utmost importance
I'm glad that you have a healthy attitude about trials. I'm not particularly worried about standing before God to account for my actions as His servant: I've already passed out of condemnation, back about 18 years ago. I've never really feared Hell as I saw myself as consigned to the flames for eternity prior to receiving the gospel (and back then my fear was of living forever), and now having received His gift, which is irrevocable, my only concern is to please Him and fulfill His call as best I can. I called Jesus my friend, long before I submitted to Him as my Lord and knew Him as my Savior, and everything that came my way, whether for good or evil, was always by His grace.
I've never threatened a brother in Christ, only warned them according to the power granted me as the confirmation of His calling and election, and
that's what a prophet does.
You claim to belong to the Lord, so who were the following verses for:
6. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7. or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8. he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:6-8
Will you instruct the Lord?
Very few of the prophets, from the days before His appearing or afterward, ever wrote any scripture; Some had scribes which recorded what was said by the prophet, but few ever lifted a pen themselves, and typically those that wrote were commanded to do so, or simply wrote from a heart of love, songs of praise, adoration, and worship to the only One genuinely worthy of it.
The Lord gave me the pen of a ready writer from my youth and I once thought to make a living by it, but even before receiving the Lord, I wasn't quite willing to sell out my skills to pander to prurient interests (as was suggested by one interested publisher.) If you'd ever seen any of my early art work, you'd know that I had no such qualms about my subject matter, but my words were always of a higher priority because of the nature that God gave to them, and for me the scripture has always born down upon them with the weight of conscience. Don't think that my years of military service and the pollution of my speech through them and through decades of working among men of rough speech hasn't weighed heavily on my soul, but still I remain without condemnation because of the price which He paid for me, and that I could never have paid on my own.
The Lord put my skills to use almost immediately after I understood the free gift of His sacrifice on my behalf. I've seen Him bless it, but even if my works fail the test and are proven of little or no value, still I trust Him and still I know Him, and He has promised that I will not be disappointed in spite of all the disappointment of this life (this I heard from Him as surely as I can be sure of anything.)
Some others on this forum use the term watchmen when referring to the office of prophet and in this they are entirely correct (in defining the term biblically and exegetically.) Watchmen are the eyes and ears searching for signs of judgment. Watchmen are those who call out the warning. Watchmen are those who stand in the gap when the city is under attack. You should pray for understanding; it isn't of the utmost importance if you've believed the gospel, but wisdom demands it.
Why are prophets still needed? Not for new revelation, as that is complete in the person revealed through scripture. But until we reach perfection in His presence, we still sin, and our sin will always blind us.
What is His counsel?
"I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:18-19
Your trial, that which you appear to already be in, has the purpose of revealing what you really value. This may only be evident to yourself, but it certainly will become clearer, one way or another. If you genuinely believe that "you are the Lords," then why do you strive against His word?
I urge you to really "think, study and pray" over this matter. It was men who claimed to belong to the Lord that had many of the saints burnt to death, hung, drawn and quartered, tortured mercilessly, and these we can only judge by their works.
If you've made the good confession and received Him by faith, our Lord will reveal the matter to you.
You should try to understand one simple fact, before there was scripture, the Word already was. After every book has been burnt to ashes, the Word will still remain. You don't carry the Word about in your hands when you go to a church service or a bible study, you carry Him in your heart (that is if you've actually received Him). If the former were true, then Christ would be found in the synagogue each Saturday. Even the accursed free masons have a bible in every temple, from which much of their luciferian doctrine is derived.
The bible is an introduction to Christ, a love letter from the Father, a standard by which we may judge another's words and deeds, but the Word is far greater than that which is committed to writing, and His Spirit is the One which gives life to the written word in our hearts. He is established in heaven. He endures forever. We don't worship a book, we worship our Lord and Creator. I have lots of copies of the bible in various translations and I love reading them, but if they were all taken from me, yet I would still have the Word. He lives and reigns forever and having made a place for Himself within my heart, could I reject Him and why in all of creation would I ever desire to do so?
If your genuine desire is to be faithful to His word, then you should probably start by believing it.
