When Prophets Should Remain Silent
During the past twelve months the credibility of the prophetic movement has been dented by the failure of two highly publicised prophecies from a number of seasoned prophets. Firstly, it was predicted that the Covid-19 pandemic would go as quickly as it came and be over by Easter/Passover 2020. Covid is still very much alive and well nearly a year later. Secondly it was predicted that Donald Trump would have a second term as President of the US. Now, he might run in 2024 and win, but the tone of the prophecies suggested eight consecutive years in office.
While a number of prophets have apologised for these incorrect predictions, the question has to be asked, “What went wrong?” How could mature prophetic ministers stumble so badly? Here are some possibilities:
1. No prophet is infallible. In the New Testament, prophecy is gift that all believers can move in. While most will prophesy occasionally, some will be called to the office of prophet and be used regularly and will have a higher degree of revelation. The apostle Paul taught that all prophecy should be tested and not just accepted without question (see 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22). A past record of accuracy must not lead to the presumption that a new prophecy is correct. It has to be tested by the person giving it and by those receiving.
At times prophetic people may rush to release revelation prematurely or without waiting on God for the correct interpretation of what they are seeing. And believers can idolise prophets, relying on them to hear from God for them, rather than enjoying the privilege and dignity of hearing from God themselves (which takes effort that many are not prepared to make). Not only that, prophets may unwittingly begin to idolise the revelatory level they have attained, forgetting that the heart and essence of all prophecy is to point to Jesus. Nothing must take the place of devotion to him. Prophets must remember that while earth notices stars, heaven notices servants. This leads to the second issue.
2. Pride. The more strategic and predictive the revelation, the greater will be the temptation to spiritual pride (see 2 Corinthians 12:7). Prophets are to seek accuracy to bless, not the spectacular to impress. There is a fine line between these two. Prophets with large ministries that are self-funding may succumb to the pressure to always be bringing predictions and exciting revelation to keep supporters interested. Such pressure will pollute the ability to hear accurately. The Holy Spirit once told me, “A prophet does not only know how to speak the secrets of God, but also knows how to keep the secrets of God.” Some years later I heard US prophet Paul Cain say, “On earth, prophets are known more for what they say, but they are known in heaven for what they keep to themselves.”
There are things God reveals to be spoken out. There are also things to be kept for prayer, for pondering, or they are simply God sharing things with a friend that should be kept secret. The pressure to always be saying something prophetic can destroy a genuine ministry. And the temptation to prophesy what we or others desire leads to the third issue.
3. Prophesying from the soul. In 1 Kings 22, the prophets employed by evil King Ahab of Israel all prophesied that he would have great victory in an upcoming battle. The prophet Micaiah however prophesied that he would die in battle. If the Jezebel spirit can’t destroy a prophet’s ministry, it will seek to seduce them into prophesying only what people want to hear. This is prophecy from the soul not the Spirit. If they bow to this they may end up coming under the influence of lying spirits and their prophecies wont only sound appeasing, they will be wrong. Prophets are to speak the truth in love, no matter how costly to their reputations.
At other times, we may be so desperate that our soul speaks very loudly and manufactures what we think is a word from God. At such times it is wise to pass such impressions past other prophets, pastors, or apostles who may be more objective, before a message is released.
Greta and I exercise a prophetic ministry in a number of churches in NZ and overseas. We identify with other prophets and do not want to be judgmental. Rather, we want to underline the dangers in prophetic ministry so they can be avoided and the ministry remain pure. Without the prophetic ministry, the church will languish and not move forward. Satan wants to destroy prophets at this time, but God wants to refine the prophetic ministry.
The prophetic ministry is one of the hardest callings to carry. As Pastor Mike Bickle says in his book Growing in the Prophetic, “Spectators don’t understand how little the prophetic person understands about what is happening in their own lives and ministries…I have never met a prophetic person yet whose life was significantly made happy because of his/her gift. Typically, they have experienced demonic attack, opposition from godly people and great perplexity in their own soul…They may see so much but they can’t often understand the full meaning of what they see.”
There are false, counterfeit prophets. But there are many sincere, genuine prophets who occasionally may get it wrong. This does not make them false prophets. They are true prophets who made mistakes and who will learn from them and come forth with even more powerful and pure ministries.