5 GUIDES FOR IDENTIFYING TRUE PROPHECY
Intro:
This is the third post in our Prophecy Series. The first two are:
What Prophecy Is And What It Is Not
Do read these posts before delving into today’s topic.
And let me know what you think of each post in this series. Kindly share them too however you can to enlighten as many as possible. You are richly blessed in Jesus’ name.
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In our society today, prophecies are rampant. Whole church services are often turned into spectacles where forecasts are dished out on personal and public affairs. In some churches, regular teaching of the word of God takes the back burner because fortune telling draws in the crowds. And even if you don’t seek these prophecies out, you are confronted with them on every media.
But there are true prophecies and false ones. People of other faiths or no faith at all may see this differently but we as Christians have our own parameters for distinguishing true from false prophecy, the most fundamental of which is the source of the prophecy. We consider a prophecy true if it comes from the Spirit of Almighty God. We consider prophecies from contrary spirits as abominations for reasons we shall soon see.
The year was 588 B.C. The nation of Judah was in crisis but the people didn’t know it. Their sister nation to the north, Israel, had been sent into exile by the Assyrians for abandoning God and Judah was towing the same path. God had sent them prophets who ceaselessly urged them to return to Him. Jeremiah was one of those prophets. He spoke to the people in the temple, at the gates, out in open country, and used the sternest language but the people didn’t listen. Rather, they saw him as a pest. The kings and the priests plotted against him. They imprisoned, beat and humiliated him. Only by God’s mercy did he escape death at their hands, the fate of many a prophet over the years. Yet, he continued to rebuke sin and point the people back to God.
But there were other prophets whom the people loved. These ones prophesied peace, prosperity and invincibility on the nation. The people showered these prophets with gifts and carried on in their wicked ways. Then suddenly, the Babylonians attacked. They laid a siege on Jerusalem that lasted sixteen months. Even then, these prophets kept up with their cheery note. Until what was left of the once mighty nation was carried into exile. Just like God had warned through His prophets, going back to Moses at the birth of the nation of Israel (which then included Judah).
It is important to note that the distinction we are about to make between true and false prophecy is not primarily an academic exercise. False prophecy is dangerous. It promotes sin, lulls people into a false sense of security and ultimately brings destruction, both physically and spiritually. That is why some of the strongest language in the Bible is God warning against false prophecy and denouncing false prophets through His faithful servants.
[bctt tweet=”False prophecy destroys people by promoting sin & lulling them into a false sense of security.” username=”edithohaja1″]
We as Christians need to make this distinction daily and flee the traps of false prophecy and prophets. In this regard, these 5 guides are crucial.
5 Guides For Identifying True Prophecy
1. The Lord of the prophet:
Who is he or she serving? Many claim to be gifted but they are not serving the Almighty God. Some are messengers of Satan and lesser gods. This is very important because nothing pure can come from the impure.
“11. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” – James 3:11-12
It’s not enough that someone calls the Almighty God if they also pay allegiance to other gods.
“3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” – Exodus 20:3-5 (emphasis, mine).
Besides the presence of idols, you can tell who is speaking from strange powers through the tools of their trade: e.g. cowrie shells; mala beads; crystal balls; tarot cards; ouija boards; reflective surfaces for scrying like water, fire, glass or dark stones.
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(Related: 5 Amazing Qualities Of The Bible – that make me read it every day)
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A true prophet of God works with the Bible and acknowledges Jesus Christ as the Son of God who shed His blood to redeem mankind.
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” – 2 John 1:7
The power the prophet is subject to is so important when we realise that by going to strange powers for prophecy, we are more or less opening ourselves up to those powers and pledging allegiance to them. Note that before such consultations are over, there are usually rituals to perform like chants, sacrifices, baths…. And in most cases, they insist on regular consultations to renew the power of their enchantments for their customers or outright membership of their flock or else …. What else do we need to convince us that this is worship and therefore very offensive to our Creator God?
“10. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord” – Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
“Do not go to mediums or fortune-tellers for advice, or you will become unclean. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 19:31 (NCV)
However, in spite of the foregoing, God in His sovereignty can choose to use anyone to reveal His word as He did with Balaam in the book of Numbers, but that is the exception rather than the rule.
2. The words themselves:
Do they align with the Bible? And do they reflect a desire to honour God and worship Him in truth? Or is it all about immediate benefit, e.g. making money no matter how, snagging a spouse with no care as to the state of one’s soul in the end?
People are usually most concerned about their success, happiness and other temporal stuff when seeking personal words of prophecy. But as children of God, we must realise that the reason God would rather be the one to help us choose our spouse, job, home, etc. is to enable us maintain our relationship with Him. For example, there are certain people you marry and you can kiss your faith goodbye. Similarly, there are certain jobs that will steadily pull you away from God and some homes may have heavy demonic presence that you are not yet strong enough to fight.
“And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.” – Exodus 34:16
So any prophecy that is assuring you of success in any venture while being silent on how God actually feels about it (how it will affect your right standing with Him) is a false prophecy.
Moreover, true prophecy will not contradict the revealed word of God in Scripture. So a prophecy that encourages someone to go on a robbery or perform money ritual, that they will succeed, is not from God, no matter how often it seems to work for them. When they least expect, that word will fail them and the consequences will be fittingly disastrous.
The Bible is full of warnings against such wickedness and the judgment that awaits the perpetrators.
“Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished” – Proverbs 11:21.
“Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” – Genesis 9:6
[bctt tweet=”True prophecy agrees with the revealed word of God in the Bible.” username=”edithohaja1″]
3. The character of the ‘prophet’:
Does it reflect God’s character? The Lord Jesus explained this clearly in the book of Matthew.
“15. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” – Matthew 7:15-17
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(Related: 3 Attributes Of Jesus In Isaiah 42 – To inspire and encourage us)
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The fruit is also referred to as works. Basically when someone is saved and living in obedience to God, they bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, otherwise they bear the fruit of the flesh.
“19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. U22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” – Galatians 5:19-23
Three common traits of false prophets are lying, lust for money and sexual immorality. Lying is fundamental to them because it is the signature of the devil under whose influence they operate. We also hear of prophets extorting money from people, threatening them if they do not give. Similarly, we hear of prophets sleeping with women who come to them for prayer. By preying on these needy women, some acquire a harem.
“44. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” – John 8:44
“But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” – Jeremiah 23:14 (ESV)
[bctt tweet=”Common traits of false prophets are lying, lust for money and sexual immorality.” username=”edithohaja1″]
4. The motivation of the prophet: We’ve touched on this while explaining the numbers above.
Does the prophet hope to ensnare the hearers spiritually by driving a wedge between them and God? Does he or she aim to extort money/exploit the hearers in some other way or to declare God’s counsel truthfully?
“26. How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27. who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams ….” – Jeremiah 23:26–27 (NKJV) emphasis, mine
The aspect of exploitation was a big problem in Israel of old and God constantly warned against prophets who were more concerned with gain than faithfully speaking His word.
“5. Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. 6. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them” – Micah 3:5-6 (ESV).
A verse from the Epistles quoted earlier in this series is also relevant here.
“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” – 2 Corinthians 2:17 (NIV)
We are not supposed to charge fees when we bless people via our spiritual gifts.
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” – Matthew 10:8
So if you go somewhere and there are price tags for prophecies, run away from there. A gift willingly brought is appropriate though.
[bctt tweet=”False prophecy aims to alienate people from God Almighty & ensnare them to Satan.” username=”edithohaja1″]
5. The fulfilment of the prophecy:
Does it come to pass? – (Deuteronomy 18:22) A priest in Nigeria prophesied that a governor will die in a certain year; that he will never be elected for a second term in office. He went as far as saying he will leave the priesthood if his words didn’t come to pass. The fellow didn’t die that year, he not only won a second term in office, he was subsequently elected into the Senate. And he’s still alive. In case you’re wondering, the priest didn’t disrobe as a result. Wow!
Some ‘prophets’ adjust their predictions by hindsight when they fail, lol! God is omniscient and He does not lie or make mistakes. If He says a thing it will surely come to pass (Numbers 23:19). We can easily verify this when the time for occurrence is close and specified like in the case above. Some prophecies, however, are for the far future, meaning that they may manifest long after the generation that heard them. Only posterity can tell if they were true or not.
15. Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. 17. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.” – Jeremiah 28:15-17
[bctt tweet=”If the word of a prophet does not come to pass, the Lord has not spoken it. – Deut. 18:22″ username=”edithohaja1″]
This does not mean that God wants all His words fulfilled. When he sends warnings of judgment, He hopes to see people heed those warnings and repent of their sins to avert the impending doom. Remember the case of Nineveh. God had mercy when the people repented and did not destroy the city as Jonah had prophesied.
But except in such extenuating circumstances, when someone prophesies things that do not happen, we can safely say their prophecies were false.
Conclusion:
The guides presented in this post need to be considered together when we evaluate prophecies. For example, a prophecy may come to pass, but if its source is polluted, you need to flee pronto. Otherwise, it may open you up to overwhelming temptation, lead you into deep spiritual bondage and eternal damnation. Remember Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the three witches. A little truth, a rhyme here, a riddle there and lo, you’re ruined. Macbeth did become the Thane of Cawdor as the witches predicted but ambition and pressure from his wife led him to murder King Duncan to fulfil the witches’ second prophecy. Further consultation yielded three prophecies: beware of Macduff (fair enough!), none born of woman shall harm him (awesome!) and he won’t be defeated till Birnam Wood came to Dusiname Hill (impossible, right?).
Macbeth left that encounter anticipating certain triumph in the battle/s ahead of him only to realise before he was killed that the witches’ prophecies were actually about his imminent death at the hands of Macduff (the ally of Malcolm, son of Duncan), who was born through a C-section and had his troops match to Dusiname Hill under the cover of trees they cut from Birnam Wood. What a twist! What deadly duplicity! But you better believe that art imitates life!
I want to end this post by reiterating the theme of our first post in this series, “You Are Your Own Best Prophet.” While it is important to receive counsel from those ahead of us in the Lord and other brethren, we should not delegate knowing God by and for ourselves. There is so much fraud in the world today and, sadly, it has crept into the church.
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(Related: Intimacy With God)
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Ensure that you cherish and nurture your relationship with God. Let nothing come between you and He. Immerse yourself daily in His word. And when you absolutely must ask Him questions on the issues of your life and whatever else that matters to you, He would answer and direct your paths. So when someone tries to sell you a lemon, you will laugh because you already know the truth.
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The scriptures used in this post are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible except where otherwise stated.
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I would love to know if there’s anything you’re taking away from this post and do help me share it widely, if you will. You are richly blessed in Jesus’ name.
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I love this! Honestly false prophets are fond of breaking happy homes. Nice write up.
Among many other evils. May God keep us safe from them in Jesus’ name.
Hi Edith, interesting reading, very good! You mentioned, we are not supposed to charge fees when we bless people via our spiritual gifts.“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” – Matthew 10:8
Do you think this also includes writing books and selling them? I have been really blessed by reading books and buy a lot of books..just wanted to know your thoughts on that..
I don’t think books are involved because you are not fully in control of that. Publishing companies are required and they will set a price to recover their investment and make some profit. Even self-published authors incur some costs. And there can always be provision for giveaways. I think this refers to people setting consultation fees for seeing others, praying and prophesying for them. We receive what we’re given when we minister but we don’t set price tags beforehand which means that those who can’t pay don’t receive our attention. What do you think of this, Rita? Love you! <3
I agree..I always felt this for the prophetic gift and other gifts, but writing is more like what you have, which you can share..with others as an author, they also invest..and then books have to be bought…and I think people value a book more when they buy it too..plus of course there will be giveaways..love you and thanks for sharing that
Bless you, Rita! 🙂
Just remembered one more thing, the gypsies etc. in those days were soothsayers and they openly asked money for telling the future, prophecy.so Christians are lowering themselves to that..not the way of Christ!
The truth is that so-called Christians who do that usually aren’t operating with the Spirit of God.
There is nothing better than being ur own prophet. Yes, we ought to hear from those spiritually higher than us but we still have to contemplate on certain things we are told all in the name of #prophecy#. I remember sometime in 2017, I was instructed to bath with some strange leaves all in the name of preventing affliction from sorcerers. But I knew from the onset that Jesus didn’t operate like that, therefore, it’s not scriptural. I made some declarations and engaged my faith. Who knows what would have been the outcome if I had gone ahead to bath with those leaves?
Thank God for wisdom applied and spiritual alertness.
Bless u, ma!
True. That is how people contract more serious affliction than they had before when they go for spiritual consultation with those serving strange powers. May God help us to escape such spiritual defilement in Jesus’ name.
Wow what an insightful post, and whole series! So true how false prophets will destroy people! I pray that your ministry will be abundantly blessed in 2019! ❤
Amen. And yours too, Donna, in Jesus’ name.
Well researched, and written to promote wisdom in Christ as always. Thank you dear sister.
Praise God and blessings on you and yours, Tammy! ❤️
Very enlightening. This will hopefully stop us from getting carried away by false prophets and also reconcile us with God. The tips were very helpful.
Thank you ma for this.
YES! This!!! There is a dangerous movement taking over the church filled with people claiming to be prophets and abandoning the Bible all the while leading the sheep away from the Shepherd. I have agonized over this in my spirit as I watch sisters and brothers mesmerized by their false words wander off. Your words cut straight to the root! I need to go back and read the rest of this series! Well done!
Your comment is so heartwarming, Sarah! This really is a problem in the church today. May God keep us vigilant to escape the traps of the enemy in this area and help other brethren do the same in Jesus’ name.
This was such an incredibly enlightening read, Edith. Thank you for detailing such critical elements of false prophets and guiding us through God’s Word to bring a deeper understanding on this. SO nourishing and helpful!
Thank you so much, Cristine! Glory to God and a beautiful 2019 to you and your family in Jesus ‘ name.
Thank you, Ma, for this post.
It has shown me the guides for identifying a true prophecy. I pray for God’s grace to lead us away from untrue prophets n their prophecies….
Glory to God and amen to your prayer. Have a wonderful day!
Thank you for making me understand deeply how important it is to examine the source of the prophecy before accepting it. God bless you Ma
Praise God! May you spot the lies disguised as prophecy a mile away always in Jesus’ name.
I don’t think it’s advisable to always rely on the words of prophets when we can actually be our own prophets. We can talk to God through prayer and listen to him through the Bible. Then let his will be done in everything.
He has promised never to fail or disappoint us and he will always stick to his words.
God will surely help us and give us the spirit of discerning so we could know the truth or false
I love the way you outlined how false prophets can be identified.However,nowadays they are really difficult to identify.They go extra mile trying to make people believe that what they say are truths.They make reference to the word of God ,proofing many facts in the bible and people end up falling prey . .
I wish there wasn’t even the need to identify false prophets at all. It’s painful to think that selfish people are taking advantage of the gullibility of desperate Christians to carry out their own personal agenda which mostly includes money making. Don’t these people feel ashamed or scared to prophesy in God’s name?. It’s wonderful that you have taken the pains to list out and explain these guides and i’m grateful.
Dr. Bill Hamon defines prophecy as:
…simply God communicating His thoughts and intents to mankind. When a true prophecy is given, the Holy Spirit inspires someone to communicate God’s pure and exact words to the individual or group for whom they are intended. It is delivered without any additions or subtractions by the one prophesying, including any applications or interpretations suggested by the one speaking. To be most effective, it must also be delivered in God’s timing and with the proper spirit or attitude.
I’ve been following this post and I must say this is indeed a rewarding and revealing post. Detailed explanations with biblical references. Thank you so much ma.
Thank you ma for this wisdom – filled teaching. I have particularly learned that a true prophecy must be in agreement with the word of God. Anything outside the word is false prophecy. This makes it imperative for a Christian to study God’s word daily to be able to discern various prophecies.
Thank you Ma for laying down these guides to make sure we don’t listen or fall for wrong prophecies
I’m very appreciative for this great piece ,I hope many people will see this and be wise. In society people has been misled through prophecy and the most annoying is that they pay so much for the so call miracle or prophecy while God’s word made us to know that salvation is free.so we all prophet on our all you need to do is just have faith and prophecise into your life ,beleiving it and you will receive.
The guardline just gave a summary view of who a prophet is and who a prophet is not .
And also things to lookout for when a suppose prophet is prophesying .
Thank you ma for this spirit filled guard line.
point one to three got me most .
we christains are blessed with the spirit to discern who is speaking through who , like in the bible, the slave girl that peter delivered was a prophet prophesing to people but was also a means of making money ,but when the true prophets came the demon in her bow and accknowledged them as the true prophets of God.
Another point is the character of the prophets ,my mum once told me a story of how a woman that is a prophetess will finish prophesing and still engage in immoral life.
So we should be our own prophet and always be careful who is saying what through who.
This is really an eye opener. Due to frustration and in need of quick miracle people believe any thing the supposed man of God says because that’s what they often need to hear. Thanks ma for giving us this incite. It will really go a long way in educating people.
False prophesy has done more harm than good to many of us. It is disheartening how men of God carry false prophesy up and down just to attract members or money to themselves. This write up is an eye opener to every believer to avoid being victim of such false prophesies.
This is honestly interesting. However, my position has been that anyone who seeks for any gratification for a spiritual gift or prophecy is not of God. This is in addition to the ones i have learnt in this prophecy series. I remember the scripture described “Men of God” that are targeting peoples’ pockets as People whose god is their “Belly”. (Rom 16:17-18).
Very interesting and very touchy topic I must say. These days we seem to have majority of people who do not believe in prophecies anymore because of the inherent danger of getting a false one from a false prophet thereby disregarding a true prophecy. We also have people that believe everything without checking to see which is from the Lord and which is not. Like you pointed out, the solution is to have a personal relationship with God and communicate with him properly to be able to filter out true prophecies from hoaxes.
Their character and what the word has to say, gets me all the time. That is practically what I work with. I ask myself what does the Bible have to say in line with this prophecy I have received?
Prophecy is meant to guide, and direct, not condemn any prophecy that condemns or insight fear – I question it.
The word of God is there to serve as a guide to us, a guide to know him more, to understand the world, and work on our preferences. When a prophecy has been received it’s essential to cross check with the word of God, to know what the given prophecy is set to do in your life. If only this can be done by a lot of people, then false prophecy would not be a thing in existence. Thank you ma for sharing this.
Thank you ma for this wonderful write up. Bad prophesy is one of the major challenges and set backs which people face in this our contemporary society today. Bad prophesy have broken many happy homes, caused malice between brothers and sisters, thank you very much for this clarification.
A very Beautiful Post, a fine guide to knowing what prophecy is true, and which is false. This is an undeniably important write up, especially during this era of false prophets and prophecies.
Well said Ma. Another point I would like to make is the issue of the prophets proffering solutions. Prophecy can come from Satan. They can tell you your fortune. They can also tell you the harm that is about befalling you but they may not give a godly solution to the problems. By their words we shall know them like the writer said, check if the prophecies align with the words of God in His Holy book.
Thank you for making me get t understand introspectively how important it is to examine the source of the prophecy. God bless you Ma
It’s very important to always make sure that the authority prophesying is in submission to God’s word.
The Lord of the Prophet is really important inasmuch as false prophets use the disguise of serving the Almighty God. I believe through sincere prayers and fasting the ability to distinguish between prophets (true or false) would be granted. Thanks Ma’am for this piece.
You are your own prophet! Awish people can understand this and not fall into the hands of fake prophecy by fake prophet. The increase of fake prophecy in this part of the world is alarm. I remember those fake prophecy that there won’t be Nigeria in the year 2015 but here we are in the year 2019, Nigeria is still kicking. This article has shown us guides to identify true prophecy. A true prophecy should confirm the word of God. The character of the prophet should speak volume on what you are expecting as a prophecy. Deut. 18:22 said it all, if a prophecy does not come to pass, it’s not from God, thus it’s fake..
Real prophecies must agree with the truth as revealed by the holy gospel. It must come to pass in its time. Any thing other than this, is from the pit of hell .Real prophets of God are known by what they do. They preach the truth about God. Their messages center on repentance. The counterfeit (false prophets) are as well known by their fruits. Nice post bless you ma.
Real prophecies must agree with the truth as revealed by the holy gospel. It must come to pass in its time. Any thing other than this, is from the pit of hell .Real prophets of God are known by what they do. They preach the truth about God. Their messages center on repentance. They don’t commercialize the gift of God. The counterfeit ones(false prophets) are as well known by their fruits. Nice post bless you ma.
There’s great need for one to be careful as to whom they get prophecies from, therefore, we need to be watchful. I guess with this guidelines I’m sure to detect a fake prophecy.
Thank you for making me understand deeply how important it is to examine the source of the prophecy before accepting it. God bless you Ma
I strongly believe that with these guides listed one would be able to identify a true prophet, inasmuch as false prophets use so many eye and heart catching disguises. Thank you Ma for this divine piece.
Thank you ma for this post, at least now we can differentiate between false and true prophecy. They must align with the words of God written in his book, the prophet himself should have the character of Christ. These things would help us distinguish between the real and the fake prophecy.
2Timothy 3:13-17 also spoke about false prophets and laid advised believers on what we should follow. Normally, I think false prophets go the extra mile most times by demanding for material things for prayers etc.
Yes it is good that before we accept any prophecy, that we should know the source well. Always as I read from this post,that it should be that which acknowledge the presence of God and Jesus as our redeemer!
By their fruits we shall know them. Make sure that any prophecy, you are to accept acknowledge the most high only.
I think every believer needs a discernment spirit because it is very difficult to know them this days, they will deceive you from the words in the Bible.I think a strong spirit of God and maybe applying some of the things listed above can help.
Quite interesting! It is very bad that people tend to lie with God all in the name of making money. I believe that we can be our own prophets to avoid falling victims of false prophets. Thank so much, Aunty for these tips to identifying fake prophets. I believe that true prophecy agrees with the revealed word of God in the bible. Any prophecy that is against that is fake.
True prophecy agrees with the revealed word of God in the Bible. This is truism, I strongly agree with this quote. Therefore, anyone who goes about peddling the word of God for any selfish interest and gain will surely face the wrath God.
An inspiring post and also an eye opener, I can actually identify them. I have encountered one who feels no one speak directly to God apart from him.
In our world now people are easily deceived by what they hear from prophets not minding the source of such things or the character of those prophets, God will help us..thank you ma for sharing these to help us identify true prophets.
The gift of discernement is a gift given by the Holy spirit.
It enables Christians know the right message/prophecy to believe and subscribe to. It is then important that Christians seek to gain this gift.
Wow! This is wonderful. I have been following the ‘Prophecy’ series; you are your own best prophet’ and ‘what prophecy is and what it is not’. I am truly blessed with what prophecy is and also how to identify true prophecies. Thank you Ma for this wonderful post. it is always amazing to visit your blog because I am always enlightened and get clarity in controversial issues. Remain blessed Ma.
We shouldn’t use the work of God as a way to start making money. Also we should be careful to know God’s own prophecies because some prophecies come,from the devil. Nice post, ma.
I’m a victim of a prophet saying some thing destructive about me but here I am standing tall because I was able to listen to God speaking good over my life. Please be very careful, these are things that are happening everyday and taking over Christianity. Be sure of your conviction and pray without ceasing. May God help is IJN
Thank you for this insight into knowing a true prophecy, because now people are being deceived everywhere, and they also do not access the prophets from which the prophecies are coming from.
The activities of the so called prophets and their prophecies this days need to be subjected to a serious scrutiny because many families have turned into a war zone as a result of prophecy. No doubt, the ideas above will also help immensely. That is nice ma
Wow! What an interesting series.
I had an encounter with a false prophet (I can rightful call him false,deducing from this series). I was on my way home late one night, when a man started following me he started speaking Yoruba to me. I understand Yoruba but the kind of Yoruba he was speaking was kind of deep( like how we have the Nsukka variant of Igbo), so I couldn’t understand him but I could still make out meaning of a word or two from what he was saying. He said, I was troubled and worried, I just looked up at him and hastened my pace( in my mind I was like broda, you have failed! I was so happy that night because somebody just gave me #10,000 for the Xmas/new year celebration.)
He kept on stalking me and giving more prophecies but I didn’t say a word to him till I got to the bus stop and just before I boarded a bus, I turned to him and told him that next time he should also receive a prophecy that I’m Igbo and I can’t understand him. He stuttered a little and said he thought I was Yoruba, he went on to say that he will translate it to English!! Lol.
Seriously, some of these prophets work with careful deductions and assumptions. Anybody can be trouble and worried in Lagos(that’s what the atmosphere even breeds) and many people have told me I look like a Yoruba girl, this could have been anybody.
False prophecy is very rampant in the world today, a lot of fallacies and false teachings in the world and these are definitely the signs of end time.
I believe that if you know your Bible very well, the false prophets won’t have anything on you.
Also praying and asking God to guide you is of great essence.
My thoughts are that this has finally answered the questions in my heart concerning prophecies. With the influx of prophets everywhere, one needs direction like this.