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 mainstream 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 Yahweh our Elohim who sets up, and it is also Him who tears down (Job 34:24; Dan 2:21).
The Word of Elohim does, however, give 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 a single one of them can be omitted – or, like the combination for the safe in question, the prophet (and his/her prophecy) will be very wrong …
The first criterion which must be met is ‘fulfillment’ (see Deu 18:22). 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. ‘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 our Elohim. The scriptural reference for this is as follows:
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “LET’S GO AFTER OTHER GODS” (which you have not known) “and let’s serve them;” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cling to him. That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, BECAUSE HE HAS SPOKEN REBELLION AGAINST YAHWEH YOUR GOD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.” (Deu 13:1-5 WEBA, 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 Yahweh 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 system?
“But test and prove all things [until
you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.” (1The
©2021
[1] American Dictionary of the English
Language, Noah Webster, 1828
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