Nisan 2
Real versus
Counterfeit
“For false Messiahs
and lying prophets will arise and will give signs and wonders and will deceive,
if it is possible, even the chosen. But
take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.” (Mark 13:22-23 HRVS, emphasis mine)
End-time
prophecies have become increasingly more common as the time for the return of
our Messiah Yeshua draws closer.
Amazingly, the main stream westernized church community has suddenly
become over-populated with a rapid rise of those “called” to the prophetic
ministry. I am not here to dispute the “calling”;
however, it is YHWH our Elohim who sets up, and it is also Him who tears down (Job 34:24; Dan 2:21).
The
Word of Elohim, however, gives us some very strict criteria for determining the
validity of a prophet. Just like the
combination on a bank safe, all three
of these criteria must be simultaneously met and fulfilled in an individual –
not one of them can be off – or, like
the combination for the safe in question, the prophet (and his/her prophecy) will be very
wrong …
“…
when the prophet speaks in the Name of יהוה and the word is not, or comes not, that is
the word which יהוה has not spoken. The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deu 18:22 ISR, emphasis mine)
The
first criterion which must be met is “fulfillment”. If the prophet prophesies an event in the
future, and it fails to come to pass, it was not from our Elohim. Presumptuous prophecies are self-glorifying,
and seldom bear fruit. The word, “presume”
is defined as “to venture without positive permission; to form confident or
arrogant opinions”[1]. “Presuming” to prophecy is dangerous ground …
However,
it is possible for someone to give a prophecy, have it come to pass, and it not come from YHWH. The scriptural reference for this is as
follows:
“When
there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he shall give you
a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder shall come true, of which he has
spoken to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other mighty ones – which you have not
known – and serve them,’ do not listen
to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה your Elohim is
trying you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with
all your being. Walk after יהוה your Elohim and
fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to
Him. And that prophet or that dreamer of
dreams is put to death, because he has
spoken apostasy against יהוה your Elohim – who brought you out of the land of
Mitsrayim and ransomed you from the house of bondage – to make you stray from
the way in which יהוה your
Elohim commanded you to walk. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.”
(Deu
13:1-5 ISR, emphasis mine)
Here
we find the remaining two criteria that a prophet appointed and anointed by
Elohim will fulfill. Such a person will never speak in the name of any other god
except the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Nor will a true, anointed,
man/woman of YHWH our Elohim speak against keeping the commandments of Torah. Signs and wonders are not the true test or
proof of prophecy, or of a prophet, for we can see that it is possible for them
to be duplicated and fulfilled. Yeshua Himself said that we shall know them
by their fruit (Mat 7:15-20).
All
three of these criteria (1. the
prophecy will come to pass; 2. the individual will always reflect a life of loving YHWH with everything in them,
loving their neighbor as themselves, and of a lifestyle of keeping the
commandments of Torah, and 3. the prophet does not ever speak in the name of any god but the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob) - all of these must be
fulfilled before the individual will pass the test, and can be accepted …
Increasingly,
the smell of rotten fruit is lingering in the air. The experience that I personally have had
with those that Elohim has called to the office of the prophet, and those
operating in the ministry of prophecy (two different things), is the deep
humility in these chosen and anointed people, something that is becoming a
rarity. Upon my own extensive research,
I discovered that the early, first century congregations had added a further “test”
for discerning between a true or false prophet.
If a prophet, while prophesying, asked for food, money, or any kind of a
gift, he/she was labeled a false prophet, and not of Elohim. Now, I wonder how this “test” would separate
the wheat from the tares in the modern, “westernized” church?
“But
test and prove all things [until you
can recognize] what is good; [to
that] hold fast.” (1The 5:21 AM P)
©2018
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