The Biblical Test of the Prophet

By brother R Michel Lankford
 

There IS Absolute Truth

During the trial of Messiah, prior to His becoming the atonement for our sins, one of Messiah's judges asked one the eternally significant questions, "What is truth? (John 18:38)." Since humankind's fall into sin (Genesis 3), our societies have forever been struggling with the question, "What is truth?" Among those who refuse to acknowledge or submit to the authority of Yahweh Almighty God, and or the Messiah which Yahweh has sent and provided for us, many of these people are content to say that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Of course, in saying that, they deny their own assertion, because saying, 'There is no such thing as absolute truth,' is in itself an absolute statement, so they are claiming an absolute truth at the same time they deny that absolute truth exists.
There are others in our world who will not go so far as to make the foolish claim that there are absolutely no absolute truths, but they will simply claim that it is impossible to truly KNOW the truth. They will claim that the truth is not actually 'knowable.' All in all, this is a very convenient philosophy. It allows us to remain comfortably lazy. After all, why should we search? Why should we dig? Why should we diligently pursue truth once we have conveniently and comfortably deluded ourselves into believing that even if we found it, it would be impossible to know what we had? It's a very convenient lie that is also very comforting to spiritual laziness. After all, a person says to themselves; even if there is such a thing as absolute truth, surely the all-knowing all compassionate God can not and will not hold us accountable for not knowing and not doing what we have conveniently trained ourselves to believe was not able to be known.
This philosophy pretends to be open-minded but in reality it actively denies the truth of Almighty God who rewards those that diligently seek after Him (Isaiah 55:1-7; Hebrews 11:1,6; Proverbs 8:17; Matthew 7:7-8). It denies the truth of Almighty God who reveals Himself in nature and makes Himself known (Romans 1:17-20). It denies the truth that God reveals Himself to those who are willing to obey Him (John 8:31-32; John 14:21; 1 John 2:3-4). The philosophy that the truth cannot be known actually denies Jesus Christ Yeshua the Messiah who IS the living embodiment of the truth (John 14:6). The philosophy that the truth cannot actually be known actively denies a key function of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). This philosophy invokes the wrath of God (Romans 1:18).
The reality is that the truth can be learned. The truth can be known. The real reason that people want to claim the truth cannot be known is that they do not want to be responsible for diligently seeking and learning the truth. They do not want to be accountable for believing the truth. Most importantly, they do not want to be held responsible for obeying the truth once they are confronted with it.
The challenge of our age is that worldly and ungodly philosophies such as this one are infiltrating and becoming an infestation within the congregation of believers. The philosophy that absolute truth cannot be known for example is a key component within the seeker sensitive/emergent church movements which are so popular today. We are overwhelmingly within the age where people are refusing to hold fast the sound doctrine, they are heaping for themselves teachers which tell them what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:1-3; Isaiah 5:20-24; Isaiah 30:9-11; 1 Timothy 4:1)
In this climate where the age of deception is gaining strength, where people are constantly claiming to be receiving prophecies from the LORD; people are forgetting the biblical tests which are required to test whether a prophecy is truly from God or it's not.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, HCSB)

“Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t stifle the Spirit. Don’t despise prophecies, but test all things. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, HCSB)

So We should test Prophesy and Doctrine, but how?

The Biblical Tests of Prophets and Prophecies

Keeping the scriptural mandate in mind, it is critical to remind ourselves of the biblical tests with Scripture requires so that we can tell whether a prophet is truly speaking God's words or not.
1) A true prophet does not lie. His predictions will be fulfilled. (Jer. 28:9, "But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.")
2) A true prophet prophesies in the name of the Lord, not in his own name. (2 Pet. 1:21, "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.")
3) A true prophet does not give his own private interpretation of prophecy. (2 Pet. 1:20, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.")
4) A true prophet points out the sins and transgressions of the people against God. (Isa. 58:1, "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.)
5) A true prophet is to warn the people of God's coming judgment. (Examples of judgment such as portrayed in Isa. 24:20, "The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls --never to rise again." and Rev. 14:6, 7, "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth --to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'").
6) A true prophet edifies the church, counsels and advises it in religious matters. (1 Cor. 14:3, 4, "But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.")
7) A true prophet's words will be in absolute harmony with the words of the prophets that have preceded him. (Isa. 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn."). His prophecies will be in complete agreement with God's Laws and Commandments.
8) A true prophet recognizes the Physical Incarnation and resurrection incarnation of Jesus Christ. (1 John 4:1-3, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.")
9) A true prophet can be recognized by the results of his work. (Matt. 7:16-20, "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.")
10) A true prophet acts in accordance with the will and approval of God. (Deut. 18:19, "If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.")
Let's expand two of the more significant passages above:

Deut. 18:15-22. [Moses said to his people] "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. . . . The LORD said to me: 'What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.' You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."

Isaiah 8:19-22, "When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness."

 

 

Conclusion:

To summarize, in order to be a true prophet of Almighty God the following things must be firmly in place:
1. The prophet MUST speak in the name of the LORD and NEVER in his own name.
2. The prophets MUST speak the word of the LORD and NEVER give his own private interpretation
3. Absolutely everything that the prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, MUST come to pass as the prophet previously foretold it would (Deuteronomy 18:15-22). If it does not, he is a false prophet, and he is not to be listened to or feared.
4. Absolutely EVERYTHING that the prophet prophesies must be in complete agreement with other prophecies of Scripture, and it MUST also be in complete agreement with the LAW which God gave to Moses. If it does not, the light of dawn is NOT with that prophet or with his prophecy, (Isaiah 8:19-22).
5. God's written Law even trumps and supersedes prophecy. Why do I say that? I said, because Yahweh Almighty God declared it. Even if what a prophet declares comes true, but what he says contradicts the Law that God gave to Moses, we are NOT to follow him. He is a false prophet, which God is using to test us, and we are to follow what God has already said (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
6.  A key part of what makes us vulnerable to being deceived is the culture of disregarding God's Law, Commandments, and Instructions in the church, because we have believed by tradition of men that Jesus Christ made obeying these things obsolete with His death on the cross. It is this fundamentally false doctrine which has opened many believers and congregations to being greatly deceived. Why do I say that? Years after the resurrection of Messiah, God gave the word to the apostle James:

“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:21–22, NASB95)

Chronologically speaking the book of James was the first book of the New Testament to be written. So when James was writing to Christians instructing them to be DOERS OF THE WORD and so avoid self-deception, he obviously couldn't have been talking about DOING the New Testament, because there was no New Testament at the time. So when James wrote that we as Christians should be DOERS OF THE WORD, he was specifically instructing us to be doers of the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. God further used James to tell us that if we did not follow the instructions of the First Writings of the Whole Testament, we would in fact be deceiving ourselves. We open ourselves up to great deception whenever we decide any part of the Word is obsolete, and can be disregarded (Romans 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:1-6).
Brother R Michel Lankford