Test of a Prophet moved by the Holy Spirit

[Hobie]

2 Peter 1:21
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

We read of a dispute between the prophet Micaiah and four hundred prophets of Israel in 1 Kings 22.
1 Kings 22:1-26
1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?
8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand.
13 And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.
14 And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak.
15 So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.
22 And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.
24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?
25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

The king of Israel asked them all whether he should fight against the Syrians for possession of Ramoth in Gilead. Four hundred so called prophets promised the king victory if he attacked the Syrians. But Micaiah who we see here called a 'prophet of the Lord', said that he would be defeated and we see who was right. Israel lost the battle and their king was killed, and the 400 false prophets exposed.

We see there are prophets of God that are moved by the Holy Spirit, but there are also false ones as we see in the many psychics, astrologers, fortune-tellers, charlatans and mystics who make grandiose predictions of many events, all in a style so vague that they could mean just about anything. Many made cryptic and often ambiguous predictions, which open to multiple interpretations and debate as to their meaning, and it was impossible or to say the least very difficult to determine whether or not they came true. We have fraudulent imposters such as Jeane Dixon, Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, and some say even Nostradamus fits into this mold. So how do you test to see if they are true?

 

[Episkopos]

A NT prophet is different from an OT prophet. The testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy. Disciples who have been permitted entry into the higher kingdom walk of the Spirit ARE prophets...as these have experienced the eternal life, and as such are qualified to discern the words from God....at the appropriate depth. A carnal reading of the word dilutes the message into compromise with the flesh. The prophet is there to rectify things, bringing every thought captive to Christ.

Not everybody who says that they have experienced Christ in this way actually has. There is no outward sign for this. Hence, the prophets in a church discern what is said by other prophets. So then there is a consensus IF the church is actually spiritual. If not...it's all just theater.

The modern churches have dispensed with this process altogether, in so many cases…preferring indoctrination to something that inspires faith, and ultimately life in the congregation. Unless church culture revolves around the real presence of God, prophets will have no place there. Still other churches have opted for a nonspiritual, or pseudo-spiritual, spectacle that sees people performing "prophetic" pirouettes, but without any real knowledge of God.

 

[grafted branch]

So how do you test to see if they are true?

We could wait to see if their predictions come true but I would say most of us on the eschatology and prophecy board use a persons view on what has already been fulfilled and what hasn’t as a litmus test to see if they are to be trusted. If I were to create a thread titled “the millennium is past” just those words alone will mean I’m a false prophet to some, but a consistent method that’s used to determine what’s fulfilled or not is rarely discussed.

Since preterist make little or no future predictions, perhaps your question would be more applicable to everyone if it was worded as “how can we determine if something has been fulfilled or not?”.

 

[JohnDB]

No difference between a New Testament Prophet from an Old Testament Prophet....

They are 100% accurate or not of God.

Harsh....but that's the test.

Forth telling (telling the truth whether obvious or not...Just because you may disagree with a pastor's theology doesn't mean that he is not anointed by God to preach)

Fore telling events of the future. (Always bad news with a silver lining....many claim this but "gift" but true prophets hate knowing what they know and are usually described as weeping or of deep despair)

 

[Randy Kluth]

We see there are prophets of God that are moved by the Holy Spirit, but there are also false ones as we see in the many psychics, astrologers, fortune-tellers, charlatans and mystics who make grandiose predictions of many events, all in a style so vague that they could mean just about anything. Many made cryptic and often ambiguous predictions, which open to multiple interpretations and debate as to their meaning, and it was impossible or to say the least very difficult to determine whether or not they came true. We have fraudulent imposters such as Jeane Dixon, Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn, and some say even Nostradamus fits into this mold. So how do you test to see if they are true?

Good question. Yes, some otherwise doctrinally-orthodox preachers and men of God have entered into the roll of the "false prophets" at times--not in the same way as actual "false prophets," but they have certainly not been afraid to exercise what they believed were "spiritual gifts" in an irresponsible way.

I think the only way one can identify what is false in an otherwise decent ministry is to recognize the "agenda" involved. Sometimes prophesying something is designed to push an agenda that exalts the minister giving the "prophecy."

For example, Oral Roberts prophesied that he would erect a hospital that cures cancer. I have to assume he meant that this would happen in his own lifetime. Not only did this not come true, but the hospital fell on hard times, even though it was built. It was designed with a respectable goal, but God did *not* promise Roberts this would happen, and it was therefore designed to bring in money, exalting Oral Roberts' ministry.

It was a real spectacle when many ministers, such as Kenneth Copeland, "prophesied" that Trump would win the last election. Many Pentecostals believed that whatever came into their minds, particularly when it seemed to accord with someone else's prophecy, was from the Holy Spirit. But obviously, they were wrong.

A prophet may have legitimately prophesied that Trump would win not just one term, but two terms as President of the US. So many ministers felt free to give their own prophecy of Trump winning the last run in 2000, which turned out to be false.

In reality, the initial prophecy that Trump will win 2 terms may ultimately prove to be true this year, in 2024. But all of those "false prophets" were wrong who said Trump would win in 2000.

I think we have to have a more balanced understanding of the "gift of prophecy"--not that all can exercise this gift freely, as the Pentecostals teach. A person has to have a time-worn experience of delivering accurate--not ambiguous, prophecies that have literally come true in detail.

David Wilkerson's "Vision" appeared to come true in many ways. But as his material increased, it became confusing whether he was just teaching what he thought the Prophets had said, or was giving more visions? In the end, I would have to discount most all but his initial vision.

The prophecy of John Paul Jackson, "The Coming Perfect Storm," I find interesting because like Wilkerson's initial Vision much came true in great detail. Both Wilkerson and Jackson were exemplary and experienced men of God.

But they may have been tainted by Pentecostal doctrine, which I think goes overboard on the promise that *all* may have *all* spirituals gifts, including prophecy. This encourages experimentation, presumption, and therefore abuse. My opinion.

 

[Keraz]

How can we know if someone who says they are a Prophet, is really from God?
Easy - they are all fakes, as we have no Prophets now. Psalms 74:9-11 As in, someone who foresees future world events.

However; there are prophets who can speak over individuals. But great care must be taken, as Satan masquerades as a prophet and has fooled many, to their shame.

Myself; I make no claim the be a prophet, I m a messenger of what the Prophets have told us and they did tell us all we need to know about Gods Plans for our future. So anyone who comes and says they have a new prophetic word, are liars.